Family Pictures, Christmas Letter and a Confession

In December, we had family pictures taken for the first time in over five years.  Stephanie was such a sport to oblige us and I'm so grateful to her.    I feel a little intimidated posting these pictures, because they don't look like all the other family pictures I see out there.  There are no fancy bows in our hair, I'm not wearing any fancy accessories, Camp's hair desperately needs to be (and has since been) cut, and on and on and on.  But the fact is--even though I do wish sometimes that it were different--if these pictures showed us in any other way--who would we be kidding?  (Heck, the fact that my hair is done, there are no stains on our shirts and our shoes are on the right feet makes me feel like we've got the wool pulled over your eyes a little.)  
It's funny because I remember feeling worried that it would come time for our pictures to be taken and we would be fighting and complaining and miserable and the smiles on our faces would be a complete misrepresentation of the way we were feeling in those moments--and I would feel dishonest.  I know.  Weird.  But you know what?  Those were actually a wonderful 20 minutes.  Despite my being late and Brian's being REALLy late (because of an errand he was on for me--doh!) and the sun quickly setting, those were good minutes for me.  Brian was so wonderful to make it a point to be happy and cheerful; and because Stephanie was so cool, the kids were happy and cheerful; and because everyone else was happy and cheerful, I was happy and cheerful, too.  So anyway....those smiles weren't lying. 

Aaaaaaannnnnd, just for documentation purposes, this was our 2011 Christmas letter.  I think I'm done with Christmas letters.

  

December 15, 2011

Dear Family and Friends, 

I have absolutely nothing to say this year.  Usually I think about the content of my Christmas letter all year long. Pathetic, I realize.   But this year?  Nothing.  Not a single idea.  

We welcomed Skip in January, and man, that kid is darling.  He really has only added joy to our family at this point.   We’re all very glad to have him. 

 And that’s pretty much it.

Things are going fine with us.  We have highs and lows like every family.  Brian and I have struggled to understand and like each other at times.  In October, after a tough couple  of months, I decided to ask for a day off--which Brian readily granted.  I drove to Portland and went shopping, and ever since then, things have been considerably better.  I’m not sure what made the difference--Brian and the kids having gotten a 14 hour break from me or my having gotten some new clothes and toss pillows, but whatever it was, it helped a lot.   I’m not trying to encourage anything--I’m just saying....And like I’ve said before, we all still love each other, despite our differences, and are in this thing for the long haul.  I really do love my husband and children more than anything else.  

And I love all of you, too.  Every one of you has made my life better, and I’m so thankful.

So have a wonderful Christmas.  I mean it.  

Love, 

Ann

Oh, and I have a confession.  I've already been reading your dinner suggestions...I just couldn't bear to wait.  I'm a little worried, though, that picking which meals to make is going to be a little tougher than I had imagined.  I already made Kat's french dip sandwiches.  I served them with asparagus and this cauliflower soup, and there was a party in my tummy  it was really good. So maybe I'll end up making every suggested meal you give me...Who knows... Just please continue to tell me What's For Dinner, because the suggestions so far have been PERfect.   Yeah, this is seriously going to be the best thing ever.  You guys are the best.  


Oh, and I have a question...how many times a week is some type of meat a part of your dinner?  Meat is expensive, but I just seem to have a hard time coming up with meals without it that are still filling and substantial.   Any thoughts?