wrapping up our summer goals...

This was the first summer coming up with official summer goals with our kids.  I think it is so important to set goals, big or small, and work hard to achieve them and I want to instill that in our children.  The earlier, the better, and I have found that when kids feel motivated and have a purpose, they are happier and more responsible.  We sat down with Drew and Susanna in June (back here) for Family Night one night and came up with realistic goals (some that I thought were important and some they wanted to work on) and have been keeping track all summer, usually reviewing them and discussing progress each Monday night.  Granted, some weeks it didn't happen, or Drew would remind us that we forgot and so we would review them on a different night, but overall, we kept up with them!  School starts this week and so for FHE this Monday night, we sat down again and reviewed our goals and talked about how we accomplished them.

We talked about how goal setting is not only important to us mentally, physically, and emotionally, but also spiritually.  And when we practice setting and completing goals, it becomes a habit...following through with commitments and being dependable and honest.  (All things we need to work on no matter how old we are!)  We also talked about how when we set our minds to doing good things, the Lord will help us and magnify our efforts.

"Wishing will not make it so.  The Lord expects our thinking.  He expects our action.  He expects our labors.  He expects our testimonies.  He expects our devotion."  Thomas S. Monson

Family time together is so important.  It is a time that we can be together, teach our kids and each other important principles, and grow closer to God as we strengthen one another.

Then we had cookies and ice cream to celebrate completing our goals over these last few months!

 This summer was a real learning experience for us all and I am so proud of my big kids!