Love Thursday: Family

One day, while I was at work, a coworker walked into my office.  I had my photoblog up on my screen, and on that day, a photograph of my daughter was being featured.

"She's so lucky," my friend said, somewhat wistfully.

"Yeah?" I asked. "Why?"

"She's going to have all of these great photographs of her childhood to look back on.  She's very lucky."

There's no doubt that Alex has grown up with a camera in her face, and yes, there are thousands of photographs which show her at every day of her childhood.  But this week, as we were taking our annual family self portrait for our Christmas cards (inspired, of course, by Shutter Sister Tracey), laughing at our reflections in the mirror as we made faces and were silly, it dawned on me that these photos we take show more than just what we looked like at a particular point in time.  And I hope, when Alex is an adult, these pictures will bring back a flood of memories of how much fun we've had together as a family.

* * * * * * *

Happy Love Thursday, everyone.  Please leave your links to your images of love in the comments section, below.  And check out this great shot of a family having a whale of a time, as left in our flickr pool by {Emily}.

And may you enjoy your family today.

(And by the way, if you're interested in taking your own holiday family self-portrait, you can check out my methods here.)

Comments

[Wayfaring Wanderer]

I'm sharing the love with at GIVEAWAY!

http://www.wayfaringwanderer.com/2008/10/share-love-giveaway.html

[Ane Lagerqvist]

http://bilderurlivet.rular.se/blogg/lovethursday.html

Beautiful shots...

Me, myself and I... Loving yourself. Something one takes for granted.

[Camilla]

My picture isn´t about family, but a lovely heartshaped shadow.

http://rabarbermarmelad.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/love-thursday-3/

My blog is in Swedish, thank good the pictures can be seen in any language.

Comment´s are welcomed.

Happy love thursday to you all - after work I will go home to my family and we will go swining together as allways on thursdays - our weeklyroutine.

[simply blogged / leaca's philosophy]

beautiful post. happy love thursday everyone.

http://www.simplyblogged.com/

[Marcie]

A trail of hearts..and a lot of love:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=567

[michelle of bleeding espresso]

You are indeed creating lovely mementos for your daughter :)

This week I have a "guest" heart from one of my readers:

http://bleedingespresso.com/2008/10/love-thursday-the-guest-waterlily-heart.html

Happy Love Thursday everyone!

[Jessica New]

Inspired by Karen & the family LOVE theme....

I blogged about my 4 kids & the LOVE they share for one another...

http://jessicanew.blogspot.com/2008/10/love-between-siblings.html

Love 2 You All

[Busymomma66]

Beautiful post Karen. Definitely thinking about the Christmas Card shoot.

Happy Love Thursday everybody. Here's just random love I found in NYC last weekend.

http://busymomma66.blogspot.com/2008/10/happy-love-thursday.html

[cindy k]

my photo is about the pie i made for my husband with the apples we picked together at the farm.
http://flickr.com/photos/71443419@N00/2980883719/

happy love thursday!

[Jeanine]

Beautiful candid shots. Thanks for sharing your method. Way better than a self timer, I agree. I took this shot a while ago. It's busy and I can't get it just right but it was so wonderful to be walking these city streets on a warm spring afternoon and see that love was in the air... you just had to look up. Happy Love Thursday.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15607464@N03/2985746379/

[shelli]

Those are gorgeous photos! Wow. I never thought of taking a family portrait while looking in a mirror.

http://web.me.com/pabis/Mama_of_Letters/Camera_Happy/Pages/Nikon_D60.html#38

[ELK]

Karen thanks for a fun and info packed post! you laughed a lot I see it

does your pet attempt to be in every photo? here is an out take featuring his efforts....enjoy a love filled day
http://www.redorgray.com/

[Julia]

Fun fun photos! I think it's a blessing to be able to capture all of those moments. Today, I have very colorful leaf love:

http://jewels.esmilde.com/2008/10/love-thursday_30.html

[m. heart]

i sat at the kitchen table this morning debating whether or not to post the entry i wrote for love thursday last night. when i visited here to see that the love thursday theme is family, it answered any doubts i had about sharing it.

my photo is of a paper maché heart i recently made for a larger project, but the post is about my father.
happy love thursday.

http://secretnotebookswildpages.blogspot.com/2008/10/thursday-love-my-heart-and-your-heart.html

[margie]

happy love thursday everyone. family and a keepsake.

http://3yrplan.typepad.com/soeursdujour/

[JeanaMarie]

Today I loved being able to spend time with my youngest on her own, while the big girl was out with dad.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeanamarie31/2985818147/

hlt!

[Jessi]

Happy Love Thursday.....

....welcoming our new addition to our family...

http://www.frozeneights.blogspot.com/2008/10/love-thursday_29.html

[Secret Agent Mama / Mishelle Lane]

Love the family self portrait.

I am doing an autumn-inspired take on the week; so I have a leaf that just exudes a quality of love.

http://secretagentmama.com/blog/2008/10/30/l-o-v-e-t-h-u-r-s-d-a-y-2/

[Shelagh ~ Une Petite Etoile]

That is beautiful ~ mine is about family as well.

http://lecolemaison.blogspot.com/2008/10/love-thursday-sisters.html

Have a wonderful Love Thursday. everyone!

