Christmas Pictures and New Years Resolutions

So I thought I would share a few Christmas pictures. I tried to get a pretty general overview form the like 500 pictures I took in just a few days' span! the photo above is the fmaily picture we take each year on Chirstmas morning at Nathan's grandparents' house. It's so funny to see little Elijah in typical boy clothes that morning and his sisters in their Christmas dresses. Oh well! That's the differences between raising boys and girls!

We did our annual cousin Christmas cookie party at my gandma's house. These woudl be the kind of cookies that are delicious but because of the amont of fingers that get licked, you wouldn't want to share these with non-family members! As you cacn see in the pictures, there was a lot more eaten than decorated that night! And yes...the one in Caroline's mouth is gluten free!

This one cracks me up! Caroline got a new big girl bed and all the decor for Christmas this year. One of the things my parents got her was a trash can to match the girls' pink bathroom. While we were all in the other room cleaning up the presents mess, Caroline decided to fill her "ice bucket" with ice. Yep...can't blame her! It does kinda look like an ice bucket!

So that was a general overview of our first Christmas in the new hosue and with our baby boy! It went wonderfully and the girls seemed to have a wonderful time! Emma said repeatedly that this was the very best Christmas ever since she now has a baby brother! How sweet!

I thought I would share my New Years Resolutions while I am at it. It helps me stick with them (a bit longer) if i make them publicly known so people can hold me accountable for them!

1. I resolve to scrapbook AT LEAST once a week this year! I really miss scrapbooking! It is truely a way for me to relieve stress and sicne I have been busy building my hairbow buisness, it kinda have been put to the wayside. I figured since I am falling farther and farther behind in my photos and now that I have a new one to scrap.....I better get with it! Besides, I have this beautiful new scrapbook room here at the new house to use (once I get it all unpacked!)

2. I resolve to get the baby weight off! Nathan and I joined the weight loss challenge that our church is hosting the next 12 weeks. I really hope to get soeme of the baby weight off before it's time to break out the Spring clothes! I had lost quite a bit before I got pregnant so now it's kinda depressing how small my pre-pregnant clothes were and just how far I have to go to get back in them! Uhh!

3. I resolve to spend more time cooking this year! As many of my friends and family know....I really don't like cooking. I have realized though just how much money we save when we cook at home, besides how much healthier it is for our family! It is definitely a challenge though because I will be tying lots of new gluten free meals. I would really like to get into the once a month (freezer) cooking as well, but we'll see about that. Now of course this resolution all is depending on my newly remodeled kitchen being completed. So for now I get to just focus on my other resolutions.

4. I resole to do more arts/crafts and field trips with my girls in their school work. I realized that we get caought up in the lesson plans and just trying to get their work done each week and we don't get much time to just be creative and use our imaginations. I really want to get them interested in the arts ans well as visit some interesting places in our area this Spring.

5. I resolve to learn more about photography this year. I really do have a passion for it but like everyting else I really just have not had the time to learn more about it. someday I would love to take a photography class here locally...but I'm not sure if it is a 2009 thing or not?