Life

 So.

In between chasing puppies . . .
 

{We kept two, ahem}


And picking out the perfect pumpkin . . .
 

We've been enjoying an absolutely gorgeous Fall.
 

Granted, it's flying by at the speed of light.
I've been kept so busy with photography sessions this year, on top of our already busy schedule, that days are just flashing right by.

But I can't complain.
I love what I'm doing.

We even made time for our own photos the other day.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Oh these little loves make this mama so happy!

If there are any of you left out there,
{and I'm quite certain there aren't},

What have you been up to?
Have you had your Christmas card photos done yet?
Have you started Christmas shopping yet?
Or are you a normal person who is just focusing on Halloween at the moment? ;)

I know I've been a terrible blogger for, like, the last 2 1/2 years.
But I really hope to be around more.
Especially around the holidays.
I can't imagine not sharing in Countdown to Christmas this year.
Anyone want to join?

 

 

 

 

 

Wordless Wednesday ~ Christmas Card Picture, Take 132

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This & That

So, funny enough, life is not getting less busy.  Who knew?

I love this time of year, but good grief, it's busy!

So, what are y'all's plans for Thanksgiving?

Sierra has already told me that she is going to skip breakfast on Thursday so that she has more room for the big Thanksgiving feast.

I love that girl.  She's such a smartie.

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I think I've finally gotten our Christmas cards together.  Yay!

Wanna see?

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Turns out I kind of liked some of the "outtakes" ;)

Have y'all done yours yet?

Wordless Wednesday ~ Christmas Card Outtakes

Time for Christmas Cards! {Giveaway!}

Can y'all believe it is nearing the end of October?  You know what that means.  After eating twenty five pounds of Halloween candy, it's on to Thanksgiving, and then . . . only a short while until . . . Christmas! It is definitely time to be thinking about Christmas cards.

I love Christmas cards.  I love designing and sending ours, and I love receiving them from others.  Last year I got to participate in Shutterfly's holiday promotion, and so enjoyed browsing all of their options for holiday greetings.

Shutterfly is a favorite of mine.  Not just for Christmas cards, though this will be our third year in a row using them.  They offer Calendars, Birth Announcements, and a large collection of other personalized gifts. Shutterfly offers gifts for just about everyone on your list.  I recently ordered a photo book from Shutterfly for someone on my Christmas list {not tellin' who, just in case they are reading}, and it turned out BEAUTIFULLY.  It was super easy to put together, and is going to make the perfect gift. 

I couldn't help but take a sneak peek at their selection of Christmas cards this year.  I love that there are so many options.  I like these because I can load 'em up with pictures of my girls:

The greatest thing?  Shutterfly asked me if I'd like to give away a set of 25 cards to THREE of you!!! Um, YEAH! Simply leave a comment telling me what your favorite style of card is.  Do you like room for lots of photos?  Classic colors?  Who do you send cards to?  Or, just leave me a comment saying "hi" ;)  I will randomly choose a winner sometime next Friday, October 28th.

{Disclosure:  For reviewing Shutterfly's holiday line of cards, I have been generously compensated with 50 free cards for myself, as well as coupon codes for three sets of 25 cards each to be given away to three of my readers.  All thoughts and opinions are genuinely my own.}

WordFUL Wednesday ~ Christmas Photos

The other day we did photo re-takes for Christmas Cards, and it went more smoothly. Kam was in a better mood, and actually sat for more than a millisecond ;) And I've let go of my perfectionist ways, and am learning to be happy with the photos we got.

I only got one {out of over three hundred!} shot where all three were looking at the camera, and not in some stage of a blink. So this is it. My only one of the three. But that's okay. I'm fine with doing individual pics on the card too.

I just love this one of Sierra. I know I may have a little Mama bias, but I think she is so beautiful. {That's inside and out} And she loves the camera. I think it's safe to say that the camera loves her too ;)

And I was so happy to get one of Makenna. She has the sweetest smile, and an infectious giggle.

And Kam. Oh Kam. She wasn't into sitting much, so I just followed her around while she did her thing. She got a kick out of playing peek-a-boo with Nana's door. That's her. That's my Kam. So full of joy and energy. This photo just sums her up.

I think she locked herself out ;)

Another one of the older two that I love. They are so close, and I love it. It's everything I imagined when I found out I was expecting my second girl. I was so excited to give Sierra a sister. They are delighted to share a room together, and it's been months {maybe a year or more?} that they've insisted on sleeping together in Sierra's bed every night. They can't go to sleep without one another. Ohhhkay, getting teary. Sorry.

Oh how I love this one. Their smiles just light me up!

So . . . now comes the difficult task of narrowing these down. I can probably only use 3-4 at the most on our cards. Any opinions would be welcome! ;)

And Happy WW! As you can see, I have a hard time keeping it WordLESS ;)

Hop on over to Miller Racing Family for the Wordless variety.

Have You Ordered Yours?

Can you believe it's November already?! Soon we'll be eating Turkey, and then . . . the Christmas season will be upon us. I love the holidays. And one of my favorite parts? Designing, ordering, and sending Christmas cards. I love choosing the perfect {or not so perfect, in our case} photos, and sending off a Christmas greeting to those we don't see daily.

One of my most favorite places to browse Christmas cards is Shutterfly. We used Shutterfly to print our Christmas cards last year, and they did a beautiful job. I've also used Shutterfly to print Photo Books and other prints, and have always been pleased with their quality and service.

When I hopped on over to Shutterfly.com to browse their Christmas cards, I could not believe how many different designs they had to choose from! I couldn't choose just one favorite, but here are a few of my top choices:

Seasonal Chic 2010

With Love Chartreuse

Elegant Black Damask

Bubble Wreath

Can you tell I love the cards with lots of space for photos? ;)

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Shutterfly not only offers an extensive selection of Christmas Photo Cards, but also Gift Tags {SUPER cute!}, and even invitations for your big holiday bash ;)

Okay, so now for the best part! If *you* are a blogger, and you would like to receive 50 FREE {that's right, free!} cards from Shutterfly, you will want to click HERE to find out how to receive your own. What a fabulous opportunity!

Now I'm off to try to choose a favorite design. Wish me luck! :)

And stay tuned for a sneak peek at the photos I'll be using in said Chistmas cards ;)

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Disclosure: Participating bloggers are reviewing Shutterfly's line of holiday cards, choosing their favorites, and are then compensated with coupon codes for 50 free cards.

What Do You Get . . .

. . . When you try your hardest to get photos of your little ones {for Christmas Cards}

. . . and one of the littles just happens to be {almost} 21 months old, and wants NOTHING to do with the camera?

About a half million pics just.like.this.

Sigh.