Dear 2011,

I've been pondering this post for quite some time. For a while I knew what I wanted to work on this year, but our circumstances and family is changing so much that I feel inspired to shift my gears a little.

Ever since I was in elementary, my favorite/lucky number has been 11. Well here it comes, the one time in my life I will experience the year "11"; my lucky year, And we're having triplets. I would say that number has held up well for me!

That being said, I know we have probably THE biggest year of our life coming up. Mentally, physically, financially and emotionally...all of the above. And I know it's going to be amazing and that with the help of the Lord in our lives, wonderful family & friends and a true love for our family and the Gospel, that we WILL make it through it. I take that back, we won't just "make it through it", we will smile through it. That's what Faith is for right?

I had wanted this year to be my year to work on being a better wife. Which I will work on as well. But I've been compelled to put my focus this year on:

Being a Better Mother
...after all, I'm going from a mother of 1 to a mother of 4 in the blink of an eye. I think if I can do a better job and put more focus on how much heart, effort and time I put into that, the better prepared I will be and the happier I'll be. I desperately want to be a better mother, and I desperately want to be the best mother for this crazy triplet business and remain the best mommy for my Kayson. I've wanted to be a stay at home mom for so many years now, and I've been so distracted with all the chaos of triplets that I've neglected to realize how lucky I am that I finally get that gift. Full time mommy. Wow. I've been working full time for 11 years now, and I hope I can give 10 times more to my job at home as I have at work. Here are the things I want to work on this year (also including some personal goals):

• WORK ON my procrastination. I realize I can't fix it, but I am going to make a list of 10 things a month that I've been wanting/needing to get done and maybe this baby steps approach will start working. I know I'll be a happier person for it.
  
• Better temple attendance. It's been really hard for us with our schedules this last year. I know it's going to be hard this year too so I'm not gonna put a number on it, just more. I need that peace & strength in my life
• Date my husband. He sacrifices so much for our family and if I'm going to be at home, I want to work on nurturing our relationship and being better at coming up with dates, surprises and creativity with our marriage. He deserves it. He deserves more of me.
• Deepen my relationship with my Heavenly Father. My soul so desperately needs this right now and I'm grateful I have so much in my life to help me strengthen that relationship
  
• Be a Better Mother! By doing the following:
  

-Family Night EVERY week. I need to be more consistent in teaching our son the gospel and helping him to build his testimony and love for our Savior. I skip it too often.
-More one on one teaching( school stuff)
-More activities, field trips, free fun that makes memories and helps build our relationship and love as a family
-More crafts & simple projects to involve him in at home
-Consistency in EVERYTHING. Our work schedules have messed things up so bad, he goes to bed later than I'd like, we eat dinner at different times, do baths at different times or days. I HATE living like that. Now that I'll have the freedom to choose, I want to fix it. When the triplets come our lives are going to be all about schedules and routines so I want to get it down.

Sometimes I let this "triplet stuff" get the best of me and think I have to change everything I am to take it on. If there's one thing I've learned from my past, it's to expect the unexpected. You never know where your life is going to lead you. Who's going to come and go. What you're going to go through, and most of all how you're going to handle it. We are constantly underestimating our worth & what we're capable of. And the only way to realize that is to be dumped on with more than we THINK we can handle.

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

So here's to 2011. From prayer to little hands to being in love.