Random fact about me: I have a pretty bad long term memory. I remember big events and some completely random ones but I’m definitely not one of those people who actually remembers her first trip to the zoo, or that really great Halloween party in my 4th grade classroom. I have several boxes of pictures from my childhood but for the most part the pictures are of the big moments. Birthday parties, graduations, high school dances, athletics.

I wish there were more pictures of the little moments, the day to day life. I wish that I could look through a few months of pictures and know what my favorite outfit was by the number of times it appears. I want to know what toys I was constantly playing with, what food I ate every day.

I think that’s why I save almost all the pictures I take of my kids even the ones that don’t turn out so well. See the evidence below. I tried to sit my kids down and take a picture of them in their new Christmas shirts. Apparently they had ants in their pants because sitting still was just not happening. In the midst of it, I was actually getting upset because all I wanted was just one picture. ONE. I could tell by looking at the camera that every picture was blurry. They were the kind of pictures that are often deleted right there on the spot. However, when I looked at the whole sequence on my computer, with all the pictures lined up side by side I couldn’t help but laugh.

I’m not sure there is a more accurate portrayal of my kids right now. Chase was trying so hard to follow my directions, he tried to “cheese” and put his arm around his sister. Katelyn was being her typical self, unable to sit still, refusing to let her brother hug her let alone kiss her on the cheek. While I didn’t get that one perfect-to-be-framed photo, I think the compliation of photos IS perfect.

I’m so glad I saved those photos and all the other imperfect shots of my kids. Someday those pictures will be the ones that tell the story of their day to day lives.

From the day I was born until I graduated college my life, in pictures, fits into exactly 4 photo boxes. I have over 12,000 photos since I’ve had kids. I think my kids will thank me some day.

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Thank you to LiveOn for sponsoring this blog post. Please LiveOn to learn more about sharing and preserving your most important memories. I was selected for this sponsorship by Clever Girls Collective. Although story ideas were provided, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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