Create Your Own Genealogy Blog Stock Images

Read just about any article on "how to blog", and one of the first suggestions is always related to having images in each article. It's good advice, and it's a proven method of generating - and keeping - readers. In our technology laden society, we are being inundated with more and more information, you need something flashy and attractive to keep those that are interested in your stories coming back.

If you Google "stock photos", you can literally find millions of results. Some of them are free, some are not. Some are very high quality, some are not.

There is an easier way, however, and if you have a decent digital camera or a smartphone, it becomes relatively simple. Here is the warning: once you start taking pictures on your own for your genealogy or family history related blog, you may not stop. You've been told.

Inspiration comes easily, just look at the myriad of other bloggers out there, focusing of course on similar topics to yours. If your blog discusses a memory of your grandmother, take a photo of your heirloom tea cup that was passed down to you. Is the objective of the post a book review or include mention of a article or magazine? Use the cover of the text, a notepad and pen to create an image of studying or reading. Have a new research idea, that you want to write about? Fantastic! Even a stack of unidentified books in front of a computer screen makes a compelling image.

I've been doing this, consistently, now for a couple of months, and truly love it. The ideas that come to mind are really endless, and your imagination is all you really need!

Here's a few of mine:

My husband's toy wooden truck, placed on top of a map
from the general area where we grew up.

My own childhood toy! Mounted on a track and using
the same map. I used the macro setting on all of these
images to get the blurred corners.

My grandmother's tea cup and saucer, one of
a small collection. Placed on top of a family tree chart,
next to her name. 

Same tea cup and saucer, with a larger view of the chart.

To display continuing education...
classic texts with a genealogy conference
website in the background. Combining classic
"education" with new formats.

Use your community. Talk a walk around your neighborhood and look for interesting architectural details on local homes, flora and fauna that catches your eye, cloud formations above buildings that create an interesting scene. Use your creativity and have some fun with it! If your ancestors were farmers, get up close and personal with a grain of wheat or a leaf, if there are in a location with limited access to farms. Take pictures of gears, bike spokes, lunch boxes... anything that you can use to tell the story, behind the story.

The Rotary Snow Plow Park in Breckenridge, CO.
They have a fantastic engine, but the box car is
photographed very rarely.

Rotary Snow Plow Park, Breckenridge, CO.
A unique perspective on rail history, perhaps. 

My back deck, with the addition of my daughter's art work.
A good color / neutral tone combo.

Two suggestions, however. Find a way to have and label your images with copyright text, unless of course, you do not mind if anybody and everybody uses your ideas. Secondly, use your "macro" setting on your camera (it's up to you to research that, if you don't know what it is, there are far too many options to be discussed here), or Instagram on your smart phone to create unique, visually stimulating images.

A few moments of self-teaching on your equipment will go a long way, here. Take advantage of the tools you have at home to create unique, creative images for your blog. Your readers will appreciate it, and your stories will become more personal.

The Diary: 20 Jan - 31, 1895

Please refer to previous post The Diary for an introduction to these entries. Also see the first and second installments for the month of January, 1895.

Sun                                                                                        Jan 20

                S.H., Alice, Lizzie and I went to the M.E. Church this morning and heard Mr. Kype preach on Gen 5.24. We three went to S.S. at 2·30 P.M. Alice, Berth and I went to Pre. Ch. In the evening. Lizzie was sick before church but she was alright about bed time. Flat irons. Mr. McDermid took Ps. 27.14. for his text to night.

Mon                                                                                      Jan 21

Was at school to-day.

Tues.                                                                                     Jan 22

                Lizzie and I had a drive to-night with L.A. Lots of fun watching the scholars fall as it was very slippery. John Henry had the croup to-night. Concert at Hallville.

Wed.                                                                                     Jan 23

                Martha Patterson and I fell going up to the school at noon, on the ice. Wilda made Ella C (?) laugh when reading. She told her “Old Selleck was in.” Mr. Witherill went away to-day. Had a great talk to Bert over the telephone.

Thurs.                                                                                   Jan 24

                A meeting after 4 of the School Board & Scholars to-night to decide about keeping Mr. Witherill or not. I went for a drive with L. Dave & Lizzie wouldn’t let me go.

