New Year Goals

Every year I write a list of goals for the coming year.  I choose a million different little things and then I forget them all by about May.  This year I decided to simplify.  I have only 3 things that I want to accomplish and 1 of those is a family goal.

1. Learn how to cook- Now I know how to cook just fine.  No one starves here and for the most part I make pretty dang food (except when entertaining....why is that?  Its always to salty then. hmmm).  This year I want to learn all those tricky terms that I normally gloss by in a recipe, things like braising and parboiling.  I am going to tackle some fancier things like creme brule and other treats.  By the end of the year I want to have a very good working knowledge of how to prepare meats (something that I do not excel at), have a large array of yummy vegetable dishes and master desserts beyond the normal cakes, pies and cookies.

2- Learn to be a photographer-  I love to take pictures.  I have literally thousands of pictures I have taken in the last couple of months.  I want to be able to start taking pictures professionally by the end of the year.  I plan on taking a class at the college if I can and checking out every book I can on the subject.  We have a nice camera so now it is just a matter of learning the ins and outs of it.

3- Establish a house of Prayer, Fasting, Faith, Learning, Glory, Order and God-  We choose this scripture as a goal for the whole family.  Over the last two years babies, stress and depression have gotten the best of me for long periods of time.  The order in our house has seriously been lacking and it has aided in making me even more stressed.  We are working on the old saying "A place for everything and everything in its place".  I used to take this quite to heart and was uber-organized but life has happened and well......  So that is our first goal of the 7.  We will move onto the others as we are ready but it will happen this year.

I will begin scouring all the cook books I have collected, watching youtube videos on both photography and cooking and I will be doing the unthinkable.......getting rid of books. :D  I collect books with a passion.  We know have books in every corner, on every shelf and quiet possibly under every bed!  They have to go.  I am getting rid of everything but our favorites.  I know that this will make me feel a million times better because there just wont be as much stuff!  I am excited.

So that is where I am starting this year.  Anyone else tackling some new goals?

New Year Goals

Every year I write a list of goals for the coming year.  I choose a million different little things and then I forget them all by about May.  This year I decided to simplify.  I have only 3 things that I want to accomplish and 1 of those is a family goal.

1. Learn how to cook- Now I know how to cook just fine.  No one starves here and for the most part I make pretty dang food (except when entertaining....why is that?  Its always to salty then. hmmm).  This year I want to learn all those tricky terms that I normally gloss by in a recipe, things like braising and parboiling.  I am going to tackle some fancier things like creme brule and other treats.  By the end of the year I want to have a very good working knowledge of how to prepare meats (something that I do not excel at), have a large array of yummy vegetable dishes and master desserts beyond the normal cakes, pies and cookies.

2- Learn to be a photographer-  I love to take pictures.  I have literally thousands of pictures I have taken in the last couple of months.  I want to be able to start taking pictures professionally by the end of the year.  I plan on taking a class at the college if I can and checking out every book I can on the subject.  We have a nice camera so now it is just a matter of learning the ins and outs of it.

3- Establish a house of Prayer, Fasting, Faith, Learning, Glory, Order and God-  We choose this scripture as a goal for the whole family.  Over the last two years babies, stress and depression have gotten the best of me for long periods of time.  The order in our house has seriously been lacking and it has aided in making me even more stressed.  We are working on the old saying "A place for everything and everything in its place".  I used to take this quite to heart and was uber-organized but life has happened and well......  So that is our first goal of the 7.  We will move onto the others as we are ready but it will happen this year.

I will begin scouring all the cook books I have collected, watching youtube videos on both photography and cooking and I will be doing the unthinkable.......getting rid of books. :D  I collect books with a passion.  We know have books in every corner, on every shelf and quiet possibly under every bed!  They have to go.  I am getting rid of everything but our favorites.  I know that this will make me feel a million times better because there just wont be as much stuff!  I am excited.

So that is where I am starting this year.  Anyone else tackling some new goals?

Christmas Day

Christmas was a day filled with lots of laughter and family.  All my family came up to spend the day with us.  The day was loud yet mellow and filled with music.  Most of the guys play the guitar so they would randomly pick up a guitar and start playing and or singing.  It was a lot of fun and I think everyone enjoyed the day.  The kids were thrilled with their Christmas presents (and I once again thank everyone who made our Christmas special!).  There was little fightin, lots of sharing, and lots of silly giggles.

