You don't look bored. You look YOU.
Don’t get me wrong, your smile that stretches from cheek to cheek, flaunting those bone white chiclets, is perfect, but your personality is beyond that smile. Your individuality is bubbling behind that smile, in a wild, giant laugh, just waiting to burst. Any second, your bass-playin’, beard growin’, Jesus lovin’ husband will make that face you love, and just like a Mentos dropped in a soda can, your guffaw explodes, bringing your whole family to a musical performance of laughs.
See? You’re not like every other family.
Look at other’s family photos, and they stand still, nearing statue status, the children full of bribes posed with perfect (perfectly fake) cheeses, but not YOUR family. Your family fills the frame, often overflowing it with bellyaches of laughter that fade to genuine smiles, the kind that begins in your eyes and spread all over. Casually, Casey brushes his daughter's wispy hair off her forehead, and a tickled giggle escapes from her. Stealing spontaneous kisses from your son is your specialty, but a groan and that goofy, wrinkled face of his? That quirk is straight from you, his momma.
Speaking of Momma, it's time everyone saw you, too. And here you are, loudly and proudly making your appearance. The best part? It’s not a sorry selfie, requiring your arm to extend to go-go gadget length, angling the iPhone lens perfectly, while attempting to not chop off your kid’s foreheads, or worse, give your husband a fivehead. (Anyone else out there take 89 selfies, only to find one decent one?! No? Just me?)
Your entire family. In one frame. No, make that MANY frames. And right there in the mix of it all, is you. Mom. The leader of your tribe. Your artistic, faithful, kind-hearted, one-of-a-kind, FUN tribe.
I know you’re fun. (Oh, do I know!) You know you're fun. Now, everyone else can see just how much!
Christa, that loud cackle of yours? That’s YOU. I wasn’t about to hide that.
Your children. Oh, your children! Owen’s brilliance and eagerness to learn the world is so evident, and I can’t help but imagine who he’ll grow up to be. Yours and Casey’s sense to show him the world is just one of your many selfless acts of parenthood that is so apparent. He also has two little green eyes, peering up to him like a hungry puppy, eager to be just like him. Stella’s soul may be tender, but she’s bound to stick up for herself, now against her big brother, and later against anyone who tries to stop her. Her daddy’s soft-spoken encouragement is only the beginning of her can-do attitude that’s instilled in her daily. The forever mark of ink that lies on the inside of Casey’s forearm, with script that reads “Did you love...”, is one of the most beautiful, permanent reminders I’ve ever seen. To “make each choice with love” and to “act with love” is a reminder I have happily added to my personal daily practice.
My hope, for when the time comes for you to gaze through these photos tomorrow, next year, or next generation, is that you recognize all the tiny parts that add up to your entire whole. Has your family dynamic ever been so alive?!
Those tiny parts are what make the Gerbers? THE Gerbers.
I don’t think you can put a price tag on nostalgia your whole family can enjoy. And by your whole family, I mean each branch that, over the years, extends from your family tree, always growing, always eternal. Reminiscing OF your family AS a family is priceless. What better way to narrate your story with the help of photos that don’t just smile your story, they SHOUT your story!
So those empty walls throughout your home? They won't be bare anymore. Now, you can fulfill that Pinterest inspiration pinned many moons ago with your own family gallery.
Because Christa, your family has NEVER.LOOKED.BETTER!
