Who uses a family selfie for their Christmas card?! This girl!
The irony of this year’s family Christmas-card photo session makes me smile. It’s one of those life events that puts everything into perspective. My visions of perfection are often shut down which forces me to accept the humorous reality of raising two children… life isn’t perfect. Parenting is often chaotic and children’s reactions and attitudes are unpredictable. Each day is a constant reminder that perfection doesn’t exist, and I have to learn that everything is going turn out just fine.
So why the selfie Christmas card? Well…everything went incredibly smooth the morning before our photo session. The kids looked adorable in their perfectly pressed and coordinated outfits, everyone was in cheerful moods, we had hired one of Atlanta’s best photographers and we even arrived to our destination at Piedmont Park twenty minutes early. The stars were aligned for what was going to be amazing family photos!
The twins’ happily played at the park while we waited for our mini-session to begin. They were all smiles…until our photographer was ready to start with our pictures. As soon as the camera came out, both kid’s shut down. Their smiles were gone without a trace.
As soon as our session ended and our photographer left, the kids decided to break out their happy faces again, and we snapped this family selfie, which ended up being the best photo of the day.
Our family “selfie” has become one of my favorite family photos. It was not taken by a professional and wouldn’t even be considered Pinterest worthy. But it’s a family that in my eyes is completely perfect. It’s been a tough year and the fact that our marriage and family has been redeemed and strengthened makes the genuine smiles in this photo mean so much. It’s a Christmas card that makes this “non-perfect” picture extra special. We all have so much to be grateful for this holiday season. {Even when the outfits I so carefully coordinated aren’t seen on the cards in the end!}
So in my daily journey of looking for “perfect”, I will always be reminded of this photo story and to focus on finding joy in the important things life gives you.
Minted is offering 15% off any card order to our readers with code LAUREN15 through December 19th. It’s not too late to get Holiday, New Years or even Valentine’s cards printed.
Merry Christmas!
A big thank you to Minted for the Lefevre family’s 2014 Christmas cards!
Photos by the amazing Anne Almasy, one of my favorite photogs ever. {Here’s to happier subjects next year, Anne!}
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