Why I Love Her

We've been on vacation, and there's lots of blogging to catch up on, with tons of pictures to put out here, but I snapped this shot an hour ago of my wife, along with me on a kid shoot, and I have to post it. She won't like it, she'll complain that she looks tired. But I love this picture, because it's just one of the many reasons why I love her.
See, while on vacation, camping high up in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming, my wife and daughter were bucked off of a horse while we were riding. My little girl landed without a scratch, but Kari smacked down to the ground hard. She wouldn't let me take her down the mountain that day, but by the next morning she didn't have a choice, and I drove her down to the hospital. We found out then that she'd snapped her collarbone in 2 different places.
Now, I love this picture because of what I know about her that isn't in this picture. This is a girl who stayed up on that mountain with us for another 5 days, not complaining. This is a girl who had to sleep sitting upright. This is a girl who still tried her hardest to go on hikes and tried to cook over the fire. This is a girl who insisted she could ride along with us down a bumpy mountain road, smiling at me as if she was alright, but not able to catch the tear rolling down the cheek of her bad arm.
This is the girl who came all the way home with me to South Dakota, who ran out of pain pills this morning. This is the girl who still came with me to shoot pictures of a beautiful little 2 year-old named Mya, with her special brand of tricks, George the Giraffe and her smiles and tickles. This is the girl who had a doctor appointment 45 minutes after I took this shot, the girl who is right now at the doctor, insisting that she drive herself.
She is tired, she is in pain, but through it all she smiles, she makes a little girl happy to play, and she affords me the ability to snap some great pictures for another mom. Then she loads our kids up in the car right after the session and with one hand she's off to the doctor and then grabbing lunch for the kids on the way home... and this is just ONE of the reasons for why I love her. :)