Part III - Christmas Cards

I just bought my Christmas Cards!! They are way cute and didn't cost me near as much as I thought they might (coupons are a life saver!) -- so if I have your address, then you should receive yours sometime this month! I'm sending my cards out much later than I normally do this year because I have to wait for another paycheck to buy the postage. LOL I'm glad I can be "real" out here in blog land. I put a lot of thought into my cards every year though so I hope that they are a blessing to you all.

In years past, I have thought about doing all sorts of things - Christmas letters, cards and even this year I thought about doing a Christmas photo - but then I changed my mind because I kinda want to save that for the next chapter in my life - like with the husband (hopefully) and the kids (big stretch but it could happen). Christmas cards are a big deal at my house, they have been since I was a kid. My dad used to get out the roll-o-dex and his favorite pen and start writing all sorts of letters to people in his cards. I think once we moved to Texas, my mom got on the bandwagon and did the same thing for HER relatives. When cards came in the mail, they wrote down who they got one from, not so that they could "keep track" (at least I dont' think) but just so they would know if they got the addresses right, etc. Well.. following in their footsteps, the digital age helps me to be even more anal about my cards!! First there is the updating of the database - yes, I know I'm only 31 yrs old but I have a list of over 100 friends alone that I like to keep in touch with. I like to hear from them and see the pictures of them and their kids -- oohh.. we'll get to the photos in a second. Used to be that my reason for keeping up with the list so well was so that I could INSURE that they were all notified of my wedding shower, wedding, baby shower, etc. since I invested my time and energy in all of theirs. I have people who call or email me all the time to get so-and-so's new address because most everyone knows that I keep track of folks really well! This is going to sound crazy but I also keep most every card - birthday/Christmas/whatever - that I get in my filing cabinet because it is fun to go back and read them years down the line - especially the newsletters - to see how people's lives have changed. A lady at bible study gave me a really great idea for using the cards throughout the year so if you send me a card, you will find out what that is..

Going back to those Christmas photos - just know that if you send one to me, you go on the hall of fame - my refrigerator. Trust me, other people like to look at that kind of stuff when they come over here and I like to be reminded of you everytime I go to open up the fridge ;)

Guess I had better get started - until next time..