July is almost over and soon the children will be back in school and we will begin planning for the holidays. I know it’s still summer and Christmas shouldn’t even be on my mind yet. But it really isn’t that far away, not if you have to complete a special project for your loved ones.

Being an organized person, I was thinking ahead about something extra special for my girls for Christmas. I came up with an idea that I want to share with you. Family pictures!

I know, we all have lots of family pictures and sometimes we actually put them in a photo album. Not me, I have box after box of photos that I haven’t checked in years. I thought it was time to look again.

That brings me to the idea I had for my girls. I thought I would sort through the pictures and choose those that show exciting events in their lives, scan them into the computer and burn them onto a CD. That would save me from putting them into a scrapbook, plus, they would have a permanent record of their childhood, something I don’t have for myself.

All the pictures of my childhood are gone. Some, I’m sure, are in my sister’s possession and others in each of my brother’s collections.

When my sister visited mother before she died, she took many of mom’s photo albums home with her. I didn’t have the chance to see them, so I lost the record of my childhood in pictures. I seldom get to visit my sister, since she lives in Arcadia, Calif., so we catch up on the phone instead of making the long trip. I’m sure she would let me make duplicates of some of the pictures if I drove down for a visit.

When I sit and reminisce about my childhood and all the fun I had with my siblings, I rewind those pictures in my mind. Pictures evoke memories and I have few pictures to help the process along. That’s why I thought it would be fun to make CD’s of the girl’s lives and they could add to them as the years go by. I will include a few of the grandparent’s earlier pictures to add to the mix. It would be a permanent record, at least until CD’s are replaced by something new. You could also burn it on a DVD.

We should take advantage of all the technology we have available these days. The kids bought me an all-in-one scanner, copier, and printer; it makes this type of project a snap. Even my scanner, which isn’t the top of the line, reproduces beautiful, detailed pictures, every bit as good as the original. How better to trace your family tree than in pictures, with dates and events. It will be a big job, but a labor of love.

Have you got a box of pictures that are just aching to be shared? Perhaps you should think about this gift for your family and friends. It is inexpensive, fun, and guaranteed to bring a smile to the face of the recipient, whoever it is.

What about your best friend? Wouldn’t he or she love to have some photos of the two of you doing crazy things? It would be a great gift that would be treasured for years to come.

After the happy, carefree adventures of our youth are just memories, we can recapture the moments frozen in time with photographs. Don’t lose those precious moments.

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Betty Kuhn, of Boardman, can be contacted at bkuhn_1@Msn.com or the East Oregonian, P.O. Box 1089, Pendleton, OR 97801.