As I told my mother in law, I almost feel guilty not wanting to buy some form of dieting book this year. It surrounds us! I can't believe how many ads there are for weight machines, diet books, looking good programs... yadiyadiyadi. As she kindly pointed out, most Americans are obese. I've read (in the ads of course) that 60% Americans are overweight, and of that 60, 40% are obese. So, I see the concern for unhealthy Americans, and the detriment that can have on our already 'hanging on a thread' economy.

But I don't want to be one of those people this year that focuses entirely on losing weight, and forget about the important things. Getting to my pre-Ellie weight will hopefully happen with effort, and I know I need to give more effort, but that is NOT going to be my main New Year's resolution. I'll save that as a side goal :-)

After reading The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, I want my New Years Resolution to be going to bed every night without doubts. I wish I hadn't read my friend's blog first, because I feel like I'm copying, but she put it perfectly! (Thanks Robyn!) I want to live each moment IN the moment, and not be worrying about superfluous things. As Robyn put it, if I'm doing dishes, I don't want to be worrying about playing with the kids, and if I'm playing with the kids, I don't want to be worrying about doing the dishes. Exactly! Men do a wonderful job compartmentalizing life... women do a wonderful job of connecting dots and wiring everything together. Both have their place, both are important... I just recognize I need to do more compartmentalizing, less wiring... if that makes any sense :-)

I want to go to bed every night, happy with what I accomplished... not complaining about what I didn't, and happy with the time I spent with the kids... not wishing I had spent more. We haven't had school these past 2 weeks, and we've had so much fun hanging out. We've done 3-D puzzles... that'll be another post :-), played games up the whazoo, played with friends, snuggled, read, read some more, and read some more. When the kids had some friends over to play on New Years Eve, we played a game where they had to say what their favorite event was for 2008. James wholeheartedly said, "Our vacation!" I want moments like those ingrained in my kids minds. Not the moments of me stressed because I'm not doing what I want to, and not getting done what I want to. I want to just be happy to be here, in the moment, with a warm house, a loving husband, smiling kids, and yes, I would be lying if I didn't say with a clean kitchen. That does make my moment happier!

In Randy's book, he knows he's dying. He has a head's up. Many of us don't get that. So, I'm going to count on a head's down, and live life in the moment, and not "I wished I would have....!" If I screwed up something, oh well... moving on.

If you get a chance, read Randy's Book... a worthwhile read that helped me become a little better, and will hopefully help my kids become a little better... but I will admit, that if you don't want to cry, don't read the last chapter! But the anecdotes you gain are well worth the cry at the end!

So, Happy New Year everyone! Here are some cute pictures of the kids. I took Glenn's first, and Alex tried his hardest to get his hands in his pockets (which can be quite difficult to do while sitting down, but of course he managed it!)... Alex so wants to be JUST like his older brothers! May we all have a healthy and happy 2009!