Take That Picture

Parents love to take pictures of their kids. They love to capture every moment. I am a mom, and I love to take pictures of my kids and capture everything they do. I also love sharing pictures of my kids on Facebook, Instagram, and even here on my blog. When parents are taking pictures of their kids that means parents are always behind the camera and never in front of the camera. As kids get older, they enjoy seeing pictures of their parents.

This picture inspired my post at a 2 a.m. feeding!

 Case in point, I was raised by my grandparents and my grandma told me she is so thankful for pictures of her mom (my great grandma) in front of the camera instead of behind it. My great grandma passed away in January of 2016. Pictures are all my grandma has of my great grandma. I love that I have pictures also of my great grandma, my grandma, and even my mom in front of the camera instead of behind it. As my kids get older (even as I get older), those pictures will be all that we have of them. I'm thankful that we have the pictures.

My aunt, mom, grandma, and great grandma with myself and two of my kids in May of 2015.

 That little story gets me to my point. We live in a day where selfies are very popular. My almost three year old (Liam) loves to take selfies. He says the word selfie as 'phelfie'. He also loves when I'm in the selfie with him. I got to thinking, parents don't have any reason why they shouldn't be in a picture with their kids. Technology has come a long way since the 50's. Kids don't care what you, as the parent, look like. All they care about is that you are in a picture with them. As they get older, the pictures are all they have left, they won't care what you looked like but that you were in the picture with them. Recently I have been taking a lot of selfies with my kids. I save them to my computer so that I can print them and put them in a photo album for my kids. I know the photo album of selfies will be so special to them as they get older.

Logan and I

Landon and I.

Liam and I.

Lucas and I.

Leliana and I.

I'm writing this post to tell parents to take that picture with your kids. Get in front of the camera or however you take selfies. Make sure your kids see you in pictures and not just them as they get older.  If your kids request that you be in the picture with them, don't complain. Get in the picture with your kids. If your kids don't want to take a picture, make it fun for them. As you can see in the pictures above, I didn't care what I looked like as long as I was in the picture with my kids. I also tried hard to make it fun for my kids to take a picture or selfie with me.

Even my husband, who hates pictures takes selfies on occasion with our kids.

Rob, Logan, and Landon.

Rob, Liam, and Landon.

Rob and Logan.

Also parents, take that picture of your spouse/partner and your kid sleeping. That picture will also be a gift to your child as well. My husband takes pictures of our kids and I sleeping all the time. I do the same as well. Those pictures show that being a parent is tiring, but so rewarding.

My husband and our daughter.

Liam and I.

You may be embarrassed, but I can assure you, there is nothing to be embarrassed about when it comes to taking pictures with your kids. You don't have to share it on social media, but just having it in your phone or on your computer is all you need. There is a saying that says, 'a picture is worth a thousand words'. It really is true. The most ugly picture of ourselves as parents is worth so much to our kids. Taking pictures can be something fun and free for you to do with your kids. I'm thankful for the above pictures and that our kids will be able to see these as they get older and know we loved making memories together and not just me snapping pictures of their memories. I am thankful for the time I took to spend with my kids taking the pictures that are in this post. Looking at the pictures then, and even now, I realize that I am so blessed to have the technology I do to be able to create these memories. We are so fortunate to have cameras these days, so let us use them wisely!

 The verse below is a favorite of mine. Even God loves pictures. After all, God is an artist which includes photography. He sees the bigger picture of our lives. He sees the future pictures as well. He creates pictures in our lives specifically for us. How amazing is that? Take all the pictures you can! I will be taking pictures with a lot of faith, hope, and love like everything else I do in my life!

Below are a few more selfies of my kids and I that I like. Do you have a favorite picture of you and your child? Do you have a favorite picture of you and your parents/grandparents/foster parents? Are you thankful for those pictures?

Landon and I from 2013.

Landon, Logan, and I from 2013.