Jake had to travel last week for work so we tagged along with him since the girls were out of school.  We spent a fun week in Charleston swimming, playing, exploring, reading, and enjoying some extra time together.  We even made it to the beach which was a special treat!  Hopefully this week I will have a chance to get back up to speed with my goals and household obligations.  The pets were happy to see us come home too.  You will notice that some of my goals have shifted to reflect my priorities over the summer, it is more important to me to spend time with my family while the girls are on summer break then to ignore them so I can meet all my other goals.  Yes, I will continue moving forward with those goals as well but my highest priority the next couple months will be family since we have more time together.

Last week’s goals:

Family Goals

1. Connect with each family member at least once a day
2. Enjoy time doing one fun activity with the girls every day – spent a lot of time at parks, swimming, and spending time together in Charleston
3. Read at least one book to the girls every day
4. Listen to the girls read at least one book to me or Jake every day – the girls read through a whole bunch of books at parks, in the hotel and in the car, thrilled to see them get even more excited about reading
5. Spend some extra time catching up with family and friends
6. Finish 1/3 of the Summer Reading Program
7. Spend time at the pool playing with the kids

Personal Goals

1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – walked with the girls in the parks and went swimming everyday
2. Spend quality time with my kids & Jake – spent time together in Charleston
3. Finish reading  Am I Messing Up My Kids by Lysa TerKeurst
4. Finish reading More Than Enough by Dave Ramsey – started it

Home Management Goals

1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
2. Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week – the dinner menu was based off of Jake’s schedule and whatever coupons we could find for the Charleston area so not every dinner was planned with us being out of town (but every lunch was planned)
3. Plan Summer Organizational Schedule
4. Pay all upcoming bills

Business Goals

1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention – did as much as I could remotely
3. 1o minutes a day Cleaning / Organizing my desk – wasn’t able to do this since I was in Charleston

Ministry Goals

1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
2. Email the updated schedule to our Community Group – didn’t get the email out but prayed for and tried to connect with each girl in our group

Financial Goals

1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4 – actually stayed under with us being out of town, just brought items from home for some of our lunches, dinner, and snacks (breakfast was included with the hotel)
2. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses – temporarily on hold as we save for another family car
3. Save money for another vehicle to replace the one that was totaled – working on it
4. Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes – on hold while until we get another car

My goals for the upcoming week:

Family Goals

1. Read at least one book or a chapter in a book to the girls every day
2. Listen to the girls read at least one book to me or Jake every day
3. Participate in at least 2 fun Summer Activities with the Kids
4. Take the girls to Vacation Bible School – VBS
5. Get to the 1/4 Goal Mark (500 Hours) on the Girls “Swim Into Reading” Summer Reading Goal (total 2,000 Reading Hours)
6. Go to the library with the kids
7. Go on a Date Night with Jake

Personal Goals

1. Exercise – at least 5 days this week
2. Finish reading More Than Enough by Dave Ramsey

Home Management Goals

1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
2. Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week
3. Start My Summer Organizational Schedule
4. Pay all upcoming bills

Business Goals

1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
3. 1o minutes a day Cleaning / Organizing my desk

Ministry Goals

1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
2. Email the updated schedule to our Community Group

Financial Goals

1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
2. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses
3. Save money for another vehicle to replace the one that was totaled
4. Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes

I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.  I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true.  When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals.  Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick).  Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.

Why Share My Goals?

• To keep me accountable
• To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
• To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
• Create healthy habits in my life
• To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn

How did you do this week on your goals?  Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.

The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results