merry christmas from the petersens! (2017)

 it's the most wonderful time of the year!!! 

christmas card season!

mike can tell you (eye rolls included) that i live for christmas cards. i adore getting them. hanging them. i love sending them. there's something so traditional and special about the finished product- notice i said finished product, because i feel like the process can be arduous at best. getting the photos (either taken or organized), then the addressing, stuffing, and mailing of cards can be trickier some years than others. this year i wanted to continue the concept of do it simply. last year, our christmas was simple. plain. it was calm. it was focused. it was perfect! this year, i feel like most everything is bouncing off me as i try and get done everything i need to do. i've been working full-time in addition to dealing with a sweet angel baby who has had constant colds, and hasn't slept more than a single straight hour in months. it's been a lot. hallelujah, our cards came together in less than 5 minutes thanks to shutterfly. it's our 3rd christmas working with the shutterfly/tiny prints team, and it's always such an easy one! 

 jude played on the floor next to me as i stamped and stuffed and licked and addressed...

 harvey joined in on the fun for a bit because eating paper is quickly becoming a highlight of his days.

if you're on the fence about sending cards, just do it. it's always worth it i swear! it's also such a treat to me to get cards from families i love with the photos i took of them throughout this season of family. that being said send cards even if you don't have family photos! the focus is on the process and story more than the picture. at least that's my theory;)

sending the happiest christmas wishes to those we love this holiday season. 

and thanks to shutterfly for helping to make my life simpler, and our holidays merrier!

merry christmas from the petersens! (2016)

i have been slllooooooow at my christmas card game this year. we had family pictures scheduled, but then my grandpa passed away and the timing just wasn't lining up to reschedule. i had been so sick, the last thing i wanted was to get my picture taken, and it seemed like i was spending my well-time taking pictures of others instead! it was thanksgiving and i told mike we had to at least throw something together so we could send out a little card (& pending-baby announcement); it seems silly in so many ways since i feel like i post constantly online, but it's tradition! IT IS TRADITION!

my thanks to tiny prints again this year for coming through and saving me- they have so many options that basically anything can come together out of nothing (them: anything, me: nothing)! and even after you pick a design you can customize the paper, shape, corners... you name it. my favorite part this year is i took advantage of my laziness and ordered pre-addressed cards along with stamps... 😬 

winning idea if you ask me. 

since we didn't have "official" family photos, we went with our usual collage... always a petersen collage to rely on during the holidays;)

these puppies arrived late last night (our mail comes at 8pm- no joke. poor mailmen!), and by school drop-off this morning they were in the mail! 

these are the cards we selected, along with these envelopes and these stamps (you can see the whole tiny prints holiday collection here). plus, cards are 40% off, so jump on late bandwagon with me!!

wishing all a very merry christmas from the petersens!!

*and yes, jude has a medicine syringe in his hand. it's his squirt gun. it is required when leaving the house dressed up like ninja batman. obviously.

merry christmas from the petersens! (2015)

it's the most magical time of the year! yes, yes, i know it's not quite thanksgiving, but the christmas candle is already burning and "rockin' holiday" has been playing on my iTunes radio for weeks. i do really like thanksgiving, but if anything the joy of christmas gets me more in the spirit of gratitude- i say nothing is lost. thanksgiving is just extra magical when the excitement of christmas starts a bit early;) we brought zero decorations with us when we moved, so we're getting creative this year, and it's making me extra excited to keep the focus on the joy of the season. 

i've had my mind scrambling about christmas cards for a month now, and i knew i wanted to get them out early since we apparently moved to mars (it takes a solid week for mail to cross the country). i had my eyes searching for the perfect cards, and thanks to tiny prints, all my dreams came true! i usually make our cards, but i just didn't have the time or energy this year. also, since we have no official family pictures (you know, no perfect "front of the card" photo), just a few thousand images from our adventures thus-far in 2015, i also knew i wanted to do a collection of images to show what we've been up to in 2015. there is one thing everyone who knows me knows: there is never a shortage of pictures. ever. 

jude went down for his nap last saturday, and my little partner in crime and i pow-wowed with our music, spreadsheet, cards, envelopes, liners, address stamp, custom postage stamps (!!!), and nimble fingers... and went to work! she's the best assistant. 

elle is the master stuffer extraordinaire. she lined every envelope, stuffed every card, and even threw in a few drawings for her little friends. it was so much fun!

i am super impressed with the quality of the cards, and the ability to customize (aka: add more pictures of ourselves than anyone really wants to see) not only the cards themselves, but the envelopes and more (stamps!!! have i said stamps!?!). christmas cards are so much more fun with photos, don't you think? i think. i was like a flipping kid in a candy store. i had to restrain myself. i could have easily gone wild(...er).

and now, we have officially kicked off our holiday season right!!

merry christmas from the petersens!!

merry christmas from the petersens! (2014)

merry christmas from the petersens! (2013)

(front & back)

merry christmas from the petersens! (2012)

merry christmas from the petersens! (2011)

 front & back

i'm so glad we sent out cards this year! we skipped last year, & it just didn't feel right.

i remembered why we skipped last year when i went to pay for the 3 books of stamps:)

the printing company's minimum order was 100, and i don't know 100 people.

so perhaps we shall wallpaper our bathroom with our extras.

too vain? :)

side note: that "m+a" graffiti was there when we arrived- we did not deface property for the sake of photographs. it was meant to be! there were also additional choice expletives which were photoshopped out. nothing said "happy holidays from the petersens" like some f-bombs:)

merry christmas!!

family pictures! it's about time.

real family pictures. it's been a 6+ year debate.

well, after insensate begging, mike caved to my constant pleading.

poor guy can't get away from cameras.

it was a rough 20 minutes w/ elle (as you can tell by most of her leery-faces. she was not. happy.), but it was SO nice to not have to touch the camera for once! no wonder most give up once their ratio of adults-to-kids shifts. MAN it is hard!

thanks brooke! my hats off to you...