Our assignment this week is to write out some goals that we would like to accomplish--personal as well as for our family.  We are also to try to write out small attainable rewards for each goal accomplished.

Personal Goals--

1.  I will try to be less critical of my daughter.  She is a teenager and sometimes it is easy to criticize her attitude, her friends, or some of the choices she makes.  Reward--perhaps a Mother/Daughter Day Out.

2.  I will try to be less frustrated with my son.  He has ADD and sometimes it is hard when he forgets sometime that I feel he should know or takes quite  while to do an assignment.  Reward-- I think the big one here will be less stress on both our parts.

3.  To take some "me" time.  This sounds selfish, but I am with kids (including lots of extras) 24/7.  With my husband working out of town 25-27 days a month, most child care responsibilities fall on me.  Tonight I attended a Sunday School class party and came back so refreshed just from spending some time with other adults.   Reward-- less grouchy mom=happier family members.

4. Work on devotional/prayer time.  Reward= closer relationship with God.

Family Goals

1.  Try to spend more time together as a family doing fun things, like "game night" or "movie night." Reward= family will enjoy each other more.

2.  Spend some time with just my husband.  Reward= strengthened marriage.

3.  Spend more time in Bible study as a family.  Reward=entire family grows closer to God.

I hope everyone has a very joyful holiday season and everyone accomplishes their goals. Writing the goals down has made them seem much more attainable.

This week Tamara has a wonderful assignment of "praying for each classmate and sharing our needs with others."  I think this is a wonderful assignment and I will certainly be praying for all of you and the many prayer requests I have seen on my friends' blogs. 

Here are a few that are on my heart--

1.  My husband-- his job requires long hours and extensive travel and he is very discouraged at never being able to be home.

2.  Both of my children are sick with sinus and ear infections.

3.  My aunt-- Christmas is a difficult time of year for her because her first husband and daughter were killed in a house fire around this time of year, her twin brother was murdered around Christmas, and her second husband and son died within two weeks of each other close to the holidays two years ago.

4.  Our pastor's grandson. He is twenty five and has a brain tumor. 

5.  Me-- Since this summer, I have been suffering on and off with vertigo. 

6.  Our neighbor. She was a home health nurse and she caught a rare disease from one of her patients. While in the hospital with this, she contracted a staph infection and had to have one of her legs amputated.  She does not have health insurance, so this has been especially hard for her financially and emotionally.

Thanks for your prayers.