Schriefer Family + Ranch Photography
Cassi and I's paths cross once a year at a conference. She's always this fun, kind-spirited person who makes everyone feel welcome and included. This year, we hatched a plan to take photos at her family's ranch in western North Dakota. And on Wednesday, when I pulled into town, I was greeted with a great big "Buelah's Churches Welcome You" sign that listed about 4 times the number of churches most small towns have.Then I drove past a policeman wearing a cowboy hat. And I smiled.And then I pulled into the ranch's driveway, with 3 generations, 3 houses, basically in the same farmyard.And then I was warmly greeted by her whole family and the German feast her grandma had prepared for us.I didn't think it could get much better than that.And then it did.
This is Jodi, Cassi's mama. She's an incredible woman, doing the hard work of a farmer/rancher, with so much passion for her animals, farm & family. Cassi wrote a lovely little tribute to her mama on her blog. You should read it, and you will like them even more. Here's one of my favorite stories from Cassi's blog:
Let’s start with our rancher mamas out there. The ones who would rather be horseback than in a limo. The ones first to head out the barn with the fencing pliers in hand to spend the day getting the pastures ready for summer. These mamas will let that newborn baby calf who is oh-so-cold soak in her Jacuzzi bathtub she finally got after 30 years of marriage (true story from my mama Jodi), just to get warmed up and ready to face the world. [read the entire blog here]
I felt right at home with a family full of strong women, and the men who offered wisdom in fewer words. (I mean this in the very best way.????) At one point, there were four of us girls in the pickup all very enthusiastically discussing locations and logistics, and Marc, Cassi's dad, turned to me and said, with a slow grin, "As you can see, I'm a very patient man." I laughed, nodded, and noted he and my dad have that in common as well.
The Schriefer Family. That's Cassi on the left, then Marc, Jodi, their son Riley and daughter-in-law Cheyenne.
Riley and Cheyenne are expecting a much-prayed-for child around Christmastime! And Jodi, the excited grandma-to-be, bought them these little moccasins we used in a few of the pictures. Clearly, these two were a joy to be around. :)
You know, I'm not sure why God blesses me with such good people as clients. All I know is that I'll be forever grateful that I get to walk alongside families as wholly wonderful as this one.
Cheyenne has her own travel agency/business, so we made sure to grab a headshot for that. Between hanging out with her for an evening and reading the reviews on her Facebook page, I'm pretty sure she's your girl if you're looking to get off the farm/ranch for some much-needed R&R. Here's a link to her Facebook page.
I just adore the way Cheyenne's looking at her husband in this photo.
I left this family & ranch session at 10:30pm (that's how late the sun sets this time of year in ND!) and drove half of the 3-hr trip home with the goofiest smile on my face. As Jodi put it, "You know how when you meet someone and even though you haven't known them very long, you just know they're a good person? They're just so sincere? That's how I feel about you." Me too, Jodi, that's how I feel about all of you.
I could do this every day of my life - and I'd be exhausted, but also insanely happy. So, if you're a farmer/rancher looking for a lifestyle photo session/ranch photography/farm photography, please contact me. We'll have the best time, I promise. :)
