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where do you see yourself in 5 years?  10 years?  15 years?

one of the things i've struggled with lately is the fact that i don't have any idea where my future is headed.  i look at my life, and i know where i want it to go, but there are so many things that could go differently than i imagined.  i suppose that's also the beauty of life.  i make a plan for myself, and then something goes wrong.  and then it ends up being even bigger and better than i imagined.  Heavenly Father really does have the upper hand in my life.  His plans are so much better than the ones i make for myself.  i love this quote sooo much:

having said that, i know this is most likely NOT exactly how my life will end up.  but here's what i would like to see happen:

5 years:  i will be 24.  i would like to be very happily married to someone who treats me with respect and loves the Lord more than he loves me.  but i still want him to love me like crazy :)  {i tease my mom that i'm going to marry a professional chef and masseuse, who will cook for me every night and give me massages.  i realize this is highly unlikely.  that's okay haha.}  i would like to have traveled, somewhere tropical {like hawaii or the caribbean} and if i get lucky, europe!  i would like to have run a marathon with my husband. {yes, babe, if you're reading this sometime in the future... that is on my bucket list!!}  i would like to have had a baby or be expecting one.  i would like to be finished with school and be teaching 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade.  {although when my kidlets come along, i'd like to be able to stay home with them.}  i'd like to have strengthened relationships with the people that matter most to me in my life, first and foremost my Savior.

10 years:  i will be 29... weird.  i'd like to think i'd have 2 or 3 kids by now.  that'll keep me busy!  i would like to be only substitute teaching or something else that allows me to keep my certificate current, but allow me to stay home with my little ones.  i would like to keep running and stick with it.  i would like to live in a house on some land, with a garden and a good looking yard.  i would like to have gone on some fun vacations with my kids -- even just small ones, like to zions or goblin valley in southern utah, or the beach or something like that.  i want to practice my patience and be as loving and patient as i can toward my husband and my kids. 

15 years:  i will be 34.  i think that i'll have 5 kids by now.  depending on a lot of things, i'll either be done having kids or have one more.  i'd like to be settled wherever we plan on living, in a comfortable house with cute decorations inspired by pinterest and a wraparound porch with a big yard.  i want to be serving faithfully in my Church callings and teaching my kids to do the same.  i want to love my husband more than i did when we got married.  i want to have my kids visit their grandparents and aunts and uncles a lot.  i want to stay close to my siblings and do fun things with their future families and spouses.  i want my husband to be enjoying his job and be happy with where our life together is headed.  i want to have friends in the ward that i do things with, and neighbors that my kids can go play with.  i want to be happy and healthy and fit.

doesn't that seem like the fairy tale life?  i realize this... but it's fun to think about the big plans i have for myself in the future.  although they will no doubt be changed and fit more according to the Lord's will, i think it's good for me to set goals and try to accomplish them.  here's to the next 15 years and the surprises it brings! :)