It's that time of year when you begin to think of Jolly ole' St. Nick. Which, means family portait season is in full swing. This always comes back to one thing... The amount of time we spend with family. I have seen our kids grow up so fast right before my eyes that I am taken back with so much emotion. I sometimes wish I could of done things differently for our children but none the less I have learned so much over the last year about our family that I look forward to seeing where life takes us this year. Here is a recent article that Julia wrote in our newsletter. I think it is one of the best articles she has written. I read this frequently just to set my eyes on what is right in this world we live in. Thanks to so many of you that drop us an email or a phone call and tell us how important it is to you, to get our newsletter. We could make the newsletter a bunch of fluff, however we love providing you with a bit more substance that you can use in your own life. Hopefully, you can learn from the mistakes that we have made.
This weekend we are doing our family tradition of going camping and then to Tanners Orchard. It's a tradition that we have done with the kids since Jaelyn our oldest (15) was a baby. I will truly cherish those time of picking apples and eating a good brat with them. I should thank my wife (the sentimental one) for always encouraging this traditon. I am sure there were times we could of said, "there to much to do, or there is not enough time to do this." However, we stuck with it and I look forward to many more years of this tradition.
A insert written by Julia in our fall newsletter called LifeStyle
What would you do if you were given a three month family vacation? We are not typically programmed to think like this. Due to the pressure of life, like work, school, and financial obligations, Americans are wired to take one week out of the year and invest it into our family for a one week break from life's craziness. During this one week, it typically takes the first few days of the trip to wind down and get used to being together as a family 24/7, and then the last few days of the trip are typically spent thinking about all the stress that awaits us at home and work after having been gone for a week. In the end, we wind up with only one or two relaxing days in the middle.
I do not know if you have ever thought about vacation quite like this, but about three years ago I began to ponder this reality. While photographing a wedding in Italy, Jeff and I were quite amazed at how the Europeans look at vacation. We happen to be there during the month of August, which we quickly learned is the month that most Italians stop normal life for a month of "holiday". Even big chain stores like GAP, Banana Republic, and so on, had signs on their doors that read, "Closed for holiday August 1st - 30th. "Wow,” we thought, "How did America miss this concept?”
About the same time, I was very moved by an article I read about a father and his desperate desire to know his children. He and his wife had a daughter and a son. When the daughter turned sixteen, he was deeply grieved that his time with her was quickly coming to an end, and he realized that he didn't really know her as a person. So, he and his wife decided to take a year away from work and life’s formal obligations and bicycle across America as a family. He said that what he learned about his children in just the first month of the trip was more than he had learned about them during all the past years.
As much as I would love our nation to encourage all businesses to close down for one month every year or love to be able to bicycle across America with my family, Jeff and I have not yet found either of those options to exist. However, Jeff has had a long time desire to experience the beauty of the coastline of California with our children. We have made many excuses over the years as to why this wasn't possible. However, after hearing the above inspirations, we decided that all the excuses were over rated. So, after saving a lot, having a huge garage sale, using every frequent flier mile we owned, and searching for hotels that would fit within our budget, we took a little over two weeks this summer to experience the coast of California as a family. Earlier this year, we were blessed with a trip to San Diego which allowed us to experience the southern part of the state. So, our trip this summer started off at Disney; then we went to Rancho Cucamonga, Santa Barbara, San Francisco,Yosemite National Park, and ended up in Los Angeles. It was really unbelievable to have two weeks together as a family. We spent a lot of time swimming, eating, and laughing. However, the best time was when we decided to list each family member’s top gifts in a log, wrote a pledge to family qualities, and made goals for annual family times. The time that we invested in this activity will never be forgotten, due to the fact that it was cool and that we happen to be doing it when the earthquake occurred in California. It was a little freaky, but everything was fine. All in all, we made memories we will never forget and experienced the love we have for each other in a very real way. I wish that two weeks of vacation could be an annual thing, but we will have to see what life brings.
This weekend, we will be taking a trip to photograph a family during their family vacation. The children are grown and are experiencing families of their own, but each year the parents take the whole family on a vacation. They will be spending time on Table Rock Lake, playing games and preparing a lot of meals. With four young babies, I'm sure it will be a lot of busyness. Jeff and I will be photographing a few of the activities and creating a photography journal of their vacation which will have the images combined with some of their thoughts about what family and this vacation mean to them. We are so honored to be able to capture this vacation for them in a way that they will never forget!
So I ask you again, what would you do if you were given a three month family vacation? Life is so short, and there is no time like the present to invest in family.
Thought I would leave you with some of our favorite Christmas card designs from this year. Every year we personally design cards just for the holidays.
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