Christmas Card photo shoot

I was determined to get a good photo of the kids for our Christmas cards last Sunday while they were all dressed so nicely after Mass.  I had the perfect location in mind, and we even went to the earliest Mass so that nobody would be complaining that they were hungry for lunch, but just for good measure, we promised donuts as a treat if everybody would behave and cooperate.  The kids love running around the garden that we took them to (and I really can't blame them, it's so neat!) but they were very good sports and uncomplainingly (for the most part) endured their mother's neurotic photo taking.  Forty seven pictures later, I decided we were done and I would just have to work with whatever I got.  :)

This one was almost our Christmas card!  I really, really love it.  But, while it does magnificently capture the spirit of my Kris, (and I happen to love Austin's scrunchy smile in this one), it just wasn't quite right for this year's Christmas card. 

Here's another one.  I like this one a lot, too (as evidenced by my blog and facebook banners) but it wasn't quite right for the cards, either.  Hmmm...

This is one of the first ones we took.  I was just happy that they were all in one place, looking at the camera, and looking relatively happy.  But, Meghan's a little too hidden...she's sort of lost there in the middle.  So, this one didn't make the final cut, either!

Ahhh....finally.  This is the one that I decided to use for our Christmas cards.  I love the way Austin is standing with his little hands in his pockets.  He looks like such a sophisticated little man!  I have never ever seen him put his hands in his pockets, either, so this must have been a new trick that he just learned.  I love this one!  Even Dylan has a real smile!  

I asked Caitlyn to take a picture of me and Darren together since we were on a roll.  It's pretty good!  But you'll notice that I'm not posting this one in "extra large" format.  No picture of me is good enough for me to want to see on such a large scale.  ;)

And, I'm including this one here at the end because I just think it's really cool.  Dylan had the camera and, in typical Dylan fashion, was not content to merely snap away with the existing settings.  Oh, no.  He, of course, in a matter of seconds, managed to find and figure out the panoramic sweep function that I knew existed but have never tried.  I love my two littlest girls running in the top left corner, but it's Darren sitting contemplatively in the bottom right corner that really speaks to me.  My quiet anchor.  (Probably he was just relieved that by this point, we were nearly finished.)  :)