To say it was a great Christmas would be an understatement. As I look through all the photographs I took over the past several weeks, I see so many fun times and happy moments. I was about to share with you all my BEST holiday photos. But then I decided, “That’s boring!” We all see everyone’s pretty perfectly posed photos on our Christmas cards and on our Facebook pages, and yes I am guilty of posting them here on this blog. We all know that that’s not usually how real life is with kids. And sometimes seeing everyone’s happy smiling professionally photographed portraits makes me feel like everyone else’s life is more organized and their kids are more well behaved than my own. So, I decided to share with you my favorite “outtakes” instead.
Instead of sharing my most perfectly posed photos of everyone smiling in their color-coordinated outfits, I’m sharing the candid Christmas images I will hold in my mind and my heart forever. When my children have all grown up, when they don’t wake up at 5 am to open presents on Christmas morning, when playing Santa is a distant memory, and even when they are off at their in-laws celebrating Christmas with their spouses’ families, these are some of the images that will remain in my head. The perfect ones are special too. But the REAL ones like these will help remind me of what life was really like every day. These are the ones with someone sticking out their tongue, someone trying to run away, or someone just being, well, real. Some are blurry, some are crooked, too bright or too dark. But that’s pretty much how daily life is at our house. These photos depict silliness, excitement, stubbornness, nervousness, and messiness. But most of all they capture happiness, LOVE, and genuine, PURE JOY. That is Christmas. Visit http://wp.me/p4TxlI-uW to see my REAL holiday photos that I will treasure forever.
