Treasure Chest Thursday - I Know I'm Extremely Lucky

 

Almost every family reunion clipping!

I know I'm extremely lucky to have these.  I'm lucky to have them in my possession and I'm lucky that my husband's paternal grandmother put these together.  They are a true treasure.  One that I let collect dust for far too long!

A few years ago my mother-in-law passed on to me several family artifacts, including these two books.  I was delighted to be given them, but life got in the way of me doing anything with them, so I put them aside and kept telling myself that I would get back to them soon.

Pages and pages of obituaries

As I mentioned before, I attended my first Scanfest on June 26th and had a blast.  I had a box of clippings to scan and got through them all.  They were clippings that had fallen out of the pages of these scrapbooks.  When I got done with these loose clippings, I was "in the zone" and didn't want to stop.  I pulled the scrapbooks out and began paging through them.  I found so many important obituaries and wedding announcements that I wanted to kick myself for not getting to them earlier.

And pages of wedding/engagement announcements!

I had to stop eventually to spend time with the hubby and kids (after all, I do this all for them), but I'm going to make sure I put a little time each day to preserving these albums.  I could scan them, but the pages are already falling out of the books, so I will most likely use my camera to capture the data.  It will be worth it in the end.

I've got less than 2 weeks before heading back to Pennsylvania on vacation with the family (and to do some research...gotta have my fun too!).  We'll see how much I can get done.  I'll be set for Wedding Wednesday, Military Monday and Sunday's Obituary until about 2015!

Have fun tending those roots!  I love this stuff!!!

Military draftees and service members...

...Some never came home.

Treasure Chest Thursday - A New Family Heirloom

Memory bracelet

It's special when you know that you have something new that it will be worth passing on to your children and grandchildren.  That it will be cherished forever.  Your engagement and/or wedding rings, a baptism gown for your children, etc.  The other week when my mother-in-law and nephew were visiting they brought me a new family heirloom.  One that makes me sad sometimes, but also one that I cherish deeply and I know my children will as well.

It's a bracelet that was made from some of the flowers that were sent when my father-in-law's passed away.  It hasn't been a year yet since we lost dad, and even writing about it brings tears to my eyes, but wearing this bracelet is a beautiful reminder of someone very dear to my heart. 

Keeping mementos of someone that you lost is, I'm sure, as old as time.  People used to take pictures of the dearly departed (and in some cultures still do).  Now, there is jewelry like the bracelet my sisters/mother-in-law and I have, there are pieces of jewelry that can be made with a bit of ash, and some people keep a lock of hair.

We got our bracelets from A Lacy Creation and to be sure it will be passed on for generations, although I'm sure the sentiment will feel somewhat different in decades to come.  While it can still be a sad memento for me, it reminds me of someone I love...for my descendants, it will no doubt be representative of someone dear to them, they were blessed, as we were, to have known.