[nickythomas]

good afternoon Shuttersisters

As we head towards possibly our most difficult christmas, i find myself looking more and more at photos of my dad. Searching out moments caught with this child, or that one; trying to find a shot of his laugh or that funny face he sometimes made at Cedar. It's hard to think that he wont be here this year.
I want more than anything to look up from here at my mum's kitchen table and see this
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickythomasphotography/2359516872/
the knowledge that it will never happen again makes my soul pretty much shrivel up and die.

Thanks for posting such a nice post today Karen, and to Hay for making me smile yesterday.

Lots of love

Nicky x

[spencercasa]

these are the two i love:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23196640@N03/2979848840/

[Cartwheels At Midnight/Paige]

I love my Chucks:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cartwheelsatmidnight/2986786726/

[tamsin]

such a beautiful family, inside and out

http://www.photoblog.com/tamsingrant/

[Katie in MA]

Beautiful post, beautiful memories, beautiful family! You are ALL lucky!

Here is my Love Thursday post about the wonderful journey my friend is about to embark with her own new family.

http://cantgetthere.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/let-love-lead-you/

Happy Love Thursday!

[HeatherK]

Lovely! You are truly inspiring me to try to get all five of us in a photo this year, not just the kids!

http://heatherk.typepad.com/heatherk/2008/10/love-thursday-sometimes-it-hurts.html

[donna]

I didn't notice the heart until later. Happy LT

http://lemondingo.blogspot.com/2008/10/made-with-love.html

[Debora Silkotch]

Tummy warmer!

Happy Love Thursday.

http://dsilkotch.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/tummy-warmer/

[Kyla]

These are wonderful photos and what a fun idea . . . using mirrors and all!

Mine doesn't include family today . . . but part of everyday life.

http://thekreativelife.blogspot.com/2008/10/its-time-for-little-love-thursday.html

Happy LT everyone!

[Jeanette]

that's a self portrait?! Wow!!
Love them, they're stunning! I think we should try that too.
Mine's up too, and it's also about Family

[AscenderRisesAbove]

oh I agree. All I have of my own childhood is one or two polaroids. And I have misplaced the negatives to many of my daughters photographs.
today I have princesses on parade; with a link to bees knees on parade
http://ascenderrisesabove.com/wordpress/?p=4679

[laura - dolcepics]

A little sunset, silhouette lovin' for y'all:

http://www.dolcepics.com/dailypic/sunset-love/

Happy LT!

[Robin]

I bet I have as many pictures of my cats, I'm pretty bad.

anyway, here is my contribution.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hismuse/2964929867/

[Elizabeth Harper]

A love letter of a different sort....

http://www.giftsofthejourney.com/Elizabeth_Harper-Gifts_of_the_Journey/Blog/Entries/2008/10/30_Hope_%26_Possibility.html

[Kattis]

Beautiful photos!

Happy LT!
http://www.tjornebrant.se/dagar/2008/10/30/love-thursday-14/

[Angella]

We grew pumpkins in our garden and one reminded me of a heart...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ourcrazylife/2987134078/

[Chocolate on my Cranium]

Karen, we don't see enough pictures of you. I was stunned by how beautiful you are. Love the family portraits!

[LaShawn]

http://flickr.com/photos/lashawn/2961690112/in/set-72157607745843021/

Crazy brothers

[mnkathy]

I love the happiness in these photos!

Here's a little something I caught recently while hiking through the park with Nana and the kids when she was up to visit from Indiana.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25773211@N07/2987189914/

[Mariella in CA]

Love the martini advice!! Thank you for the nuggets of inspiration. Happy Holidays!! ~ M.

[Shalet]

I set off to take some family photos this last weekend but got side-tracked by a hive of yellow jackets! Thanks for the reminder to try again! Your photos are fabulous!

Here's this week's LT for me:

http://peculiarmomma.blogspot.com/2008/10/love-thursday_30.html

Happy Love Thursday all!

[FireMom]

http://stopdropandblog.com/2008/10/30/love-thursday-peekaboo/

Love Thursday always makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

[Gayle]

Karen, thank you for the great idea for getting a fun family self portrait!

My post is about the love that we put into the precious things we hand make for our families.

http://planetmfiles.com/2008/10/30/tiny-crochet-halloween-bag-fill-it-with-love/

[Heather]

what a beautiful family! here's mine: http://itaintmeyourelookingfor.blogspot.com/2008/10/birthday-fish-bowl.html

[Miss LA]

I love your beautiful composition, how beautiful is your family ...
Here is my Love Thursday:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26187951@N05/2982151622/

[bonggamom]

Mine is up, happy love thursday!

http://bonggamom.blogspot.com/2008/10/halloween-hearts.html

[Robin-bird]

That is a beautiful family portrait! honestly stunning!

http://robinbird.typepad.com/bird_tweets/2008/10/day-184-love-trio.html

Happy LT!

[Jamie]

I'm showing the love for my little sisters today.

http://umbrellablog.com/love-thursday/love-thursday-family/

[Janine]

I'd miss times like this with my daughter if I worked full time...
http://flickr.com/photos/25744047@N03/2987459884/

[sperlygirl]

this is for your 'sisters' who just get it ...happy love thursday!
http://sperlygirl.typepad.com/sperlygirl/2008/10/love-in-the-trees.html

[Kathleen O.]

A little self-love, camera-love and vintage-look-love...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/2984771055/