Final Goal Reflection, 2011

End of Year = Final Goal Reflection!

 Goal 1 - Catch up on scrapbooking
      *I have officially "made the change" to online scrapbooking!  It feels really good...and I'm officially done with our Hong Kong trip and Ireland trip.  I'm working on Chile, and should be done in a couple of days.  India is a bit more overwhelming than anticipated since there are just SO MANY pictures, but I'm going to rock it out and just ATTACK it.  Fingers crossed, this one will get done by end of January?! 

Goal 2 - Become active/involved at Cornerstone
     *DONE - but hoping for more now. :)  We decided to pull out of the PK room, and I've joined the worship band while Chris is starting on the tech team this Sunday.  We're LOVING our small group, and are excited to see how God will continue to grow relationships and challenge us through those people.  I'd really like to get involved with the International Ministry and maybe some short-term missions trips, so that's the next goal!

Goal 3 - Get trained in foster care
     *DONE!

Goal 4 - Become conversational in Spanish
     *Didn't happen…this was a pretty lofty goal without having an outlet to practice, I should be more realistic sometimes :)

Goal 5 - Save up to buy a nice bike
     * DONE!
 
Goal 6 - Have a garden/do some canning
     *I got a basil plant - but I decided not to count this. :)  I'd like to make that a continuing goal for this next year, but with a baby due on May 7th, am seeing a serious conflict with planting season.  Hmmm...maybe this one will wait until we have our own place and no little one on the way!

Goal 7 - Work through my elementary curriculum
    *DONE!
 
Goal 8 - Level 1 Kodaly Certification
    *DONE!
 
Goal 9 - Finish a marathon
     *Didn't happen - but for a good reason (pregnancy!).  I have no regrets about not finishing this goal!

Goal 10 - $18,000 of student loans paid off, $4,000 in savings
     *DONE!

Goal 11 - Be more intentional with communication/interaction.
     *Big “Aha” moment related to this goal!  Ever since I entered “adult life” I’ve felt frustrated by a dramatic drop in my desire to be social.  I used to initiate group get-togethers, invite people to everything, and call for one-on-ones all the time!  What I’m realizing, though, is that the combination of marriage and teaching COMPLETELY fills my social capacity, and by the time a free second comes long, I’ve got very little left for anyone else. 
     This feels both good and frustrating at the same time.  Recently I’ve had a couple of days at home, and by the end of the 2^nd day I was completely STIR CRAZY!  I’ve never texted so much in my life!  It feels good that I haven’t actually changed, and given more time and less people, I will probably fall right back into intentional communication/ interaction naturally.  However, it also feels frustrating because it feels like I’m losing a lot of time to build relationships.  Thankfully, I do feel like my job is also a mission field, and can spend my time loving the little ones that need love. 
     All that to say – I think I’ve realized my capacity for intentionality, and will have to continue being intentional until it comes naturally again. :)

Extra Goal: Read 24 Books
    *DONE!  I’m even ¾ the way through #25. :)

FINAL REFLECTION: I love what happened this year, but also see areas for improvement…. and really, what more could you ask for?!  

And with that, I’m declaring my 2011 goals all wrapped up!

Farley Family Christmas, 2011

This year Christmas with the Farley's was different than normal - We ended up celebrating Christmas during the weekend of the 16th - 18th...and in Iowa City at Mike and Lianne's house.  Tradition is always so nice and comfortable, but change always brings about new and exciting moments, so it was neat to have a different Christmas experience!  Mike and Lianne's house is big and beautiful, and easily housed the whole family for the weekend.  No surprise - Lianne is a WONDERFUL hostess, and we stayed in comfort and ate like royalty. :)

All the stockings fit on this mantle too!

Pretty decorations...

The "before" picture of the living room/tree.

WHOA presents.

Pretty ladies in the kitchen!

Rachel's scrumptuous cinnamon rolls

All the Farley girls!

Our totally serious Christmas pose.

And again...

Okay, here's a for real one.

Chris is still surprised by my belly sometimes!

Adorable Santa Ben!

And, winter Ben...

Yes, Brian did get a present from Victoria's Secret.  :)  Don't worry, it was cologne.

Chris with all his geek gear! 

Rach and Ben checking out his new workshop!

And....the "after" picture.  Oh my!

Some pictures of the sweet food from the weekend!

Amy's awesome desserts!

The pretty table - it took us WAY too long to re-discover how to cut snowflakes!

The boys hanging in the basement, playing with the new flight simulators.

Yep, they're all boy.

