Christmas Cards

I love to get Christmas cards. My favorite ones are just a picture...no letter. Unless the family is crazy, then I love the letter that confirms the crazy and makes me feel a little more normal. Nice, eh? I haven't received any yet this year. And now maybe I won't receive any. Luckily, nobody who knows me reads this.

Last Sunday we went over to my parents' house for dinner. We'd worn our Christmas outfits so I insisting on having a picture because who knew when we'd get back in those clothes (2 weeks until we went to church together again and by then, Ganel-lyn Condie would already have her cards out and then I'd lose the "Who Got Their Cards Out First? Contest" that Ganel-lyn doesn't even know she's competing in....but I digress.). So even though the light was fading fast and Spencer did NOT want to tuck his shirt back in, again, we trudged outside.

The result is above. There wasn't a single one that was good for all of us, so I took an average-look approach. On average, we look fine. That's the best I could do this year. By way of introduction, my oldest son is Zach; he's in the glasses and he'll be ten in 2 weeks. My oldest daughter Abby has the long, blonde hair and will be nine in 2 weeks. Rachel is the girly-girl of the bunch and she turned seven a couple of months ago. Spencer is four and we're all kind of crazy about him.

I sent a card to Rich's (my ex-husband) grandparents. Rich's mom told me once that they love it, that they love to get a picture of the kids even if we're divorced. So I send it. I am very conflicted, though. I'm afraid it seems like I'm trying to keep a connection to his family, in an unhealthy way, or that I'm gleefully single and trying to drive that point home to them....neither of which are true.

Anyway, I'll be excitedly checking the mail all month, looking for the crazy and enjoying the festive pictures.