My Favorite Christmas Gift

So what was my favorite Christmas gift that I received this year???

Well, it wasn't my Prada purse. It wasn't my laptop computer. Instead it was one more picture with Santa and all three of my kids.

Aren't they cute????

We've been taking the kids to get their picture with Santa every year since Veruka was born. One of the funniest pictures is from the year that Charlie was born. He was only 1 month old at the time of the picture. Veruka was crying because she thought Santa was trying to take her baby. We couldn't convince her that Santa was nice. She did not like him holding her baby brother. We couldn't get her to stop crying, so we finally just had them take the picture.

This year's picture is special because last year we had to talk Veruka into being in the picture. She was 13 at the time and not too thrilled about being in the picture with Santa. So, we told her that since she was 13 that could be her last year being in the picture. We wouldn't make her do it the next year.

This year I was expecting to just have a picture with the 2 boys. On the way to the Mall, Charlie informed me that he didn't want to be in the picture. I was so sad. It was only going to be Mike!

Well, we got to the Mall and Brian met us there. Luckily, Veruka had brought a friend along. She and her friend wanted to get pictures taken with the 2 of them and Santa. So I quickly seized the opportunity and told the girls that I'd pay for their pictures if Veruka would be in a picture with the boys. The girls were thrilled with my offer.

Brian convinced Charlie to be in the picture. I don't know what he said. I'd like to think he said,

"It would mean a lot to Mom if you were in the picture."

It was probably more along the lines of,

"If you don't get in the picture, you're going to be in trouble."

The bottom line was that ALL THREE of my kids were in the picture for one more year! Next year I have a feeling that it'll just be Mike in the picture, but that's okay.