Pre-Advent Prep: The Cards

After figuring out the books for Advent and Christmas, my next step was to plan our Christmas cards.
(You can read about our crazy November prepping here.)  

Although I didn’t get everything sent out before Advent, most the preparation (buying stamps, writing the letter, ordering the cards) was done before Thanksgiving.  I’m still working on verifying a few addresses and tracking down people who live close by to do hand-delivering (save a few stamps and you could practically buy a pizza!).

 

Growing up, Christmas cards were a Big Deal in our house.  We’d race to get the mail every day to see whose cards arrived.  My sisters and I especially oooh’d and ahhh’d over the cards with pictures.  To see how much family and friends changed from year to year never got old.  Cards with pictures were scotch-taped to the dining room hutch to serve as decorations throughout the whole season.

Social media has made it possible to stay in touch with friends and relatives far away, but there’s still something special about getting a letter in the mail.

Since I like to get done with Christmas card-ing early in the season, I like to keep it Advent-y.

 

 

I designed these basic cards using picmonkey and had them printed as prints, not photocards.  It ended up saving a lot.

Here’s the scoop for 2016 according to our Christmas letter:

 

Happy Holidays 2016!

Our year remained almost completely pain free until this fall!  That meant the kids were able go to the park, visit the zoo, go to the library, and spend oodles of time outside playing all summer.  They especially enjoyed visiting on the deck with our neighbor.  In many ways, this was our first real summer as a family, and we soaked it all up.

In June we were granted a trip from Make-A-Wish!  Cee’s “one true wish” was to travel to Yellowstone National Park to see the wildlife.  An unfortunate incident with an escalator aside, the kids handled their first airplane experience like pros.  The beauty of the mountains and gratitude for having made it this far as a family were overwhelming.  Our first family vacation was a success!

In September we actually returned to the mountains, via car this time, to a family wedding.  A detour through the Black Hills meant that we had two vacations in one year, one with each set of grandparents.

Keeping Cee in books is pretty much a full-time job.  She’s proud to have figured out how to work our VHS/DVD player on her own and is learning to play the recorder at our homeschool co-op.  It’s as delightful as it sounds.  She was fascinated by dissecting owl pellets with American Heritage Girls and hopes to be a scientist one day.

Elle has started to earn badges for American Heritage Girls!  Her first one earned?  Cake decorating.  It makes sense that she’s decided that being a baker is her life goal.  Our kind and caring girl loves to draw and has started writing notes for everything.  “Ples can we hv ches?” is a common one.  (All the best writers were inspired by dairy products, you know.)  Keeping Elle in notebooks might be another full-time job.

Moe.  Is.  Potty-trained.  (insert uproarious cheering here) He likes building things, asking all the questions, and begging to play the recorder.  His intensity will serve him well if his dreams of becoming a cowboy come true.  He is happiest when he is digging in dirt.  Or using socks filled with Legos as sling-shots.  Or going to the bathroom outside.

Bea’s favorite spot in the house is sitting in the middle of the kitchen table, and she climbs up there any chance she gets.  She also likes clomping on the piano.  She has mastered nodding, so now she can tell us “No” whenever she wants.  She doesn’t quite return the love and attention her siblings shower on her yet, probably because hugs and kisses can take a turn quickly.

The fall ushered in a new wave of pain for Cee, and that’s made this latest season a challenge for all of us.  We hope that her medication keeps working, and she can get over this latest bump in the road.  Your continued prayers and support are what help keep us going during rough patches like this.  Thank you so much for making this past year a blessed one for us!

Love,

David & Alicia, Cee (8), Elle (6), Moe (3), and Bea (1)

 

I think the letter is a pretty realistic picture of our joyful but messy life.  There were a couple key things I left out of the letter:

1.  David is still serving with Catholic United Financial.  (One of the best gifts to give is a secure financial future.  David can meet in person or through the magic of the internet if you’d like to become a member.)
2. I started a blog.  Okay–if you’re reading this you already know that.  But it felt awkward to be like, “Hey, people, I finally got a hobby” in the letter.  I really, really, enjoy having an outlet and a community (that’s you!).
3. I kind of started being an independent Norwex consultant?  If you’re going to clean your house anyway, you might as well use Norwex (fewer chemicals! less work!) and buy it from me.  Just saying.  If you don’t clean your house, then never mind.
4. Speaking of housing, we’re looking at our options.  Cee’s last flare has made it clear that I can’t carry her everywhere anymore.  We need to seriously start looking at either modifying our house, finding a handicap accessible home (which are few and far between), or building a new home.  All those options are scary.  If you have any advice or leads, please let us know.  Now isn’t really a good time, but is it ever?

 

So there you have it, the 2016 Christmas Card Special Blog Bonus Edition.  If you have a Christmas card or letter, I’d love to see it in the comments or on the book of faces.   And if you have shopped through my Amazon links or bought any Norwex, thank you for making my blog hobby possible.  <3

 

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