A hobby I would like to be better at

I have been thinking a lot about my desired hobby/talent lately.  I would love to develop the hobby/talent of photography.  I see photos from family member and friends that are just to die for and I long to have photos of my family that look like that.  With money always being short I can't spend the money for someone else to take pictures of my kids.  (Side note- I think the last time I spent money and had a pro take picture was in the hospital after Kiley was born.  The amount of money spend was ridiculous and the photos were never displayed and there are tons extra.  I see it as a total waste.)  So what had I been doing about this?  Well I have been in touch with friends that take pictures for their jobs and asked for suggestions.  I have been able to find some help in there recommendations.  Just yesterday I checked out four different book on the topic from the library.  I am taking notes as I read them.  I have learned that taken the actual picture is only a very small part of the whole process.  The key to great pictures is in the editing of them.  Months ago I bought Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 to help with this but was quickly intimidated by this program.  So now I am trying to learn how to use the program I bought to do some of the fancier editing.  When I learn a little bit more I will post a couple of attempts for you to see.