Picking Out Holiday Cards

Don't you think the above photo (sans the photographer) would make a cute Christmas card?

I do too!

We finally have the CD of our family photos we had taken a few weeks ago and now we are trying to figure out which ones to frame, which ones to put into a photo book and which ones to use for family Christmas cards!

Now, I am not planning to sending out photo holiday cards...not sure anything screams "I'm a single lady in my 30s" than a photo card featuring me, myself and I!

However, my mom really wants to send out a Christmas letter featuring photos of the family, especially her half dozen cute grandchildren. Instead of a letter printed out on her trusty (and not so crisp) printer, I am trying to convince her to use Tiny Prints to create her Christmas Photo Cards.

They have some great options in their 2012 Holiday Collection, including many styles featuring their new Premium DoubleThick™ Matte Paper. Check out this short video about the new paper.

As I was checking out their website, I picked out a few options for my mom AND my three sisters, who all have gorgeous families to show off on their Christmas cards.

For Mom...

I chose this great tri-fold card for Mom so she could feature a variety of photos of the family. She can choose between a matte or semi-gloss finish at no charge or for a bit more she can upgrade to a pearl white shimmer finish (fancy, fancy).

The best part of choosing this card? No need for a lengthy letter, the photos can tell the story!

For my older sister...

I love the colors of this card and it would go very nicely with the colors of our family photos. She has three boys so she can feature a photo of each of them and one of the entire family (or their dog Zoe).

If she wants to go with a more traditional photo card, I think this is a great option...

It's a bit less than the fancier square cards but just as attractive! If you are on a budget (aren't we all?), be sure to check out their Special Offers page.

For my younger sister...

She has two cuties so she can single each of them out and give a quick update on what they are up to and also feature a few other of the great family shots taken at the family photo shoot.

For my baby sister...

She has an only child so I think she needs to take advantage of that and feature JJ and her big blue eyes, gorgeous blond curls and impish smile front and center on her card.

I had such fun picking out cards for my mom and my sisters. Hopefully they will read this post and be inspired to create their own fun Christmas photo cards!!

Now for you, my dear readers, Tiny Prints would like for you to create your own cards and to get you started they are giving away $50 off your total order (expires 12/14/12)!! Just enter by clicking on the Rafflecopter widget below (it's within this blog post). Contest runs through November 11 and I'll post announce the winner here on November 12.

Good luck!!

BTW...Tiny Prints did sponsor this post/giveaway but the opinions (and choices of cards above) are my own  like always!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wordless Wednesday Family Photo Style

Our family finally got some formal photos taken earlier this week. While the real photographer was busy shooting the real photos, I snapped a few of my own just because. Here are a few of my favorites...

Before the photo shoot...

During the photo shoot...

After the photo shoot...

Long Live Summer Pool Fun

Summer is in full swing and it's been hot.

Now, I know what you are thinking. "It's summer so, of course, it's hot."

I know summer is supposed to be hot but we've experience above normal temperatures for an extended period with NO rain, so I think I'm allowed to point out that it's been abnormally hot and dry around these parts.

What this has meant for me is lots of time around the pool with my nieces and nephews. I've captured a lot of cute photos of them in all of their wet and wild glory. 

Like this one of the boys making up their own carnival-type game that involved throwing water-soaked balls at my oldest nephew as he stands in the middle of the kiddie pool. Once he was hit, he toppled over like one of those clown figures in the midway game at your local county fair.

These photos scream summer to me.

Do you take more photos during the summer? I definitely do.

If you have captured some fun summer images, be sure to check out Shutterfly's Long Live Summer Photo Contest over on Facebook (http://bit.ly/sweepS) for a chance at some fun prizes, including a grand prize trip to the Bahamas complete with a professional photo shoot!

The multi-week contest runs until August 6 and features weekly photo themes. They even have a "Water Fun" theme! I'm definitely entering one of my photos in that one.

