The Evolution of Family Photographs

We had one of our family Christmases yesterday. Young Son is accompanying his girlfriend to Mississippi for the holidays, so we grabbed the only window available when all the kids could be in the same room.

L to R: Girlfriend, Young Son, Happy Mom, Married Daughter and Loyal Son-in-Law (who look amazingly fresh after driving to central Texas from Pennsylvania.)

We ate, we opened presents and we set the A/C to "cold" so we could don Christmas apparel without losing consciousness in the Texas heat. And then? We took family pictures.

When the kids were babies, it was easy to snap random shots at will. Toddler shots were a guessing game of who was responsible for the lyrics for "you better not pout, you better not cry" in the famous Christmas song. I think it was my children. Early elementary pictures showed daughter under the table at birthday party cake shots. I don't think she like the attention focused on her. (This did not present a problem when she cut her wedding cake. Thankfully, that tendency was outgrown.) Many teen aged photographs showed a yearly array of happy hearted shots and/or straight lipped pictures. It was a yearly lottery of successes or failures.

But now? Take heart, parents of young children. My now-adult children will all pose and smile when asked. A miracle 26 years in the making. (Thank you J, C, K and J! I love having these memories captured for future viewing.)
And how could we leave out Loyal Sister and Brother-in-Law? A good time was had by all.
And I leave you with a shot documenting the difference between girls and boys. The ornament to the left was given to me by a female student. It is a delicate blown-glass, glittery angel. The ornament on the right was given to me by a male student. It is an alien elf, impressive for its attention to detail on both sides. (And they fill me with The Happy each time I pass the tree.)

On to more celebrating. Hohoho.