the full McCullough family photo shoot

My sister-in-law, Shannon, came up a couple of weekends ago to take some photos of the whole McCullough clan for her parents. She is such an amazing photographer. As I watched her work I felt 2 things: first of all - I was in awe of her talent and ability to know what to do, where to stand, and every other thing that needs to be taken into consideration when shooting outside - wind, sun, shadows, bees! Secondly - I do not want her job! The seemingly simple task of taking a picture is not so simple. Trying to co-ordinate 12 children, to have then all smiling and looking at the camera at the same time, as Shannon sets the timer and runs back to join us for the picture, in the hopes that everyone will be looking ahead, hopefully smiling, but in the very least not crying, is about as chaotic as it sounds. She did it, as she always does, with patience and kindness and incredible crazy camera skills. Shannon, thank you! I feel like the luckiest mom, sister, daughter, auntie, and wife to have every single 1 of these people in my family! I love you all.

family photos

Darren's sister Shannon is in town and she graciously offered to take some family photos for us while she is here. 

For having to co-ordinate 7 people I think she did a pretty fantastic job. 

We are so grateful. Thank you Shannon, so very much - we love them.

Portrait of a Family

My most very favorite kind of artwork to display in our home would have to be black and white photos of my family. I am not a big artwork kind of person, not because I don't appreciate it, but because I can tire of things easily. The one thing I will never tire of (and I can promise the same for you) is photos of your loved ones, especially your children. I would recommend black and white as they will stay classic forever and they go with EVERYTHING, no matter what your taste or style.
Invest in some really nice frames. When I say invest I don't mean that you have to spend a ton of money. Take you time collecting frames. Look at places like Winners and Home Sense. Ikea is also a great place to find nice big frames for relatively inexpensive. Costco will print large photos (12x12) for a couple of dollars each - that is really cheap! And the greatest thing about it is once you have all your frames you can change the pictures in them whenever you want to update or just to get a fresh look.
I know that Real Estate Agents say that you should remove personal items such as family photos when you trying to sell your house, but I don't agree if it is done well (not a thousand little frames surrounded by a hundred nicknacks) - I think they add a sense of home and it gives a certain feeling to what could otherwise be just a house.
Choose timeless frames and a few really great accessories to go with them. A few great pieces are better than a big bunch of mediocre ones. Use what you love and make your house a home that floods your heart with memories every time you walk in.