A Family Portrait

Easter 2014

Picture: a painting, drawing, or photograph of someone or something

Portrait: a detailed description of someone or something

Since Lily was born, there have been a ridiculous number of pictures taken of her--on phones, on cameras, and on iPads. We've captured her smiling, screaming, squirming, and squealing. Her sweet face has been posted on blogs and Facebook and has been sent via emails, letters, and texts. We love pictures of Lily--and it seems our friends and families do, too!--but the picture above is something more. The picture above is a portrait.

Taken Easter morning at our church by a very talented church member who is a professional photographer, it's not the pastel colors or Lily's Easter seersucker that catch my eye; instead, it's the joy written all over Jeff and my faces as we snuggle together over Lily's little head. It's her little hand gripping my finger, it's Jeff's chin resting on her soft hair, it's the grouping of the three of us as a family. For me, it's a description of where we've been (for I am, of course, wearing my Blueberry and Beanster necklace) and a hope for where we'll go. It's a reminder that our history is not something to erase even while our present is something to celebrate.

In short, it's our family, and that's an Easter miracle.