Goals/Ambitions
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We like to stay active in life and push ourselves to accomplish new things. This year, we have selected the following goals as ones we have actually invested in and seen positive results. Our ambitions help drive us but are not the focus of our lives. We don't get bent out of shape if we do not start or finish them. The only question we ask ourselves at the end of each week, month, or year is did we produce fruit or waste the time given to us? Even if we only accomplished a few items on our list during the week, with this “accountability,” we find that we achieve more than with out it. Teaching the kids – We believe that the education level in this nation is lacking greatly. Much of the classwork at an undergraduate level in college was taught at the high school level years ago. With Laurel’s post bac work in education, and both of us having a college education and having worked in the education field, we want to create an environment for our children where they can learn as fast as they want, spend extra time focusing on more difficult areas, or explore subject areas that aren't even presented in a classroom. Recognizing that kids need to be kids, we always want to achieve a good balance, but in all things, they should be given the richest, maximum amount of guidance, education, and support. Web design – This year Christian learned web design from scratch. His first step was to read a few books on code. Then he was fortunate enough to get a web design software bundle very cheap. It's a hobby for him but he looks at it more like a skill/tool he can use to keep the business and family website going himself. He's using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Macromedia Dreamweaver, Fireworks, and Flash. For extra education/training a great company is Total Training. Spanish – As we now live in Arizona, most people here speak Spanish, including kids. Both of us have always wanted to speak Spanish, so this year we were all set to learn the language. But, with the Police rushing the recruiting process at the beginning of the year, we put it off so Christian was not in the middle of his studies when he went to academy. Unfortunately, they kept putting academy off each month, so we could have gotten a good start. But we will place this goal in next year’s list. Adoption – This has been on our hearts for several years and we never seemed to be in a position to put feet to this dream. But now we are beginning to put the dream into planning mode so as to be ready to take on the huge endeavor over the next few years. We have found that there are a number of organizations that would help with the financing free and clear of a lot of control. One site that is struggling but we have kept our eye on is www.theshepherdscrook.org. If you have any advice or information that would help us as we begin this journey, please write to Christian. Our dream, if we were to be specific, would be to adopt a little girl or boy from South America. Getting involved – There are several areas in which we have been wanting to get involved. Laurel is knowledgeable about city government and protocol after having the City of Missoula as a client for so many years. Citizens getting involved in the planning and implementation of the city is so important and we are fortunate to have had Missoula as an example of outstanding citizen involvement. Once Christian gets on with the Police Department she would like to begin getting involved with Maricopa's public process. |