Rachel Turns 5 | Ross Bridge | Hoover, Alabama

My cute client just turned 5 and mom wanted to document all that goodness. I mean, you're only 5 once, right? I can look back at other photos taken of this sweet family just last year and am reminded again how much our littles change. Ok time, can you please just slow down?

So, how do we get all those smiles and giggles? Well...we play. Yep. I teeter on a fine line between introvert and extrovert, but when I have a session with kids, all bets are off. I just go with it. Let's just say I always have a "friend" helping me. This time it was Bob the Tomato, next time it might be Olaf or a Minion...or all three. At any rate, they can be pretty convincing. They steal kisses, try to get in front of my camera, even dance on my head. Anything to get the true personality to shine through. And, even when kids aren't laughing, their expressions are still priceless. There is so much to observe through the pensive look of a child.

As a mother of two younger children myself, this session was a good reminder to drink in the stage of life they are in. I was reading in "The Mother Letters" and I thought Kari Clark said it perfectly in her letter "Unexpected."

Listen to what your children are teaching you. Listen to the things they do not say and to the things they do say. Strip yourself of what you want them to be and look deeply into what God has made them. Tell them often how much you love them. Enjoy every moment where little hands seek yours and find contentment there. Revel in the snuggles after dark that provide the chance to hear the softly spoken thoughts from the bottom of their souls. Breathe them in deeply. Record those little moments you think your heart will remember forever. Every memory captured in time will be worth its weight in gold."

I am humbled at the thought that even I can play a small part in this recording of moments. In a sense, I get to pause time and gift those moments back to the ones who love them most. May we all learn to drink them in and find contentment there.