Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Not so Merry & Bright

A few years ago I received the cutest Christmas card from some friends who live in Illinois. I instantly fell in love with their card. It was different and innovative. In fact, I loved their card so much that I have been saving it ever since so that one day I could "replicate" it with my own children. So last November I did what you do when you want a beautiful picture; I turned to the very talented Marci Lambert.

Well, let me just start by saying that the inside of our house is very dark. Natural lighting is pretty much hit or miss at the Butler home. Add to that a very cold, dark, cloudy and rainy morning. As you can imagine, just by walking through the door Marci was faced with a lighting disaster challenge.

Then add to this equation the two most unwilling and uncooperative subjects you've ever known. I mean cantankerous, belligerent,
ill-natured, crying so hard snot's all over the place type subjects. They would not play along or sit still or smile or do anything else that was asked of them. Nothing!

Finally, let's not forget the incredibly stressed out Momma who wanted nothing more than an adorable picture of the children for our Christmas card. I mean seriously, is that too much to ask?

As easy going and laid back as Marci is, I think she quickly realized this would be no easy feat. I love her for being SO unbelievably patient and for never losing her cool with any of us, because heaven knows there were been plenty of times I wanted to lock the kids in a room and take the first flight out to Timbuktu.

After some really hard work on Marci's behalf and because she's, well.... Marci Lambert, she managed to take some gorgeous photos of my kids.

However, there is one specific picture that made us laugh SO very hard. And we talked and giggled about how funny it would be if we actually did use this photo on our cards. Without further ado:
Pathetic, isn't it? And please do make sure to click on it so that you can get the full effect. Seriously! By the looks of it you'd think we're electrocuting these kids with a strand of multi-colored Christmas lights. And what in the world is up with Isabella?

Would this not have made an awesome Christmas card? It would have looked a little something like this:
Go ahead... click on it. You know you wanna.

Honestly, what would you think if you got a Christmas card like this one? Oh boy, I can't wait to see what we come up with for this year's card.

5 comments:

marci lambert said...

ah, yes, i remember it well! and i do think people should send outtakes for holiday cards -- think of how much laughter would be in the air for the holidays!

Christie said...

HA HA HA HA HA!!! I so think you should use this for your Christmas card!!! I laughed for about 5 minutes when I saw this! I am laughing right now as I am typing! Isabella looks like she is in serious pain and Sam well..... What can I say he looks pitiful! HA HA HA I am sure Scott was laughing when he saw this. Although if I would have lived through the photo shoot I may not think it is that funny.

valerie joy said...

LOVE the card! I would sooo do it. I need to get your email--so I can send you what I made for lunch today. I made it for work-the dip was a HUGE hit, soup was too!

Potato Soup
Serving Size = 1 cup, 2 pts before garnish
Ingredients
 30 oz Hash Browns shredded
 10 ounce Frozen seasoning (onion, garlic, bell pepper)
 45 oz Chicken broth (3 cans low sodium)
 1 package Pioneer country gravy mix
 1 cup Water
 1 tsp Olive oil
 1 T FF sour cream for garnish = 1 pt
 1 T Cheddar Cheese for garnish = 1 pt

Preparation
Add frozen seasoning mix to a large pot with olive oil and saute for 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and frozen potatos and simmer for 10 minutes. Combine the gravy package with 1 cup water and add to the soup. Simmer another 10 minutes. Serve with FF sour cream & FF cheddar cheese.

Hot Fiesta Dip
Serving size = ¼ cup, 1 pt,
Baked Chips (13), 2pts.

Ingredients
 1 10 oz package of frozen whole-kernel corn
 1 ½ cups refrigerated fresh salsa
 ¾ cup of WW Reduced Fat Shredded Mexican Style Cheese
 2 T chopped green onion
Preparation
Microwave frozen corn according to package directions. Drain.
Combine corn and salsa in a microwave safe 9 inch pie plate. Cover with plastic wrap; vent. Microwave on HIGH 2 minutes until bubbly. Sprinkle cheese over corn mixture; cover and let stand 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Top with chopped onions.

Pumpkin Cookies
Serving Size, 1 cookie = 1 pt
Ingredients
 1 box of Spice Cake Mix
 1 Can of Pumpkin Pie Filling
Preparation
Combine Cake Mix with Pie Filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Mini Brownie Cupcakes
Brownie Cupcake Bites
Serving Size, 1 brownie = 3 pts
Ingredients
 21 oz regular brownies, dry mix
 ½ cup water
 ½ up unsweetened applesauce
 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
 1 ½ cups lite whipped topping
 1 ¼ oz candy corn, about 24 pieces
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 mini muffin tin holes with mini cupcake wrappers.
In a large mixing bowl, combine brownie mix, water, applesauce and egg whites. Mix 50 times with a wooden spoon (use 50 strokes); do not under mix. Pour brownie mixture into prepared muffin tins.
Bake cupcakes until a tester inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely; remove cupcakes from pan. Before serving, decorate each cooled cupcake with a tablespoon dollop of whopped topping and 1 piece of candy corn. Yields 1 cupcake per serving.

Hayley said...

That is a cool card- someone I know send hand painted cards- they are pretty special too!

Anonymous said...

Which friend in Illinois? ;) ~L