The Month Of February

New month. New goals. At least that's what my blogpost from 2012 opened with. Yes, I wrote a similar post 6 years ago and ironically I had very similar goals. Things like, de-clutter my closets, workout more, sleep more than 6 hours a night, and eliminate excess spending.

Let's just say for us, January wasn't so bright. Our finances got hit big time and we didn't adjust our spending habits and found ourselves getting one of those fun notifications on your phone saying "your account went below $__." Whoops. That was a giant wake up call and when we added up all the dollars spent on meals not prepared in our kitchen it was time to do something about it.

For the month of February we are cutting down our meals away from home to two per week. That may still seem like a lot but let me tell you, it's a giant decrease from where we started from. Fabian and I talked and thought it would not only be a challenge for us but also a good way to keep our finances in check. Y'all food can add up real fast if you don't keep track of it.

Another thing that we're going to get in rotation is a cleaning schedule. Having tripled our square footage from our tiny apartment we are learning that there is now so much more that has to stay clean inside and outside of our home. Doing a little bit each day instead of a 3-4 hour power clean on the weekend is going to be our plan. Omg, we're real adults!

One more family goal is to get outside more. Since Texas is starting to kinda sorta make up it's mind weather wise we're going to be taking more walks together as a family, letting Jax wander around in the grass, and overall get more fresh air.

And once again, I've said it for the past few months that I was going to start running again. I can tell you that each month I do make an effort. But this month I need to make a better effort. Someone hold me accountable please.

What are you planning to accomplish in February?

-F & B and Jax

2018 resolutions

We're not making new years resolutions. Don't get me wrong, we still have goals for this month that you can read below. But you will not find any resolutions here.

In 2017 God gave me more of a noise than a word to declare over my year. It was a mix between "whew," "ugh," or "pow." I think God knew I needed more than a word that year and more of a battle cry. 2017 challenged us as a family to use our voices to declare healing, blessing, freedom, and more faith.

As Fabian and I look back at 2017 we obviously think about our biggest blessing, our son Jax. God picked the perfect time for us to start a family and our precious Jax was born in June shortly after we celebrated our first wedding anniversary.

Something else that was quite a journey for us was the search for our first home together. I think we looked at over 30 houses and almost gave up until we found the perfect home for us make our own. Our new house has become our home and we love it.

The overwhelming theme of 2017 for the Vera family was God showing up and shifting our plans and turning them into  His plans for us. Last year there were so many different ways He showed up in our lives and it's funny to say now, "oh... so that's why that happened." God knows how everything is supposed to come together and He likes to challenge us as we walk through each season. He definitely did that for our family in 2017. Because 2017 was a challenge.

We had a very rocky start to 2018 but as we tackle this second week we're going to keep in mind that God already knows the outcome and knows the why behind every moment. It's a hard reminder, but somehow it brings a sense of peace to know that God is the ultimate planner and He has our best interest in mind with every little season of life.

Our January goal can be summed up in one word. Health.
We're striving for health and healing in both of our bodies, souls, and minds this month.

-Fabian, Bee, & Jax

November Monthly Calendar [Vera Family Goals]

We put another month behind us and October for the Vera family was full of growth, hard conversations, change, and basically a lot of adulting. We watched our son roll over for the first time and heard him make noises that really sounded like words. We also saw him take his first spoonful of solids, which he loved! Our relationship and marriage took growth steps that were necessary. Hard. But necessary. 

This past month we also made a very adult step towards our future (stay tuned). We're excited to enter into November! Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays as a couple and we can't wait to celebrate it as a family. Being surrounded by tons of family is always so much fun for us and this month is going to be jam packed with family. Including Tio Nate, from Michigan!

Before we roll into our November goals, let's take a peek at our October Goals and see how we did. We hit 2/3 of our family goals, my husband hit all of his goals and is really inspiring me to succeeded at what I say I want to do. I have seen him reading his devotionals and we've had great conversations around what God is speaking to him. I've also watched him continue to make healthy decisions when it comes to eating. I personally think he looks slimmer.

I hit most of my goals but know I could've don't better. I went running twice, which is 2 times more than I ran in September. I practiced and educated myself more about photography and even attended a few webinars to improve my skills. I read my devotional but not daily. I know it needs to be something that I do first thing in the morning every day. This goal is going to roll over into November for me until it becomes a habit. I am still working to lose this extra baby weight but also understand that it comes with time and daily choices of better eating and staying active. I am not going to commit myself to another Whole30 this month but will continue to make the right choices daily to reach my weight loss goals.

What did you achieve in October? What is your goal for November?

Here's what we plan to do...

Family Goals
Move into our new home!
Eat at home more (especially on the weekends)
Walk outside

Fabian's Goals
"Can I just say, be a better man?"
Exercise more

Bee's Goals
Workout in the morning
Cook something new each week
Read my devotional first thing in the morning.


-F, Bee, & Jax
(written by: Bee)

Oh Hey October [Vera Family Goals]

Hello October! Before we get into our Vera Family goals for this month let's do a quick check in to see how last month went. Just as a reminder, quick go check out our September goals.

I don't know if we set ourselves up for a really big month or not but between searching for a home, both working full time, and having an infant, our September was tough. We didn't go on a date. The house we found royally failed the home inspection so we walked away from it. Let's also add that mama was doing a Whole30 (no sugar...) so my moods were a roller coaster.

Needless to say, I went 24 days on my Whole30 and broke it with a cheeseburger. I stopped saying, "no it's ok" and allowed others to actually help me but it didn't last long, maybe 2 weeks. I don't know if I want to control things or I just feel bad having to ask for help? I think my Spanish speaking was better, not sure. Ask my husband about that one.

I will say that I am so proud of my husband. He really did great with his goals this past month. He took time to read our little children's bible to Jax each night. I also did not see my husband drink one Coke during September. We made it a team goal to continue to cook and shop healthy and we both lost weight last month!

I've been enjoying talking with my husband about our short term goals so as we've entered into another month we wanted to challenge ourselves again to make some goals. Without any goals I feel like we live day to day. We wanted to put more purpose and intention into our days and our time together as a family and as husband and wife. So here's what we intend to do this month!

Family Goals
Get tattoos (more to come...)
Find a house, for real this time!
Put our phones away when we're together as a family.

Fabian's Goals
Grow closer to God through daily devotionals.
Continue healthy eating and living.

Bee's Goals
Read my devotional every day.
Start running again.
Practice photography more.

Do you have any goals for this month? Share them with us?

-F & B and Jax