The Mom, Wife, Dream Life

I have always loved taking pictures, being in pictures, and looking back at the pictures. When I was a little girl, I often got told that I was photogenic, which means “looking attractive in photographs or on film.” Basically, it means that you look natural in pictures, and it’s easy to take a picture of you without having you try too hard to look good.

I never really believed people when they said that, but I always felt extremely flattered that they did. I have so many pictures and videos on my phone, Google, and Verizon have told me that I need to delete some to have enough space/storage… oops… How can I delete them, though, when they are all memories I want to look back on? If I didn’t want to capture the memory, I wouldn’t have taken the picture or video. Besides, most of my pictures are of my husband and our girls. How could I pick and choose which ones I kept when I love all of them? I know some of you are thinking, “Just print them out and put them in a scrapbook.” And you would be correct, I could do that. I have a scrapbook I’ve been meaning to utilize, and I got a cute decorative little kit to use with it for my birthday, but then what happens if something happens to the book? I could come up with what-ifs for everything, but unfortunately, I’ll always cherish the photos and videos I have, even if they disappear physically.

When is a Good Time to Have Family Pictures Taken?

Growing up with my siblings and parents, we had family pictures taken, I believe every year, and almost every time it happened to be in the late fall/early winter time. Now that I am an adult with my own family, I get that urge every fall/winter time to take family photos. I wonder if it’s a habit my mind has created, or maybe it’s the holidays coming up and wanting to be with family that brings those thoughts, feelings, and wants. Whatever it is, I know that family photos matter more than we realize. I remember almost every family picture we took as kids. I don’t remember all the little details, but I remember getting to wear cute clothes that matched, we went somewhere very pretty, and we got to pose and smile, and oftentimes laughing just being together. What special memories I will cherish and hope to pass down to our girls as they grow older.

Family photos matter more than we realize, because we never know when the last family photo we take will be. Almost a year ago, we got family photos taken after baby U was born, and little did I know that I would be going into the ER for emergency surgery just weeks later. Taking pictures as a family is something I don’t take lightly. It should be thought out, planned out, and intentional with everything from the hairstyles down to the time of day. My everyday pictures are a bit less thought-out and planned out, but are just as intentional and meaningful. I take pictures of the things and people that make me happy. Things I want to look back at with our children and say, “Look, this is you when you learned how to walk, or when you first tried blueberries, etc.”

What Does Taking Pictures Mean to Me?

Taking pictures means that I love someone or something so much that I want to capture that into a memory, a video, a picture to look back at, to keep as my screen saver, or to print out and look at constantly. It means that I love everything about the moment, the memory, and the bond that we are creating. When my husband takes pictures of me just because, it makes me feel special, loved, seen, and adored. When anyone takes pictures of me with our girls or as a family during a fun outing or spending time with others in general and sends them to me, it makes me feel appreciated and seen as an example of something that brings joy to others. I want myself and my family to be seen by others as loving, happy, and optimistic disciples of Jesus Christ. Getting pictures that capture any of that is beautiful and fills my soul with gratitude.

Why Do Pictures Bring Me Happiness?

Looking at pictures brings me happiness. Especially pictures of when I was younger or when my husband was younger. It’s fun to look back and remember just how far we’ve come in life or how much we’ve grown, and everything we’ve learned thus far. I get sentimental looking back at my almost three-year-old’s newborn pictures and my almost one-year-old’s newborn pictures. How are they already one and three? It makes me realize just how important it is to be in the moment, not take it for granted, and really appreciate the little things. Someday, when our children look back at our photos. I hope they can feel the love, happiness, obedience to God, and laughter we all share as a family. What a gift technology is, as long as it’s used appropriately, of course. But the blessing is to be able to capture moments, capture the memories, the fun times, the sad times, and the times just because. I’m grateful for it, and I will continue to fill my storage space up with photos and videos of my family and the amazing adventures and memories we create, because that’s what it’s there for.

“Today’s moments are tomorrow’s memories.”

*We have yet to get our pictures done this year, but in due time!!*

McKenna Sanders

The Mom, Wife, Dream Life Blog

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