This week was supposed to be spring break for the girls. I had so many plans and ideas for how we were going to spend this week together. I had a bunch of day trips planned and lots of activities on our “To Do” list for this week. But, the Lord had other plans for us that included lots of down time at home.

Last Saturday morning, I awoke to a major allergic reaction to an antibiotic I had been taking. My face, neck, and chest were covered in hives and blisters that went between intense itching and burning. Not only was I physically uncomfortable, I looked horrible! I spent this entire past week basically hiding at home and avoiding any public trips. I’ve been feeling so guilty and disappointed that none of my plans panned out.

After almost an entire week hunkered down at home, I had finally had enough of being cooped up and decided to take the girls out for some spring portraits (I’ll share some of these in my monthly family update—stay tuned!).

The trees are finally blooming in the Lehigh Valley and I didn’t want to miss getting their spring portraits done just because I was feeling self-conscious about how I looked. I met my friend Kristin and her little miss, Emelia and we spent the morning photographing our babies in the cherry blossoms.

The session was beautiful and I was SO eager to get home to edit and share them. I grabbed my laptop, sat down to work on the images and just as I was really getting settled, Ben came home and insisted I stop working to go fishing with him.

I’ll be completely honest…at first, I was feeling a little frustrated and annoyed that he wanted me to stop working to come out with him. I absolutely hate leaving work unfinished and being interrupted while I’m focused on something. So, I begrudgingly left my work and cellphone at home, grabbed my camera and head out. And now, I am so glad I did.

I learned a few valuable things last night:

1. It’s OK to step away and take a break. The work and the “To Do’s” will wait.

2. Unplug. You’ll have a much better time without the interruptions of calls, texts, and social media notifications. When we got back home, I had a TON of missed calls and texts. I know if I had had my phone with me, I would have been preoccupied with responding to everyone else’s needs right away instead of being engaged with my family.

3. You don’t need to spend money or take elaborate trips to make your kids happy. All they want is to spend time with you. It’s fine to be at home all week! Take an adventure. Explore the woods. Get dirty.

4. Grandparents are a treasure. I am SO fortunate to, at 33 years old, still have all. four of my grandparents. My grandparents and I are insanely close, so I am so happy to see that my girls are mirroring that same closeness with their own grandparents.

5. I love real life photos just as much as I loved the posed and pretty portraits. Yeah, in in these images we’re all dirty, our clothes don’t match, our hair is unkempt. But, it doesn’t matter. I don’t see that. I see joy. I see family. I see bonding. I see memories and our story. And most importantly, I see happy children. These, my friends, are a treasure.

Alyssa is a Lehigh Valley wedding and portrait photographer. If you’d love one of your family adventures documented, contact me here.