From a spot on the highway between Washington, D.C. and Cleveland, Ohio…so probably somewhere in Pennsylvania.

There’s a quote that says, “Life is what happens when you’e busy making other plans,” and while I accept that principle for the most part, I also think that if we never take any time to make plans life will pass us by.  It’s remarkable how fast time seems to go. Whether you’e planning a wedding, a senior in college, or raising a family, each stage of life has its own precious moments.  Each stage also has a beginning and an ending, some clear and others not so much.

It’s crazy to think that Amanda and I have already been married for almost two years.  We’ve done some incredible things in that time, and have accomplished a good amount. That being said, we’re fairly confident that we’d like to start a family someday and maybe even own a home.  To do either of those things, there’s some planning that should be involved, and forethought is highly recommended by almost everyone I’ve spoken with.

When Amanda and I first got married, we decided we wanted to take plenty of time to get to know each other better and build our relationship before inviting kids into the equation.  We both agreed that 5-6 years should be a perfectly sufficient amount of time.  It was with almost lightning quick suddenness last week that we realized two of those years had already passed, and there was so much that we still wished to accomplish during this stage of life!

Below I’ve laid out some of those goals and dreams.  When reflecting on our discussion I was unsure if I would share it publicly, but I cant’ think of a more beautiful way to share our hearts and passions with you.

We do this, of course, while acknowledging that we may plan our way, but ultimately God plans our steps (Proverbs 16:9).  We in no way expect every step of the way to look like we want to or even think it will look, but we look forward to these changes with anticipation as God has planned them for us.

I couldn’t think of a super logical way display this information so I’ve done the best I can. There are three different sections:

1) General timeline of the next 4 years with goals, plans and possibilities

2018:

• Focus on domestic travel (4×4 progression)
• Wedding Photography
• French teaching

2019:

• Visit Argetinia
• Wedding Photography
• French teaching
• Pay off our student loans in full! 🙂

2020:

• Rebrand our business to better encapsulate Amanda’s invaluable contributions
• Wedding Photography
• French teaching

2021:

• Amanda can take a sabbatical, potential of living in France or some other country

2022:

• Purchase a home
• Family??????????? (commence minor freak out)

2) Individual goals each of us would like to accomplish

Matt:

Earn a Masters of Divinity (or perhaps a MA in Christian Leadership something along those lines)

Hike the whole Appalachian Trail by 2025

Amanda:

Earn a TESOL certificate/ Masters degree

Learn a third language (likely a romantic language but yet to be determined)

3) Travel goals for the team

Visit 4 states a year for the next 4 years (4×4). If we did this Amanda would have visited 30 states, with myself having checked off just a few more.

Visit more countries!

If you’ve any advice or places we’d like to visit, we would love to hear what wisdom you have to offer!