Our First Christmas Cards

   This year we sent out our first Christmas cards!! Knowing myself and how it is so easy to procrastinate, I told Michael that I wanted to take our pictures the first weekend in November. Yes, November. We got all dressed up and took photos in the front yard, Michael using the Manfrotto Magic Arm as the tripod, attaching it to the roof rack of my car. I wanted my hair to be long in the photos, so I waited to get it cut until after I found the picture I wanted to use for our cards. However, when I got home that afternoon from getting my hair cut (it always looks too short right after), Michael told me that we had to re-do the pictures because they did not look Christmas-y. I'll probably post the original pictures in April since Michael keeps referring to them as "Easter photos".
   He pulled a bunch of Christmas decorations down from the attic like garland with lights intertwined and some winter wooden figures. He did all the work and set up the area in the living room and we did another, better photo shoot. The fact that Michael said we needed to take more photos, just heightens the fact that I married the right guy! :) We used the timer on 5 seconds, and sat there, tickling Emma for about 10 minutes to make sure we would get a good one. Emma was making weird faces for some reason when we had her glasses on, so we left them off. And we tried getting Sasha in the photos too, but then Emma and Sasha were not looking at the camera at the same time, so we didn't use any of those. Here are some runner ups:

   I love sending mail, so I was excited to address these envelopes, press on the festive Santa stamps, and add snowman stickers to the front. The back of the card mentions that this is Emma's first Christmas at home and lists this blog link, so everyone can follow along in detail, but most of the people who got cards already follow along on Facebook and Instagram. The blog is usually a lot more informative though. We got 50 cards this year, but next year might need to get 75 (a handful of them went to doctors and nurses who helped us along the way). We used Shutterfly and love the card stock it is printed on, but I know Walgreens is cheaper.
   In the envelope I also added a printed note that read:

❅ ❄ ❆ ☃ Merry Christmas ~ 2018!  ☃ ❆ ❄ ❅

   It has been a whirlwind of wonder since last December when we were in Ann Arbor, Michigan for Emma to get her big 3D airway splint surgery with Doctor Green. We were in Michigan until the end of February and then she was back in the NICU at Winnie Palmer in Orlando, where she was born. Emma was finally discharged from the hospital, after 323 days, on April 30^th!! We had waited for that day for so long. We were so happy to be able to celebrate Mother’s Day and Emma’s first birthday on June 12^th at home. Now Emma has been home for 7 months!! She is doing so well, especially since she has been getting physical therapy once a week. This Christmas in Florida will definitely be warmer! J

   Thank you for all of your prayers ~ Have a great 2019!!

❅ ❄ ❆ ☃ Love from, Rachel, Michael, Emma (and Sasha)   ☃ ❆ ❄ ❅

The finished product- there was an option to have the snowflakes be shimmery, which would have looked even prettier, but that really bumped up the price. Also I threw in a picture of two of the snowman cards we made using Emma's foot print. I think they would make great ghosts in October!!

    And here are some pictures of the Manfrotto Magic Arm. Michael normally uses it to assist in holding make up fx pallets, but it is currently being used to hold Emma's formula bag to the ventilator stand so we don't have to use that IV pole for it anymore.