Merry Christmas! | Ft. Lauderdale Photographer

We are two days away from Christmas and I have to say my stress level is unseasonably low.  Presents are all wrapped as of last Saturday, Holiday cards went out in the mail a week ago, all client orders are out and delivered, and to top it off, at this moment, both my kids are napping!   I have to say that this has been a pretty stress free December compared to Christmases past.  Last year was a doozy for sure.  I was so busy that I didn’t get around to sending out my own personal cards, and it really upset me.  This year I sent out a total of 127 cards, and unfortunately it wasn’t nearly enough, and I didn’t rush and order any more.  I don’t even have one left for myself.  So if you didn’t receive one from me, and do truly apologize and will definitely up my order for next year.  I’m just happy that I did, for the most part get them out.

Online shopping this year has definitely taken ALOT of the stress out of the holidays.  Being that I’m due at the end of the month, my husband and I were serious about getting as much done as early as possible.  Online shopping and starting the shopping early for us, definitely had its benefits and its downfalls.  But for the most part, it was super convenient.  The only downfall really, was having to breakdown and dispose of all the boxes that the UPS driver delivered.   Plus, we are now Amazon prime members, which for a flat yearly fee, the majority of things sold on Amazon are available for FREE two day shipping or overnight for $3.99.  And honestly, if Amazon doesn’t carry it, do you really need it?  But that being said, all presents are wrapped, when I know a majority of my friends are hunkering down tonight with a bottle of wine and attempting to begin what can be a very daunting task.

So now its just a matter of playing the waiting game.  Waiting for Christmas to come.  Waiting for the baby to come (hopefully at this point, not until Monday.  Gotta stick it out through the weekend).   Having a bit of downtime this week has really given me a time to reflect as I think back on last Christmas, and how my life/my family’s lives have changed over the last year and will continue to change in 2012.  We’re really very very lucky.  It has been an amazing year for me both personally and professionally.  I’m truly grateful for all that I have and all that I have to look forward to.

I want to share a few of the images I took in my attempt to create our Christmas card.  The first attempt was in the studio.  Tried to go for something a bit more traditional.  The second attempt was on our quest for a Christmas Tree.  Unfortunately, South Florida doesn’t have Christmas tree farms covered in snow, as its always been a vision of mine to do a session with a family as they cut down their tree.  But for the first time, my favorite plant nursery, Flamingo Road Nursery, sold fresh cut trees.  So it was there we went to “cut down” our own tree.  I used a mix of both sessions for our card this year.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Much love!

Till next time,

court

courtney ortiz photography

modern family photography