Family Photo Shoot

Happened yesterday. Something LONG overdue. The last family photo we had taken without someone in a wedding dress was two (technically four though) children ago. My little brother who is now 4 was the baby at 6 months old. We've added two girls, and two boys (through marriage) to the family and in those past four years, we've all done a lot of growing up.
My 'little' brothers aren't so little anymore... pretty sure they might pass me up in height before they finish growing, and they definitely have more manly looks to them.
My middle sister- is coming to her own womanhood & will be dropdead GORGEOUS when she gets there. Not that she isn't already.
And the little boys are so adorable. They didn't have the opportunity of a million shots of them all growing up, like us older kids did. And I think that's one of the reasons I really came to want this photo shoot to come off well.
Because each of these wonderful siblings of mine, have an amazing personality, a kind of beauty that comes only from the sweetness & love they live with every day. And I want them to SEE that when they grow older.
It makes me tear up, because this, my Family, are what makes my life worth living. The love and meaning they have distilled upon me, implanted in me, is so incredible.
Sam was AMAZING about it all. He got to watch me stress about planning it all & came along for the ride & to give support. Which he did, wonderfully. He did great at keeping the kids all together & helping out.
I'll let you in on a secret. He really doesn't like photo shoots. Never really has. His family takes a lot of formal family pictures, and from what he's said, they result in a lot of headache and crying of children. Which is totally understandable for as large a family as he has.
But still leaves him not exactly jumping for joy about the prospect of another photo shoot. He always says he doesn't understand why pictures are such a big thing, that if we're always behind the lense watching, we're not living. I can see his point, but I think he doesn't quite get the amazing clarity you can find behind the lense of a camera. The way LIFE falls into place, something you couldn't have done alone, needed help changing perspectives.
That, is why I love photography.