the journey

I just finished reading a post by the painfully beautiful Meri over at Our Diabetic Life.  It wasn't so much what she wrote, but how it made me feel after reading it.  It made me r-e-f-l-e-c-t-i-v-e. 

The phrase "Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it" by Greg Anderson is one of my favorites. Those words often have the power to knock me out of a bad mood when I am stuck in a rut of negative thoughts.

As I am reminded of these powerful words, I feel motivated to spend some time in thought about the changes our family has gone through over the last year and remind myself how much joy was had in the journey.

A couple of years ago Dave and I wanted to put some thought, time and humor into our annual Christmas card.  What started out as a small project turned into a wonderful day with the kids and each other.  The memory, not the resulting photo card, is what remains in my thoughts.

2008 - This will only be funny if you have seen "A Christmas Story"

And while last year's card did not actually feature a typical photo of all of us, the process of coming up with the idea and making the Mii's was a memorable time.

2009 - front

2009 - back

This year was no different.  A few months ago we began brain storming about what we wanted to do.  The kids all had and suggestions, however not nearly enough of the ideas were feasible. But that's not the point!  The process of talking through it all is a great memory just in and of itself.

2010 - outtakes from our 1950's Christmas by the Piano

We ended selecting a folded card that looked like this:

Many of you have already seen these images, or have received a card in the mail, but I am just so happy with how everything turned out that I had to share one last time.

Gathering the clothes from Goodwill, borrowing accessories from others, begging the talents of a wonderful friend and lay photographer, setting up the scene and laughing with the kids as we coiffed their manes all 50's style was so much fun. Maddi even has a Bumpits hidden on her head thanks to another resourceful friend.

The point is, we had a blast that day and even if the photos had not turned out perfectly or the end product was not when we had envisioned.

Joy was had by all.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!  I will be away from the computer (hopefully) and enjoying time spent with my family and friends. 

Stay warm, be happy and don't worry about the details!