New Year, New Me

I want to be a better person. I know that sounds so cliche, but it's true. I want to be the most amazing wife I can be. I want to be the kind of person that others want to be around. I want my kids to look back at my life when they are going through hard times and think "What would mom have done?". More than anything, I want to know that my Savior didn't suffer for me in vain. That I have lived, made mistakes, and learned from those mistakes, and made the absolute best of this beautiful life that I have been given.

So... I have been working on my New Years resolutions and have come up with 5 that I think I should be able to handle. I want to post them here so I feel like I will be held responsible to someone if I slack.

#5. Be Debt Free
Scott and I have been listening to Dave Ramsey a lot lately, and have been inspired. I hate the fact that we have debt. Granted, it isn't a lot, but it is still there; student loans, a few credit cards, our car (well actually, after this month it will be payed off - yay!!) our house. I want to be done, with all of it. I don't think it is unreasonable to not owe anyone anything! So, although this one might take a little longer than just one year, it is definitely a goal for 2010.

#4 Quit Drinking Pop - as much
What can I say, there a few things more satisfying that taking that first drink of Diet Coke after a stressful afternoon. BUT, I hate that I think about that drink all the time! So, I'm not saying that I am never going to drink a DC again, I'm just not going to drink it everyday, or make a special trip to McDonalds for it.

#3 Lose the Baby Weight
Let's face it, my baby is 10 months old. It has been 10 whole months since she was out of me and although I have lost some of that terrible weight I put on while she was inside of me for 9 months, it has been long enough. I AM GOING TO LOSE THOSE LAST 15 LBS!!! I am so tired of not liking the way I look in the mirror. Kassie gave me a killer workout video, and I will have that Beach Body by the next time I go to the beach. I deserve to be proud of myself. I feel like this is the first time I am wanting to lose the weight for me and not for anyone else, which is pretty inspiring in itself!!

#2 Pray More Earnestly
With the new year came a new ward for us. We switched to a family ward, which was a hard decision, because we LOVED our student ward. We made so many amazing friends that I hate to leave, but we just felt that it was time we switched. Anyway, our new Bishop spoke in church and gave the ward 3 challenges for the new ward. First, be on time (which is a good goal, but not good enough to make it into my top 5). Second, pray more earnestly. Thus, my #2 resolution. I want to have a closer relationship with my Heavenly Father, and I know that one way I can do that is to pray to Him like he truly is my Father in Heaven. So, I am going to take my prayers to the next level. Oh, and I can't remember the 3rd challenge, I guess it wasn't that inspiring.

#1 Study the Word of God Everyday
About a month ago, Scott and I started the Book of Mormon together. We found some old Institute manuals for the BoM, which are huge and so full of amazing information that we love them!! It has been so fun to not only read the words of prophets of old together, but then read from the manual and see what modern prophets have said about the Book as well. But I don't think this is good enough. I want more. So I have decided to set aside time each day to read on my own, whether it is from an Ensign, online, or the scriptures themselves. I have recently gained this real desire to know more and more and more, and I don't want the desire to go away just because I am too lazy to pick up a magazine!!