Every year we like to pop in before everyone abandons their keyboards for the holidays to share our Christmas card and a few heartfelt words of thanks. So, here it is:
We had a few other ideas for this year’s card—Clara gift-wrapping Burger, Clara riding her bike with a tiny Christmas tree while Burger ran beside her—but book deadlines, hospital decorating, showhouse meetings, and bad weather kept us busy. Thankfully, we managed to capture this photo on the very day we told Clara she was going to have a little brother. I’ve filed it under “Christmas miracles.”
And because we always love an outtake or two, here’s one of Burger cowering in blurry fear while Clara wrestles Captain Barnacle.
Or this one that’s full of Burger enthusiasm but shows no obvious excitement from Clara.
We also got this shot of Clara kissing her doll—Burger is nowhere to be seen—and it’s a little reminiscent of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
We’re so grateful for one good photo.
We also tried a picture in front of a “Love” sign that might have worked for the card, but we were a bit too far away and you can barely see Clara clutching Captain Barnacle (she never leaves home without him).
We had the cards printed by TinyPrints and used a coupon code from their site to save 20% and get free shipping. Addressing all those envelopes with only about a week to spare felt a little nerve-wracking, but we got it done. It was especially exciting to announce the little one on the way, since we haven’t done that since our very first Christmas card back in 2009.
Speaking of past years, here’s a quick recap of our family cards going back to that first one. First, here’s last year’s card:
And here’s the card from 2011:
The 2010 card:
And our very first card from 2009:
On the home front, we have a lot of family arriving today, so we’re off to chip away at a few more to-dos before they get here—baking cookies, priming cabinets, the usual. Before we go, we wanted to share our holiday card and send our warmest wishes to you and yours. We truly appreciate you dropping by, and we hope your holiday season is full of cookies, baby dolls, and whatever brings you joy.
Although many of you will be juggling holiday chaos between Christmas and New Year’s, we’ll still be popping in occasionally. We’re aiming to kick off 2014 with a big painted cabinet reveal—starting the year with a bang, or maybe with a brush.
Update: Check out our favorite holiday decor picks in the holiday decor favorites section—many are under $15!