Life at Home: January 2011

This past week I spent several hours in memories, searching through thousands of our photos from the last five years to select the ones I wanted to put on digital frame I bought Brigham for Christmas. It was so much fun to go back through pictures I have not looked at in years, and be reminded that, yes, I really have beautiful children.

Right before my eyes, I watch James evolve from this smiling charmer:

Into this mischievous smiler:

Anna went from cute

To gorgeous

And Seth went from adorable

To more adorable

Then there are the photos that I love. I look at them every day and smile at the memory of that day. I have many friends that are photograpers and I love to look at the photos they post on their blogs but I love the pictures of their own children the most. The pictures they take of other people, their cilents, are good but they lack something that is present in the pictures of their children. In an hour photo session, it is so hard to capture a person's personality, their special smiles and expressions especially if the photograper does not know that person very well. But with their own children, my photographer friends capture those smiles, those expressions that bring those personalities vividly to life. I may not know their children's special smiles or expressions, but I can sense something special in those photos. That is what I see in these photos that I love. They are not necessarialy the best photos I have taken but they capture my children's personalities.

The trio of Anna that hangs on my wall (and when she is really trying patience I stare at to remind myself that I love her and should act that way)

My silly, happy, mischievous James.

(disclaimer: I did not dress James in the above photo)

The pumpkin pictures I just love because James and I had so much fun that day out in the garden.