Merry Christmas from Obi & Cooper
How it Came to be that Cooper & Obi are the Stars of the 23rd Annual Exum Family Christmas Card
Long story short, they’re easy & bring our family so much joy! And honestly, that’s what we needed this year— more ease & more joy.
You see, we almost didn’t send out a family card this year. With Bella working in Spain & Sawyer busy in school at NC State, we weren’t sure how, or if, we were going to pull off a Christmas card —not one we could all agree on anyway. It just wasn’t logistically possible unless we photoshopped everyone in, and we ALL agreed we wouldn’t do that again after we had a stand-in model for Bella one year (guess which card?!).
After weeks of going over every idea we could think of, Steve & I came up with what we thought would be a perfect & easy solution-send out a card featuring one of Steve’s fine art photography images. Yes! Well, Bella & Sawyer weren’t ready to give up just yet. They wanted to keep the tradition alive for at least one more year. What?! We didn’t expect that reaction & I’m telling you our hearts grew three sizes that day. Then Bella offered the idea of doing a collage of our past Christmas cards which we all loved! I mean, if this happens to be the last year, a retrospective is, well, beautiful. Steve wanted to add something fun & different, but he also knew he didn’t have time in his schedule to produce a big shoot. I’ve been offering the “ugly Christmas sweater” photo idea for years, but Steve had never bought into it before. Too easy. Too cliche. Then it hit me, the dogs!
Unlike our human children, Cooper & Obi were available. They’re pretty well-trained & will do almost anything for an extra pat or treat. They listen, always agree with us & just want to be near us. Perfect!
We told ourselves we didn’t have time & it would be too difficult, but that’s not the full truth. The truth is we were looking for ease & joy, & thankfully, we found it. May we all continue to seek & find more ease & joy this holiday season.
Merry Christmas from The Exums
Obi & Cooper
Bella, Sawyer, Steve & Molly
CLICK ON THE VIDEO BELOW TO WATCH A 23 YEAR EXUM HOLIDAY CARD RETROSPECTIVE