Finding a New Normal…
So we’ve been here just over seven months. I’m going to be
honest, I really thought I would be established, settled, and have it together
by now. Well, I’m not… and I don’t. And you know what… for now… that’s ok.
God has taught me a lot of things about myself over the last
seven months. Like always, lessons are not always easy to learn, and sometimes
come as a pretty bitter pill to swallow, but I am thankful for them none the
less.
Our new normal
consists of things like:
-Daily
encounters with Amish buggies
-“Sit
down Sunday” where we FaceTime/skype grandparents
-Big classes
at school
-Indoor
pools
-Getting
lost… a lot
-A big
flat yard
-Reclining
seats at the movie theaters
-Homesick
children longing for friendships
-Visiting
multiple churches
-Lots of
beach time in the summer
-Looking
forward to Monday phone calls from Missy
-A
majority of conversation happening through texts
-Seeing
the Washington Monument and saying “almost to Daddy’s work” (instead of the
Arch)
-Holidays
and Birthdays without extended family
-Searching
flight deals on a weekly basis
-Random
crying followed by, “I miss _____”
-Visitors
in our home a lot more than in MO (love)
-Flying
people here to help
-Spending
99.9% of my time with my husband and children
-Having
an ABUNDANCE of wonderful, historical places to visit right here
-Writing
letters
-Lots,
and lots, and lots of praying
I hope we
find lots of new wonderful normals, and get rid of the hard ones. Time is a wonderful
healer and I have faith God is doing a mighty work in my marriage and my
family. We have survived a swim season, a soccer season, birthday parties, the
first day of school, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s being
the “new kid”. God’s got big things
planned for this family in 2015!
Every year I create a list of goals to work toward… I’ve been
doing it since 2007. I usually have 12 goals, and I have never achieved more
than 10 on the list… but I feel like I have things to be working toward. (I’m a
make a list and cross it off kind of gal.) I spent 2013 fasting 9 different
areas of my life for a month at a time. It was a game changer. I found that if
I let the Lord guide me in the things I should be doing, I do much better. In 2014 my life was kind of a whirlwind, and
I didn’t set goals. So 2015… I’m back. I
found that journaling/blogging held me accountable (even if no one was reading)
to the task at hand, so I think I’m going to put it out there again.
I started praying about what goals I should set for myself the
week before Thanksgiving. There are some
things on this list that I am excited about doing. There are some things I literally
shed tears over because I didn’t want to do it, but I knew God wanted me to, so
they are there. There are some things on this list that I thought about not
sharing for the sake of feeling vulnerable or judged… but I’ve decided to just
be transparent and let you see how the Lord works in me.
Goals for 2015
1.
Get
Established in a Church/Find a place to serve in the community
2.
No
soda
3.
Give
up Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and all rated R movies
4.
Weight
loss of 25lbs
5.
Run
804 miles
6.
No
clothing/shoes/accessory purchases for myself
7.
Invite
people into our home at least once a month
8.
Sell/Donate
2,015 items
9.
Visit
at least 10 DC attractions/museums
10.
Read
through the Bible
11.
Pay
of SallieMae
12.
Put
$5000 extra in savings
13.
Have
the whole house painted and functional
14.
Weekly
family devotionals and communion
15.
Make
a friend.
I’m going to try to
blog about my experiences and what God is teaching me through them. Feel free to follow along to see what God is
teaching me… or just keep up with latest Kriete happenings. :)
Thanks for joining me on the journey!
