By Chiara Sottile, Weekend TODAY
Life moves quickly, and sometimes we can only look back at the moments that define it with help from a camera's deft shutter. In this edition of TODAY's Life Illustrated, we share some of our favorite ephemeral moments, fleeting expressions and subtle gestures that you captured. If you want to share your memories with TODAY, upload photos at this link or post them on Twitter using the hashtag #myLifeTODAY.

Like mother, like daughter
"My six-year-old daughter Alivia playing with my mommy's camera." - Karen Murack

Handing down toys and memories
"Stop and smell the... dandelions... Our daughter, Emma, was only about two when we visited the old farm land that I grew up on as a little girl." Denise Wiggins submitted this photo of her daughter cradling a "Mrs. Beasley" doll that had been hers. She wrote, "It's always amazing to us how the old toys of years ago find love from the new generation and how the beauty of a colorful field can bring so much joy."

It looks like "opposite day"
"My niece Alyssa and her cousin Romualdo III who happened to be my great nephew." - Zenaida Burleson

Mailbox or bird feeder?
"Finding food." - Lawrence Baran

Victory is mine
"This is a picture of me, Keith Johnson, at the finish line of my first 26.2 mile marathon at the 34th annual 2011 Kiawah Island South Carolina Marathon held on December 10, 2011. I am legally blind. I lost most of my vision in March 2011 due to a rare eye disease called Lebers Hereditary Optic Neuropathy..." - Keith Johnson
Chiara Sottile is a news associate at Weekend TODAY, a multimedia journalist, and an aficionado of photographs submitted for TODAY's Life Illustrated!
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THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! for using the picture of my daughter playing with my camera as the "main" picture this weekend..it was nice surprise after a long day to see it on Saturday!
Thank YOU, Karen, for submitting it! It's such a charming photo, and we certainly appreciate you sharing it with us.
Best wishes,
Chiara Sottile, Weekend TODAY news associate