My Beautiful Family

"In this family we do real, we make mistakes, we say I'm sorry, we have fun, we give hugs, we believe in second chances, we do happy, we extend forgiveness, we do really loud, we are family, and we represent LOVE."  

I don't know about you, but family photos are hard to schedule in my family.  The last time we had photos scheduled a year ago, my husband ended up on a business trip that couldn't be cancelled and I went ahead without him.  So this October we had agreed on a weekend we knew we'd be in Flagstaff Arizona and scheduled in advance!  I was so excited!  I do not  have very many photos of all three of us together, and I wanted some great ones to blow up and hang in my house, use for Christmas cards and send to family.    

I will be honest, picture day felt like an utter disaster with a toddler.  I planned ahead and made sure Lincoln took a good nap, had a full tummy, and even packed "fun" snacks as bribery - I am fully admitting I am not above it.  Less than 15 minutes into the photo shoot, the  snacks became the enemy - lesson number one, don't bring snacks because then he was so focused on them they became a distraction.  From that point on, we had barely begun and I was sure none of the photos would turn out.  My husband often teases me that I am a pessimist, and while I actually prefer to be the optimistic, this day he was right.  Lesson number 2, don't doubt the photographer.  To my pleasant surprise family photos were a success.  In my head if I even got a few good photos I would be happy, but really I have multiple to choose from.  

After looking through the photos for a few days, I realized how silly my feelings were.  Human nature likes perfection.  But isn't it our imperfections, our inner hearts, spontaneity,  and smiles that make us beautiful?  I even love the photo of my son crying ... at the end of the photo shoot he was done, completely frustrated and broke into tears.  That day I had to laugh instead of being upset.  Jason asked the photographer to capture that moment, because it was real, and its adorable in the aftermath.  We are always our own worst critics, the smile wasn't full, our eyes are squinted, my hair wasn't right, his shirt was un-tucked, I should have lost ten pounds ... you get the point.  I read a blog by a photographer once that in overview said, if everyone waited till things were perfect in their lives and they looked the best they ever had, so on so forth, than most of the world would miss precious moments with loved ones.  Life changes, tragedy takes place and anything can happen in the blink of an eye.  This reminder is what made me set all those silly things aside  and realize I love all of the moments capture with my guys.  And while there are photos and poses that turned out better than others of course, I am grateful for these beautiful memories.    

I wanted to share my lovely family with you all so you know who I write about, where my passion comes from, why I love this adorable little boy and why I am a very blessed mama and wife.  Meet the Vedadi's!