It's that time of the year again....

...the most dreaded time of the year in the eyes of my husband. Each year he begs of me, "Please let this year be different! Anything, I will do anything! Let's just not have a repeat of last year!" And what, you ask, could cause such pleading from my beloved?!?! The taking of "the picture" for our family Christmas cards. For some reason (could it be my perfectionism or Type A personality?), I set out to get the perfect picture for our cards. And y'all, it is as elusive as the holy grail!

Last year, I totally lost it. We went to the mall with our beautifully dressed children to use the picture perfect displays as a beautiful backdrop for our Christmas picture (see how this is setting itself up for failure?). So I set the boys up and tell them to smile and then start clicking away. Well, Jack has the worst fake smile...I am talking a serious underbite fake smile. I'm the daughter of a dentist! I can't send out pictures of my child with a huge underbite; it would only bring years of shame upon my family name! And Will was no better...in every picture, he was a blur as he is crawling out of the frame. I'm yelling at the two of them in total frustration, bystanders are turning to stare, and Brent says,"Seriously Amy, someone here is going to call child protective services on you!" In hindsight, I can laugh about it and it has become one of Brent's favorite stories to tell others!

Well, today I pick the boys up from school and we head to the mall for lunch and a few "practice" pictures. I am sure that Brent will need independent verification of this, but I didn't utter a single cross word during the photo session! And I got a picture that will work for the card! I am so excited that the most stressful part of the Christmas season for me is over! So when you get your card from us, please remember what an act of love it is for me to do this every year =)!

While we were at the mall, Jack sees Santa and wants to have a chat with the jolly ole guy. There was no line and both boys were seasonally dressed, so now was as good a time as any! We walk up and Jack jumps in Santa's lap and starts spouting off his wish list which was everything Webkinz. I am certain I saw Santa's head starting to spin. Will kinda sauntered up to Santa and stopped about 2 feet away. And from that distance, he had a pleasant little visit with Santa. Will answered Santa's questions, and Jack relayed Will's wish list, but that was about all Will was interested in. No screaming or wailing, but he wasn't going to be best buddies with some strange dude in large red jammies, either. This Santa was such a sweet and patient man. He asked if Will would like to sit in his lap for a picture? Or maybe just stand in front of him? Or maybe just stand by Jack in front of Santa for a picture? Will politely declined all of the offers, but did point out all the beautifully decorated trees, and the wonderful fake snow. Finally, it was decided that Will would sit on my knee next to Santa and Jack for the picture. I am practically doing a backbend to make sure that I am not photographed as I had been to the gym that morning. The grim reaper hand that you see is me trying to make sure that neither Will or I topple over into Santa's fake snow-covered train. Now that would have been a picture for the Christmas card!