The Barney Family – 2014

It’s been a great year for us here in the Barney house. One of our favorite things is to make goals, and most of the memorable moments of the year came from working towards these goals:

Goals #1: Kitchen update.

When we moved into our home last year the kitchen was hardly sufficient. There wasn’t enough space for a family-sized table, and everything was horribly outdated (except for the appliances, thank heaven).

Right from the beginning of the year we were working on it: refinishing the cabinets, hanging a new light, building a banquet, making window shades, building a half-wall, putting in a back splash, and building a baby gate.

 

There is still a lot we need to do, but mostly just finishing touches. We have certainly opened up space we needed in the kitchen, and completed some essential baby proofing. Plus, it’s been really fun.

Goal #2: Gardening

Kyle and I hadn’t ever had a garden of our own before. This year was our first shot at it.We grew a bunch of stuff, some of it from seed (you can see the starts on our kitchen table pictured above), some of it on our own land, most of it at a community garden plot.

 

Goal #3: Food Storage

An important part of gardening is learning how to store the extra food you’ve grown. This year I learned how to can apricots, jam, apple pie filling, and salsa, we also invested in a chest freezer and froze some fruits, vegetables, apple juice we had pressed, and jalapeno poppers. Aside from canning and freezing food, we also worked on building up to a year supply of essential items and food.

Goal #4: Photography

This one is a goal I’ve tackled on my own ever since Kyle got me a DSLR for my birthday. I’ve had a couple chances this year to work on my photography. For instance, my brother-in-law’s wedding

… or my brother’s wedding

or family pictures for relatives

Goal #5: Read more

Kyle and I used to read A LOT more. Then missions and college happened, and it kinda’ stole the happiness out of reading. This year we wanted to get it back. I’m glad to report that we’ve read a whole bunch this year. The flame has definitely been reignited. Recommended reading from this year:

I Will Lead You Along: The Life of Henry B. Eyring – by Robert I. Eaton

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Betty Smith

My Story – by Elizabeth Smart

Little Women – by Louisa May Alcott

The Lincoln Hypothesis – by Timothy Ballard

The Race Beat – by Gene Roberts and Hank Kilbanoff

Beyond the Miracle Worker – by Kim E. Nielsen

… and then I caught up on some children’s fiction. I like to look out for good books to read out loud to my kids when they’re older.

Floors – by Patrick Carmen

Below – by Patrick Carmen

The Sisters Grimm – by Michael Buckley

 

Here’s to a new year! We hope to carry over all of these goals in 2015, and add a couple new ones. Do you have any good goals to recommend?