Candid photos

 These are our last two attempts at a family photo.  One in St. George and the other on our front porch before church (I've thought about doing it after church but everyone is so tired and disheveled and the clothes are off before you can say "snap-dragon").

I think they are OK.  Its real.  Like my son who loves to do silly faces or put his hands by his face for pictures.  Like we're wearing whatever we were wearing that day.  But they are a far cry from the dew drops in the field, purposely mis-matched but somehow all pulled together professionally photographed and edited picture.  I like those pictures.  I like how you can blow them up super huge and everyone still looks good.  These are not one of those.

Our family has been through a lot these past 6 months.  Heck, this past 1 1/2 years.  We moved to a new state.  Started a new job.  Rented a few houses.  Bought our first home.  Survived Sean being in the hospital for a month and home for another month with GI surgery and recovery.  And more.  But we are intact.  We are together.  We are healthy.  We have each other.  Our children laugh and play a lot.  We try to keep our yelling little.  To quote someone else, we are not perfect, but we are perfect for eachother.  I'm good with that.

Flatline.

I'm not sure if my blog is dead.  I pull it up on my computer screen once or twice a week to check.  I poke it to see if it will move.  Occasionally I'll link to another person's blog--- "oooh!  their's is ALIVE!"  Its been dying for a year and before that it was limply hanging on.  I blame it on Facebook.  All these little snippets of life took over long, thought-out blog posts.  It reminds me of that song, "video killed the radio star."

I've thought about posting.  A lot.  But usually out of a sense of duty.  I should post about this.  Or that.  Lets face it, our shoulds don't usually get done.  And if they do, its begrudgingly.  Sometimes I actually want to post, but then its late at night and I go to bed instead.  Not tonight.  Tonight I am sacrificing a little sleep to post to the world.

I am still here.  I may have been in a self induced coma in the cyber-world but I still exist!  I still have good days and bad days.  My kids still do cute things and not so cute things.

I can't make any promises.  That would be too should-y.  But.  If you read this post.  Just know.  There might be more to come (so non committal eh?)