{Full of Beauty}

"Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams." -Ashley Smith

Today, I had the opportunity to take some photos of my adorable little girl, Caide. She normally does not like getting her photo taken and I never understood until tonight. We were close to ending the session when it hit me, her smile. She does not like her smile. As a Mom, I must say, this broke my heart. When I look at her I see strength, beauty, intelligence and love. When she see her photos she sees a smile that she hates. 

I want to teach my children to grow up to be confident and yet it would appear that I have failed in doing such. 

How can I expect my children to radiate confidence if I, myself, can not? It is very rare that you will see me in a photo because I don't feel pretty. I am not, nor have I ever been confident in my own skin. Weight has NOTHING to do with it. For me, my reason for hating having my photo taken is my expression/laugh lines/wrinkles. Not really sure what to call them...other than the lines on my face that I hate...with a passion. 

That being said I let my kiddos have the opportunity to be the photographer for a moment and I stepped in front of the camera. :) Soon Caidence's insecurity will be taken care of with braces, as for me, I don't plan on having a face lift or botox injections anytime in the near future...instead I "suck it up buttercup" and start getting in the photos more often. Hopefully, my daughter and I will learn to love ourselves...exactly the way we are.

 This is the photo that Caidence took of Joe and me, what can I say...she's got some mad skills!