day at the farm.

My dear friend Karen has lost both of her parents in the past couple of years. She has been making weekly trips to help her siblings sort through a lifetime of their belongings at the family farm. Labeled in her mom's perfect penmanship, boxes everywhere are filled with Wooters treasures and trinkets, documenting a life and marriage well lived. I knew Wayne and Evelyn. Not well...but you didn't have to know them well to know they were the best kind of folks...hardworking and hospitable, supportive and self-sacrificing, humble and loyal. The memories stored in the boxes are merely reminders of a legacy of faithfulness they leave behind.

Their upstairs hallway is adorned with family photographs...images of Karen, her brother Neal, and sister Brenda. Recently Karen called me and began, "I just realized Mom had eighth grade pictures taken of us. I need an eighth grade picture of Drew. Would you take it?" Her son Drew begins high school in a few short weeks, so we had to get this done quickly to make it an official eighth grade portrait!

Somehow, I don't remember exactly how, the idea surfaced to take Drew's pictures at the farm. Then the idea grew...since we'd already be there, why not take some shots of the farm itself? So we did! Karen led me around, sharing stories and pointing out the ordinary pieces of her childhood that have shaped her into an extraordinary woman (she would never say that, but it's true!). Mailboxes and swingsets, fences and water pumps, haystacks and rain gauges all collected by my camera so this family will always remember and treasure the simplicity and richness of their upbringing.

Needless to say, it was a splendid day. I feel like we just scratched the surface, so we're going back this fall. But for now, here's a sampling of our day at the farm...

Wayne's hats (some of them, at least)

Drew and Aaron

 I love the wrenches. They look like chimes!