A couple of weeks ago my mother-in-law gathered up all the kids (7)...their spouses (7)...and all the grandkids (14) and took another family photo. Growing up, family photos were a pain in my proompa. So much to worry about. Do we all match? Did Charlie comb his hair? Are we going to be on time? What, everyone is complaining that we have to go? Quick, smile and pretend that at this very moment we all love each other. And we only had 4 people in my family growing up. Now times all that stress by about 8 and that would explain family photos with Devan's family of 30.I hate to complain too much, but let's but honest...family photos are a necessary evil of the world we live in today. We hate planning them, we hate taking them, we especially hate trying to make all the kids smile and look forward and not lift their shirts up and not pick their nose. But the end result is something that we cherish. Our last family photo is hanging proudly in my living room. I plan on replacing it with this new one. People who come and visit love to look at them, "wow, there are so many people in your family."
My favorite line of the day was when my mother-in-law said "We are not going to have another family photo taken for 75 years." Yes we were all grumpy, but let's be honest. We had to hike a 3rd a mile up hill when it was 95 degrees outside in the sun. Most of the kids were crying at the end...and maybe some of the adults...but we all still want to take another one in a couple of years.
