If you are anything like me, you have thousands of photos of your children and family stored up in your phone - photos that capture your daily life, but that pretty much all look the same. Maybe they're organized in the cloud and even neatly labeled by season, like I started to do in the beginning.
But with all of these photos, I've realized that really, looking back on these thousands of photos will not be of the same interest for anyone else besides myself and my husband. We are saturated with images and video today. But rather than an avalanche of repeat photos, what I think we really need is a simple snapshot of memories to cherish from the seasons as they come and go.
Most importantly, what may be most worth remembering is the hand of God through these passing seasons of our lives. We want to recall the unique details of the movement of God through our hearts and homes.
My personal solution to this was to create a simple homemade photo book incorporating space for monthly reflection. If this idea resonates with you, I have a free editable template available here that you can use!
A few tips for the use of this template:
-
Collect and select your most memorable photos at the end of each month. This helps this task from becoming unmanageable at the end of the year.
-
Pause for a few moments to write down a reflection at the end of each month. Your memory is obviously most fresh in real time. Write down what living together and trusting the Lord looked like for you each month.
-
Finalize your annual photobook near the end of the year for printing.
-
This photobook works wonderfully as a memoir of sorts, or as a gift for grandparents.
-
Format: Each month is laid out with four pages/layouts (2 pages front and back), but you can add or delete pages as it fits your liking. If you use all of the provided pages, you will end up with a nice 25 sheet photo book.
Happy compiling!
Use left/right arrows to navigate the slideshow or swipe left/right if using a mobile device
