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The story behind our Christmas card

December 18th, 2003 · 1 Comment

Yes, like most of America, I pay money to the Postal Service during the holiday season. The other day, after a last burst of effort involving lots of frantic writing, taping and stamping, I was finally ready to go. So the girls and I made the annual pilgrimage to the Post Office, carrying a bag of Christmas cards and a few parcels. With only a week or so before the holiday, I was certain we would be The Last Ones in America to mail our cards and packages – maybe they would tell me it was Too Late – but even today I still saw some folks in line. Although the delivery time is slow at this season, I imagine that some of the red and white envelopes will slowly be arriving in mailboxes this week. And that may mean a few more visitors to sauria.com….

On our card this year I wrote our blog addresses. Perhaps that seems silly, but reading our blogs is a great way to keep up with what Ted and I are doing. We tease friends who ask about our lives: “have you been reading our blogs?” To me, this blog is one extended Christmas letter of sorts. I blog about many more things than just what our family did this year, but I do also describe where we are and what’s happening to us. If you’ve been reading regularly, you know far more about our lives, than what I could squeeze into the 200 words typed on the back of our quarter-page card.

At Christmas time, I used to write a lengthy newsletter. I agonized over it. Perhaps it was because that was one of the only pieces of writing I did and I wanted it to be perfect. Or maybe it was that I thought I was writing the great American Novel, the Leung family saga of the year. We didn’t send pictures, just a card and letter.

But then once we had kids, we figured we should send a picture, since distant family and friends would be curious how big the kids are growing etc. Plus the kids are so cute – well, we’re a bit biased. But it makes creating the card easier.

What we’ve decided to do, for economy’s sake, these past couple years is to print a picture of the girls on one side, and then write a little news on the other side. This is the same style we use for our birth announcements too. For the length of our Christmas card list, this made the most sense in many ways.

Long-time blog readers looking at our card this year might wonder where we took the girls picture. The three are posing in red dresses in front of a neutral background. If I didn’t know better I’d think it was a studio photo. But, as I blogged in my frustrated tirade back in July, after an awful experience, I decided to wait a while before making the effort to go to a studio again. So I feel obligated to explain….

Instead this picture was taken by our neighbor Kate deVeaux, yes, she of Bremerton Symphony Orchestra fame, and also of Ted’s book cover (and the portrait on his blog as well). One morning as I was walking by her house, going around the block, she said she would be taking pictures and asked if I would like her to take some shots of the girls. When we arrived, Kate had the big neutral background and some nice lights set up in her living room. I think it worked well. The girls were mostly relaxed, without the tension and travel time to get to the mall, and the picture came out great. We are thankful for Kate!

And as far as what I wrote on the back, well, I realized that even though I scrunched the font, there are many things that didn’t fit or I forgot. Like I forgot to mention that we are home-schooling Abigail – guess I don’t really think about it that much in that way. Or I didn’t have time and space to write about our transportation challenges of the year. Or the vacation we took in Port Angeles. Perhaps it’s kind of like a Cliff Notes of our life, just the highlights and main plot points. Ah well, I figure not everyone wants to know all the details anyway! I tried to include what I could and didn’t worry about the rest. There are letters, emails, phone calls that can fill in the details….Or if any blog readers out there wants to know more …well, just keep reading forward and backward:)….I had to think about the purpose of the cards….and what I really want my card to do is give greetings, as I can, simple and warm, to those I think about each Christmas time.

So if you have come to this blog for the first time, due to the Christmas card you received…Welcome! Thanks for stopping by!
I’d like to send a big welcome to all blog readers and warm greetings with my gratitude:
Many blessings to you this season, from our family to yours!

Tags: christmas

1 response so far ↓

  • 1 Katherine // Dec 21, 2003 at 7:50 am

    The photo was amazing! It did totally look like a studio photo!!! Well, I’d say it IS a studio photo…just a small, temporary, local studio. What could be better? Wish I had a neighbor like that. Your cards are full of grace.