Being Prepared

Every year, Dan and I spend the last two weeks before Christmas running from store to store, frantically trying to finish our last-minute Christmas shopping. It's exhausting, a bit stressful, and it certainly takes away from our enjoyment of this special season.

So this year, I'm determined to be one of those people. You know. Those people that have all their holiday shopping completed by Thanksgiving, with the Christmas cards all stamped and addressed. They can relax and spend time listening to Christmas carols, watching Christmas specials, decorating the house, and participating in all the other festive activities that are difficult to enjoy when you're involved in a frenetic search for just-the-right gift for a close friend or family member.

This year will be different for me. I'm sure of it.

In accordance with my new plan, I decided to schedule a photo shoot for the kids for yesterday morning. Beth had no school, so it seemed like a perfect time to beat the holiday crowds, and maybe get our Christmas cards a bit early. Dan had to work, so Grampy came along to help keep the children happy and smiling. I dressed them in their bright red, matching outfits, and off we went to the studio.

The children that had their pictures taken before and after us were all wearing Halloween costumes, smiling for the camera in front of a background decorated with pumpkins and spooky ghosts. Their parents looked at my children with a bit of curiosity, but I didn't mind a bit. After all, I was being organized. I was getting my Christmas cards during the first week of October!

It is not easy to keep four small children smiling and happy for 30 minutes of scenery changes and various poses, but these photographers did an outstanding job. The children were very well-behaved, although Amy was not quite as accommodating as we would have liked. She was determined to keep the dog that decorated the front of her sweater in full-view of the camera at all times, so there were many poses that did not meet with her approval. She absolutely refused to lie on her stomach or turn sideways, but once the photographers realized that she was not going to budge, they simply worked around her. She sat in the same spot, sweater facing forward, while they moved her sisters and brother around her.

And so, after over an hour in the studio, I walked away with a giant headache, but I carried my Christmas cards, Christmas gifts, and various other sheets of pictures in my hands. It was Brian's first time in front of a "professional camera", and he thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Now, I just need to get started on that shopping.

I think I'll start that next week. Or maybe the week after that. Or maybe...