I know what it feels like. To question if it is really worth paying hundreds of dollars to have someone photograph you and your family for an hour or two. I know that the money could instead go to food, or bills, or a night out (or five). I know the daunting idea of trying to get all the kids cleaned and polished, while hoping you and your husband look ever so in love as the day you said “I do”. I know the stress that is involved and all the reasons on why we say to ourselves, “we can put it off… we can live without it” every year.

And it is true, you can live without it. But you will be missing something; something that makes your heart explode with happiness every time you see one of those photos. You will forget what it was like to have your daughter try to tickle you, and how small she actually was when she walked holding your hand. You will forget all the ridiculously silly faces your son makes when someone tells them to say, “cheese”. You will forget how real life was, how absolutely beautiful it was. We live in a world of instant, constantly waiting for the next thing – almost like a drug. But when I look at this framed photo on the wall, my world stops. My heart fills with so much joy and gratefulness. This is my family. This is why I work long hours, travel far off places, deal with throwup filled nights and go through all the stress and chaos imaginable. Every year, month, week, day… these lil people of mine keep growing and changing in every way imaginable. That statement alone makes me get tears in my eyes. Why? Because I want to remember exactly how they are for every day, of every week, of every month, of every year from the day they were born. And because of this thing called photographs, we can revisit and take a glimpse back into time. And those moments we let ourselves revisit and reminisce in… our ability to love grows. Our hope for the future strengthens. And you are able to see and feel things that you didn’t even realize you did in that moment when being photographed. In that photograph, you notice the things you take for granted every. single. day. and you cherish each and every one of them. Photographs are magical. And yes, I could live without these. But standing on this side of that photograph filled frame on my wall, I can only express that my world without being able to look upon these memories would be a lil darker.

Here is a glimpse into our family session with the lovely and oh so talented Sidney Morgan. (Check her out for sure. You won’t regret it.)