This Is Us

I decided in November that I wanted to have family photos done. Gosh, maybe it was sooner. I can’t remember. All I know is this:

I woke up one morning and realized that in the midst of this season of comings and goings, I wanted some little memory preserved of the blessings. I wanted to remember how clearly God shows up, how kind He has been to me, a mere woman. I wanted an ebenezer.

So I reached out to the most talented photographer I know, Stephanie Bowling. Stephanie gets it. She knows what we see as mothers, those little invisible moments, those places where hands touch shoulders and say more than words ever could, those laughs that tell stories. Stephanie has a mother’s eye, and she has the talent of taking that special gift of sight and turning it into tangible images.

“My big kids are only home together for the first week of May. The baby, God willing, will be two months old. Babita and RajKumar can’t be here of course. But… I will have all my stateside kids for a week. Just a week. Can you do it?’

She said she could.

And she did. Oh, did she ever.

This is us. Just for a one moment, on one day, in one month, in one year. Already, it’s who are were, not who we are. Mary Hannah is back at the park for the summer. Jack is pursuing active duty that might have him shipping out at any time. Alice is bigger. Jude lost a tooth. Time is marching forward, always. But now, I have proof of the moment. I have my memories made solid.

I am a very happy mother.