Us...The Posed and The Real.

My name is Amy. It has been 5.5 months since I last blogged...not for lack of "wanting" to...just a serious lack of uninterrupted time. And the fact that if I am sitting in the blue chair with the computer on, I usually have one or more little people sitting in my lap trying to help...and little people helping is no help at all. 

Back to the matter at hand. 

Last week we bit the almighty bullet and took the whole gang to go get updated family pictures taken. The large canvas print on my living room wall is not only outdated, but missing the little girl with the big chocolate eyes and dimples. Because trying to take any kind of picture, much less a "professional" family picture, is a little bit like paper cuts with lemon juice poured on top, we had considered other options. For example...paint a gold patch on the bottom and glue a picture of Ava on it, have Hannah paint her in, take a picture of Ava, cut it out and glue her in Jacob's arms, etc. We finally just figured we'd take the pictures and let whatever we got document this time period in our family's crazy life.

So of course on the day we were scheduled...Spencer was running a temperature of 102.5 and in rare "Don't touch me! I don't like that!" form, Ava, who normally takes deliciously long naps, had refused and was going on a 20 minute cat nap, and my hair looked like some kind of bad melted synthetic wig. But persist we did...ladies and gentleman...presenting my favorite people...fever, sleep deprivation and all.

This is what happens when the photographer says, "Look at each other and laugh." I'm pretty sure this isn't what she had in mind but we do appreciate the dramatic antics of our middle schooler...and the death stare of our 2-year old.

Oh my Hannah girl...beautiful inside and out.

And my Ava girl...despite the fact that it looks like she is dressed in red clown shoes, she fills my heart with so much happy every day that I can't imagine what we ever did without her.

Happiest spirit ever...AND 2 dimples to match. Sheer perfection!

Despite the fever eyes, he still makes my heart beat fast. 

My 13-year old suddenly looks like a man...although by the end of the photo shoot the "smoldering" model look was getting old. I don't know where he developed the look...in the basement  bathroom mirror?!

Us. And my feet in placed in a completely natural position.

Spencer's face BEFORE we bribed him with fruit snacks.

Spencer's face AFTER he was sufficiently bribed.

OK...here is the best part of the photo shoot. Unbeknownst to Chris and I, Jake had brought his aviator sunglasses that he is very proud of and apparently  make him feel like a male model when he wears them. He BEGGED us to let him wear them during most of the photo shoot...and we patiently had to explain over and over again why we didn't want him wearing aviator sunglasses in the family picture that was going to be blown up and placed in the living room. We kept promising he could take a picture with them...well, our amazing photographer, who had a few sons herself, finally told Jake to grab his glasses and step over into the corner. And for a few glorious minutes, Jake got to live out all his dreams of wearing aviator sunglasses and being a male model. Who knew? Chris and I were laughing so hard (from a respectful distance of course) while she was taking the pictures but then I had to admit being somewhat impressed when I saw them later. Who knew my giant, gentle 13-year old could perform Shakespeare, win state math competitions, love science, AND smolder like a Gap model?! 

Forget the blown up family picture...maybe we'll just blow up Jake's face with aviator glasses!

This picture demonstrates one of the thousands of reasons why I love Fotofly Studios...the spontaneous moments they capture in between the "posed" photographs that always take my breath away!

He is one of the most amazing little spirits I have ever known.

Be still my heart!

My beautiful, sweet, smart, funny, talented, amazing girls!

Oh, how I love this boy! Isn't he handsome?


My amazing, smart, talented, kind, gentle boys!


Love my "big" girl!

Us.

The "real" us.



Well...there you have it. We don't hang around these parts much lately but consider yourself updated and informed!

I love pictures of my family.

This is a chaotic time in our family. We are busy...busy with big people, busy with small people, busy with life. I don't always handle things very gracefully. I often feel like I am floundering in all the mess but pictures capture the moments I love, the faces and time periods in our family's life that one day my heart will desperately miss. I love my children's eyes and their smiles and their silliness and their seriousness and their personalities. I love my husband and this journey we are on together...I am deeply, profoundly grateful. And I want to remember that...every day...in all the mess and chaos...there is so much beauty to capture and hold and remember.

Remember...that is the key!