Embrace the Camera {Curious}

I started reading a "baby book" to the younger ones.  But don't you love how the bigger boys still can't help but gather round for some Curious George?

Embrace the Camera here.

Embrace the Camera {Snuggling}

I think one of my kids took this photo.  Cry Cry was especially snuggly and I had to capture it.  Blurry picture and all.  

He had just woken up from his nap... still a little sleepy.

Love this boy.

Embrace the Camera here.

Embrace the Camera {Mornings with Samuel}

Samuel has piano lessons early, early in the morning once a week.  When we started morning lessons, at first I let him sleep as late as he could, and drag him out of bed at the very last minute.  He would get there and yawn through his lesson.  Then when I mentioned breakfast before, just him and me, he perked up.  That next morning, when I gently shook his shoulder to wake him, he popped out of bed into his clothes, ready to go.  And he was more ready for his lesson.  It's been a fun tradition for us.  And definitely worth losing a little sleep over.  

And you can always catch up on sleep later on in the day.

Love spending these mornings with you, Samuel.

You can Embrace the Camera here.

Embracing the Camera {Moments}

I'm thankful for moment like these.  I know this time with these little boys is short.
Soon they will be bigger boys who won't want to snuggle up to their Mommy.

Love these moments with them.

You can Embrace the Camera here.

Embrace the Camera {Camo Night}

What do you think?

Should this be our Christmas card picture?

Happy Thursday!

Embrace the Camera {Natural Moments}

Normal moments. 

After seeing this, I realize I want more photos like this.  

More photos of when we are just doing what we normally do.

We only get a glimpse of his face in this last picture, but I love his look of sheer delight.  

And the fact that he's in my arms makes it all the better.

Embrace the camera here.

Embrace the Camera {Sweet Nothings}

Samuel is my mysterious child.

It's hard to know what is going on in his little brain.

So I'm so glad that he leaves me notes around the house.

He taped this by the place I sit on the school table one morning.

He wanted to make sure I had my picture taken with it.  He took this one.

He wanted his picture taken with it too.

Another present he gave to me.

This is what was inside.

Thanks for making my day, Samuel!

Go Embrace the Camera here.

Embrace the Camera {Easter Sunday}

My favorite part about this picture ...  Look at how Cry Cry is holding my hand.

Just for that, I'll forgive him for what he did to me as an infant.

It occurs to me that one day when we line up according to height, I'll be at the end.

Link up here with Embrace the Camera if you like.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Embrace the Camera {Jopie as photographer}

The kids have become interested in trying out my big camera.  Even Jopie.  Jopie is 4.  As a side note, the other day he said, "Mommy, will you please stop calling me Joseph?  That is not my real name!"

"What is your name?" I asked.

Looking at me like I was stupid, "Jopie!"

He took this one.  It's not the best picture of me, but I like it because it's how my kids see me a lot, bending down to see what they need.

Link up with Embrace the Camera here.

Embrace the Camera {Jopie and me}

I so loved Emily's recent post, that I have decided to try her Embrace the Camera.

What does this mean?  Read on.

In the olden days, when I had a camera with film (remember film?), I turned my film into Sam's Club and would go to pick it up 5 days later.  This is what I did until I got my first digital camera in 2005.  Anyway, I would get my pictures back and maybe 1 in about 100, there would be a glimpse of me.  Almost always, that 1/100 shot was not taken at my best moment.  Like this one Chris took.

[Cry Cry and me, Thanksgiving 2008]

Thanks Chris!

Or random.  Like this one.

I'm pretty sure that this particular set of PJ's did not come together.

(But how cute and sweet is Samuel right there?)

Or right after I gave birth when I'm all puffy.

These aren't really the kind of pictures you would want your grandkids to pull out and say, "THIS was my grandmother!"  We laugh about it, but the good photos of me and the kids are few and far between.  I have lots of Chris and the boys.  I'm the photographer in the family, so my natural instinct is to grab the camera and capture the moment.

But of course, I feel a little funny asking to be in the picture.  Don't you?

But I AM their mother.

I DID birth them.

I do spend ALL day long with them.

I deserve to get on the other side of the camera every so often, right?

So I'm going to Embrace the Camera.  This means I'll try to get myself in a pic every week or so and share it with you, and Lord willing, share with my grandkids, and my great grandkids.

Let's see how it goes.

Chris took this one the other night as we were shooting off rockets.

We were on soccer fields.  The lighting was just right.

Didn't he do a good job?

I love that he caught sweet Jopie with a natural face.  He so often does his "camera smile."

So come on, Embrace the Camera with me.

Even if you don't blog, get a good pic of yourself with your kids every so often!

Click on over to Emily's blog to find out how.