Torture . . . Not So Much!

Now that I have developed some skills in the area of photography, I was able to con some of my family into giving me a shot at capturing them "in the moment." Their captured moments were actually on our visit to see my Grandma at her home in storybook-small-town Fayette, Iowa.

It was the first time (it's amazing how many firsts there are when you lose a parent) we had been to my Mom's hometown since she passed away in August, and I must say it was a strain on my heart. Actually it was heart-crushing because our Mom was always the center of our family gatherings, and her absence was as glaringly obvious as someone bouncing a ray of sun into your eyes with a mirror.

To get our minds off that missing ginormous piece of our weekend, we decided to head outdoors for some pics. Getting out into that bone chilling, fresh Iowa air totally helped me get my mind off the sadness of the occasion, and my family discovered that taking family pics doesn't have to be torture! They realized that you can make it your "own" and make it fun, and that the days of excrutiatingly boring photo shoots, are no more:)