Goals...For My Future

My husband surprised me this morning with..........

A PLACE TO LIVE!!!!!

Thank the heavens we are not going to be homeless in three weeks. Tomorrow our deposit will be in the mail, the lease signed....and it seems like we have a very nice landlord. The neighbors are Latin and have been living there for 20 years ...supposedly they are great neighbors(I peaked into their yard with google earth just to make sure all was well...very nice.) We got a four bedroom home with two baths just like we wanted/needed. Brady will still have his own room, Trinity will have hers...the little boys get bunk beds and Zac and I get to have the bedroom in the basement. The quirky thing about this house is that there are TWO kitchens, one upstairs and one downstairs. The kitchen upstairs doesn't have a lot of counter space (read that "no" counter space) but Zac made things better be reminding me that I can store stuff that isn't used daily downstairs...and now I can have my coffee maker close to my bed. Smart man.
There is a nice fenced in back yard with a shed, a one car garage with some shelving...and there are trees. :) I think the backyard actually has a small aspen tree...wouldn't that be special? I'm so excited about having a space for the kids to play that is contained (I won't have to worry about one of my kids running on to a highway while playing chase. )Anyways, the street looks very nice and clean...and there is an elementary school about 2 blocks away. And ALSO...I will finally...after 6 years...be living within 15 minutes of a Target. I could just stinkin' die.
I'm not really sure after seeing pictures of the house if my furniture and stuff really "goes" very well with the look. The downstairs kitchen is very dark and modern...my least favorite look actually. It's VERY nice...don't get me wrong - I just love LIGHT. I think I'll just be challenged making this new space homey ...everything I've bought for our little house here was bought for a specific space so I'm not sure how it will work there.
In thinking about the future I'm really excited to start the following things (slowly )
- budget EVERYTHING and start paying in cash for most purchases
- Find a welcoming church where Brady especially will feel comfortable and where I can meet some other mothers (and find a little playmate for Trinity.)
- research the schools in Aurora
- Find a really awesome daytime planner (you save so much more money and time when things are planned)
- become the couponing queen I once was
- start reading again
- bake and craft with my children regularly

I know they must seem like small goals, but I've really lost some of my good habits that I once had. I think with Finn's age I'm starting to find a lot of things so much easier and I'm excited about the possibility of searching stores for steals, thrifting...budgeting...becoming involved in a community - just plugging into life. Also, I'd really like to begin blogging more routinely like I use too and having a theme on different days of the week. For instance...one day about what I'm learning, one day about my weeks grocery budget and finds, one day my weekly menu and what the kids are involved in and such as that. Suggestions? Anything you would like to hear about?

Thank you so much friends for your encouragment....we are really excited.