I just spent 30 minutes laughing out loud in Davis Kidd bookstore. I was looking at a book called Awkward Family Photos. You may have seen some emails circulating with this type of stuff. This was an entire coffee table book full of them, with excellent captions beneath each. I could NOT stop laughing! My sister on the other hand, said that after a few of them, she "just couldn't look anymore" because they were so bad. I kept trying to get her to look at "one more".

So, what is this draw for me? Why do I love looking at these kinds of photos so much? I think its somehow related to the fact that I also have a hard time not laughing out loud when someone (including myself) falls, trips, or bumps their head (providing no real injury has occurred). In both of these instances, I think the reason I am laughing is because I am delighting in our humanity. I spend way too much time trying to be graceful, beautiful, and cookie cutter. The reality is that I am not. None of us are. When I see an awkward family photo or see someone trip, or even if I trip myself, I am reminded of how messy and imperfect we all are, and for that moment I can release the underlying expectation of myself to "get it right".

And here are a few from my own family...


ahhh...sisterly love.


somehow, Enoch is the only one looking at the camera, and he doesn't seem to be too sure about what Zach has up his sleeve.


Isn't is so fun to be with Santa?


Ok. we still don't know who these folks are, but they were friends of my grandparents. His facial expression paired with her hair-do is too much to not be included on this blog posting. I'm just sayin'....