A commitment to self.

So I have a confession to make.

But first, take a look at those cheeks!
Now, it's about those cheeks. You see, until those cheeks grew walking legs around this time last year, I was completely on my game when it came to my position as family archivist. I realized a long time ago that my scrap booking days would be put on hold until forever, which is why I started this blog. However, I had a system for organizing pictures, and it was (and still is) something I take very seriously.

I just can't stand the thought of losing moments (like this blissful tiny dancer with her tiny doll) into the black hole of computer files we all seem to be accumulating.

That, and, back when I was only a little older than Hailey is now, my grandparents lost everything they had to a house fire. Everything. Paintings, pictures, jewelry, letters, and more. I think I've always been determined to protect us from that same thing by over doing it a bit. Also, pictures are just indescribably important to me. If our house was burning, my exit strategy involves kids (with respective lovies), cat, and pictures. No lie, we've actually talked about this. In fact, during the important events in our lives, getting pictures is almost as important to me as enjoying the actual event. It's part of my process for remembering. For marking moments in my mind.

And I require pictures frequently. Mostly, daily. Because tomorrow, she might not put all that jewelry around her neck and insist on splashing in the sink, you know?So what is this archiving process, you might ask? It goes something like this:

First, I load every picture we ever take on the computer. And I do not delete anything, even if it's out of focus and horrible. I organize by year, then by season, then by event. It all gets saved. If I edit lighting or cropping, I still save the original, just in case.

Then, I back those pictures up in two places...our own external hard drive, and Carbonite, which is an online back up system. It slows the computer a bit, but it's worth the peace of mind to me. When we bought our new computer, Carbonite restored everything for me just as it was on the old, no problem.

Then I go through those images every few months and select our favorites (probably about 20% of what we actually take). I order those in 4x6 prints from Snapfish, and organize them chronologically in slip albums, where I also write short notes such as the date or names of people, etc.

Obviously I blog religiously, and that allows me to elaborate on things that I truly want to remember, and unless the entire Internet crashes and burns (which I have to believe will actually happen some day...you know, like The Great Crash of 2027?) then those images are saved forever.
So, the problem is, that about the time Keelyn started walking, I stopped archiving. The pictures are organized properly on our computer, but that's where it stops. Our external drive is now out of space, so it has pictures up until a few months ago. Thank goodness Carbonite works all on its own. Anyway, I haven't pulled favorites or uploaded to Snapfish in an entire year as of Thanksgiving. Nothing is printed. And never mind an album for Keelyn like the one I made for Hailey with a few favorites from her newborn, 3, 6, 9, and 12 month photo shoots. But hey, at least we managed to get the pictures taken. And at least they're waiting for me quietly on the computer, right?

(And all you people who think you know better and say it never happens for the second child, that's just not me. I will admit there are less pictures of Keelyn on the computer because I just had less time to take them, but there are just as many that are worth printing, and she will have the same album as Hailey, as it is simply just that important to me).

The point is, it's a lot to keep up with, and even more to catch up on, and if I don't get my ducks in a row now, I never will. I can't take pictures this Christmas without knowing the pictures from last Christmas are properly filed. It's just unsettling.

So enjoy the images above. You might not hear from me for a bit. I'm devoting my precious computer time over the next few days to getting this stuff in place. And meanwhile, I'd actually be interested to hear what your process is. How do you archive? Do you think I'm a maniac? (Be nice).