Our Photo Shoot

When we were in California, our good friend, Bethany, took our pictures. Out of the kindness of her heart because she's awesome like that.Can I just tell you how nearly impossible it is to get just one good shot of a family of four when one of the members is three and thinks the appropriate face for the situation can only be described as cheeseball and one of the members is a baby in a very I put my hands in my mouth all the time phase and one of the members is holding the baby and generally forcing a smile that moans, "Get your hands out of your mouth and figure out how to smile at the precise moment that the Cheeseball actually smiles!"

Yet, somehow, Bethany managed to capture our family. Because, like I said, she's awesome like that.

The Rock Star's most favorite body part is his tongue. He uses it to think. He plays with it. He's pretty much one with it.

Oh lookie here. A picture of Cheeseball and Insert Hands in Mouth with their daddy.

Okay. So. I could be separated from my son for, I don't know, fifty gazillion years, and I'd never--never, ever--forget this face. And, really, how could I?
And this, well, this makes 25 hours of labor totally worth it.

And this. I mean. Okay. So I have neck skin foldy things which I'm self conscious about and I'm sporting crow's feet and I'm just kind of a mess altogether but at least my earrings look good. But that's not really what I want to say. What I want to say is, "Thank you, Bethany." Because however much of a train wreck that face I'm making is, it's pictures like this that make every second of the past seven and a half months totally worth it.
I love these boys. I love Balboa Park. I love the color saturation. If that's what it's called. A photographer I am not. I love that it looks like we're in some kind of dream world. A dream world I wish I could enter forever. A dream world where it's just our family and no one is threatening to take any of us away.
A dream world where "Praying for Matthew's Future" means that we're praying he doesn't fall down and skin his knees. A dream world where "Praying for Matthew's Future" doesn't mean that we're praying we can, one day, legally adopt him. A dream world where he's ours. Forever and always.