Long overdue update

Yikees. 

Life has been certainly very busy, and my blog has slipped off my Top Ten priority list for a while now (as if it isn't already obvious- I mean, look at the date on that last post! Mid-November?!)

I always intend to catch up, but downloading pictures, editing them, then writing a post are all way too time-consuming for me right now in life. I've been focusing more on my children, more on my home, more on my spiritual feasting, and more on my various businesses. 

Here's at least one bite-sized chunk to catch up.

I've doubled my art class load for the Spring semester because it's been such a hit. Parents had asked me to offer more and more classes, so I now have four weekly classes in addition to the occasional Ladies Night Out parties. 

We've also decided to alter a living space in the back of our house into a full time art studio. This is great for a few reasons-

1- No more art students in my dining room, absentmindedly wiping paint-filled fingers on my chairs, table, or cabinets- YAY!

2- Since the room would be only used for an art studio, we can deduct it's necessary roof repairs from our taxes- for which I'm immensely grateful.

Our Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays were absolutely wonderful, and we felt incredibly blessed to enjoy the holiday seasons with so many friends and family. Maybe someday I'll upload our pics and write full, heart-felt posts. 

And maybe not. 

I've started recording my experiences in an actual journal since that way I can spend only 5 minutes each night writing my personal thoughts, and not worry about pictures or a polished presentation. I'm not sure where my blog will fit into my record-keeping efforts in the future, but I do still see it as a valuable family journal in general (and gluing pictures into a hard-back journal always makes the book pages too full for the spine, resulting in splayed books that don't fit on a shelf very well.....like all my childhood journals.)

For Family Home Evening, Nathan had a fun family activity to accompany a lesson on harmony in the home.

He hung a bed sheet across a hall and used a large work lamp to project shadows onto the sheet. The family split into teams to create a story depicting family harmony with our shadows. Then we played shadow charades. 

We all had SO much fun and it ended in a crazy dance party just so everyone could watch their shadows. The kids all loved it, most especially Joseph. 

For refreshments, we made home made pretzels in various fun shapes. 

Here are the creations waiting for the boiling bath before baking. We really enjoyed eating these with honey-mustard while we played games later.

I did it! 

I caught up on one blog post recording a family memory- and have a stack of DOZENS of others still waiting to be written: Halloween, Thanksgiving, all of December's festivities, a trip to Louisiana for a week with relatives, my increased painting classes and parties, my featured story in the newspaper (I've learned that reporters never fail to sensationalize anything you tell them- boo!), attending a convention and booking my educational magic show for library summer tours throughout Texas, a very memorable date with Matthew to a magician's holiday party with celebrity performers providing the entertainment, and so so much more about all the little things- farm life joys, parenting joys, personal growth, etc. 

Sigh. 

It's a new year, filled with hope and new goals for self-improvement. I am hoping to force myself to write at least once a week, and chip away steadily at the pile of memories waiting to be recorded. 

My personal goals for 2014 include the following:

1- Attend the temple six times this year.

2- Index 1,000 names this year for family history research. (This is my way of volunteering from home, in wee bits of time I find throughout the day/night.)

3- Use my voice to uplift and encourage more often, and criticize less 

4- Learn to play at least 12 songs on the violin. (I've wanted to learn the violin for years....violin music touches my soul so often! I want to create my own voice with this instrument.)

5- Be more anxiously engaged in missionary work. (My way of doing this is to use my talents in service to the Lord. So. I'm offering free art lessons to families in our area who listen to a missionary discussion. We'll see how this goes.)

I also try hard to have my home reflect the abode of an earnest disciple of Christ, hoping that my art student families will feel the Spirit while they are here. I regularly fast and pray for the families that come here each week, hoping that they will feel Christ's peace while they are here. 

Anyway, I'm out of time tonight. I hope you have a lovely week!