Hi everyone,

First of all I need to tell you that I'm not at all photo/saavy. This is what I am trying to do. In a nutshell--I found my half brother in late June. I have some old photographs of my mother (she gave him up for adoption in 1945 & I only found out about it a couple years ago) I promised my Dad before his death in 2005 that I would not try to contact my half Brother or do anything until after my Mother passed, which was last Dec. 30, 2007.

Anyway, I am trying to put together a small scrapbook/photo album for my brother, so he can see what she looked like, especially in her younger years. And also, I would like for him to have some pictures of his/our grandparents & her brothers & sisters. I have many old black & white & some more current color photo. I want try to put together a timelime for him. Also, I was going to use holy cards from her siblings, to help me figure out the ages & dates of passing for our aunts & uncles. I grew up far away from most of my Mom's family, so I'm not the best person to explain my Mother's family dynamics etc. to him. I would like to help him find his father (if he's even still alive) but at least try to help him have closure. I'm trying to get a hold of old yearbook pictures from about 1942-1943. I have a hard time understanding why my parents never told me. I don't know the circumstances surrounding her pregnancy, but I know it was kept a secret that was ONLY shared by my mother, her oldest sister & later my father. I think maybe my Dad was trying to shield people from thinking the worst of her, but it's so hard for me to process WHY they never told ME. She was a small-town girl where everyone knew everyone else's business. I don't know any of the circumstances of her pregnancy or adoption. I found out when my Dad was dx'd with terminal cancer & I could just tell that there was "something" he wanted to tell me. After many questions, I figured it out. He felt bad, like he somehow betrayed her, but, I told him that NO, he hadn't--I asked him point black & he told me the truth. I also told him that I was Happy to know that besides my son, there was someone else out there with my DNA & to never feel bad about my finding out. By then it was much too late to ask my mom anything as she had Alzheimers.

Anyway, back to the pictures.... Should I take them to a Walgreens & have copies made? I don't want to make any over a 5x7 size. Does that get terribly expensive? Or, I do have a scanner/printer/copier/fax (that I barely know how to use) Would copies work or is it best to put pictures on photo paper? I also have a digital camera--don't know how to work that either. If I scanned in the pictures, can I put them on a disk & then have them printed somewhere like a Kinkos? Is that more expensive to do?


I want to make a photo album for my brother for his birthday at the end of this month. I was so nervous to make that first call, but when I talked to him, he seemed so nice & like he might want to have some sort of relationship with me in the future. It's so good knowing that I have a brother I never knew existed--I just wished I would have known years ago. I have only 1 surviving aunt left--out of a family of 9 of my mothers siblings (she is 81) that might be able to help fill in some of the family blanks for me, but even she didn't know about this, until many, many years later & quite by accident. Talk about a well-kept secret!

Thanks for any suggestions, as I will need all the help I can get to make this photo album for him. I'm sorry this is so long & I hope it makes sense what I am trying to do . LOL

TIA & Blessings, katclaws