I've been listening to christmas music pretty much non-stop since late september (haters go ahead and hate on me) ;)and there is a line from one of my favorites that bing crosby sings:"...here we are...as in olden days, happy golden days...of yore..."I confess I've sung it a million times and never stopped to think of what the word yore means...so here you go, your educational word of the day ;)

yore

-

noun

= of long ago or former times; used in nostalgic recollectionbut what does my thinking/singing "happy golden days or yore" have to do with today's family?the golden is obvious...arizona decided to show up and show off for this family session...golden leaves were everywhere, rows upon rows of tree's in the orchard changing it's leaves from green to brilliant oranges + yellows,just a hint of a crisp chill in the shade...and just right in the sun...and the sun shown beautifully + brightly in the brilliant blue sky...just beautiful.but to be completely honest...family sessions can be kinda of a whirlwind,snapping pictures as fast as you can while organizing and smiling and shouting for babies/puppies to look + smile at the camera,a happy whirlwind, but a whirlwind just the same.but somewhere in the midst of this whirlwind,I noticed Rebecca...the matriarch of this beautiful family...tears filled her eyes...and not sad tears...but

happy-praise-the-Lord-this-is-amazing-and-they-are-

MY

-family

tears.and I smiled and had to hug her.in the midst of this happy whirlwind, she was in the middle of her "happy golden days of yore."in that single moment seeing Rebecca's face, it once again reminded me this organized chaos was SO worth it...times 100. :)these are

her

memories,

her

precious grandchildren,

her

beautiful kids grown up,

her

thirty-three year love...I hope that when my own family grows as much as Jonathon + Rebecca's has,that I pause long enough to smile and appreciate my own golden days of yore as much as they did and do.

thank you for the afternoon, Smith family!I can't wait to show you the rest! :)