The annoying illnesses continue to linger, which explains why I had no intention of going to church Sunday morning. However, my daughter had other ideas and so, in my germ-induced haze, I decided not only to go to church, but also to dress the children in complementary colors, leave church early and take the annual Christmas photo.
We arrived in our usual front row seat only a minute or two late, even though I didn’t crawl from bed until 9:00 a.m. Almost as soon as we sat down, my daughter, the Instigator, began to lobby for our exit. I kept whispering in her ear, “As soon as the music is over.” Unbeknownst to me (I’m a sorry excuse for a pastor’s wife and I blame it all on the fact that I was too busy taking “Homiletics” to bother taking “The Pastor’s Wife,” in Bible college) the choir was presenting a Christmas cantata. I knew I’d miss it since I was accompanied by Miss I-Can’t-Sit-Still-in-Church, but still. We stayed as long as we could, then slipped out the door.
I had to buy film, so we left town briefly and then returned to a little park. I hurriedly arranged the children for a photograph, but someone was uncooperative and for some reason all the boys were squinty-eyed and slouching. Christmas Cheer sounded something like this: “Sit up! No, smile! Move it. Put your face forward. Sit up straight! Okay, scoot over! Smile! No, smile like you mean it. Hey, hey, hey, look at me!” Let’s just say that none of my children are destined for super stardom as a supermodel.
But you have to agree that Miss Grinch is mighty cute.
When my husband returned home from church, I raced off to Costco to have the film developed to see if anything turned out. The picture above is the one I chose. How could I not? Even the lady behind the Costco counter agreed. (And when you are choosing a picture to represent your family for the entire year, who better to consult that the lady behind the Costco counter? I ask you that.)
Actual Unretouched Photo 
very cute picture melodee, I decided to forgo the torture of a christmas picture this year and did a collage of pictures from the past year to put im my cards.
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I LOVE it! The picture, the story, the whole thing. Thanks for sharing and feel better soon! God bless… Debra
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The guys are a handsome bunch. But, your daughter…I want to be her friend!
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Your girl looks like “every day is judgement day” could be her motto too!
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very, very cute!! (This is yet another item on the long list of things that’s easier when you have only one child. This is why my friends roll their eyes when I complain about such things.)
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I absolutely LOVE it!!!
They are all cute, but she is hilarious….
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They are all very cute!
jali97spav
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Ohhhh, that is sooooo funny! The boys are all handsome good sports. And then there’s Her Highnessess of Beauty & Doom. hehehe
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very cute picture melodee, I decided to forgo the torture of a christmas picture this year and did a collage of pictures from the past year to put im my cards.
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What a wonderful family photo. Personalities shine brightly!
Kudos to the photographer. 🙂
Suzanne
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I LOVE it! The picture, the story, the whole thing. Thanks for sharing and feel better soon! God bless… Debra
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The guys are a handsome bunch. But, your daughter…I want to be her friend!
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Your girl looks like “every day is judgement day” could be her motto too!
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very, very cute!! (This is yet another item on the long list of things that’s easier when you have only one child. This is why my friends roll their eyes when I complain about such things.)
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I absolutely LOVE it!!!
They are all cute, but she is hilarious….
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That is priceless! lol.
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They are all very cute!
jali97spav
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I love it – your daughter reminds me of how cooperative I was, especially if my mom made me wear a dress.
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She’ll have the same expression on the Christmas card when she’s 13…
Too cute Mel!
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Mel, I love your blog! Your writing is incredibly funny….and you so think like me! Your family Christmas photo inspired me to go through our past photos and publish “the ones we didn’t use” on my blog. Although, now I’m wondering why I didnt use them…they crack me up, now!
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Ohhhh, that is sooooo funny! The boys are all handsome good sports. And then there’s Her Highnessess of Beauty & Doom. hehehe
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What a wonderful family photo. Personalities shine brightly!
Kudos to the photographer. 🙂
Suzanne
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That is priceless! lol.
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I love it – your daughter reminds me of how cooperative I was, especially if my mom made me wear a dress.
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She’ll have the same expression on the Christmas card when she’s 13…
Too cute Mel!
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Mel, I love your blog! Your writing is incredibly funny….and you so think like me! Your family Christmas photo inspired me to go through our past photos and publish “the ones we didn’t use” on my blog. Although, now I’m wondering why I didnt use them…they crack me up, now!
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very fabulous picture, and how smart were you to take the picture before the goose egg incident?? good thinking!!
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I’d probably look like that too if I was surrounded by that many brothers!
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very fabulous picture, and how smart were you to take the picture before the goose egg incident?? good thinking!!
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I’d probably look like that too if I was surrounded by that many brothers!
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That girl of yours is really somethin’ – I wish I could have coffee with the two of you!
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That girl of yours is really somethin’ – I wish I could have coffee with the two of you!
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