Fri.                                                                                          Jan 25                    Exam Arith.

                Lizzie went home with Joe Allen. Pa came for me after tea.

Sat.                                                                                        Jan 26

                Stormed all day to-day.

Sun                                                                                        Jan 27

                In the house all day. Y. & W.W. came down this afternoon.

Mon                                                                                      Jan 28

Couldn’t corale to K.V. Roads all blocked. 

Tues.                                                                                     Jan 29

                John Horn brought Lizzie and I to K.V. Bad roads. Started at 9 o’clock and got here at 12.

Wed.                                                                                     Jan 30

                At school to-day. Mr. Halliday took very sick about 12 o’clock. P.M. Mr. Clark went for Dr. Ferguson.

Thurs.                                                                                   Jan 31

                Saw Nannie and Uncle Alex went for a drive with them and again with Bob Allen.

The Diary

The Diary, 3-7 Jan, 1895

Thursday                                                                             Jan 3

                Were down to Wm Carlyle’s to-night and had a fine time. Annie and I were left but we got a chance. We had lots of fun after the rest went away. Just six of us, Edith, Annie, Bob, Big George Little George and myself. Maggie Skuce went back to Ottawa to-day and Martha wen to Uncle Billies.

Friday                                                                                    Jan 4

                Were to go to Winchester today but were disappointed. Got another telephone message to go tomorrow.

Satur.                                                                                    Jan 5.

                A lovely day but can’t go to Winchester.

Spent the evening at Mr. Murphy’s. Had a pleasant time eating candy and cough drops.

Sunday                                                                                Jan 6.

                Mame Brown, Annie and Lin Allen wen to Hallville church. Song a voluntary at our church “Let Himself In”. We had the sleigh at church. Bob Carlyle came up for tea. Chris lead the C.E.

Monday                                                                               Jan 7.

                I came to K.V. with Lin Allen. Geo H Carlyle came and took Lizzie and I out to Sandie’s for tea. Bob came up there and stopped all night. We had a fine time. Bob brought Lizzie and I home about 11 o’clock and we bid him good-bye.

The Diary: Jan 1 & 2, 1895

A while back, I wrote about finding The Diary. I promised to transcribe and post it. While life has certainly done a good job at keeping me from that, I have not forgotten.

So, here is the first two entries, dated 1 Jan and 2 Jan, 1895.

1895

“Diary”

C.E. Reid

Tuesday                                                                               Jan 1

                This being the 22^nd Anniversary of Mother’s and Father’s wedding we wished to have some enjoyment so we decided on having a little party. After working hard all day and all was ready the young people commenced to gather. We played all the plays we knew then had tea about 12 o’clock and after tea we had a recitation from Nannie, speeches from Mr. Shaw, Christopher and Bob. Pa told us how happy he was 22 yrs ago, also the history of the Plaid Shawl.  He then called on Geo. H. Carlyle from B. Columbia. After his speech he moved a vote of thanks to Mrs. And Mr. Reid (alone) for the pleasant time they had spent. Then after singing “God Be With You” they all left for home leaving us reflecting over the pleasant evening we had had.

Wed.                                                                                     Jan 2

                We got up feeling rather blue but we went to work to sweep up and soon felt all right. Aunt Mary had stayed all night so Bert and Chris took her up to Grandma’s. Well and Lorne Mulloy came down from Grandma’s and Annie and Lorne went for a drive. When they got back Bert and I went then. Miss Eneff came. After dinner Well & Lorne went home and Chris, Annie, Sarah and I went down to Dan Allens where we found Bob Carlyle, Maggie Skull and Maria. We then came up to Prayer Meeting.

Photography: Dealing with Albums & Glass

In my vast collection of family memorabilia, childhood arts & crafts projects, diaries and letters, I only have one or two of those photos. You know, the ones that have been under the same piece of glass for a hundred years and you are so afraid to touch it, but really need a copy for preservation purposes, but you just don't know what to do!


So, I asked.

