Letting go of perfect, and finding perfection

Around November 1 every year, I start scheming our holiday card. I set the bar high a few years back when I penned a custom poem about our annual happenings. I've written poems or a letter of some sort, and designed our card every year since then...and just can't go back to the standard drag & drop card.

Last year, a friend/photographer took an amazing candid shot of our family. It captured the essence of the love we feel for each other, and is now hanging as a 20x30 canvas in my family room.

This was our card last year - the canvas is just the b&w print. I love it!

This year, we didn't have time to do a professional photo shoot. But I figured it would be no big deal to get the kids gussied up and do a photo shoot of my own. So two weeks ago, I made the kids get dressed for church extra early and step outside for a few poses.

I had visions of perfection, with my three angels all posing willingly and happily, flashing authentic smiles and complete cooperation. I got the cooperation from two of the three.

This is how the pictures went:

With each click of the lens, I was getting more frustrated and irritated, yelling at Grant.

"Stand still!"

"Stand up straight!"

"Look at the camera!"

"Open your eyes"

"Smile normal"

He wasn't following any of my directions.

I finally gave up. I was thinking "How the heck can I put a card together?"

When I plugged my camera into the computer, and watched the photos upload one by one, I couldn't help but laugh. It was like watching a slow motion movie, with Grant as the main character.

Watching the film roll, all the irritations I was feeling behind the camera just disappeared. I saw him, for who he really is, and the pictures seemed to capture the essence of him completely. I knew then that the original idea I'd had for our card just wasn't right.

This is our life. These are my kids. And while they may not be "picture perfect", they really are absolutely perfect for me, in every single way.

And I know that years from now, when Grant is all grown up and cooperative, I'll be so glad that I didn't go for perfect this year. Because what I got was so much more...