Happy Mother’s Day!
I am a visual artist and I own a business. A big part of this is promoting my images on social media and in general being online…a lot! It is a blessing and a curse. This week’s social media blessing has been seeing all the wonderful Mother’s Day posts, stories, articles, videos, photos, shares, new song releases, gift ideas, etc. People love their mommas and rightly so!
So far my favorite Mother’s Day share has been this song:
Slow Down by Nichole Nordeman
This song encompasses an issue I have been pondering for quite a while… hold on with me while I build a little momentum. If you make it to the end of this article I’ll reward you with a FREE Mother’s Day photo download.
You see this beautiful boy? He is my son. He is a person that I dreamed of, my soul longed for him. I cried and was angry for years while trying to get pregnant. Once I knew I was finally pregnant, I knew how strongly I could love. I want to improve upon every aspect of my life because this is one of the most important roles that God has given me. God made me a mother. I love it.
I cherish every second I get to spend and have spent with my child. Even the sleepless nights rocking while singing until my throat was sore and voice was gone because that was the only thing that kept him from crying. Being a mom is, as every mom always says, hard but also so rewarding. Have you noticed how many incredible firsts there are? Ones that you never realized were so significant until you experienced them again through your child. Then the big issue: it all happens WAY too fast! What’s the deal?! How did we go from swaddling blankets to lacing cleats over night? Now to quote Nicole Nordeman, “please, slow down.”
We fight back time. We become family historians… maybe. But what mom has time for that? What mom can remember to take a photo after a sleepless night? Even if super mom somehow gets into the habit of documenting regularly, can she keep up with doing something with the photos? (Ahem, no, a Facebook post does not count as “something”. ;-)) Confession time: I struggle to do something with my personal photos and pretty much feel good if I have backed them up on my online gallery.
After talking with my friends and family about this issue, they shared how they feel.
“I have gotten into the habit of taking pictures with just my cell phone. I had so many photos that I loved on it, then it crashed and I lost all of them. I also think about home movies from when my kids were young that are now lost. And I wish all my photos were printed into photo books. But now that would take way to long and cost too much money.” -Nancy
“I’m actually not very good at capturing moments in my family. I forget to do it all the time because I’m so busy just trying to keep up with memories being made! I honestly don’t know how you moms who get great pictures do it… The time to make sure everyone is clean, looking at the camera, and then uploading or printing… Man, I can’t do all that!
But the few candid shots and video clips we do have always make me feel grateful. They remind me of times I forgot about and of how richly blessed our lives have been. And it drives home the reality of what I’m doing as a mom– the investment into the future, the family love being nurtured, the daily dedication to do what I can. I appreciate how much my kids have grown and how that has grown my husband and I as well.
Captured moments make me thankful for who people are.” -Victoria“I would say the same thing every mother would. They grow up so fast, before you know it they are starting their first year of school then they are graduating. Time goes so fast there’s no way you can remember everything. So we take photos and videos to help us remember and to share with our kids and others who care about our kids. Then after the photos are taken, you never get the time you need to organize them. And you end up cramming when they are 18 years old to make some kind of scrap book for their graduation party. If you kept up with it every year then it would save a ton of time. And you would actually be able to enjoy your memories.” -Laura
Then I asked the questions: Why do you cherish your family photos and videos? Why do we even bother taking them? Here are a few of the answers:
“I love looking back on memories. I was just looking at some videos I had taken every other month or so when I was pregnant with our second girl. Watching my oldest daughter grow anticipating the arrival of her sister seeing how little she was, It helps you go back in time and remember exactly how you were feeling and what was happening at that time. Reliving that moment. Time flies so fast!” -Chrissy
“It helps me remember little details and moments I would have forgotten. Life gets busy and the days get long, but the years are short and I cherish every chance I get to really enjoy studying my children when life literally stands still.” -Nicolle
“Because time passes far too quickly….and anything can happen. Treasure every picture, every video. It’s a snapshot of time that we cannot get back.” -Racheline
“Every moment with my family is so fleeting, so temporary, because we are ever changing and evolving as a family. I blink and we are in a different season and even the difficult seasons are beautiful and necessary!” -Allison
We all want basically to do the same thing with our family photos and videos but we are rarely able. And we shouldn’t feel guilty, because our time is more valuable when spent reading favorite bed-time stories and baking cookies! Someone needs to help! Someone who can motivate/remind you to document every day life in a way that gives you better images and videos. Someone who can make the storage and production of your images and videos happen quicker because they do it for a living and have the right tools. And someone who understands what is cherished by a parent and why.
I have been brainstorming and coming up with ideas and running those ideas by moms for the past year. Finally, I feel like the idea is developed to the fantastic point of announcing it to all of you. So here it is: my idea for the best Mother’s Day gift EVER:
Sign your wife, mom, sister, or best friend up for our Lifestyle Membership!
You would be giving her a gift that includes:
- 2+ Full Lifestyle Sessions that include BOTH Photo and Video coverage.
- Monthly, at-home photo and video challenges and tips
- Online storage in a personal private gallery for any photos you want in your yearbook. And for any videos you take.
- Free custom year book design and Christmas card design at the end of every year.
- 3-10 minute Highlight style movie of video clips taken throughout the year.
- Notifications throughout the year of free candid mini session that you can choose to attend and use the photos in your yearbook.
- Free design session at the end of every year.
- Access to an easy print ordering from your online gallery.
- Monthly specials on print products.
The plan for this Lifestyle Membership was to help moms (and dads for that matter!) get a handle of their role of Family Historian. But the more I think about it the more I realize that this membership would also be useful for the year leading up to a wedding, the senior year of high school, and for maternity through the baby’s first year.
“Because it all happens so fast”
Thank you for hanging in there. I know I tend to be long-winded… If you like this idea and are interested, sign up below (you’ll also receive a free photo download for signing up). If you think this is a smart idea, please let us know! Share this post!
Sign up to receive your free Mother’s Day photo download.
Happy Mother’s Day!
-Holly
