2010 in Review + New Year’s Resolutions

Lately I’ve been toying with the idea of making New Year’s resolutions and you know what? I think I might actually do it. Before I let you in on my goals, lets recap what’s happened over the last year.

The most exciting place to start is in our traveling. Here’s a recap (in photos, because I know you are only looking at the photos anyway):

Our first trip to Poland was with Burke's parents- Krakow, Wieliczka, and Auschwitz

Budapest

Vienna

Jerusalem

Nazareth

Jordan River aka Jesus' baptism site

Dead Sea

Amman

Petra

Red Sea

Aqaba (it is REALLY hard to pick one photo from Aqaba, it was so beautiful!)

Serbia

Skopje, Macedonia

Thessaloniki, Greece

Sweden

Finland

Estonia

Can you guess this one?

Lithuania

Warsaw

Česky Krumlov

Prague

Timişoara, Romania

Whew 15 different countries in 2010!  When I see the photos all lined up like that, I wonder how we had time to work or do anything but travel.  But we did!

• Put together by the wonderful people we know through YWAM Slovakia, we did two video seminars Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage and Hearing God’s Voice.

• We successfully completed our first bicycle tour (1300 km, 26 days).

• Burke had his first real free riding experience on a snowboard at Chopok (one of his life goals).

• I read 15+ books.

• Burke launched our friend Shaun’s photography website (he did our wedding photos).

• I donated my hair to locks of love for the third time.

• Burke had his first printed work published.

• I enforced a stronger emphasis on health and nutrition in our home by including more whole grains, less fatty dairy and, for me, a more regular exercise routine.  That said, I also was sick countless times and had a reoccurring cyst removed three times.  (Slovak germs are relentless.)

• At school we’ve continued to inspire and help children learn more English.  It is so amazing to have conversations with the kids who just learned to say “How are you” last year.  If you haven’t seen any of the videos or musicals you can watch them here.

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So I better get these goals written down or they won’t be official- only sixn more hours until it’s New Years here!

• I want to participate in some kind of race. I’ve searched and Slovakia doesn’t actually have anything of the sort, so it might have to wait until I can go to a country that encourages exercise. I’d like to do a 10k, half marathon or a triathlon of some sort. My only experience currently is with the Greenville triathlon I did as a team with the mean grrrls back in 2006.

Erin Julian (biker), Kristen Davidson (runner), myself (swimmer) Not pictured: Katie Raffel (cheerleader)

• Some month during this year I want to run 100 miles. It is absolutely attainable, but I always end up either getting sick or going away. This year I WILL do it.

• Burke and I would like to complete our second and maybe even our third bicycle tour.

• I want to go to 15 NEW countries! There aren’t really too many European countries that I haven’t been to, and definitely not many near Slovakia so I’ll actually be thrilled with ten and happy with five. I have my eye on Turkey, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Slovenia (maybe also Albania and Kosovo).

• Find an amazing opportunity that deserves our efforts as much as we deserve to be a part of it. I don’t think I have officially said this on the blog, but we will not be working at Narnia next year. We have our eye on a few opportunities for our post-July lives, but at this point there is no telling what the future holds.

• It is already in the works, but we will be going to Italy and Burke will be snowboarding in the Alps in early February.

• I asked Burke what his New Years Resolution was and he told me has two, but they go together. He wants to lose ten pounds and keep it off, and his second is to make an effort to lead a more active lifestyle. Also, to be able to do 100 push ups.

• I would also like establish my own database of vegetarian meals.  I know I have a variety of options in my repertoire, but it is so hard to think of them on the spot.

• Finally, we would like to establish a more sound prayer life together as a couple. We believe that God wants to have real relationships and we will definitely seek to be in communion with Him over the next year.

Think we can do it?  I hope so!