Kearney Family Pictures

The last time we had a family portrait taken Ben was about seven. He just turned 23 last month, so another photo shoot has been long overdue. So this summer, during a short window of opportunity while everyone was under one roof, we scheduled a picture taking session. We even planned the wardrobe and had everyone dress in black, white, and jeans. It was going to be a dream come true for me and for Brett.

Well, the day arrived and everyone, including the little grandsons, were in top form. Our smiles were sparkling, our attire was well coordinated, and our personalities took on amazing photogenic qualities. Both Thomas and Kimball smiled and laughed through the whole session. Our photographer had a special connection with them, and it showed. They really piled on the charm. Brett and I were thrilled. We would finally have a family portrait we could hang in the living room that we would be proud to point at as we bragged about our beautiful family.

Well, then we got word from the photographer that something had gone wrong with the settings on her camera. Most of the pictures had turned out blurry, and she doubted that we would want any of them. She was so apologetic and embarrassed, but we weren't angry. Oh, we were sad. Oh, how I shook my fist at the photography fates who, over the many years, have sabotaged so many of our attempts to make a reproduction of our family.

After a few weeks, I talked the photographer into letting me at least see the shots she had taken. When we opened up the file and scanned through the hundreds of photos, we were pleasantly surprised and found a few that were worth printing. The photo quality wouldn't be the best, but at least our little family had been captured and frozen in time for once. Brett and I could still have a tangible object that represents the love and devotion of our life. So here are a few of the best shots. We are going to try this again at Christmas and thumb our noses at those photography fates again, because they will not deter or discourage us from this mission! Any advice?