Behind the Scenes of a Family Picture

      It was hot.  Like summer in North Carolina, storms rolling in, front porch sitting, sweet tea drinking, hair stuck to your face kind of hot...and it was family picture day.
    Loading the kids in the car with their clothes ironed and carefully swinging from hangers with each turn of the road, I glanced at my husband under gloomy dark skies, knowing it was all probably futile.
       Getting pictures taken is a pretty dreaded event for anyone on earth, so much so that we haven't had pictures taken professionally in quite a long time...that is until we met Mary.
     My friend, Jen, told me about a photographer named Mary and how sweet, patient and kind she was, then proceeded to explain how she provided "mini" sessions of like, ten minute photo shoots. 
TEN MINUTES.  
    Knowing the attention span of four kids is one thing, but anyone could smile for ten minutes in hopes of at least one good shot, right?
      It was worth a try.  
     The first time we scheduled a session with her was back in December.  Outfit picking, shoes flying, hair curling and speeding like lightning to a Christmas tree lot resulted in a ten minute window of yes, rain.  
      It was just our luck, but it didn't stop Mary.  She hurried the kids along through trees and snapped away even though there was no way a picture would or could turn out with the miserable conditions.  Ten minutes later we were back in the car, soaked through while cranking the heater on, one hundred percent certain it was a wasted effort.  A few days later though, Mary sent these...  

       These are just two of so many pictures containing happy looking children, strolling through wintery trees...even though Adam and I both knew the difference.
       "How did she do that?" I asked, jaw gaping while dropping my toast as Adam shook his head, "I have no idea".
        Fast forward to this summer and Mary posted online, she would be holding "Sunflower minis" which sounded like fun.
         Little did we know the cold miserable storm from December would be replaced by, yes, you guessed it...a hot miserable storm in July.
         "You've got to be kidding!"  I muttered as the clouds rolled in while parking the car.  The kids scurried into their clothes as I hoped the downpour would hold for ten little minutes before the floodgates opened.
        This was where the fun began.  In front of beautiful groups of sunflowers, stood an impressive apiary, otherwise known as a bee yard where hives were built to create honey.  This is a good time to mention I'm crazy allergic to bees.  Our kids have never been stung, so we don't know if they're allergic, too.    
      Mary (Poppins) as we've come to call her was there ready to go as Adam and I again weighed the odds of absolutely zero chance she'd be able to get a decent picture in the conditions of the muggy heat, approaching storms, bees flying and four kids dodging  buzzes between clicks of her magic camera.   
       Ten minutes came and ten minutes went, then we gave air hugs and ran to the car before the heavens opened. 
        Driving home just as the downpour began, Adam and I again  convinced ourselves there was absolutely no way the pictures could've turned out half as well as they did the last time.  
         Then, not a week later, with a ding of my phone, I opened Mary's message to find these...

      She somehow did it again.  Even through behind the scenes of a family picture of mayhem, Mary magically snapped happy smiles before they lose their braces, she caught shaggy summer hair before it's cut away, but most of all, she captured ten minutes of their childhood that to us, will last a lifetime.
       Thank You, Mary.  Thank you for braving the elements yet again.  Maybe if we're lucky enough, we'll get a blizzard this December, so we can see you before Christmas! :)  
Here is Mary's website!
 www.marygorryphotography.com