365 People Pictures -- Day 1

During the past couple of years, a practice that many folks interested in photography have used to hone their skill has been to discipline themselves to take a photo a day for a year.

I've decided to restart that project but this time with my own twist. Because people are my favorite subject, I've decided to encourage my development as a photographer by taking people pictures on a daily basis.

Here's Day 1:


Mark (17) and Jaynie (19), adopted from Russia in September 2001 along with their biological sister Cassandra

I just realized a side benefit to this plan. Life is so busy around here that it's easy to miss both special moments and the daily routine that defines us as a family. I think this photography effort will help prevent that. There's already been a pay off in capturing a detail I wouldn't have wanted to have missed but easily could have in our ever-changing, extra-large family. Mark got his braces off on Friday, 21 December. I didn't think to take a picture when he returned home from the orthodontist, but now those pearly whites are on record.

Besides improving my photography skill and capturing family moments and milestones, this endeavor has a third benefit which is probably the most important. "Children are a gift from the Lord." (Psalm 127:3 NASB) Some days I find these words can be hard to swallow, in all honesty, in the midst of the daily-ness of parenting. And yet, when I see photos of my kiddos stream across my computer screen in a slide show, all the sudden my heart releases pent up anxiety and exasperation and I'm able to believe God's truth again. Children are a gift from the Lord--even during the challenging times. The reality of my life is that I am exceedingly blessed to be a mother. Pictures help me remember that.