Recovering Memories...

I want you to think of how many pictures you take on any given day...occasion...in a year...

Think of that number for a minute. Now times it by 10...

Now some it may not be very high. I know there are some people that don't take pictures, that only have a camera phone, and that great for them! I, on the other hand, am slightly obsessed with pictures. I take my camera almost everywhere, now I have a camera phone and it fills in! And I take pictures of just about everything and just about everyday. 

I take pictures of weird things my kids do, of weird things that happen to us, of special times, of places we go...our lives have been pretty well documented on film/digital copies. My husband thinks I'm nuts because who actually needs that many pictures...

I do.

I'm not sure of when it started, I guess I've always liked pictures. I loved looking through photo albums as a kid, and I loved when mom and dad would let me use the camera. My friends and I, loved taking dumb pictures of ourselves and our adventures. My mom and I loved finding old pictures of past family members when they were young. When we lived in California, I loved to send pictures of my kids through the mail, and internet, so that my family could watch them grow from afar. A picture freezes a moment in time, holds that memory in place...

So if I have somewhat explained my love of pictures (which has now leaked into other avenues of photography...) I'll explain my predicament. Since I take pictures of everything, I highly value my beloved CDs full of memories. They go in my fire safe when I am away from the house for extended periods of time. I have a lot of pictures. A LOT. Just to give you an example, we went to San Francisco in February of 2011. In total I took over 800 pictures, and that was a weekend trip. Now not all were great, not all were kept, but it gives you an insight to my memory collection I have accumulated since our marriage.

When we moved to Canada, the pictures went into the safe. The safe went into the storage unit. Safe and snug, because we live in Magrath, right?! I mean, there are a lot of people here that don't even lock their doors! So my pictures are safe, protected, waiting for me to put into DVDs, books etc.

Then, we were robbed.

And I didn't think anything of it. They didn't take anything of value, did they? Not that we noticed at first. Because we don't keep anything extremely valuable in the safe. Just paperwork, insurance records, that kind of thing. Oh ya. And my pictures. All of them. From 2003 - 2011, to that moment they went into the safe. 9 years worth of memories....gone.

I. WAS. DEVASTATED.

My heart broke just thinking about it. All those memories, gone. All the places we had been, the things we had seen, the family we had become, that I had documented...gone.

I figured they were gone for good. Because I always put the pics on CD and then erase them from my computer.

Or so I thought.

I started looking through my hard drive files, the stuff you never pay attention too unless you were super into technology and stuff. And they were there...hidden, just waiting to be restored to iPhoto.

I did a little happy dance right then and there in my office chair.

So...

I've been working on recovering some memories. I am lucky, because I had previously done some anniversary videos for both sides of the family and had uploaded a bunch of photos to the computer. Since I got the computer in 2009, in reality, I wouldn't have been able to get the other pictures from before that. And that would have been sad. Because my babies are in there...

 And how would I remember this tiny little girl! (Or the fact that Daddy had hair!)

Or this little boys first adventure to Disneyland?

Or the fact that once upon a time, i had a chubbers for a bitty baby boy...

They grow up too fast anyways, why can't I freeze those moments forever.

Oh, and of course, you come across beauties like this...

 And pray your kids will remember these special times as much as you have...

New Years Resolutions...

So, every year I make resolutions...and sometimes I keep them...sometimes I don't. Sometimes I am really good at it and accomplish a lot toward a particular goal, and other times...nothing.

Some people think New Years Resolutions are a bad idea because you just set yourself up for failure. You are unlikely to achieve the proposed goal therefore it is not in your best interest to set ANY!

WHAT?!?

C'mon people! If the world was full of people who NEVER set goals, would anything be accomplished? Small steps, small goals, working towards making yourself a better person. Isn't that what we need? Of course, I am just a s guilty as the next for slacking on my goals, but every year I set them...in fact I try every month or so and reset them...because if you fall down, you have to get back up!

So this year I am determined to reach a couple and make large leaps and bounds to the others:

1. My weight loss/fitness journey - 

This is such an ongoing, crazy thing. Its that phrase "I constantly struggle with my love  of food and my want to be skinny!" Though this year I finally feel i have made leaps and bounds in the fitness area. I am down 10 pounds since last year at this time, but I ran an 8k, a 10k and did my first triathlon in under 2 hours. I started playing hockey this year and I am WAY stronger than I was at this time last year and I don't want to puke every time we do a long run when we train...YA ME!

This year I can just get better. I am starting Boot Camp next week which will really kick my lazy winter butt in gear and I hope to shave some serious time off my Tri time as well as my 10k. I REALLY want to do a Tuff Mudder...girl's trip again?!?

2. Family Home Evening/Family Time

This has been hit and miss as for really great gospel doctrine/discussions with my kids, but we have spent alot more time together...or at least tried. Hockey is slightly interfering, but it can lend itself to some great family car rides as well! I also hope to have a few more one on one time with my kids...even just a few moments..they are getting so big so fast!!

3. My house - 

Really its not too bad. We moved into a larger home with fewer possessions because we purged so much before we moved to Canada. But there are certain things I want organized and accomplished. I need to get my office/photos/memory stuff organized. I have some end tables/dressers/headboards to finish, though springtime may have to come before I do that!

I also want to be better at getting my house/family organized daily. You know, getting my butt out of bed and getting something done in the morning so we are not rushing and panicking right before the kids head out to school. 530 am Boot Camp should help with that (wink wink)

I think those are some pretty reachable goals this year...I just have to stick with them. Mostly I just want to feel happy. Joyful about my life and my family. Peace with what I am doing as a wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend. I will add a little quality ME TIME to the list as well. Time to relax for myself. Time to read and study for MYSELF. Because I can't take care of everyone else if I don't take care of myself!