Another cool thing about the contest is that you'll get a gift from Shutterfly JUST for entering. You can find all of the official rules here.

Disclaimer: I did receive compensation from Shutterfly for posting about their contest but, like always, the opinions (and photos) in this post are my own. Whose else's would they be?

Our Version of Toddlers and Tiaras

My sisters decided to try their hands at being stage moms recently by entering my nieces in our county fair's baby contest.

Here the girls practice their poses...

"I'm just a cute, innocent little girl."

The Pouty Lip Pose

Our grandstands at the fairgrounds burnt earlier this year and it was in the upper 90s the day of the baby contest so our local landmark theater hosted the event. 

On most days, this would have been a great alternative to the grandstands.

However, on this day the air conditioner was broken and the place was full. 

It made for some sweaty, cranky babies (and adults).

Still, the girls were adorable.

Abby and her pigtails got a participation ribbon.

JJ waved herself to a 2nd place finish in her class.

My two youngest nephews were in the audience. I have one thing to say about that...

 Thank goodness for iPhones!

One hot baby girl after her turn on the stage. 

Now they really got into the posing when the cameras came out AFTER the contest.

"Here are my knees...I'm so cute."

While we didn't come home with a trophy, we did walk away with one thing clear to all of us.

We will NOT be going on the Toddlers and Tiaras circuit any time soon even if we have two of the cutest little girls ever in our family!

Always Makes Me Smile

No words needed.

But I will add a few because I can.

I love impromptu cookouts at the cabin at the farm pond with the family.

It was a GORGEOUS night. Not too hot. Nice breeze. Plenty of sun.

I'm looking for many more of these evenings as we move into summer!

Two Little Butterflies

For almost 10 years, my family and I had been blessed with a new generation of boys in our family.

I am one of four girls so when my older sister and her husband produced a trio of boys (not all at once) we were thrilled. My younger sister added a fourth boy to the mix almost four years ago. 

We reveled in the madness...and the wrestling.

It was all tractors, trains and superheroes. 

Then these two came along...

And we finally had a chance to buy baby dolls, dresses and lots and lots of pink!

On Easter, my baby sister got them both a set of butterfly wings.

It was adorable.

This one just wanted to fly outside to get some Easter eggs.

This one pretended to fly and "fell down" to make us laugh.

So, I believe we now have the best of both worlds - the battles to save the world from evil AND the tea parties with dolls and teddy bears.

Easter Egg Hunt Fun

We had a wonderful Easter this year.

After an early church service, we headed to the farm for Easter brunch. We filled the house with family. Just counting my immediate family, we are at 15 people. Add in a couple of aunts, uncles and cousins and we were in the 20s.

It was a GREAT day. We just don't spend as much time with our extended family now that my grandparents are gone and I miss it.

But in the end, it's all about these girls and boys...

(Note: Baby Sister wants me to point our that her little girl 

DID wear a jacket for the hunt...she was inside when we 

decided on an impromptu photo shoot.)

I made my sister snap a shot of my oldest nephew with me.

I can't believe how grown-up he looks these days.

It was a beautiful - yet windy - day for an Easter Egg Hunt. I'm sure not a lot of folks have as big of a yard as we do for a hunt. Eggs were spread far and wide but I think they were all found.

The cell phone was NOT hidden in the yard.

This is my favorite photo of the day...I'm not sure why.

These are only a FEW of the many photos I snapped yesterday. I'll bore you with bring you more as the week goes on.

 The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 

Psalms 118:22

Easter Traditions Through Instagram

Easter is just around the corner and I was lucky to have Good Friday off of work. 

I probably should have used the day to do laundry, put away my laundry, clean my floors or even put away the boxes of Christmas decorations that are sitting in my dining room!

Instead I spent the day with my family doing some of my favorite Easter traditions. 

While at Blissdom, Hershey's asked us to share our favorite Easter traditions, tips or tricks on our blogs as part of their virtual Bunny Trail. I will admit right now that there might be some not-so-virtual Hershey's Easter candy in the house right now...Yummy!

