The Announcements Are Out!

Dear Samantha,

In my rush to get out your weekly blog post out last night, I forgot one very important detail:

YOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS ARE DONE!

Yep. After working on them sporadically for a month, your Aunt Beth & I finished your announcements just in time for me to get them in the mail last Friday. While we spent probably five or six hours working on them together, I spent about twenty hours working on them by myself off and on these past few weeks. Basically, whenever you were napping, I was frantically cropping, gluing and adjusting the individual components so that they'd come together as I had envisioned.

I was able to complete 67 of them. That was enough for our families and a few close friends, but it wasn't enough for everyone on the list (the grandparents had a few on their wish list, too). So, I had to order extras from Costco. All said, I think about 115 people have now received the official announcement that you have arrived. We wanted them to get something in writing, even though they probably already knew you were here because they followed the star (I'm repeating the same joke Uncle Tom quipped after he saw everyone making the trek to our house after we brought you home).

So, here they are:

This is the front:

Here's what it looks like when you open the announcement part way (this was your "solo" picture--I had 6 different pictures that I put in this spot. Dad's people got the one of him holding you, my people got the picture below, and there were 4 other pictures with just you in all your cuteness):



This was the inside with the adoption poem that I makes me tear up each time I read it:

And, for good measure, here's the backside. I had stamped your feet when you were a few days old, and made color copies for the announcements. Apparently, I'm obsessed with your feet. They're so little I just want to kiss them all over!


Ok, I'm done gushing. I've got loads of laundry to do and those clothes aren't going to magically find their way into the bags themselves for our upcoming trips.

Hugs and kisses,
your mommy