Okay so I promised I would blog more…ummm… it will happen. \u00a0But one of the things I realized in the fall was that I was missing my kids and my family. \u00a0So I have really stepped away from technology this year. \u00a0Last year I was on my laptop every day. \u00a0This year, I am only on a few times a week. \u00a0It means that I am often missing out on the photography forums that I was a part of, or the editing and crafty creating I used to do. \u00a0But also means I am more present with my kids. \u00a0I have a come to realize that I don’t need to be all things – a good wife, good mother, good photographer, good IDP consultant, good blogger – I just need to be… Just Be. \u00a0So that is what I am trying to do. \u00a0Just be happy with the way things are… just be a mom some days… just be present with my kids… just be a good listener to my husband… just be appreciative of the many blessings in my life. \u00a0And sometimes just be still. \u00a0So there are days when lots of things don’t get done – but I will be happy with what is accomplished and what I can be that day.<\/p>\n

My other goal for this year is to be a part of the photographic memories Ii am creating for my children. \u00a0In 2011 I tried to do a family photo of us every month. \u00a0I got to August and then it fizzled out. \u00a0But this year I want to commit to those 12 pictures. \u00a0It’s just 12 pictures. \u00a0I can do it. \u00a0In fact I encourage everyone to do it. \u00a0If you are looking for a photography goal try this one – take a photo of you and your family once a month. \u00a0It doesn’t have to be perfect. \u00a0It doesn’t even have to be with your fancy DSLR – it can be with your phone. \u00a0The important thing is to get in the shot. At the end of the year you will have 12 photos that you will cherish.<\/p>\n

Here is my family in January:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And because I adore this photo that my husband managed to get while I carried our tired and grumpy three year old – here’s one more from January that is very special to my heart.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Okay so I promised I would blog more…ummm… it will happen. \u00a0But one of the things I realized in the fall was that I was missing my kids and my family. \u00a0So I have really stepped away from technology this year. \u00a0Last year I was on my laptop every day. \u00a0This year, I am only …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,4,25,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1963","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-beach","7":"category-family","8":"category-four-people-monthly","9":"category-personal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allysonell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allysonell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allysonell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allysonell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allysonell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.allysonell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1963\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allysonell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allysonell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allysonell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}