Failed Christmas Card Attempt

And the winner of the failed Christmas card attempt is...........

This may just be my all-time favorite failed Christmas card because it makes me laugh, hard, every. single. time. I. see. it.  First, and most laughable, is Mike and Seamus.  I see Mike as the ventriloquist wanna-be, and Seamus as the "dummy".  It just looks like Mike is talking in ventriloquist talk and Seamus...well, just LOOK at him.  LOLOLOL.  Then, I look like I'm six feet tall because I'm standing on the step.  In real life I am shorter than Mike.  Moira has a pained look on her face as if to say, "There is no way this is going to make the cut, just get it over with".  LOL.  Oh my.

Christmas 2012

Early awakening on Christmas morning....some more enthused than others.

Moira drew Seamus's name.  No surprise with Packer goods in the packages!

MGD, sporting her new sunglasses...

Bridget made a One Direction poster for Teresa...

Twenty years of wedded bliss haha....

Erin and Grandpa...

Bridget and cousin Colleen

Opening the big package from Grandma and Grandpa M...

The whole Green Bay gang...

Winter Fun!

My Sweet Little Christmas Tree Skirt Princess

Picking our Christmas Tree - 2012

It was Seamus's turn to pick out an ornament.  He quickly picked a winner - the cement mixer.

It's funny we have no pictures of the tree we picked out.  I must have been too cold to hold the camera by that point.  We always go to the same place, Aissen Tree Farm, each year.

Our Christmas Card

Well, it certainly is not our best card, but it may have the most character! LOL

Some Christmas Photos (2011)

I think Bridget someone dropped the ball on the picture taking.  Unless I'm missing a memory card, we have very few Christmas photos this year. So, here is just a sampling...

Homemade Nativity :)

Teresa and Molly  Grace practice some Christmas tunes

Not such a great picture of our neighborhood luminary...it sure is better with lots of snow!

My youngest and my oldest

Yep, he came!

Disney's Tangled horse (Maximus)= $20...Generic horse (Maximus)= $1 :)

The whole gang in Grandma's pjs, minus Moira, who had to work

Grandpa, showing the girls something really interesting

 

Colleen, Bridget and Teresa

Margaret and Molly Grace

Seamus and Teresa

Erin

Happy Day!

 Merry Christmas!!!  

 We spent Christmas day with the McKillens and Delaneys, with the exception of Tim and Suzy, who spent Christmas at their home in Ohio. Our festivities continue...As usual, we'll be filling the blog with lots of pictures.

 I loved having all of my kids home.  Moira arrived home from FUS last week.  She's had to work most every day, including Christmas day (all Packer employees work game days).  She wasn't complaining, as she got paid double pay, and she didn't have to start till 2:30.  And she loves spending game days at the stadium!   

Early Christmas morning we were all up to check out what Santa left under the tree.  Seamus, two, looked around bright-eyed and speechless.  We were all watching his reaction.  Finally, he threw his arms in the air and shouted, "Happy day!!!".  Priceless. 

Benedict XVI has restored the tradition of proclaiming the birth of Christ with the chanting of the "Kalenda." The chant culminated the prayer vigil in St. Peter's Square on Christmas Eve, which was accompanied by the unveiling of the life-size Nativity Scene.

THE PROCLAMATION OF THE BIRTH OF CHRIST 

Today, the twenty–fifth day of December, unknown ages from the time when God created the heavens and the earth and then formed man and woman in his own image. Several thousand years after the flood, when God made the rainbow shine forth as a sign of the covenant.Twenty–one centuries from the time of Abraham and Sarah; thirteen centuries after Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt.Eleven hundred years from the time of Ruth and the Judges; one thousand years from the anointing of David as king;in the sixty–fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel.In the one hundred and ninety–fourth Olympiad; the seven hundred and fifty–second year from the foundation of the city of Rome.The forty–second year of the reign of Octavian Augustus; the whole world being at peace,Jesus Christ, eternal God and Son of the eternal Father, desiring to sanctify the world by his most merciful coming, being conceived by the Holy Spirit,and nine months having passed since his conception, was born in Bethlehem of Judea of the Virgin Mary.Today is the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh.

1 Corinthians 13 – a Christmas Version

1 Corinthians 13 – a Christmas Version by Catholic Heritage Curricula

IF I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another decorator.

IF I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another cook.

IF I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

IF I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir’s cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

LOVE stops the cooking to hug the child. Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband. Love is kind, though harried and tired. Love doesn’t envy another’s home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

LOVE doesn’t yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way. Love doesn’t give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can’t.

LOVE bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust, but giving the gift of love will endure.

Merry Christmas 2010!!!

We decided to put many of our Christmas photos to music with a montage. We are only missing photos of Kelly and Kelley, who of course were with us for our festivities!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Christmas Photos...

It's that time of year again...time to organize a busy family into one place at the same time (with the members all slickered-up, of course) in the hopes that we can take the perfect photo for our Christmas card.  Well, that's not quite right; I have long given up on the perfect Christmas card.  Better is the enemy of good, right?   After about a week of trying to organize schedules, I gave up (mostly because Moira was working every night last week).  Instead, I opted for the family collage style card, the kind with individual pictures pieced all together.  It is much easier.  I was able to dig around the computer to find decent pictures, and for those who needed a fresh shot, we took a few in front of the tree that worked out nicely......nicely for most everyone.

There is one rather cute little family member who is a bit tricky to photograph!  Miss Erin has a mind of her own when it comes to photo shoots, and she may or may not be cooperative with the photographer.  May not is the more likely scenario!

Having high hopes, I dressed her in a cute little Christmas dress with a hat; that was the easy part!

After assembling my photography crew, we went to work.  Here are some highlights of our photo sessions.  Yes, that is plural.

Session One:

When we started, she was not overly amused or cooperative.....

Obviously....LOL

Someone has an idea to lighten her mood with a candy cane!  That's a little better. It worked for a second.

 

So, one thing about Erin is she is genuine.  She will only smile if there is something to smile about! Pictures can be hard because she doesn't pose easily for pictures. We kept trying to get her to smile. This is not the easiest thing to teach.  When she finds something worth smiling about, she has a natural smile....but to teach, by saying, SMILE ERIN, uh, this is what we get....

And this.... 

We work a little harder on the smile, exaggerating our own smiles, with hopes that she will mimic us.  This is what we get....

 

Now she's getting bored and wanting the hat off.....

 

Okay, let's try the hat off.  Whoa!  Too much static :)

Not in the mood for a photo shoot, Erin???  Time to hide :)

Session Two:

Let's try this again.

Erin said, I do it! when it was time to put the hat on. 

Good try!

It was time to pull out the big guns.....time to get Molly Grace and Seamus to chase her around the house, which is a sure way to get her laughing! It worked like a charm.  Here she is running away from the camera LOL!

Finally, something to laugh about....

Peak a boo with Seamus...

In the end, we ended up getting some adorable photos...

 

 

Now for the really funny part!  After all that, which photo did we end up choosing for our Christmas card??!!  None of the above!  That's right.  Stop laughing!  When Mike came home from work I asked him to pick a photo and he said, "I really like Erin's three-year photo the best".  After looking at the photos arranged with the card, we all agreed, it just seemed to fit the card best.  Oh well.  Good thing I have a blog so I can show off Erin's Christmas pictures!