2019 Vision Board

Happy New Year everyone and happy Saturday! I am so sorry I have been MIA this past month on the blog. To be honest, I wanted to enjoy the holidays and my birthday with my family, so I took a little hiatus from the blog. Do you ever get sick of social media and feel like you need to take a break for a while? Well I do, I know as someone trying to break into the blogging world I shouldn't be saying that, but it is the truth. I like to blog and post when I feel inspired and sometimes I just don't feel inspired. There are times when I am on social media and I feel so excited and inspired by everyone on it and then there are other times when I am just over it all and just need to take a step back. So that is what I did, and I enjoyed every minute of the holidays with my family, and now in the new year I am ready to kick my butt into gear.

There is something in the air in the new year that fills everyone with so much hope and excitement. I think its the idea and the possibility of something better, something greater. A lot of the time a new year means letting go of the painful parts of our past year and embracing a new beginning. Sometimes a new year is the push we need to start being in better shape, saving more money and just becoming an overall better version of ourselves. I do not think anyone goes into January thinking, " Man, I really hope this year sucks!", we all want better for ourselves and our families. I hate when people talk about their best years being in the past, that is a sad notion to me. I want to always believe my best years are in front of me, and the way to acquire that is by continually growing as a person. My mom used to always tell my sisters and I when we were growing up, that high school is such a small part of our lives and your life truly begins afterwards. She was so right, as she usually is. I think if we ask God to help us make each year better in some form then the last, then we always have something to look forward to.

So this year in order to really help me get in that mind frame, I did something I have never done before, I made a Vision Board for 2019. I got this idea from one of my favorite You Tuber's Mallory Ervin, you probably already follow her but if you don't, you need to. She is hilarious, has the sweetest family and has a really great outlook on life. Plus, she is a fellow Kentucky girl so I immediately loved her. She posted a video with her husband about making a vision board and I thought it was such a neat idea I decided to try it for myself. My beliefs are that God had made a plan for my life long before I was even born. So no matter what I want for my life, if it is not God's will then it will not come to fruition. However; I also believe that God gives us the desires of our hearts and that he works all things for the good of us. So as long as our hopes and dreams remain with God at the center of our lives I think he blesses our en-devours. 

A vision board is created as a tangible item for us to help manifest the year we would like to see and make it a reality. I tried to think hard about the things I wanted out of 2019 and really put time and energy into this project. So below I walk you through everything I put onto my vision board and hopefully give you some ideas an inspire you to create your own. 

Of course on the top of almost everyone's 2019 resolutions list is ... you guessed it a healthier lifestyle. I want my family to be as healthy as possible, but I do not want to focus on weight or weight loss. There is enough outside pressure from society to be "the perfect body type', that I do not want to add to that. Instead I want to make better choices with my own life and lead by example. When I was pregnant and Knox was first born, we were great about walking around our neighborhood as a family. This is something I want to bring into the new year. I am actually looking for a jogger stroller so if any moms have any recommendations please comment down below! My husband is a competitive power lifter , so he practically lives in the gym and he has been a great motivation for me to get back to working out. He has completely transformed his body and is really inspiring. He also is very knowledgeable and is a great resource for me to have, he has already taught me so much. My whole life I have been working out wrong and he is showing me a whole new mindset when it comes to working out. I will be doing a blog post about this soon. I have been weight lifting since October and I would love to make the promise to myself to get in the gym at least 3-4 times a week.

Along the same lines as working out I also posted picture of a woman cooking because I want to work on being in the kitchen more. Monday-Friday we eat all meals at home and I cook, but on the weekends its like we have released the Kraken and we go ham on eating out ha. This year I would like to be more intentional about eating at home on the weekends not only because its healthier but it is also more economic. We also want to be better about eating the majority of our meals at out table and not around the TV. Aaron and I both grew up with our family meals around the table and that is something that is important to us to do with our own family.

