Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Birthdays!

Dinah and Eloise had birthdays this month!

The 4 year old! 

The 6 year old!

Each year I write the girls a letter on their birthday.
I also do it at random times throughout the year... but
I make sure to do it on their birthdays.
I tell them a little about themselves, silly things
they have said or done, their favorites, and about
their special day.  Since I got a polaroid instamax
camera for my birthday this year, I took a little
picture of the birthday girl, put it in the envelope
with my letter and sealed it up.  I put their names on
the outside and then stick it in their memory box.

Recently, I had to go out and buy BIGGER memory
boxes!  I went through the old ones and shed many
tears at the memories of pictures, special baby items, 
drawings, little notes and ultrasound pictures.  
There were many sealed envelopes (from me!) in
the boxes.  My hope is that one day when they are
older (out of school or even older than that), they 
will open those boxes and appreciate the memories
and, especially, the words that I have written just
for them.  We never know what circumstances we
may find ourselves in.  If something happens to
me - young or old - I want my girls to remember
the good (and bad)... and how much I love them.
I know you don't need notes and trinkets to express
your love.  We can show love to each other every
day - but I'm quite the sentimental type and I
hope my girls appreciate the time I've taken to 
write things down for them.

I've even started a Memory Box for the new baby
(due in July!).  So far it only contains ultrasound
pictures, but I plan to start adding to it with a letter
or two before baby is born. 

My mom's mother passed away unexpectedly 
from a brain aneurism when my mom was only about 6
years old.  She has a spiral bound steno notebook
(from the early 1960's) that has her mother's 
words and handwriting in it.  It's a journal of sorts that
tells little bits and pieces of her life with her husband
and 3 kids.  What a special thing to have so many
years later!  It may seem silly - but I treasure that
book!  I will never know my grandmother here on
earth, but I have a glimpse into who she was and
the joys she shared.

Do you (did you) keep a memory box for your
child/ren? 

5 comments:

  1. I did not know mom had that from her mom! Hmm!? I'll have to ask her!

    Storing those treasured memories is wonderful and your children will be so thankful for them when they are older! :)

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  2. What a great idea, I'm going to pass that along to my daughter when she has children (many, many years from now hopefully - she needs to finish college first!) My father passed away when I was six, it's hard to only have a few memories - bits and pieces - but I treasure those pieces and look forward to seeing him again. Congrats on the the new addition - another blessing from God.

    Shelby

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  3. Yes, I do have that stenographer's memo book. My mom actually died when I was only 5, and although I have little memory of her I have felt that loss ever since. Unfortunately, at 30 she thought she had lots of time ahead, and she had only recently started that memory book/journal so there are few entries. But the ones that she wrote gave me a bit of a glimpse of life at that specific time in our family, and there was actually a memory specifically about me… which touched me beyond words. I'm so glad you do this for your kids, Devon. They will treasure it all in the future, without a doubt! ~Mom

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  4. That is such a great idea. I did a journal for each grandchild from the time I found out they were to be born. I wrote what my feeling were when I first found out and about the excitement of viewing the ultrasounds, the call when they were born and when I got to see them the first time. I also wrote some "words of wisdom" I hope for the future.
    It is hard to believe but as of this year, the first three grandchildren will have all graduated high school and gone on to college. Noah will be six in June and that is hard to believe. He was here from CA for Christmas and it was wonderful. For the first time in six years, the whole families are coming from CA and OK in June. I hope Clyde and I will be up to it. We have not been in the best of health for a while.
    Love you and enjoyed stopping by to see those beautiful children and look forward to the new edition this summer.
    Marie

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Thanks for stopping by! I love to hear what you have to say!