Happy New Year!! It's now official.So here goes.

Here are my expectations and hopes for 2011:

• I expect to grow closer to God, by spending more time with Him and witnessing His actions around me.
• I hope to have our home, family and work under God’s direction and guidance so that it is easy to see what we are supposed to do.
• I expect to be a better servant and child of God.
• I hope to serve God more by involving the family in more service projects.
• I expect to draw closer to my husband and to be even more in love with him by the end of the year.
• I hope that John and I can make new friends so we have people to invite over.
• I expect John and I to teach our children to draw closer to God through family devotions and other learning opportunities.
• I hope that the children can learn to make the right decisions even now so their lives can be blessed in the future.
• I expect our children to draw closer to each other so they can depend on their brothers and sisters and respect each other.
• I hope that each child can find at least one good friend outside of their family that they can spend time with and share memories.
• I expect each child to mature and to grow and achieve things to the best of their ability, not more than their ability.
• I hope that the children can be more stable in our home and feel more secure about their life.
• I expect our home to be a welcoming and open place for anyone who wishes to come into it.
• I hope to clean and de-clutter my house more regularly.
• I expect some wonderful, exciting, and happy times.
• I expect celebrations.
• I expect great family times.
• I hope for lots of the above.
• I expect some sadness, trials and tribulations.
• I expect some tough family times.
• I hope for very few of the above.
• I expect days that go smoothly and days that don’t.
• I expect myself to grow as a person-spiritually, emotionally and mentally.
• I expect of myself to set the example, in all areas of life, for what I expect from my family.
• I hope to remember that everything I do, I do it for the Lord. I want to be His servant and His example in all things.
• I expect myself to work to the best of my ability and to not waste as much time as I have in the past.
• I hope to re-start and maintain my routines so that life can run smoother.
• I expect to find joy, contentment and a love for life in at least one small thing every day.
• I expect to know that God is with me, even when it doesn’t feel evident.
• I hope to share my life more often with more people through emails, blogs, phone calls and old-fashioned letter writing.

AND FINALLY:
Most importantly, I expect and hope that everything we do, say and think pleases God and makes Him proud to have this family as His children.