When I took Morgy to her pre-op appointment last Thursday, I found out that her boyfriend had not yet acquired any Senior pictures or announcements.  His graduation is this coming Saturday, the 12th.  This is a really good boy, hard worker, good manners, etc., however, his parents have not been able to help him with all the costs of being a Senior in high school.  I felt horrible that he had not been able to purchase announcements or Senior pictures.  I asked my daughter-in-law, who is an EXCELLENT amateur photographer, if she would care to take some informal pictures of Chris.  She said, "Yes, of course!", much to my relief. 

Bright and early, Amanda and I loaded up the baby, the camera, and a few last minute props.  We drove about fifteen miles and met Chris on a dirt road.  He had a certain old bridge, actually two bridges, he wanted some pictures taken on.  We got near the first bridge and discovered the road was covered in water.  Yikes!!  Chris assured me it was "only about two inches deep" and covered with gravel, very stable.  I got out, and made Amanda get in the driver's seat and she drove my truck over the water as I sat in the passenger's seat and prayed really hard that we didn't drown my precious grandbaby.  Of course, Chris led the way and we watched the depth of the water on his tires.  Looked relatively easy.  We went for it. Chris was right, we could feel the rough gravel underneath us as we crossed the water.   We got to the other side of the water safely.  Oh, the things we do for our kids, and their loved ones....

We got out, took a few pictures on the first old bridge.  Oh, I forgot to mention, it sprinkled and showered on us a little while we were driving to the location.  I also kept praying that it would clear up so we could get at least a few pictures for his announcements.  All the way from Nowata to Alluwe, it either sprinkled or showered on us intermittently, all the while, the sun was shining.  My grandma used to tell me that when the sun was shining while it was raining, that meant that the devil was whipping his wife.  Hmmmm....the things you remember.  Miss my grandma.  Anyway, by the time we started snapping pictures on that first bridge, the good Lord agreed that we needed more sunshine and less rain.  Thank  you, Lord, for a beautiful morning of sunshine and a hold on the rain so we could accomplish our mission.  God is good.  :)

After the first bridge, Chris took us to a second bridge.  It looked a little sturdier.  It had a steel beam on each side for the side rails.  I don't know what the technical term is, but, on this steel beam about every three or four feet were the first names of different girls, painted in white.  No, I don't want to know why.  One of these names just happened to belong to my daughter.  Morgan.  I asked Chris if he painted her name on the bridge.  He assured me he didn't.  Okay, I believe him.  I do.  So, I thought it might be neat if he sat on the railing, next to her name for a picture.  Then, later, I had him pose next to his truck and happened to notice where someone, probably my daughter, Morgan, had written her name and drawn a heart with her finger, in the dust, near the tailgate of the truck.  Ahhh....another cute photo op!!!  We finished up there then, drove back over the water to a few more locations. 

We found an old metal fence, which was painted turquoise green (my favorite color, besides blue, of course) in front of an old barn, and took some pictures there, and in the field of wheat, waving in the wind.  Oh, and I must tell you that poor Amanda and Chris were EXTREMELY patient with me, as I took it upon myself to be the official "poser composer"!  Ha!!  I was really getting into the posing aspect of the whole photography session!!  It was SO much fun!!  I would tell Chris "put your arm here", "turn your head this way", "sit up on top of that fence", "sit in this chair, with the guitar and wagon wheel next to it" (my props!), "look down", "look up", "turn your head to the side", "wait, no, not that far", and on and on.  I was probably driving him and my daughter-in-law BOTH crazy!!  But, it was SO much fun!!  Oh, I already said that, didn't I?  I could totally be a "poser helper girl"! Hehehe!! 

The absolute BEST backdrop was a grove of wild pink and red roses though.  Who would put a tall, tough cowboy, with cowboy boots, cowboy shirt with pearl snap buttons, and baseball cap (complete with fishing hook on the bill) in front of a beautiful, huge spray of the best, wild roses I've EVER seen in my entire life?  Yep, that would be me!!  :)  He did everything we asked of him and he was a good sport, but, he did make us promise that we would NOT put that picture on his announcements.  We promised.  I did tell him that I just wanted that picture for me, and I would print it but not post it on facebook or anywhere else.  Wouldn't you know it, that was probably one of the best pictures (well, they were ALL excellent) in the whole group of over one hundred and fifty amazing pictures.  When we finished up, Chris gave us both a hug, thanked us, and offered to pay us when he got paid again.  I told him this was his graduation present from me.  He thanked me and hugged me again. 

After finishing the photo session, Amanda and I raced home, uploaded the pictures, and began composing his announcement online.  We ordered a couple of  8 x 10 collages, one for his mom, and one for Morgan.  We ordered some wallet size photos for him to hand out to friends and relatives, four different poses, and one 4 x 6 of him in the midst of about a million baby wild roses.  That one, was, of course, for moi.  :)  We submitted the order and the confirmation page said our order would be ready by 6:00 p.m. that evening, in Owasso, thirty minutes away.  By this time, I think it was maybe 1:00 or 1:30, maybe even 2:00.  We sat and watched the clock basically.  We were both so anxious to see the actual finished product.   The pictures looked REALLY good online. 

In the meantime, Chris was on his way to Tulsa.  His brother was having a fish fry in honor of the graduation of Chris and a female cousin of his.  The fish fry was to begin at 6:00 p.m. 

Amanda got a text or e-mail that our order of pictures was ready at 3:00!!  We hopped in the truck and headed that way.  I texted Chris and told him that we were headed to pick up the pictures, and if he wanted to meet us in Owasso, he could get his announcements and hand some out to his family members at the fish fry, since he was in a time crunch.  We picked up the pictures, then, I bought a couple of picture frames for him to put the collages in.  When he arrived, he wasn't going to look at the pictures, but, I just couldn't stand it; I HAD to show him what an excellent job Amanda had done!!  I pulled out the announcements and showed them to him.  You could see the look on his face.  He liked them!  Then, I showed him the collages, then, the wallets.  He liked them also.  Then, I said, "Oh, wait, I have to show you THIS one" (the rose picture).  He took one look and said, "Do you have another one like this?"  I said, "No, but, I can print another one for myself; you can have this one if you want it."  He said, "I think my sister would really like this one."  I said, "Then, it is yours to give to her."  He then, thanked us both AGAIN, and gave me a hug.  As he was walking away, he said, "If there's ever anything I can do for either of you, just let me know, I'd be glad to do it." 

THAT, is what life is ALL about.

Helping other people. 

What an amazing gift, to be able to do something so small, yet, so meaningful, for one young man, who needed just a little bit of help.  Thank you, so much, Amanda, for making this possible.  I love you.  You are amazing, awesome, wildly talented, smart, and very special to me. 

Thank you, Jakob, for being such a good little boy all day long while we took you in and out of your carseat at least a hundred times, drove you at least halfway across the state (it seemed), and your "GeeGee" let your little foot fall in a crack in that first bridge (I'm so sorry!!).

Thank you, Lord, for the sunshine and beautiful weather during the photo session.  Thank you for keeping us safe while we crossed the water over the road.  Thank you for keeping my truck running after the scary metal sounds coming from my brake pads (after driving through the water the second time).  But, most of all, dear Lord, thank you for blessingAmanda and me with this opportunity to help a sweet boy who is just starting out in life.