From Near and Far...

I love Christmas cards.
I love hearing what other families have been up to during the year...
I love seeing their growing children...
I love knowing that they remembered us during the holiday season.
It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.  :)

If you had looked at my Christmas card list ten years ago, almost all of my addresses would have read "Stockton, CA."  But as I grow older (yes, I am...and you are too...), friends and family have
diffused across the country and around the world.  Although it makes me sad that I can't visit them all at once anymore, I love knowing that we can go almost anywhere and still see a familiar face!

We've got Washington and Oregon covered, with friends and family in Bend, Paulina, Portland, Seattle, Redmond, Vancouver, Shoreline and Zillah;
Shoutout to the super-cool peeps in Henderson and Sparks, Nevada;
We hope to be closer to friends in Colorado someday- HELLO Windsor, Denver, Boulder, Highlands Ranch and Salida;
I've got faithful blog followers and friends in North and South Carolina;
Baltimore and New Orleans are home to dear church friends;
I'm glad to know new transplants to New York, New York, and Alpharetta, Georgia;
Howdy to friends in Austin, Texas and good ol' Franklin, Tennessee;
We love our Arizona family- hello Tucson!;
From Manhattan, Kansas to Pennsylvania, Lincoln, Nebraska to Locust Grove, Virginia- a sprinkling of friends all over the country;
Close to home here in Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin;
And across the sea!  MAJOR shout-outs to friends in Malaysia and Thailand!  You know who you are...
Last but not least, our friends and family all across California- from Redding to Sacramento, Stockton to Turlock, Fresno to Los Angeles, Long Beach to San Diego, and all the crazies along the coast- Santa Cruz, I'm talking to you :)

For that reason, as weird as this may sound, I love updating our Christmas card list!
Though it's a tedious task, it's such a great reminder of how many people contribute, or have significantly contributed, to making our lives special, and we feel the love from all over the world at least once a year.