Christmas Card Truths

 i love december...because getting the mail is like receiving a fun little package every day(and THAT even happens sometimes!).

 it makes me smile to quickly flip through the stack...searching for something that isn't bills, trash, or credit card offers. christmas cards! it's my love language. i rip open the envelope and see whose face is going up on my wall of fame. and then i think back...to the "old" days...when christmas cards were nothing more than a tacky drawing with the words, "love, the __________ family".... 

my, my.... how things have changed.

sometimes i long to go back to the days of "let's grab the biggest box of cards we can find, sign our name, and be done with it."

do you ever feel like christmas cards have become some sort of silent competition in the world of moms? be honest. i do. and i fully admit...i am right there in the front line. you would never want to acknowledge the amount of hours(days??) you spend searching for the right card, finding the right picture, adjusting color, messing with contrast, zooming in, zooming out, who is smiling, who is not, what is wrong with his/her eye, i look fat(WE ALL DO IT), what type of paper...card stock or photo paper, black and white or color, oh...can't use that one...it's extra postage....and the list goes on and on. and just to add insult to injury, doesn't it pain you to know that most people just throw them in the trash after the new year?? yikes! if you were organized enough to actually get a family picture professionally taken at some point that year, even though you have awesome pictures, you can't even REMEMBER the amount of time(it has been mentally blocked) you spent searching for coordinating outfits and stressing over perfect smiles, white teeth, clear skin, temper tantrums, love handles and thunder thighs. can you say S.T.R.E.S.S.F.U.L????

 last year my mom asked me if i write a personal note to everyone i send a christmas card to. after i looked at her like she just came from fairytale land...i told her....no. my "personal note" for this card goes something like this....and if you look closely...you can see it. 

 we went a whole year and i came up with just one picture of our entire family. brian and lainey look great, hutton resembles a turtle and is giving someone the stink eye, and i am drinking wine and have a hair mustache. i just spent 14 hours designing this card after i went through four different websites and entered numerous discount codes. my kids are one year older,  i'm 5 lbs heavier, and brian weighs the EXACT same weight he did when we got married. merry christmas...from our family to yours.... ;)

and because i'm so computer savvy, i can't figure out how to upload our card...but a picture is worth a thousand words....