Seriously scary Santa - Rachel and Santa have a love/hate (mostly hate!) relationship - and this MAY have been Santa's last Christmas with the Farley family!

Christmas dinner - YUMMY!

God bless us, every one!

 

SUCH a great weekend with people we love.  Thanks Farleys!

Reveal/Christmas Date!

 We had a really hard time deciding if we wanted to find out the gender of our baby.  We had people tell us they loved not knowing and loved knowing, but eventually it came down to us feeling like we really wanted to know...that it would make it feel more real.  However, I REALLY didn't want to find out if it was a boy or a girl with goop on my belly in a dark room with the ultrasound technician sitting right next to us.

A little blurry, but I'm happy and excited to see this little stinker!

Here are some of our favorite pictures of our ultrasound - YAY for healthy, beautiful baby!

I love the little face!!!

 Look at those ribs!

We decided to have the ultrasound technician write the gender on a piece of paper, stick it in an envelope, and then go on a special gender reveal/Christmas date.  It ended up being really special - and I even got a new preggers dress for the occasion. :)

Pre-date picture...we were both so excited!

We'd never eaten at Aunt Maude's before...it was SO GOOD!

Close-up :)

Didn't Chris do an awesome job wrapping?!  I was so impressed!

This is what I saw when I opened the box - see "funny story" at the end to explain!

He got me these boots - I was pumped!

Chris posing with his present - I forgot to get a picture of the opened product, but it was a pair of "hearty" dress shoes.

Yummy appetizer!

"Oh my gosh....what will it say?!"

"I don't know, should we open it?!"

It's a BOY!!!

Daddy's so happy!

Mama's pretty pumped!

After supper we went and got some baby outfits. :)  It was so fun!

It fits!

Had to get the classic preggers picture.

Chris didn't want to be left out, so he tried to find a spot for the outfit to fit too..

Pretty pose!

The night was so special.  I love that we decided to do a special date to find out what it was, and also loved that we had a few days where Chris and I were the only ones that knew the gender.  We are SO excited about our new addition, and I'm really glad that we decided to find out what this first one is...it definitely feels much more real! 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Funny Story: We went down to Kansas City about 2 months ago with some family friends.  I had saved up some money to buy boots, and ended up getting two pair at the outlet malls down there.  Since everything didn't fit into my bag on the way back I decided to throw some stuff in a shopping bag to take it home - however, as the girls were bringing things up to the car to get packed, they mistook my shopping bag for garbage and accidentally threw it away.  When we called the next morning, the garbage had already been taken away.  :(  The bag included all my make-up, one of my new pairs of boots, my black teacher shoes, and my nice slippers.  It was pretty disheartening, but I definitely learned a great lesson about holding "stuff" with an open hand!  Chris decided to replace the lost boots for a Christmas present (which is also why he filled the box with garbage!) and I was very excited. :)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All that to say, we're having a BOY, and couldn't be more excited!  

MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!

Informance = Change!

After last year's craziness I decided to try for a change - and it somehow worked!  Last year each grade K-6 had two on-stage performances.  For those of you that have never planned a performance with 100 kindergarteners that may not seem like very much...but believe me, it was a little ridiculous!  The hardest part was the extreme amount of time it takes to prepare the kids to do well at each performance...it took about 2 months out of curriculum teaching to prepare for each concert.  4 months GONE out of the 9 that we have to be learning about music!  In addition, I have about 30 minutes total of prep time each day...and to plan 16 interested and educational performances in that time WHILE also planning for daily activities AND keeping my room organized and myself sane was a challenge to the say the least.  Time for a change, people!

The hardest part was that I wasn't really sure what I wanted the year to look like, so last spring I made a proposal to change from two yearly "performances" to one "performance" and one "informance".  An "informance" is basically an in-class time when parents get to see what their kids can do, and the kids get to show off their abundant skills (in a comfortable, safe, and familiar environment).  My principal said "go for it", the superintendent eventually said yes, the board said yes, and I found myself slowly figuring out what this year could look like!  I love change...

And it ROCKED!  I was pretty nervous the first night, as the elementary music program has been the same for the last 35 years, and Story City isn't exactly a community to embrace a 'rocking of the boat', but it went great, was very well received, and the year has been SO much smoother.  I feel like the kids are internalizing concepts and learning so much more...AND they got to show off what they can actually do, instead of just a few cutesy songs they learned for one performance!

Here are some highlights. :)

A few of the cuties up close :)

Playing "Christmas is Coming"

And they're ALL on the steady beat!

I love my job...

What's music without some xylophone ostinati?!

Beautiful!