Things to be Thankful for...

Photographs!

I've been obsessed with photographs my entire life... when we were younger, my sister was totally into photography and had a great camera. At the time, I wasn't as much into taking photographs, but loved looking at them... discovering old photos of my parents and family (which usually provided us with some giggles!) and creating books of photos and momentos to keep with me (yes, scrapbooks, but I didn't really realize that's what I was doing at the time).

When my Granny passed away, my Aunt Wanda (her sister) gave me one of the greatest gifts ever... photos of my Granny. She gave me her high school photo, a newspaper article about her (it essentially talked about her running a successful business and being fashionable... I remember them quoting her saying "I'm from Hatboro, so that's why I wear hats..." or something to that extent!), and a few other photos. I used to sit in bed and just stare at her high school photo and try to imagine what her life was like at the time, if she had any boyfriends, if she loved or hated school, how long it took to do her hair that day, etc.

The saying goes "A picture is worth 1000 words," and I just love trying to figure out what those words would be.

Now, I love to take the pictures! One of the greatest gifts Joe has given me is my camera... like my engagement ring or new necklace, I don't leave home without it and feel incomplete if I forget it! I'm not very great at photography, but I'm always trying to capture the moments... that's something that Joe has taught me as he hates posed photos (so I have to sneak in and get a candid one of him if I want anything at all! Although, to his credit, he's been much more patient with me now that Dagny has arrived!). I love catching one of Dagny's smirks or the dogs being mischievous... I love trying to capture the glow of happiness when my mom holds Dagny or someone's laughing (which, thankfully, happens a lot on both sides of our family)!

My intention with this post was to give a few examples of my favorite shots, but there's simply too many. I've been blessed by meeting some fabulous friends who have taken a multitude of great photos of me and my family and have been recently blessed with coupons from the Picture People (go to their website and you can get a coupon for a free sitting and 8x10!)! I have yet to be completely wowed by the Picture People (I find that the photographers that we know personally tend to capture more authentic and personal photos), but I took Dagny to the mall the other day for a "what the heck, it's Monday" photo session. In the midst of us trying to get her to smile, he caught this one and it just shows how goofy this little girl can be...

I didn't buy the next one, but it makes me giggle because she looks like she's engaged in an intense staring contest with the camera...

Anyway, today I'm thankful for photographs... learning about the past from old ones that I discover and taking new ones to capture the moment to be enjoyed and looked back on in the future.