From Mrs. to Mama: Only 2 months late... FAMILY PICTURES!

I know I am behind on this post. Actually, I'm behind on all posts. But one of the reasons that I waited was because I wanted to get our Christmas pictures out first, and then I realized that I had already shared our picture with our loved ones, and so there went that excuse. The actual reason is that I have neglected this little space of mine, and I am hoping that after the holidays that I will get another boost of writing energy. I'm hoping I can catch up on posts sharing new recipes that we have tried. I'm hoping to share all the latest in our lives. I've hoping to relive the holidays and memories created with our children through pictures. I'm hoping to finally put together the video from our vacation {back in July}. I'm hoping that I can somehow find my way back to a routine and schedule of writing. To scheduled posts. To edits. To reaching out and working with companies. To get my thoughts and feelings out of my head and onto the computer screen.

Here's to being hopeful.

But..... let us not get ahead of ourselves and just do one post at a time. Starting with these family pictures that we took last month.

You know, there is a reason why most families have their pictures taken only one time a year. We are one of those families. If it were up to my husband, we would probably only have them taken every other year. But, as soon as they are over, we all let out a sigh of relief. Only 365 more days to go {roughly}.

I'm not one of those people that looks forward to family pictures. Not the process, that is. I know two things for certain when it comes to family pictures: 1} My kids will want nothing to do with it, and 2} my husband and I are going to argue about it. And me? Well I'll be more stressed than ever before.

Well, this years go around to family pictures was no exception. Just as I predicted, just as I had envisioned, we were all a hot mess. From one kid going one way, the other looking the other way, a husband who wanted them over before they started, and me who was commanding left and right on the position that my sister was in with the camera. Actually, if I were my sister, I would think we were all clinically insane. Good thing she's my sister. I don't think I could hire someone to be a part of our natural chaos.

But we did it. We snapped a few pictures at my parent's house, grabbed just enough at the park, and then even got a few of Andrew and myself {much needed} at the end while the kids played. I literally kicked off my shoes at the end in the car and realized that I much prefer to be behind the lens rather than in front any day of the week.

Looking back through the pictures, it's amazing how much more I prefer the candid {not expected} shots. I'm not talking about the ones where we are just looking at each other smiling while my sister snapped some photos. I'm talking about the ones where we were positioning and chasing after kids. The ones where you can see the real life in them. Real life means children that don't want to sit still for a picture. Real life means that we bribe with lollipops for a smile. Real life means that mommy promises "just one more" over and over again. Real life means that we aren't picture perfect, but we are together and we are capturing this stage in our life, and that is frankly all that matters at the end of the day.