The Ritchies {2015}

For the past 3 years I've had the best intentions of getting family photos taken. And for the past 3 years, I have managed to come up with every excuse in the book not to have them taken.  

Lets just wait until Harrison is 1 so that he's got more personality.

Whoops - Harrison is 1, but I'm pregnant. Let's wait until this baby is born.

Lets just wait until Max is 1 so that he's got more personality.

Ugh, we're so busy. I can't find the "right" photographer. Excuse. Excuse. Excuse.

Let's be honest...the whole family picture process ends up being way more stress than I ever want to deal with. Picking a date, location, coordinating outfits. Manipulating naps. Hoping for good weather. Praying kids cooperate. Its a lot of work! 

But oh my, do the results make all of that "stress" worthwhile.  Especially when you connect with the right photographer. Now I want family pictures every 6 months...or weeks.

Where better to have family pictures taken than in our own home - the place where so many of our memories together are created. Pardon my sappy rationale - but in a crazy sort of way, the Ritchie 'farm' feels like a symbol of our survival. Four years ago our world was turned upside down. We lost a child, sold the only home she ever knew, lived in rental homes, 2 different states, started new jobs, and welcomed new babies. It has been a crazy, stressful, and emotional journey, yet somehow we have managed to find our way back to a place that we weren't sure we ever could. We built this place from the ground up, and in the process, put the pieces of our lives back together again. This is so much more than just a house, it is our home.

I don't even have words. These pictures. They are perfect.

When she came to our home the evening of our photos Miss Ashley had no idea that there was one very important piece of our family missing. She knew us as a family of 4...a mom, a dad, 2 crazy little boys...not the family of 4 + 1 that we really are. She came to our home, won over our kiddos (Harry at least!), worked her magic behind the camera, and was on her way. Imagine my surprise when we received our final images and I came across this little piece of perfection.  

{Our 4 + 1}  
A mom. A dad. Two crazy little boys. And if you look to the left, a little girl watching over us all. There may or may not have been tears.

My happy people. My happy place.

My heart is full.

Photos courtesy of the one and only Ashley Crawford. Book with her now. She is amazing.