The Power of a Laugh

The older I get, the more I have come to realize the true value of laughter.

Here I am getting closer and closer to 29 years old (to anyone who may say that this isn't the truth, I challenge you to keep your opinions, and possibly copies of my birth certificate, to yourself) and I realize that true, heartfelt laughter can move mountains!

I was blessed to have been raised in a home where we laughed. A lot. Maybe not always at the most appropriate times but there was never a short supply of laughs when we were all together. Tanya and I have continued that tradition in our own home and I don't know what families do if they can't laugh at and with each other.

When we started Sweet.Happy.Life, we quickly began to realize that the pictures that we fell in love with were the ones of people laughing and just being themselves. You can almost immediately tell the families who don't sweat the small stuff and the ones who have a little more trouble letting go. Not to say that one is necessarily better than the other, I just know that--for me--laughter has helped me in more ways than I can count and I love surrounding myself with wonderful people who feel the same way.

There's no way to spend time with all of these wonderful people and NOT laugh!

I was "attempting" to organize some files tonight and move a few to an external drive. For anyone who knows me, they will attest to the fact that I'm much better known for my astonishing beauty than I am for my organizational skills but tonight I was so glad that I am messy.

 Each folder was like a little walk down memory lane.

I remembered the jokes that brought on the smiles...Some may argue that they were dorky jokes but I, of course, would beg to differ!

You can't fake true, genuine laughter. All of the posed smiles in the world will never measure up to one smile that comes from the heart!

 I know that I've said "thank you" before to everyone in these shots but I truly can't thank you enough.

Australian photographer, Sue Bryce, posted a quote by Paul Caponigro on her Facebook page that said, "It's one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like, it's another thing to make a portrait of who they are". That's our goal---plain and simple. 

If laughter truly is the best medicine, all of you have brought me a step closer to immortality and I thank you again and again!  :o)