New Year's Resolutions and a Declaration of Dependence

I know it's May, but I never got around to posting these.This year I chose four very manageable tasks. 

1. Do a better job of keeping in touch with those I love but don't see often. I keep in touch through email when possible. And once a month I print off some photos of the child(ren) and send them with a note to my Grandma King and Aunt Jane. Both are in nursing homes and are too far away to visit. I know they must be lonely and I want them to know they are loved and that their lives still matter to us and to God.

2. Do a better job of managing our budget. I used to use an Excel spreadsheet to plan and track our spending. It worked for me, but I doubt anyone else could understand my system. This year I switched to an online system called Pear Budget. It is $50 a year and worth every penny, I think. Very easy to use and much faster than my old system.

3. Do a better job of downloading, backing up, and sorting photos. I take about 400 photos a month. With kids, I tend to snap tons of pictures trying to get the right shot. The past couple of years I would download them all to my computer once a month but that was it. This year I have stepped up my game. I download all the photos on my camera card and my iphone to my computer in a folder for that month. Then I go through and delete the bad pictures and excessive duplicates and just keep the best ones (usually around 100-150). Then I upload the photos to Shutterfly for backup. Next year I think I'll improve on this by tagging it with the kids' ages and organizing into sub-folders so it is easier to find a specific photo when I'm looking for it. I think I will also start a favorites folder to gather copies of my favorite photos throughout the year. Then when I need a few photos for a project I'll know just where to look. But overall, I'm doing much better than last year. Steps in the right direction!

4. Start recycling. This required less than five minutes of my time. I called the city 311 to ask for a recycling bin. They dropped it off the next week. I bought a $5 trashcan at Walmart and designated it for recycling. The Gent collects it and puts it at the curb once a week and voila! We are doing a little bit more to be good stewards of this beautiful world God created.

Did you make any new years resolutions this year? How's it going at this point?

And finally, I just love the words to this hymn, I Need Thee Every Hour. We sang a version of it in church yesterday and I found myself saying "yes, Lord, I need you every moment of every day! keep reminding me to depend on your strength and not my own." 

I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord; 
no tender voice like thine can peace afford. 

I need thee, O I need thee; 
every hour I need thee; 
O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee.

I need thee every hour; stay thou nearby; 
temptations lose their power when thou art nigh. 

I need thee, O I need thee; 
every hour I need thee; 
O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee.

I need thee every hour, in joy or pain; 
come quickly and abide, or life is vain. 

I need thee, O I need thee; 
every hour I need thee; 
O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee.

I need thee every hour; teach me thy will; 
and thy rich promises in me fulfill. 

I need thee, O I need thee; 
every hour I need thee; 
O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee.

I need thee every hour, most Holy One; 
O make me thine indeed, thou blessed Son.

I need thee, O I need thee; 
every hour I need thee; 
O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee.