New Year's Resolution

Res·o·lu·tion /ˌrɛzəˈluʃən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[rez-uh-loo-shuhn] –noun. A resolve or determination.

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I'm not big on New Year's Resolutions, mostly because I know myself well enough that I will not follow through. This year my resolutions are simple.

1. Read The Daily Bible by F. Lagard Smith.

I started this last January, and I did really well. I read into September. I didn't read every single day, but I could catch up if I fell behind. I really enjoyed reading this way, a set number of pages all laid out for me. I was surprised that the only time I really felt bogged down was Leviticus/Numbers/Deuteronomy. I love the commentary in this particular book, and I appreciate that it's in chronological order, not Biblical order. I like everything to line up just right, so the chronological aspect is very appealing. (Yes, yes, we all know I'm anal retentive.)


I really need to commit to a specific time each day to read. Mornings are definitely the best, but they seem to get swept away in my original routine. I need to adjust my routine to fit this in.

2. Spend more time with my kids.

That might sound funny since I am with them all day long. But we often get wrapped up in the nitty gritty, must-get-done things. When school work is done, we tend to separate. Time passes far too quickly, and I don't want to regret this down the road. These are times I can't make up--if I don't do it now, it's gone. Forever.

3. Read more

Yes, I read a lot. I read oodles of books out loud to the kids, and I read a lot of books to myself. But I used to read more. Up until two years ago, I was reading 100 books a year. It's easy to keep track of; it's two books a week. Several years ago, I began keeping my own book log. I figured I kept logs for the kids, I should be keeping one for me. It doesn't have much info, just the title, author, and usually a brief comment, just a couple of words, with my thoughts on the book. Two years ago, I dropped down to 60 books. This year, I'm back up to about 90. It's not bad, but I can do better. And I want to do better.

As I'm typing these three things, it comes down to me managing my free time a little better. Hmm. Simple resolutions. Great rewards. They don't seem that hard.

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We don't usually do much for New Year's Eve. I think the last time Robert and I went out was in 1994 (really). We usually have some sort of poppers or noisemakers on hand and the kids go out at 8 or 9 p.m. to set them off, bang pots and pans, etc. Sometimes they have friends over to join them. We don't have much planned for New Year's Eve this year, mostly because I've been trapped in the house since Thursday morning.

The AdAmAn Club sets fireworks off from Pikes Peak at midnight. They spend Dec. 30 and 31st climbing to the top of the mountain. It must have been cold this morning, but at least it was beautiful! Sometimes we can see fireworks, sometimes we can't. It's really something to see.

Holly has stayed up for the past few years. She stayed up late tonight (Saturday) too, and I wasn't thinking that she'd probably be up Sunday night. Last year, I fell asleep on the couch before midnight, poor kid. Oh well. It's time for someone else to take over the midnight watch, and it might as well be her. As long as she wakes me up to see the fireworks at midnight, I'm happy!