So here we are, the happy little Party of Five, trying to get that one perfect shot. We have Brooklyn looking at everything except the camera, Lauren with her ever-so-fake-Miss-America smile showing way too much of those adorable tiny baby teeth, and little Nolan eating grass. I repeated myself over and over and over again "Brooklyn, look at the camera" "Lauren, smile with your real smile" and "Nolan, stop putting grass in your hair and sit still already". It was a repeat of last summer's family photo shoot. I drove away bummed figuring it was a waste of time and there would be nothing 'fire place mantel' worthy.
As I bathed my three wonderful, healthy active children and got them ready for bed tonight, I began to feel extremely guilty. No, maybe I will not be getting a 16x20 blown up picture of my three children smiling and looking directly at the camera, but there are worse things in life than a bad photo shoot. None of my children are in a wheel chair, none of my children are wearing a hat to cover their hairless head cause by chemotherapy and we don't have a memory bear in our family picture to represent a child we have lost. When I think about all of the things I have to be thankful for in my life, it puts things like silly photo shoots into a whole new perspective.
As I sit here tonight (at 3:50 am on a never ending night shift) I find myself excited to see the proofs from our photo shoot.
-So what if Brooklyn is examining the bird flying above her head.
-Who cares that Lauren is trying to tie a piece of grass into a bow.
-And looking at little Nolan chewing on a stick will make me laugh in twenty years!
I am so very grateful for my healthy little blessings that I get to spend my days and nights with. God has blessed me with so many wonderful gifts, I sometimes need to step back and look at the big picture - or in this case, a silly photo. Who knows, maybe I will get that perfect shot of my little Party of Five :)
I had to smile as I was reading this- one because I can see your kids all preoccupied with different things which is who they are RIGHT NOW! This is the age where little boys eat grass! And the age where little girls are amazed with how birds can fly and they have perfected that oh-so-cheesy and oh-so-fake smile! But it also reminds me of my favorite Christmas card photo we ever received in the mail- three kids screaming, tears streaming down their faces, noses running and one pulling his brother’s hair…all sitting on Santa’s lap. The card said something like “not every day is perfect, but in the end we DO love each other. Merry Christmas!” They spent the entire time trying to get their “perfect family photo” and although maybe not picture perfect, it summed up their family life at that time perfectly!! And one of my favorite photos of Kaia she has her hand in front of her face and all you can see is her eyes peeking out and her hands (which are covered in marker from an art project). This was her at that time- quite shy and very artistic. When I exclaimed to the photographer when I got the photo “She has marker on her hands!!! I didn’t even notice that!” she quickly assured me that it could be airbrushed out. I’d never stand for that. I suspect you will find a picture for your mantle in your new home and it will depict your children’s personalities as they are right now. And it will be perfect!
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