By Jessica Bauer of Life With the Bauer Bunch 

It all started with a husband and a dog.

There we sat beneath the Christmas tree in the living room of our first rent house. The tree was a skinny five-footer covered in cheap garland, tangled white lights, and the handful of ornaments we’d collected since we wed that summer. We posed beside our pup and smiled wide, knowing none of the Christmas card recipients would realize our family was growing.

That was number one. That quick snap of the shutter was the act that set the ball rolling for The Bauer Family Christmas Card. That was the first of a family tradition.

The family and friends who didn’t know something was brewing weren’t kept in the dark long and the next year’s card featured a chunky five-month-old on Santa’s lap. The following years showed a happy little family of three, sitting in leaves and posing for the camera. They showed a proud set of learn-as-you-go parents. They showed how fast babies turn into little boys. They showed us nestled in a new corner of the state, settling into new jobs and new lifestyles.

Christmas Present

The years kept coming and the cards showed us older, wiser, and happier. We were thrown into storms, but we found theother side every time. Our first baby started school and our second baby learned to crawl and walk and run. History repeated itself once more and the seventh Bauer Family Christmas Card held a secret. That particular secret joined us in July and will be making her card debut this month.

Annual greetings with grinning families are routine as far as traditions go, but the memories they hold are far more important than their placement on kitchen cabinets and coffee tables.When I arrange the outfits, pick the location, and pray they’ll look at the camera {see above photo for this year’s answer}, my mind goes back to the years I’ve filed away. Each of these photographs shows the progression of my family.

My family. My husband and I are the ones now responsible for spreading Christmas cheer and pouring the magic of it all into the hearts of our children.

It’s our turn.

Christmas Past

I grew up in an amazing family and Christmas was one of the best times of the year. We would gather at my grandmother’s house for a Christmas Eve dinner with all the trimmings. Once the dishes were clean and the kids were alternating between snoozing on the floor and playing with new toys, my parents gathered my brother and me for church. We leaned on theirshoulders during Midnight Mass as the priest talked about the glorious arrival of Jesus Christ. Once we tumbled through the church doors and gasped at the cold night air, my dad alwayscaught a glimpse of Santa’s sleigh in the moonlight.

Knowing he was close, my brother and I jumped into our pajamas the instant we made it home, shut our eyes tight, and dreamt of morning.

Now I’m the one who hears jingle bells in dark corners of the sky, arranges the cookies on Santa’s plate, and readies my camera before kids stir or dawn breaks. Each of our Christmascards proves my role in holiday cheer just gets better over time.

Christmas Future

As family and friends open the card that reveals two growing boys and a bouncing baby sister, I’m going to collect my family of five in front of our warm fireplace. We will eat popcorn, drink Hot Chocolate {or chocolate milk} and watch movies in our pajamas. Then we will take a drive through town to oooh and ahhh at twinkling lights.

The extra card that I’ll tuck away in the depths of my desk will serve as a frozen memory of this time in my life. Who knows where we will be when I discover it again.

I, for one, can’t wait to find out.

Hey y’all! I’m Jessica and I blog at Life With the Bauer Bunch. I’m a small-town girl just enjoying my slice of the good life with my husband Jonathan, our sons, Nathan, 6, and Owen, 2, and our brand-new baby girl, Nora. Stop by and visit sometime!