We have had family photos made every couple of years since our boys were young. I wanted to document the growth and changes in our family, and I also wanted the boys to have something to remember me by. When it came to candid family photos, I was always the one taking the photos; I was rarely in any of them. I once told Kenn that if anything happened to me, the boys wouldn’t remember what I looked like.

As the boys grew, our family did as well. Our first daughter-in-law joined our family photos when she and our eldest got engaged. Our youngest son’s long-term girlfriend soon joined our photos as well. As far as I’m concerned, if you date one of our sons, you’re family! When you get engaged to or marry one of our boys, you’re stuck with us for life. (Fortunately, our daughters-in-law like us, LOL.) Of course, this did make things a little awkward when our youngest son’s relationship ended on less than amiable terms. This was also about the time our eldest and his family moved to South Carolina, which made getting the whole crew together for photos a little more difficult. Until recently, our last family photos were taken in December 2019.

However, the photographer our OG daughter-in-law uses for their family photos was going to be in Atlanta the weekend of Mother’s Day 2026 and Atlanta is a good halfway point for all of us. So, we all met in Piedmont Park for an updated photo shoot.

Our family has gained several new members in the past six and a half years. The twins (the tiny people in the front row) were born in 2022. Our youngest son began a new relationship in 2020(ish) and we’re thrilled to have his now-wife as a part of our family photos for the first time. Actually, there is one family member not visible in the photos. Our youngest son and daughter-in-law (in pink/pink and blue on the right side of the picture) are expecting their first child (a girl) due in November.

I have to admit, when I first looked at this photo, I had a moment of… existential affirmation, maybe? Or maybe it was just a Bill and Ted “whoa” moment. For a moment I was just blown away by the fact that Kenn and I, the couple who’s marriage got off to such a rocky start, created this family. Now, we will literally live on in the DNA of our sons, their children, and their children for future generations innumerable. Also, I’ll be one of the people future generations are searching for when they are trying to figure out where their baby’s red hair came from, LOL.

How often do you have family photos taken?