Wish granted. Sort of.

For all of you who have pleaded, begged, prayed, fasted, or simply asked for Russ + Christmas music, there's a bit of an appetizer available to you. It's like the cheddar bay biscuits at RL. (mid-afternoon munchies much?)

The Fundamental Elements have recorded a Christmas Song and MADE IT A FREE DOWNLOAD. Hello.

Merry. Christmas. To. Me.

Head over to their blog to get the FREE download.

More news coming soon. Or should I say Mohr news.

Never gets old.

Snuggle Sundays

Wanna peek into our Sunday afternoons?

Done. Peek accomplished.

Earning his keep.

This week marked a first for our little man. He learned a new word. (Thankfully one that he can use in public...) Chores. Yes, he's only 3 and 1/2 but that means he's practically 4 and that makes him not that far away from 12, really, and then it's almost time to decide what to get him for graduation. Sweet mercy, where did the time go?

So, yes, chores. Or chore, as the case may be. His job?


Canine food management (i.e. filling Daisy's food bowl).

With each full bowl, he claims (and shakes) his booty. He gets a coin to put in his piggy bank. And because this teacher can't let go of teachable moments, we talk about what the coin is and how much it's worth, etc.

(excuse the unexcusebly bad picture. yikes)

Eventually we'll start separating into save, give, spend but for now it's all in one bank while he learns a little responsibility. Also, for now, his "allowance", if that's what you want to call it, is earned by chores. In a few years, it may move to books. We're definitely throwing around the idea.

I once heard John Maxwell speaking at an Arbonne conference and he shared how his kids earned their allowance by reading. When his kids found out that their friends earned theirs simply by taking out the trash, etc, stuff they were already expected to be doing, they got mad and asked why they had it differently. Dr. Maxwell explained that on one hand, they didn't need to get paid to be an active and responsible part of the family, on the other hand, he said, "If I wanted you to become garbage-men, I'd pay you to take out the garbage." Hence, paying them to read.

However, if we paid Eliot for reading books at this stage, we'd have to take out a sizable loan. So, perhaps once he's older and into actual reading, specifically books that take more than 2 minutes to finish and don't include Lightening McQueen as the main character. Kaaaaa-chow.

Custom Christmas LP Postcards (by Russ)

OK gang, here's my shameless promotion of my freelance graphic design business (Art in Stereo).

If any of you procrastinators out there are still wondering what to do about Christmas cards, I've got your back. For the next week or so I'll be taking orders for "Custom Christmas LP Postcards," a postcard designed to look like a vintage Christmas album cover. It's a fun way to do something different to show off a little style and character with your family Christmas cards this year. No two designs will be the same, so your card will be completely unique to your family.

Each order includes:

• A full color, two-sided design printed on durable 100 lb. card stock. Postcards are 5"(h) x 5.5" (w). Please note, postcard size is not small enough for postcard stamp. 44¢ stamps will be required for mailing, with or without envelopes.
  
• Customized design with your family names, photos, album title and even autographs for a personal touch.
• Complete detailing to give your Christmas card the look of a vintage album cover (including fictional record company name & logo and catalog number).
  
• Back cover includes space for up to four photos, or small space for a personalized message from your family).
• There is space on back for mailing address and stamp, or if you choose to ship in envelopes the space could be used for a handwritten note (envelopes are not available with order, you'll have to purchase them on your own.)
  
• Your return address and space for your website or blog to be advertised.
• Price includes design, production and shipping your order to your home or business.

{SPOILER ALERT} Here is our 2009 Christmas card to give you an example...




Packages/Prices (includes design, production & order shipment):

• 50 postcards: $75
• 100 postcards: $100

To place an order:

Please email me at russ@fundamentalelements.net. We'll then discuss your order, design ideas, and I'll have you send me photos, etc.

PLEASE NOTE: ORDERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED VIA BLOG COMMENTS.

Order turnaround is approximately one week.

I will also accept orders for other personalized postcards: wedding save-the-date cards, birthday party invitations, graduation parties, etc., now and beyond the Holiday Season. Just contact me and we'll discuss!

OK guys, hope I'll hear from some of you and help make your Christmas cards creative and fun!

-Russ

Laugh Out Loud Wednesday

This line from this blog made me Laugh Out Loud today,

"If you ever grow concerned that your prayer life isn’t what it should be, I totally recommend watching your child take pictures with someone else’s very expensive camera."

What made you laugh today?

Legit

Finally my Christmas giddiness can come to fruition! Instead of just showing you pics from our night-o-decorating, I thought I'd throw in the similar shots from years past, just for kicks. Christmas kicks are my favorite. I promise yule enjoy some of these little throwbacks!

My boys two years ago vs now-a-days



Yesteryear vs yesterday

And the rest of the photo fun:




That's it from this round! Mohrry Christmas!!!

Happy St. Leon's Day!

(Inside family joke, sorry!)

Over Thanksgiving my family also celebrated Christmas since our schedules don't really allow for another hang out time any closer to the 25th. So, we held Thanksmas/ Chrisgiving/ St. Leon's Day.

Enjoy the photo journal:

Hang out time with Aunt Dawn!

I speak {write} truth.

One more sneak peak

Tryptophan...