Happy New Year

Happy New Year from the Stewarts' Little Family!

2010 was a great year for us. Brandon successfully completed his first year and a half of the doctoral program at UNT and has built up a nice size studio of private students. If all goes well, he could potentially complete his coursework in another year and a half! Of course there's still quals, a lecture recital, and his dissertation to finish after that, so we'll still be in the area for a while. And I couldn't be happier about that! :)

I'm still happily teaching elem music in McKinney. I adore my kids and couldn't ask for a better team to work with. This year I also started teaching Kindermusik classes twice a week. That has opened many doors for me and I've gained some great experiences. I love teaching the little ones, but that paired with my commute to McKinney has made for an exhausting fall semester. I'm still keeping the same schedule this spring and just hoping to survive. We'll revisit the scheduling of everything at the end of this school year.

Which brings me to 2011. This year Brandon and I are following tradition and actually making set resolutions for the year. We've got a few of "family" resolutions and I have a couple of my own. So here we go . . .

Family resolutions:
•Get healthy! We're pledging to eat better, drink more water, and start a couch-to-5K program.

•Make a conscious, weekly effort to spend quality time together. With our crazy schedules this fall, we regularly went weeks without really spending time with each other. We will not let that happen this time.

•Take a vacation together. If our "plan" works out the way we want (haha, the best laid plans . . . ) 2011 may be the last year we have with just us and Gizmo. After that, we're hoping to add a Stewart Little to the mix. So we want to take the opportunity to do a few things together that you can't easily do with a little one.

My resolutions:
•Keep up with my blog(s) more.

•Start journaling again. I recently found the journal I kept in college and remembered how much clearer things are to me when I write my ideas out. I bought a fresh new journal today to get started.

•Finish my Kodaly certification. I'm afraid if I don't finish this summer, I won't finish at all. I have a LOT to do between now and June, but this is a must.

•Continue growing closer to God. I long for the closeness I once felt and have recently felt more tugging toward Him than I have in a long time. I want to be more diligent in my study and in my prayer life.

•On a related note: Keep a prayer journal.


I think that about covers it. Here's to a great 2010 and an even better 2011!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone