Every November, I feel the impending doom of preparing our Christmas cards.

Gone are the years I could dress up the girls in practically anything, and they'd gamely stand wherever I'd want and pose over and over and over.

They are no longer "into" the coordinated clothing photos and they constantly fight me when I try to dictate what they wear for photos (or anything else for that matter). 

In light of this, I finally surrendered to the madness.

Two years ago, I was extremely lucky to capture a moment following the grade school program. The older two girls were dressed up on stage and baby sister ran up and snuggled with them. Bang! Christmas photo done:)

Last year, I decided to try the coordinated effort again. Snow was falling gently in early November. It was beautiful against our late-blooming burning bush. Older sisters were smiley and sweet. Little sister wasn't having it.

We ventured to French Lick, Ind., to see Christmas lights a few weeks after the failed attempt, and I was sure I'd get something great to use for "the card." Now, however, one of the older sisters wasn't feeling it - at all. It wasn't until we went to the West Baden Hotel and the girls found a huge chaise lounge chair they could all fit in that their mood perked up. No one matched but they were so happy, I couldn't resist using the photo for our cards. I was onto something.

This year, I decided I was completely done fighting the perfect family Christmas photo. One beautiful Saturday in October, I was experimenting with a new studio toy and asked one of the older girls to model so I could practice. She jumped at the chance (they always do when it's a solo thing). Minutes later, she was joined by her two sisters. They were laughing, they built a pyramid with little sister on top, and they were having a great time. I never put my camera down.

No one is dressed to the nines and the matching of two of the girls is purely coincidental, but I love how I can feel their sisterly bond. As I whipped through the frames that night, I found myself loving each frame more than the one before. The girls were so relaxed. It was so "them" on a good day.

One day, we may try to coordinate again but for now I'm more than happy with this year's "perfect" Christmas card photo.

I hope this holiday season you find peace on this Earth. For me, it was in my backyard on a random Saturday in October.

As a side note, these are the photos that did NOT make the Hevron Christmas card. Preteens are pretty particular about how they are portrayed. My favorite, however, did make the back of the card. Watch for it closer to the holidays:)