There have been some great posts shared on Hershey's Bunny Trail and a couple of my pals from over at The Real Farmwives of America and Friends are even featured in a video on Hershey's website - www.CelebrateWithHersheys.com. Be sure to check it all out.

As I said before, it was a day full of activity. It started at my parents' house with my mom and me in the kitchen preparing for my FAVORITE Easter tradition. More on that later...

Another Easter tradition that I enjoy but rarely do now that I am an adult is coloring Easter eggs!

My two oldest nephews had early dismissal from school on Friday so I picked them up and treated them to ice cream before heading to the farm to color eggs.

On our way home, we stopped by the local greenhouse and the boys picked out some Easter flowers from their mom (my older sister) and grandma (my mom).


It was great to see how seriously they took their task and I think they chose beautifully.

My two younger sisters met us at the farm with the rest of the nephews and nieces and we got down to business. The first half dozen eggs were carefully lowered into coffee mugs filled with colored water. We got a bit more creative with the second half dozen.

I loved to dip the eggs in multiple coffee cups as a kid and I introduced my nephews to this tradition and we got some very cool colored eggs out of it!

After we dyed the eggs, I sent the nephews outside with a couple baskets of plastic eggs to "practice" hunting them in preparation for a Saturday Easter Egg Hunt at church and Sunday's main event.

While they were outside, we got down to business on my FAVORITE Easter tradition - my Grandma's Butterscotch Rolls. Every Holy Saturday during my childhood (and into my adult life), my grandma would make these gooey, cinnamon rolls and we would eat them warm out of the oven the evening before Easter Sunday.

My mom has taken up the tradition in recent years and I made them for the first time last year. So we decided to make them together this year, and they were WONDERFUL.

Now, I know what you are thinking...if you always have them on Holy Saturday, why were you eating them on Good Friday? Good question!


The family is heading to an Indiana Pacers game tonight because two of our favorite former Purdue University basketball players are on the opposing team and we hope to see them play in the NBA. So we decided to bump up the tradition a day instead of not doing it this year.


I think Grandma would approve!

Wednesday Loves

This is my second attempt at this blog post (let's just say that my iPad app is now in the doghouse) so I want to say that it will be better than the first attempt...but I'm pretty sure it won't be!

I have struggled of late to write posts with real content and just don't know what's wrong with me (don't worry "I'm not crazy...my mother had me tested." Name that show.).

So I am once again resorting to my iPhone photos and Instagram to create some content, instead of writing an inspiring, uplifting or motivational post...wait a minute, that doesn't happen even when I do a written post!

Oh well, enjoy some snippets of my life of late and if you find my inspiration, please tell it I miss it!

My cards for Blissdom arrived yesterday! So exciting. I can't believe it's a week away. Just found out Rascal Flatts is performing - wow.

I'm in LOVE with tights. My sisters and I actually spent 30 minutes in the hosiery section of Filene's Basement while we were in NYC this fall. (Quick fact...the store is NOT in an actual basement, see photo below.) I loved the above tights so much, I bought them in brown too.

This is the view from the Filene's Basement in NYC...as you can see NO ONE was out that day...maybe because it was cold and raining. Didn't have to fight crowds but made it hard to enjoy our walks through the city.

This is my adorable niece whose parents left her in my care for several days while they went on a cruise. I returned her to them with a double ear infection and hair that hadn't been washed in days. I told them the only guarantees I would make was that I would feed her and she'd be alive when they returned. Both happened.

This is my favorite photo of late...my two youngest nephews dumped a gallon bag of "army men" on the rug (which hasn't been swept in weeks) at my front door. It looks to be a scene out of Home Alone when Kevin set the traps for the pair of bungling burglars. Luckily, I remembered they were there as I came down the steps or I may have taught them some new words after stepping on them in bare feet!