I have tormented myself about our Christmas cards this year. So much so that I had already told Dave, I just wasn't sending them. I think that bothered me just as much as actually doing them.

Let me begin by giving you some insight into the process. I always have to find "the perfect card." It can not say "Happy Holidays" because, just like Senator Inhofe -- it may be politically correct to some, but it's offensive to me. I like it to be fun, bright, and have something about Jesus on it -- it is Christmas after all. I also prefer that I can pack all that into a cute, photo holding card. The next step: choosing the family photo.

Do you know how ridiculously difficult it is to find a photo of the 5 of us when someone isn't doing something stupid, silly, or crying?!? So I thought this year, I would only include the kids... just as impossible. I always laugh at the families who send out cards of all their children crying. Some days that's just how it goes around here. Why not capture reality? Needless to say, that perfect picture still remains to be found.

I write our family newsletter a month in advance and edit it all through November. I cringe at the thought of grammatical or typographical errors being sent to fifty of our closest friends and family. The paper for the newsletter must coordinate with the card, right. Ughhhh.... don't get me started on addressing, stuffing, licking, and mailing all those cards.

I have found a compromise, so this is where it ends. Tomorrow I will post our family newsletter for 2010. If I could hand write one to all of you, I would. I'd rather spend my time enjoying the moments that make up the content of next year's letter, than agonizing over something so silly.