Christmas Photos...

One thing I've always been good at is sending out Christmas cards, each season.  It's especially important, since having our son, for me to send out cards with a Christmas photo (almost always taken my me) to our friends and family, since we've always lived so far away. 

Here are a few from seasons past...

{Grant's 1st Christmas 2007...we took this photo on our dining room table}

{Christmas 2009...Turtle Bay Resort, Hawaii}



{Christmas 2010...North Shore, Oahu, HI. This year I loved almost all the photos and sent out several pics!}


and this years Christmas Photos...

{O.K. I may have had a little too much fun on picnik.com this year!  I couldn't get him to smile or to wear the hat for very long..he was tired, had crazy hair and didn't want his photo taken, but this was our only chance to take photos and get them out on time!  These were taken yesterday, at our trip to the Featherdale Wildlife park, and he did have a great time!}

Also, I always try to match the card to our destination.  When we lived in Korea, we sent out Christmas cards with scenes from Korea, while in Hawaii we would send out Aloha cards and now this year in Australia, I bought cute cards with Santa in shorts and flip flops set in various Australian scenes (in front of Uluru, at the beach, eating ice cream) and joined by koalas, a platypus, kangaroos and other local animals. 

We are slowly building our family traditions...so far it's taking a Christmas photo, sitting on Santa's lap, buying a Christmas ornament each year that represents where we're at or what we've done that year, driving around looking at Christmas lights, and writing Santa a Christmas note with his list on Christmas Eve to sit out with his cookies and milk. 

This year we're also hoping to attend a Christmas Eve candlelight service, if they have those here.  Hawaii always had a great Christmas parade and decorations set up in the area surrounding Iolani Palace.  We're hoping they have something similar here! 

The other day we saw a little Christmas tree farm, so we're hoping to get our tree and decorate this weekend.  My husband bought all our sons Christmas gifts, while on his business trip to Florida and they arrived in the mail yesterday.  I don't think we'll put them out until Christmas Eve, after he falls asleep, so he thinks Santa left them and to save ourselves from constantly having to say, "don't touch those, don't open those, don't rip the paper, they're for Christmas!" 

If you can't tell, from this long post, I'm very excited to have our first Aussie Christmas, in our new home and to decorate, decorate, decorate!