Last night I was feeling a cranky. I was tired and irritated. For the millionth time this week — slight exaggeration, but only slight — my family room was covered in Legos and Magna Tiles. My day had been jammed packed and I was anticipating a few more busy days ahead. It was bedtime and the kids still needed their baths. I hadn't written my 500 words for the day (my personal, daily goal). And all I wanted to do was go to bed. Then I picked up my phone and found this photo:

Cooper has a thing with taking selfies. Any chance he gets, he's snapping silly photos of himself. If I leave my phone unattended, I'll come back to find he's taken hundreds of pictures of himself. I even have a passcode on my phone, but Little Mr. Smarty Pants figured it out and started unlocking my phone without telling me. He's such a silly, nutty kid. He makes me laugh all the time. Lately, he talks non-stop about video games, Legos, school and his friends. It's nearly impossible to get a word in. He laughs all the time. Deep, animated laughs. It's actually hard for him frown and be sad. When he tries to pout, he melts into a fit of giggles. He can't be mad, it's just not in his nature.

I'm not even sure when he took this photo. It looks like it was taken in the car. He must have grabbed my phone from the front seat and started snapping away. He's at a fabulous age: not the least bit self conscience and so incredibly spunky.

After seeing this and scrolling though his zillions of selfies, my mood instantly changed. How can I irritated or frustrated when I'm blessed with silly monkey? I've said it before and I'll say it again (and again), Cooper brings me infinite amounts of joy. The Lord knew I needed such a joyful influence in my life and Cooper delivers day in and day out.

After the kids got in bathed and in bed, I snuggled them both a little longer and took a few extra minutes to soak up their goodness. In the quiet Cooper told me he loved me and Shelby expressed her gratitude for all I do as her mother. Man, my heart just melted. And I silently said my own prayer of gratitude. I'm so glad I didn't yell at them for the mess or for stalling before bath time. I'm glad I paused for a minute and with the help of this playful photo was able add some much needed perspective to my life.

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"This Photo" is a weekly series focusing on documenting and sharing the story of a single photo.