Does this Christmas letter make me look old?

I'm currently working on a writing project that is guaranteed to pay me NOTHING but I still find very valuable:  our annual Christmas letter.  I skipped it last year, and I was going to skip it again this year (things have just been way too crazy) but I had a change of heart.  Being military, and 20-somethings, there's been a lot of changes in our lives over the past 12 months, and there's some important folks out there who haven't got a clue (particularly older family members who don't use Facebook and Gtalk and Blogger and Twitter on a regular basis).  Also, one of the things I have promised myself as a military wife is to always make an effort to stay in touch with important people, no matter where the Air Force or life takes us.

But as I started typing the first sentences, it occurred to me: I don't recall ever getting a Christmas *letter* from anyone under the age of 40 or so.  Cards, yes, letters, no.  And maybe my memory is failing me here- it's possible.  But now I'm wondering: does Christmas update letter make me look middle-aged at the ripe old age of 26?

Regardless of the answer to that question, I'm going to send it.  Ever since I could comprehend the written word, reading the Christmas letters coming to my family each day was one of my favorite parts of the holiday season.  As a minister, my dad has always been on a lot of Christmas card lists.  I loved getting updates on even the most obscure of family acquaintances and seeing updated family photos each year.  My parents had friends who I'd never met whose children I watched grow up through Christmas portraits.  Even as an adult, when I go home for Christmas, one of the first things I do, after setting down my luggage and hugging the family, is to gravitate to the tray where all the Christmas letters are deposited and start leafing through them.  It's a tradition that I love.

So, even if it makes me look 20 years older than I am, and makes all my 20-something friends wonder if I've lost it, I'll be sending out a typed Christmas update.  And since I have always loved Christmas cards with an enclosed photo the MOST, I'm planning on sending a picture as well.  In October I hired a local freelance photographer to do some photography for my website (you can see I've finally added the pictures here) and I thought it would be fun to do some couple portraits while we were at it (Justin and I have never had formal pictures together before, outside of our wedding day).  I'm going to let Justin have a say on which picture we send (I'm such a nice wife!) and since I suspect he is not going to choose any of the pictures that I like, I thought I would post a few here.  This is my Christmas card to anyone who reads my blog!

 

 

Our Dollhouse in Georgia

It's a long time coming, but I'm finally posting pictures of the little townhome we're in the process of purchasing in Warner Robins, GA.  We close in December and move in February. 

I call this our dollhouse for two reasons: Firstly, that was the first word that came to mind when I saw a picture of the exterior.  I think it's precious.  Secondly, it's small.  We're downsizing for this home (for a detailed explanation of our plans to build the Guy family real estate empire, check out the early November posts at my other blog- I've already hashed it all out there).

Without further ado, your visual tour of the future Guy household:

 

This is a front view of our little dollhouse, with my Focus in the front.  Love the fall leaves- looking forward to four seasons again!  No garage, so we're going to have to get a storage unit, or else get rid of a lot of junk (which would probably be a good idea!)

Side view.  It's a corner lot so we've got lots of grass and some cute little trees- gonna have to break down and buy a lawnmower!

 

This is the living room, looking at the front entrance.  I like the cute rounded window tops throughout the house.  Carpet is in decent condition but worn in places- which we actually LIKE- since we know (from lots of experience) the dogs are just going to do a number on it anyways once we move in.

 

This is our little fireplace, opposite the entrance in the living room.  It's wood burning but we'll probably just display candles in it or something artsy looking.

The kitchen.  Before you scream in horror at the wallpaper (yes, it's a little bit atrocious), be assured that this will be the first improvement we make to the place.  Dated wallpaper is a quick fix- it's going to come down, and ideally I'd like to tile on a backsplash and paint above, but if I don't get around to that, we'll just do the painting.  The kitchen wallpaper and the bathroom wallpaper are the only two parts of the house, aesthetically, that I don't like (you'll see the bathroom for yourself in a minute here).  

 

  Here's a view of the kitchen from the attached dining area, looking towards the living room.  You can see the hallway to the bedrooms to the left.  I like the little pass-through cutout- hopefully it will inspire me to cook more, since I'll be able to see the TV from the kitchen!  The kitchen set up is ideal for us, because it's got laminate (pee mops up easily) and it's a large, gate-able space for when we go out and the puppies need to be secured (for anyone reading this that doesn't know me personally, my 'puppies' are twelve year old shih tzus that feel they've earned the right, in their old age, to ignore all the potty training rules from their youth).

View of the kitchen/dining area from the living room.  All the wallpaper is coming down.  Probably that chandelier too.  Laundry is behind the folding doors.  Door with the folding screen leads to the backyard. 

The other room in need of a major facelift- the bathroom.  I think with the wallpaper removed, and those cheesy gold hardware pieces replaced, it will look a lot better.  If not, guess I'll just have to close my eyes when I pee.

Here's the back of our little dollhouse.  I wouldn't have chosen the yellow with the blue, but since it's there, I actually kind of like it.  Cheery and dollhouse-y, don't you think?  On the left is a little storage room ( I joked with Justin this could be my little office- maybe in a couple months I'll be squeezed in there on a folded chair with my laptop perched on my knees).  

 

A view of our little yard from the side.  It's not big, but then that's ok as we don't much use the nice big one we have now anyways.  Enough room for our little patio set and the grill we plan on buying after the move.  It's not like the 12 year old shih tzus need a lot of room to run around in!

 

This is a view looking down the street from our driveway.  There is a cul-de-sac in that direction.  I love all the trees.

The view looking the other direction.  To the right is another cul-de-sac.  Our street is a few streets off the main drag of Warner Robins, so hopefully it will be pretty quiet but still convenient.

And that's pretty much it . . . I didn't include pictures of the bedrooms because they aren't anything exciting- walls the same color as the living room, carpet, closets- I mean, the bedrooms are always pretty boring to look at unless there's something really unique about them!

Well, this post has taken me way too long to upload and caption, so that's all for now.  I'm excited about our new place- just a little anxious about adjusting to the smaller space.  But, I think it will be a good situation for us!