HESS 2003 - 2011 Commentary

As I was going through the specific family pictures from the annual HESS Christmas brunch, there were a few things that stuck out for me. First, the boys always had new clothes on while Nick and I recycled--particularly his rust red shirt and my big collared cream shirt--outfits throughout the year. I actually saw Nick in that same rust red shirt last night as he went to a seminar. Second, I ought to settle on a hair style. Some styles I just should not have dabbled with. And I've not done a thing with altering color, but each year is quite different looking. Some years I look really tired. A few years I was so tired that I didn't even put on make up for a nice Christmas-y outing. Nick's hair changes too. Our youthful faces in 2003 morphed into mature faces from last year. We've gone from holding one child, to holding 2, wrestling with at least one of them to hold still, to sitting calmly with both boys able to stand and support themselves with ease. I look happier in the more recent photos. More content. More confident. I do know one thing for sure: each time I look at any and all of these photos, it makes me an extremely proud and grateful mama. These represent our beautiful little family. This is what we've become. Each blessed day has gotten us to where we are now. This weekend, we'll add another picture to this group. :)