Disaster...twice

So, thank goodness I had some inkling of an urge to get started on my Christmas cards early this year. Because as it turns out, I need all the time I can get.

It started back in September when we went to Canada for my gma's bday. I got some pictures taken of our family that I would use for Christmas cards and not have to deal with getting everyone all dressed and cute again. Have I mentioned that I really quite hate taking family pictures? At this stage of our family's life, it still feels like such a production to try and get pictures where the kids' clothes and faces remain clean for 5 seconds, where an attempt is made to have everyone looking at the camera at once (which by the way, never really happens and I've given up on!), where the kids are in decent enough moods to be bribed with candy to smile, etc, etc. You feel me? I know you do! So, we took a bunch of pictures and had a few that were usable, so I was happy.

Cut to about 2 weeks ago when I went to my computer to find the family pictures that I had edited to use for the Christmas cards. Nothing. Pictures, where are you? They were gone. I spent hours looking everywhere on my computer for them, but to no avail. Apparently the invisible computer thief struck and my pictures (just from that one single day, nothing else) were totally gone. I was panicked, not so much because they were my favorite pictures in the world, but because the thought of having to go out and attempt more family pictures made me want to throw up. I decided we just wouldn't do cards this year. But then Chris came home, bless his supportive heart because if anyone hates taking family pictures more than me, it's him, knowing full well that I really love to send cards each year and that not sending any would bum me out. He said we needed to just go and get some more pictures taken.

So, I got to throwing together some clothes for everyone, and went out early last Saturday morning for more family pictures. It was painful, but doable and we got some cute shots that would work again. I made sure they were backed up and saved in several places!

So, I got the cards designed and ordered, with a huge sigh of relief that they were done.

Today, my box came in the mail from the printers. I excitedly went to check them out. They were really cute, until I got to the bottom where it said, "Merry Christmas...And a Happy". Yep, not "and a happy new year" like they were supposed to say. Just "And a Happy." Welcome second heart attack. Are you kidding me? So, after a call to the printers who were VERY cooperative, I have a new set of reprinted cards coming priority in the mail. I'm not even going to get excited, though, because with the luck I am having this year, chances are they will be all screwed up again.

Thank goodness for an early start. It may be Christmas NEXT year by the time I get these dang cards right.

Sigh. Someone please tell me this gets easier!

(A perfect example of what MOST of our attempts at family pictures look like -- neither girl looking, Taylor and Kaiya trying to run away, me cracking up in sheer abandoned effort, Chris looking handsome as always, but wondering why the heck we are even attempting this. BTW, this is the ONLY picture that survived our first photo shoot in Canada that totally disappeared from my computer. Typical that this is the only one that survived!)