2017 Dream Guide

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Jennie Allen is an author that I follow on Instagram. Right after Christmas she posted that she and her husband were working on their 2017 Dream Guide. This is something that she came up with and shared with her followers on her blog (jennieallen.com/blog). It’s a free resource to help organize and actually put your dreams on paper for the upcoming year. I wanted to share part of my Dream Guide with you and encourage you to take some time and write out your own dreams for 2017. (I have modified mine slightly.)

I will be sharing the RELATIONAL portion of my Dream Guide. The three questions asked as you start to dream are: 

  1. What were your favorite moments in 2016? Where did you see growth?
  2. What changes can you make?
  3. What does it look like to be intentional in 2017?

*FRIENDSHIPS

2017 Dream GuideSome of my favorite memories from 2016 have been since we moved to Charleston. My best friend, Michelle, and I have not lived in the same city for several years and now we are only a twenty minute drive from each other! Since moving in June, we have already made so many memories! Combined, we have six kids and our husbands are actually best buds and work together too. When we are all together it’s a whole lot of chaos, but a whole lot of fun! Whenever we get the chance to steal away for a few hours sans husbands and kiddos we take it!  Michelle has been here for me throughout the tough times after our move when I felt very alone. Our friendship has grown tremendously over the past six months. 

I hope that this year will bring more time for us to hang out, just the two of us, and also as families. Now that we are in the same city, I’d love for our families to get together more often and spend time together. It’s so rare when you find friends where the entire family enjoys each other’s company. I’m so grateful to have Michelle in my life! 

*MARRIAGE 

At the beginning of 2016, our family was living with my sweet mother-in-law and were approaching the year mark since moving in with her. The time we spent living with her was a tremendous blessing to our family and so many memories were made. As the months went by, we started making plans for the next step for our family. When opportunity presented itself for Justin to interview for his dream job in Charleston, we were ecstatic…and scared, hopeful, nervous…the list goes on.

I will never forget taking a brief trip to Charleston for Justin to interview for this new position. As soon as Justin had completed the interview we were headed back home to Charlotte. I remember packing the kids into the van with a hopeful heart that we wouldn’t have to wait too long for an answer. As we were pulling out of Michelle’s neighborhood Justin’s phone rang. It was his new boss Amy calling to offer him the job! No more than an hour after his interview was complete. That is absolutely my favorite memory with Justin from 2016. To see my husband land his dream job in a city that we had both been longing to move was truly an amazing experience. I’ll never forget the look on his face. 

Our marriage has grown stronger throughout this entire year with all of the changes that have been brought into our lives. One of the changes that I would like to make, now that we are getting more settled into our new city, is to try and get more plugged in at the church we have been attending. We were so plugged in at our church in Charlotte and we both grew so much in the time that we were there, not to mention the relationships that we built in the ten years we were there. I’d like to continue meeting new people and forming new relationships, all while growing in our relationship with God. 

In 2017 I’d love for us to be more intentional about how we spend our time together in the evenings, after all of the kids have gone to bed. A lot of times we are both so dead tired that we just veg out on the couch and mindlessly watch TV. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with vegging or mindless Netflix watching. I would just like to see us make some of our quiet, alone time more intentional with conversation. Maybe we set aside a night or two where we don’t even turn on the TV and we put our phones away completely. 

2017 Dream Guide

*KIDS

I’m going to change it up in this section and show you some of my favorite memories of 2016 with my kids, because who doesn’t love looking at pictures of cute kids?! 🙂 

2017 Dream Guide
Jackson’s first snow!
2017 Dream Guide
Playing in the snow at Grandma’s house.
2017 Dream Guide
Watching planes take off at the airport overlook.
2017 Dream Guide
Playing in the backyard on a beautiful spring afternoon.
2017 Dream Guide
Jackson’s 1st birthday!
2017 Dream Guide
Playing at the beach after moving to Charleston!
2017 Dream Guide
Our cousins came to visit!!
2017 Dream Guide
Checking out the Fire Museum! (A HUGE hit)
2017 Dream Guide
Enjoying a morning at the Children’s Museum.
2017 Dream Guide
Doing some exploring with Daddy.
2017 Dream Guide
Happy Halloween!
2017 Dream Guide
Taking it all in at the SC Aquarium!
2017 Dream Guide
Spending Christmas in Charlotte with our families!

*NEIGHBORS

When I found out we were moving to Charleston, I had this strong desire to get to know our neighbors. So far we have met and become friends with some of the sweetest neighbors I could’ve asked for. In just the short time we have lived in our neighborhood, I have already had a few shopping trips and lunch dates with one sweet neighbor. I’ve enjoyed having my two neighbors that live across the street over for coffee and conversation. They both have been so sweet and willing to lend a helping hand whenever I have needed it! I hope to grow these relationships throughout this year, and I’d like to be more intentional about spending time with both the neighbors we already know and getting to know the ones we don’t know just yet. 

Thank you for allowing me to share with you some favorite memories from 2016, as well as some dreams that I have for this upcoming year!