A Review of 2023 & Our 2024 Goals

Another year has come and gone! And 2023 was filled with a lot. Tyler and I were able to sit down and talk about a review of this past year as well as our 2024 goals. It was so fun to look back at some of the highs and lows of 2023 and how that’s impacting our goals in 2024. It’s safe to say there are great things ahead, and the best is yet to come.

A Review of 2023

We started 2023 off - literally January 1 - painting our brown basement paneling white. I love doing house projects and have been doing a ton on Christmas break even now, so painting the paneling pumped me up, and I absolutely love how it turned out and changed the feel of our basement. I will do a blog on how we did it sometime soon!

Shortly after the first of the year, Hazel took her first steps and started wobbling around. She went through some sleep regressions at the beginning of the year, but finally figured out a good sleep rhythm in the spring (praise the Lord). 

The summer flew by, as I took youth to church camp and then left a couple weeks later to lead a mission trip in El Salvador. I learned that I will never be gone that much as a mom with littles ever. again. It was too much, and I was so grateful to be home when it was over.

I returned back home with a new patio poured in the back. We had torn out our back deck and landscaping earlier in the summer to prep for this, and I’m so glad we bit the bullet and did it. We were able to re-waterproof the house, fix the grading of our yard, close off a few old windows, and add an egress window on one side of the house. 

Tyler spent his summer studying for tests for his new job as a financial advisor. He worked his tail off, and I was so proud of him for working hard and passing each one the first time. Those tests are no joke, and he crushed them. 

On September 1 we found out we were pregnant with our second! I will include a more in-depth story of this, but it was the sweetest thing to have Hazel tell her daddy about baby #2. It was a morning I will always cherish. 

Then in the late fall we were able to pay off ALL OUR STUDENT LOAN DEBT!!! We will talk about this much more in the future, as we want to help as many people as we can do the same thing we did, but for now we’ll just say we paid off a ton of debt in a short amount of time, and it has been such a huge blessing to not feel the weight of those monthly expenses.

I struggled some in 2023, which I’ll talk about more in 2024, but it was a great year to work through some healing and start dreaming about what I wanted for our family in the next year. One of those dreams was Metcalf Ministries, which is what we have now launched to start the year off!

Our 2024 Goals

So now going into 2024…

One of the goals I have with Metcalf Ministries is to be consistent! I struggled for a while with what exactly I wanted to share on Bound Blessings, as I felt like it was pivoting to something new, but I didn’t know what. 

After working with youth and becoming a mom myself, the mission became more clear. My eyes were opened to all the brokenness going on inside the homes of the students we served. I saw the need for mentorship in the areas of marriage and parenting, as I saw first-hand how kids were impacted when those two areas weren’t thriving. Tyler and I both realized more than ever the weight of marriage and how that is the greatest reflection of Christ that we have to model for others. I realized that I come alive when I sit down with couples and parents and help them navigate all aspects of their relationship, including their faith, finances, family, and just fun in general.

So that’s where Metcalf Ministries came to be. My goal with this ministry is to be consistent with weekly blogs & emails and biweekly podcasts that mentor you in all things marriage and motherhood. I’d also like to get close to finishing all 6 of the Bible Study Journal Guides that help you dive into the Word. We’d also like to launch a marriage course in 2024! We certainly aren’t looking to say we have it all together and wrap our lives in a pretty neat bow. We’re looking to be real, to talk about the hard stuff, to be honest about what we’re learning, and to just come alongside you as a mentor and friend in two areas we believe to be key in raising up a generation of strong followers of Christ who live by God’s design and reflect who He is and who He calls us to be. We’re so pumped for this!

Aside from business goals, we have lots of personal goals. One thing I hope to do is get carpet in our basement and finish an office space. We just bought a countertop to put down there, and I am itching to piece it all together!

This is random, but I’d also really like to take Hazel to the zoo. That sounds awesome.

One thing I’d really like to see is having our account grow by $8,000. Since we won’t be paying off student loan debt, I’d really like to focus on tucking that extra money away. With baby #2 coming, though, I want to be realistic, as there will be unexpected expenses that come up along the way.

Also, I never thought I’d say this - but I think I’d like to buy a minivan in 2024. It’s never been of interest to me, but becoming a mom of 2 will I’m sure change that desire. We will for sure need a bigger vehicle in the next couple years.

Speaking of baby #2, my goal is to have a better postpartum experience this time around. I had a hard time after having Hazel, and I’ve been praying and trying to prepare myself for the change ahead!

In the midst of all the new and exciting things happening, Tyler and I also really value having consistent personal goals like working out more, getting in the Word every day, being in bed and off our phones by 9:30, and having more date nights. 

All in all, I see 2024 being an opportunity for me to embrace and live a slower-paced life. I feel like the last few years have been filled with a lot of hustle and bustle, and my hope is to slow down, cherish, soak in, and live in the moments we’re given more fully.

We’re so grateful to God for all He did in 2023, and we look forward to continuing watching Him unfold our story in 2024. What are your 2024 goals? We’d love to hear from you if you check out our Metcalf Ministries Facebook page and comment what those goals are. 

Thanks for following us along into this beautiful new year!