I put a picture of a savings jar on my vision board because finances are a huge part of wanting a better year. This year I have a number in my head that I would like to see our savings account hit. I want to be more disciplined financially and be better about sticking to a budget. We will also pay off my car this year which will be huge and I would like to roll that payment into my student loans and get them paid off! I also would like to be better about tithing more regularly, this is a big one for me. There are times I do great with it and then fall off the wagon and I would like to really make this a priority this year. How can I expect God to bless my family financially if I am not giving back what is rightfully his. 

I put a picture of a cabin on my vision board because one my dreams has always been to go to Vail, Colorado. The pictures people post of it are mind blowing, I love to ski, and the town itself is so magical, I am dying to go. Traveling is a big one on my vision board and Colorado is at the top of my list. One of my best friends just moved to Denver as well, so that is another reason it has a piece of my heart. I want Knox to see the world and know what is out there, so I look forward to taking him to as many destinations as I can.

On my board I have a picture of a bible study because I want to hold myself accountable to something I have started in the new year. My friend Lauren who also has a blog called Transformed Lovely, you should go check her out, has started a bible study of a group of men and women who are reading the bible chronologically. We are all doing it together and have a Facebook group to discuss our reading and what God is bringing to our lives through this study. I want to really stick with this and make it through the study completely.

I want this year to be the year I really dig in and pour into my blog and make it as successful as possible. You all have been so instrumental in encouraging me to keep it up, that I want to give back to you by bringing you the best quality and quantity content that I can. I have a Instagram logo on my vision board because I want to grow that as well to reach more women. My goal is to hit 5K followers in this year which is ambitious but I am going to try! I also have a picture of a planner on there and that is to remind me to be better about time management and better about posting routinely. I am usually a Erin Condren girl when it comes to planners, but this year I am going to try the Simplified Planner. If you have used either, I would love for you to comment below and tell me which one you prefer.

Speaking of staying organized, I put a picture of a BEAUTIFUL fridge all nice and organized that made my heart skip a beat. This year I want to purge out all the unnecessary junk in our home and keep it as neat and organized as possible. Staying organized is something I pride myself on and something I am good at but our, pantry, laundry room and spare room need some attention and will be my focus this year. I feel like I can breath when the spaces in my home are tidy and I want to pass this trait on to Knox and Aaron ha!

I also put some random pictures of things I would like to try and accomplish in 2019. Aaron and I both want to build a house one day, and we had actually began the process earlier this year. Then God opened a door for us with Aaron's job and it changed our plans slightly. We still want to build eventually but it might be closer to the 2-3 years. So for the time being I would love to make some changes in our current home. I have always dreamed of a big white kitchen to cook for my family in. The kitchen in our current home will never be able to be that, but we can make some minor changes to make it more functional for the time being. We have already upgraded the sink and facet and it has made a huge difference. We also want to redo our living room and get a sectional to better utilize the space. Apparently toy companies don't take into account how much space their toys take up so Aaron and I are learning that the hard way. I also have a picture of yarn because I would like to learn to knit or crochet this year. My mom, most of my coworkers and some of my friends can knit and crochet and they make the cutest things. I would like to join this group of elite crocheters ha!  I also put up a gallery wall picture because I have been horrible about getting family pictures in frames and that is a goal for me this year. I WILL be better about this!

And finally, I have a picture of my little family. Aaron and I both feel 2018 was one of our best years yet, because we became parents and experienced all the joy it brings. We have both always wanted a big family, so this year we hope to begin to expand our family, God willing. I also want us both to be more intentional with our time with Knox. I do not want us to be distracted by our phones, working out, our house, jobs, anything that keeps us from fully enjoying our time with Knox.

So this is my vision board for 2019 and I really hope and believe that this will be a good year for my family and I. I hope this gave you all some inspiration to go out and create your own and really prioritize the things you want to accomplish in 2019. Thank you all for stopping by and spending this time with me. I love you all and hope you have a blessed year.

Be Well,
Katelyn

2 Corinthians 5:17 - Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Mark 11:24 - Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe you receive them, and you will have them.