Friday's Favourites: Family Photographs
I know I am a family photographer so I am a little bit biased, but...this week this gets a post.
It has been two long years since we had family photographs done. Of course, that year...we had 4 sessions. Two family ones(one was impromptu). One just kids. And one just adults. We were...well...a little family photo'd out. Not to mention the fact that my family constantly has a camera shoved in their face, so they had grown tired of the process a bit.
The other truth is...the last two years have not been easy ones. I know that I should have put a brave face forward and had them done anyway. And, the truth is that I half heartedly tried to...but nothing came to fruition. I didn't feel like remembering that time in my life. For some pretty good reasons and some pretty stupid ones. And, looking at the blog post of my new photographs, I'm wondering why I hung on to all that crap. And, the truth is that the hard times are there for a reason. They are there so you appreciate the good ones. And, I'm getting there with appreciating the good ones. These images are really helping me with that.
You see...the stupid things that held me back--mostly about the way I look and being unhappy about it, but not unhappy enough to actually do something about it. Seem pretty stupid when I look at these pictures. Look at how much love there is. Love exists in the chaos of life...even if you aren't happy with the way it looks. Sometimes even more so because of that. And, I don't look that bad to me when I see the photographs. I look worse in my head. Which I know doesn't say much about my self-esteem, but there you have it. It is almost always something that strikes me after we have had professional photographs taken. So, I don't see the hair cut I'm not super happy with or the wrinkles or the ~gasp~ fat. This is what I do see:
My kids are not little anymore. And, that all at once breaks my heart and fills me with joy. They are honestly the most amazing kids I have ever met. True story. And, they are that way because of the relationship that Bob and I have. I'd say the way we love each other, but it's more than that...because sometimes we don't love each other that much(ha). It makes me sad that we skipped those years of having family photographs. Even though we have a million photographs of them, there are not very many of me with them. I am super duper bad at that.
soooo....this week, I'll urge you all to get your family photographs done. Pick a photographer you love. That helps a tonne. It also helps if you pick one who is used to photographing kids the same ages as yours(just saying...it's true. most photographers are used to photographing young kids when everyone is good about getting their pictures taken, but as kids get older it is harder to find photographers that can connect with them). Open up your home...this is the home we have lived in for the last 8 years. There is a good chance that we won't be living in it for much longer. I'm so happy to have photographs of the kids in their rooms and us in our kitchen/living room. Just chillin' ;)
Last but not least the shopping list(cause I know some of you are wondering and this IS a Friday's Favourites post):
Jack and Georgia's outfits are almost exclusively from Zara with the exception of Jack's velour suit jacket. That's from H&M. Jack's watch is from The Children's Place as are Georgia's boots(they are super duper old though). My tops are both from Anthropologie. Bob is wearing J Crew from head to toe. The swing in Georgia's room is from Pier One. So is my winky face mug. The Dr. Who blanket is from HMV and the Star Wars bedding is Pottery Barn kids(again--super old). I think that's everything you might want to buy :) If not, just say the word and I'll let you know.
The photographs are by the amazing Leigha Graf. I will be sure to share the album with you when it's done. That is my preferred method of saving my own photographs. And, coming up soon, will be Leigha's session as well. Maybe I'll even share the whole thing.
And, finally...Grandma Gandzalas's Rolled Up Pancakes. It is one of those recipes that she knew by heart so this is how she gave it to Bob. Bob once spent an entire day just cooking with Grandma and getting all of her recipes. He keeps them on his iPhone(used to be his Palm Pilot, but times have changed). This is the one we make all the time. We listen to the a CD of Bob's mom singing and tell stories about how the butter used to drip from Grandma's, but how we are more health conscious than that. ha.
4 eggs well beaten 2 cups milk 1 tsp baking powder 2 tbsp sugar 1 tsp salt 1 cup flour to consistency
It should be fairly runny. The pancakes should be fairly thin. When they are hot, you spread butter on them and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll. Eat. Repeat. ;) We have also tried Nutella, but this is a modern version that we only do on special occasions ;)
Happy Friday,
~ Dana