At Least They're in the Mail...

I have a few rules for our family in regards to Christmas Letters.

1.  We send them.

2.  We send a family picture. (Adults included.  Your old college friends want to know if you've let yourself go.)

3.  We take the picture on Thanksgiving day, order the prints from Costco the next day, and send them on the 1st of December.  (Okay, so that hasn't happened in like 5 years and 2 kids.)

4.  Last and most important, the letter has to be funny.

This year, I got way behind.  My famous cousin Wendy of Blue Lily Photography offered to take our photos, but couldn't do it until until the second week of December.  (She's a busy lady!)  No problem.  She's worth the wait. 

(See below.)

But then, I waited to start the letter too.  Didn't get around to it.  And when I DID sit down to write it, it wasn't easy.

I didn't have any great ideas for a "theme".

Nothing clever came to mind.

So I just started writing and ended up with two (TWO) long, depressing, single spaced pages.

Woah.

NOT acceptable.

I started editing and revising.

Finally, I just started over from the beginning.

About three times.

It was a painful process.  (It was a painful year.)

I ended up with what you see below.  And although it's not my best work, it got the job done.  And I got to say "hell" in a Christmas letter.

Needless to say, last year's letter was a whole lot more fun to write.  But then, 2010 was a lot more fun.

(I wont even mention the trauma I had using Mac's Address Book and trying to find a way to change the font...)

SO, there ya go.  At least I did it.

Here's to a boring 2012!  (Makes the letter writing so much easier.)