A couple weeks ago I shared with you my tips on choosing outfits for family photos as well as my feelings about getting them taken. I am an avid believer in the power of these photos as memories for my family to look back on and to pass on when I am no longer on this earth. (I can picture the ture generations… “Oh, your great-great-great-grandmother was a bit of a kook, but look, you have her eyes!”) We are so fortunate to have a photographer who has become a close friend of mine over the last few years. Eddie of Jalapeno Photography first shot us back in 2013, again in 2014 & 2015, and most recently a couple of weeks ago. She has also photographed me for some collaborations as well. She knows us well, and knows how to capture our personalities and connections, and she’s immensely talented. I wanted to share our family photos with you today and also show your our Christmas card I designed using Minted.
When I put together our outfits, I was going for somewhat of a vintage romantic look… plum velvet for Emmy, and pink tulle for me. Eddie ran with that idea and created some of the most amazing images for us; I can’t wait to print some out for our walls in 2017!
This family photo was the one that truly came out the best.
Sawyer tends to be a little bit of a goofball (I mean, no idea where he could possibly get that from!) so we have several like this as well, where everyone looks good, and then there’s him… being silly.
Eddie captured tons of photos of the kids in sweet moments, hanging out on her swing and playing in leaves. I might be biased, but I could wallpaper my house with these.
I also wanted photos taken of each of us alone with the kids, and these are some of my favorites.
In a family, the individual relationships are just as important as the entire family, and have so much impact on the overall dynamics. It was important to me that each relationship be captured. I’ve got some of myself with the kids, but these of Chris with each child just melt my heart. Sawyer and Chris are cracking up at something, and then the one of him and Emmy… the way they are looking at each other!
Of course, the relationship that started this family is between me and Chris. 13 years of marriage, and over 16 years together, and he still makes me feel like a kid in love. I hope I feel like that until my hair has all turned gray and my wrinkles show the many years.
Lastly, you may have noticed a new profile photo. It was about time for a new one! I like to stay up to date with my photos so you know who you’re meeting at this blog. A couple more years under my belt, a few more wrinkles earned around my eyes… These are a few of my favorites, with the far right being the new photo. However, ask any of my friends and they’ll tell you the far left most definitely captures my personality. I’m constantly thinking of ways to try to make my friends and family laugh, and I think that photo embodies that trait. I debated using that as my profile photo and I still might. What do you think?
With Eddie giving us so many wonderful photos to work with, I had a hard time choosing for our Christmas card this year. I knew I wanted to use the best one of all of us, but beyond that I had no idea. I wasn’t sure if I wanted one or more photos on the card, so I plugged this one into Minted’s Find It First, and was able to see how it looked on every card design they had. Gosh, I love that feature! I took a screen shot to show you what it does for you.
I ended up deciding to put more photos in the card, and in the end chose “Bright Merry” which featured a plum design which perfectly complemented our outfits. 
Last year was a crazy year, and I never even managed to get cards together, so this year I am feeling ahead of the game! Now to address them and get them in the mail!
I also want to mention that the 12 Days of Holiday Homes Tour wrapped up yesterday. You can find all of the links to the posts here, and if you would like to link up your holiday home tour to share, you can head to Amy‘s or Jenny‘s blog to do so!
*This post is not sponsored! I was provided with a credit for these cards from another post that I did… this one is just because I wanted to give a shout out to Jalapeno photography and Minted because I am a fan!
