2011 Christmas Card

I had every intention of getting a family Christmas card in the mail early this year. I was really looking forward to more formally announcing the addition of Natalie Rose to our family. But the taking of our family photo never got on the calendar. Then there were other things….I was hoping to have a hair cut before the photo was taken; I went on a mini-vacation; and  Thanksgiving happened. Then, my dad passed away, and things got all out of whack!

On to “Plan B” I thought. That plan consisted of Aaron being out of town and me, in my pajamas, taking pictures of the kids all dressed up on Saturday morning in my “make-shift photo studio,” our living room – thank goodness it was our living room since I was in my pajamas.  Well, I thought I’m going to take all of these pictures on my fancy new iPhone. After all, it’s supposed to have an amazing camera on it. I got some great shots. The kids were in a good mood and cooperative. It was awesome…..until I went to do something with them on the computer. They were all REALLY grainy. Nothing like I had hoped. They looked o.k. on Facebook, but were NOT good enough to do a Christmas card. Apparently the iPhone camera is great for outdoor photos and it is a great camera for a PHONE camera, but it doesn’t replace a real camera.

So, on to “Plan C,” recreate the “make-shift photo studio” on another day and time when the kids might be cooperative and in a good mood (a near impossible task); take new photos, similar to the others, with our good camera; find a picture for our Christmas card and get them printed ASAP! Aaron was here, and helped make “Plan C” happen. The poses for the pictures weren’t as cute as in “Plan B” but there were a couple that we could make work.

So, putting “Plan C” into further motion, I must find a Christmas Card template to put our picture in. Well, several years ago there were like 150 template choices, now there’s a bazillion! After spending WAY too much time on this task, I finally found one that I liked. Then I went to order it…..

Well, before I ordered any, I called Aaron.

Me: “How many should we order?”

Aaron: “How many did we get last year?”

Me: “No idea.”

Aaron: “I like having a card for everyone in our church.”

Me: “REALLY?” – I’m thinking, that may have worked when we had 25 people in our church, but we’re running 240 each week….this doesn’t include family and friends who don’t go to our church or live in DC!

The conversation ended with us deciding maybe buying Christmas cards online and sending them out this year is not such a good idea. We’d be rushed. We’d have to decide who to give cards to and who not to. And, we’d really only be doing it to keep up with the Jones,’ which is certainly not a motivating factor in our family!

So,  on to “Plan D!” …send our card electronically via our blog and other lists. This way, LOTS of people can enjoy our Christmas card!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I introduce our 2011 Christmas Card

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