Whatever Will We Wear??

I have stacks of framed pictures leaning against the wall in my master bedroom that I can't decide where to hang. We used to have heavy, gilded frames in the formal living and dining room, but since we want to give those areas a much more casual feel now, I didn't want to put the fancy frames back in that room. So, I decided to make a family wall in our master bedroom. Here is the beginning. I have a large picture of the boys on an opposite wall, because I couldn't figure out how to include two huge frames in one grouping. I'm trying to decide how many pictures is too many, and how big to let this grouping grow. I have some more wall space, and plenty more photos, but at what point does the wall start to look like a museum?

I love family photos, and filling our home with framed memories. In all the years though, we have never had a professional family portrait made. Not once! I have tons of pictures of our kids, but none of us as a group. So, in honor of my upcoming 40th, I asked for a family portrait. Buzz is coming home early from work tomorrow, and I will spend the better part of the late afternoon getting everyone dressed, coiffed, and in a smiley mood. Of course, we'll allow plenty of time to review the differences between a smile, a grimace, and a smirk. At least three times.

Dressed? That seems like it would be the easy part, but I'm having wardrobe issues. I figure I'll be staring at this portrait, which I plan to hang right above the TV, all day every day from now until forever. I want to forever gaze at this portrait and say to myself........"Ah! Those outfits are just darling! DARLING!"

Well, darling is a lot of pressure.

We need to coordinate, but not be too matchy-matchy. The photographer said that solid colors photograph best, and that long sleeves are preferable. I thought I had it all figured out when I ordered matching clothes for the entire family from Hanna Anderson. My box arrived today in the mail and some of the clothes are waaaaay too big. They will never work. So, I headed to the mall near closing time in search of darling-at-the-last-minute.

The little sitting area in my bedroom is now unrecognizable as a sitting area. It is a staging platform for the First Family Portrait Ever. We have one stack of blue/brown/cream clothes in case we decide to use what we can from the Hanna Anderson box and fill in with what I bought at the mall. We have another stack of white/denim in case we decide to go the unexciting yet safe route. And we have a stack of rejects that have already been vetoed by one family member or another. It has me thinking that this may be why we've never done a family portrait before.

So, to recap, it's portrait week. We have catalog shopped, mall shopped, and hair cut. We will primp, pose, and peruse proofs. Then, we will revisit seventeen stores to return the unused clothing, and order our portrait. Don't even get me started on frame shopping. I'm already considering all my choices because I have very high expectations. I need the perfect frame to compliment my portrait that has a casual and breezy look. I want the picture to look like we just all fell down in a perfect little heap and started laughing together. I want it to look spontaneous and fresh, like it didn't take a single moment (or an entire week) to prepare for it. In other words, I don't just want this to be a birthday present. I want it to be a birthday miracle. I've heard it said before that miracles can happen, in matching clothes and with a 22 month old present. I hope so, cuz that would be just darling.