It truly was a wonderful day and I am thankful we were able to spend the day with those we love.

 {Ian as a pensive Santa.  Lauren below is doing her booty shake.  Its a full body exercise instead of a specific area of movement!}

 {Caitlin surprised to see the "Design your own pupet" gift.  She has put on spontaneous puppet shows since opening it.  Ian below playing with Lainas cool wooden shape sorter.  Everyone, adults included, picked this up at least once to slip the peices in the right spot.}

 

{My sister and I taking a self portrait.  She actually had her camera held out too.  We snapped at the same time but got two totally different pictures!  Below: My dad in his pose.  He assumes this position at all family functions for at least a couple of minutes.  It is his signature stance.  4 cameras were going off at this point to capture the shot!}

 {My twin baby brothers. Dont they look like my dad?!  These two are 10 years younger than me and are a handful.  They are night and day different and oh so entertaining.  Below: My brother in law and his youngest little girl.  The guys were improving at this point and everyone had gathered in the front room to enjoy.}

 {Dean and his baby.  I think he really enjoyed having the extra guitars going at the same time.  Below: My brother Nick and his fiancee Seirra.  They are getting married in July and just bought a house a couple hours from us.  It was great to have them for the day!}

I hope that everyone had a great holiday!

Christmas Day

Christmas was a day filled with lots of laughter and family.  All my family came up to spend the day with us.  The day was loud yet mellow and filled with music.  Most of the guys play the guitar so they would randomly pick up a guitar and start playing and or singing.  It was a lot of fun and I think everyone enjoyed the day.  The kids were thrilled with their Christmas presents (and I once again thank everyone who made our Christmas special!).  There was little fightin, lots of sharing, and lots of silly giggles.

It truly was a wonderful day and I am thankful we were able to spend the day with those we love.

 {Ian as a pensive Santa.  Lauren below is doing her booty shake.  Its a full body exercise instead of a specific area of movement!}

 {Caitlin surprised to see the "Design your own pupet" gift.  She has put on spontaneous puppet shows since opening it.  Ian below playing with Lainas cool wooden shape sorter.  Everyone, adults included, picked this up at least once to slip the peices in the right spot.}

 

{My sister and I taking a self portrait.  She actually had her camera held out too.  We snapped at the same time but got two totally different pictures!  Below: My dad in his pose.  He assumes this position at all family functions for at least a couple of minutes.  It is his signature stance.  4 cameras were going off at this point to capture the shot!}

 {My twin baby brothers. Dont they look like my dad?!  These two are 10 years younger than me and are a handful.  They are night and day different and oh so entertaining.  Below: My brother in law and his youngest little girl.  The guys were improving at this point and everyone had gathered in the front room to enjoy.}

 {Dean and his baby.  I think he really enjoyed having the extra guitars going at the same time.  Below: My brother Nick and his fiancee Seirra.  They are getting married in July and just bought a house a couple hours from us.  It was great to have them for the day!}

I hope that everyone had a great holiday!

One year has gone by...

On Tuesday my sweet baby will turn 1.  The year has gone by so incredibly fast that we have just held on for the ride.  She has gone from a tiny little wisp of a thing to a plump healthy sweet girl.  She loves hugs and kisses. She is a big teaser and likes to trick us all with "I'm not watching you" type games.  She is quick to smile, easy to laugh, and a joy to be around.  When she is fussy I can put her in front of the piano and she will go to town.  If Lauren is singing, Laina is the first to join in.  What a beautiful and wonderful little girl she is.  We are thankful she is part of our family.

One year has gone by...

On Tuesday my sweet baby will turn 1.  The year has gone by so incredibly fast that we have just held on for the ride.  She has gone from a tiny little wisp of a thing to a plump healthy sweet girl.  She loves hugs and kisses. She is a big teaser and likes to trick us all with "I'm not watching you" type games.  She is quick to smile, easy to laugh, and a joy to be around.  When she is fussy I can put her in front of the piano and she will go to town.  If Lauren is singing, Laina is the first to join in.  What a beautiful and wonderful little girl she is.  We are thankful she is part of our family.