We learned a lot about ourselves in 2007. Renee and Elliott are both enjoying life as the parents of a new baby girl. Elliott is totally wrapped up in his role as daddy, and Renée provides the “been there, done that” wisdom that has eased the transition.

There has been a surge in advertising for health clubs and weight loss products. If one of your resolutions is to start exercising, avoid crowds at the gym by starting your regimen in February. We don’t wait until January to make resolutions and evaluate our goals. There’s an audience and an occasion for this in January, so here goes.

Our Evolution and Rebirth

Yes, we are the same core people, but part of that core is the work we continue to do on ourselves. In the personal ad that snagged Renée, Elliott wrote that he wanted a partner in personal development. They’ve supported each other in their personal and professional goals over the past two and a half years. “Renée” means “rebirth.” How apropos.

Vision Boards

We gathered up a stack of magazines and invited our friend Nicole over. She and Renee worked on their vision boards all afternoon. Elliott has yet to do his, so the B&H Photo catalog remains intact.

Renée and Nicole took different approaches to their vision boards.

Renée’s board is more visual with a few key words and phrases for emphasis. A contemporary interior is depicted in one clip. Renee overlayed a row of chairs onto that image. The chairs are in scale with the interior depicted in the first clipping. She’s such a designer!

Nicole’s vision board is all about words. She is a writer, so this was a more comfortable approach for her. The words she chose were the changes she wanted to effect moving forward. Both of us think the words she chose are affirming who she really is today.

Like us, Nicole continues to work on herself despite the sincere praises sent her way. Renée once wrote in her diary, “Darn! I only got a 98!” after receiving her grade on a recent test. It was Benjamin Franklin who once said, “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.”

If you want to know more about vision boards, there’s the almighty Google.

What is a Dominant Paradigm, and Where Can I Get One?

The business has been through its share of ups and downs. We’re moving away from doing graphic design and web design, and shifting our focus to the blogosphere and those interests we’ve yet to nurture. We will continue to serve our old web design clients and be picky when taking on new ones. Elliott will be pushing the photography more with stock sales, portrait sessions, and events. Renée is committed to finally coming out of the closet as an artist. She is also exploring the idea of becoming a yoga instructor for mothers and their babies. Yes, babies can do yoga too! Ultimately, we are interested in branching out into the vast realm of real estate. With a family base, many friends and a quickly growing market, Knoxville, Tennessee is on our radar for investment property. Renée’s intuition is just too good. All we need is some capital and the real estate listings.

State of the Blog

ReneeAndElliott.com started as a domain name grab. Elliott used to make fun of husbands and wives that have a “we-mail” account. Renée stuck it to him and got an entire website and domain name.

Elliott has really embraced blogging. It ties his interests and his abilities together nicely. He’s doing very well over at 21st Century Dad, having garnered a small but loyal readership in such a short time. Renée’s baby homework has brought her into the world of attachment parenting, baby wearing, and championing breastfeeding. Her writings on those topics are now featured on 21st Century Parenting. We hope to develop the site a resource for parents in the community.

ReneeAndElliott.com started its life as the playground of the “monkey mind” swinging from tree to tree in the forest of thoughts. As we write more, some direction is starting to emerge. However, that is subject to change without notice. Void where prohibited by law. Certain restrictions apply.

We will continue to tweak on the design and the features, like the RSS Feed.

Photo of the Week is in hibernation right now. Elliott is getting a foothold in the Flickr community. We will be sharing more photos soon.

They Call Me the Working Man

Austin celebrated the magical 13th birthday last year, but we suspect he cares more about his 14th birthday. The much-lamented “child labor laws” relax for him. He will be eligible for limited part-time work.

The march of time takes care of one requirement. It’s up to him to keep his grades satisfactory to fulfill the more pressing need. We will support him in this since both our agendas can be served. Austin sees this as a better means to the ends he desires. It closes the gap between wanting and having. There will be valuable lessons better learned through work experience than through his parents. Now we have some real leverage when we assert our desire for him to do better in school.

Baby’s First Year

Ariana’s arrival was in the latter half of 2007, so 2008 will bring many of those cherished milestones. We will see her first teeth, witness her first steps, hear her first words, and so much more.

We knew it would change our lives forever. Some changes can be expected, anticipated, and planned for, while others cannot. This is a time of discovery and surprises for the parents too. We are amazed everyday about the joy and fulfillment of sharing life with this new little human.

Now that the Korean population has increased by 0.5 people, Elliott started to explore his own Korean heritage. He has assimilated into American culture so well, other Koreans call him “whitewashed.” We know Twilli will have questions about her own background. She may wonder why she doesn’t look like the other kids at school or why her mommy and daddy look different from each other. She won’t be capable of articulating any of this for a few years, but it’s never too soon.

We are excited to live the blessings that this year shall bring! Please share your expectations for 2008 by leaving a comment.