"Say Cheese"

I tell myself every year that my Christmas cards will be done and ready to be mailed out by November 1 and every year that deadline of November 1 slips deep into December until I'm in a mad rush to pull it all together in time for the cards to make it out before Christmas. One stress surrounding the cards has always been about getting a picture you find worthy enough to justify the postage. I'm really not asking much. After all a camera can take a good shot in less than a second. But coordinating that less than a second with 2 adults and 3 rambunctious kids seems nearly impossible. Our photo sessions usually go something like this. "Thomas stop touching your sister", "Kate just look into the camera", "Jack put your hands down", "Thomas please just smile, "Kate sit up", "Chris, just a few more shots I promise", "Jack look at the camera", "Thomas, don't make me ask you again", "Jack Pleasssssssssssssse just look at the camera!" It's enough to make my head spin and if I'm lucky one or two viable pictures will emerge from the hundreds.

Here are a few that didn't make the cut for the Christmas card but perfectly demonstrate the struggle.