Now that all the cards have been sent and received I can share my family Christmas card! Since Jason and I started our family I’ve given a lot of thought to the Christmas cards we send out, trying to capture the essence of where we are as a family that year. I usually remote it and take our Christmas photos myself, a fact that amazes our friends and has produced some comical results over the years. This year I felt our family was at a crossroads. Our first born is in high school, 14 years old… he’s grown two or three inches since these photos were taken in late September. He’s 5’11”, taller than his mom and quickly catching up to his dad. Our daughter is 12 and in jr high, also has grown two or three inches since these photos were taken, nearing 5’6″ now. Our little ones are 7 and 4, attending preschool and elementary, not babies anymore. I really felt the need to freeze time, catch us right now with all my chicks in my nest. I NEEDED to hire a photographer. My oldest son didn’t understand, why would you hire someone when you take such amazing pictures of us? Because I can’t give myself what I give to others, I can’t capture that connection, that essence of “us” with a remote. I turned to Mindy Harris of Pastel Photography in Charlotte North Carolina, who graciously flies around the country photographing other photographers families. These pictures are everything I hoped they would be, us frozen in time, crazy, funny, chaotic, perfect.