the almost family photo...


the picture above is our new 'family photo'... mostly because all of the others looked like the one below... i actually kind of love it though, it has the essence of abel, but chris + i are the focus which is usually not the case in most pictures from the past year.

abel was mr. grumpfish (i suspected it was his teeth + when i met his GIANT molar the next day, i fully understood why... ouch) and no amount of playing, tickling, or laughing was going to change his mind. he wanted to be left alone to explore + so after a few valiant efforts we just went with that. lucky us, chris + i got a few pictures like the old days, just the two of us. i'm so happy we did. it's really important to me to have photos around our home of our kids of course, but it's equally important to me to have photos of us as a couple. i want our kids to grow up seeing the love between husband + wife. their parents. i want them to know how much we love each other + how important our marriage + relationship is outside of them. it can be a hard balance. i've struggled + also learned (still learning) a lot about balance since we added a baby to our mix. it's easy to get caught up in your kids, especially if you are the one home with them 24/7, but one of the things i remember most from our marriage prep was to prioritize your spouse always... once your kids are grown + have their own lives, it'll be just the two of you again + you'll be happy that you nurtured that relationship through it all. i am NOT perfect at this. i have an extreme personality. the air in the car is either 90 or 60. the music is either loud or off completely. i have a tendency to get over excited + throw myself into things 100% and not have balance at all. maybe one day after a lot of practice, i'll be better at this... i don't know, but for now, i'm thankful that chris can be open + honest with me + tell me if he feels an imbalance. because i want to be the best mother, yes, but i also want to be the best wife equally as much. anyways, unplanned ramblings :) point being. we didn't get your traditional 'perfect family photo', but it's the perfect one for us right now + i love it.

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