I didn't ask an archivist, though I could have. I didn't ask a historian, another genealogist, or anybody who I would consider an expert in framing and glass. Perhaps I should have.

Instead, I asked a photographer.

Because the glass and the frame, though probably of some historical value, is secondary. If something has to be damaged, ruined, or left in disrepair in the process, I'd rather it be one of those. I want the photo.

Keep in mind, I have a personal connection with this particular person, and we've struck up numerous conversations relating to genealogy and photography, and how those intermix. See my previous post, with significant contributions by Mr. Mike Brown, Photography: Questioning the Scanner.

The question I posed to him was this:

"How do we deal with old photos that we inherit that are glued to a photo album, or have been in a frame for who knows how long? Do you take it apart or try to preserve as is?"

His response is worth a read. I picked up a trick or two, I hope you will also.

"Reproduce before you try anything. Then if what you try goes wrong you have a backup copy. [Great advice for just about anything, right?] I have had customers that brought in photos that were cut out of the album page and still had the page glued to the back of them, this works if there are no photos on the other side of the page.

Sometimes it is possible to find something that will soften or remove the glue without harming the photo, but I really do not like to experiment with important or irreplaceable photos. Album pages cab be reproduced as a whole or one can just do a single photo at a time, to me much better than trying to take it apart. 

As for removing photos from a frame, the same thing applies, reproduce before you try anything. [Again, refer back to the techniques he describes in the post above to take a picture of a picture.] Here you really need to know what you are looking at. The usual problem is that the photo was not framed correctly and it is in contact with the glass. Moisture has gotten in and caused the photo to stick to the glass. If it has been in there for a very long time it can be quite difficult to get it apart without doing damage to the photo. If it is a black and white photo, remove the frame and try soaking the glass and photo in a tray of room temperature water. This may take several hours and one has to be very careful when trying to peel them apart, but it sometimes works. 

Most importantly, if you are at all unsure about the original or the process, don't do it. Take it to an expert and get some advice one on one.  

Be forewarned, if the photo looks like it has been retouched or colored, do not try this as the water may very well remove the coloring. I have had people tell me that they have done this with color prints, however, I do not like to do so. 

[How do you know if its been "colored"? Take a look at the examples below for an idea. Although this example is a "full" colored image, not all images were done this way. At times, it was much more pastel, or only part of the image.] 

Original image, non-colored.
William W. Brown and sister, Bessie, 
Colfax County, Neb.
Private holdings of author.

Same portrait session as above,
but with coloring added.
William W. Brown, Colfax County, Neb.
Private holdings of author. 

There is a special situation that I should mention. I have had customers who had house fires and when the fire department got done putting out the fire, every photo hanging on the walls was soaked and starting to get stuck to the glass in the frames. The cure for something that has just gotten wet is not let it dry out. As soon as possible, submerge the entire thing in water (ever see a bathtub full of framed photos?), carefully separate the photo from the glass while its wet, then let the photos dry. The damage to the house was extensive, but the house was rebuilt, and when all was said and done, the same photos, in new frames, hung proudly on the walls." 

 This brings me to a couple of questions for all of you; the readers.

• Have you found a product that works to remove photos from albums? I would especially like to find something that works on construction paper type surfaces, as I have a lot of those. 
• Have you done this? Does anybody have a story of submerging a framed photo to separate it from the glass? Success or failure, I would love to hear about it. Leave a comment, or put the story in your own blog, and send me the link. So far, I've been to chicken to try. 

Always willing to take questions and input on the issue at hand, please leave a comment for myself or Mr. Brown below. Between the two of us, we'll try to get to it as soon as we can. 

With over 50 years of photographic experience, Mike Brown is now semi-retired from the everyday hustle and bustle of owning a photographic studio. He now splits his time between consulting, teaching and mentoring in the photographic world and trying to keep up with a whole herd of grandchildren (another of which was just born!)

Lottie's Memoirs: The Journey Continues

... This is part two in a series. Please see the initial post for explanation.

The Lee Family at Silver Creek, Nebraska

Lottie Me Lee Houston

Mrs. Andrew Houston

1964

Page 2, continued.

The Lees later built a new frame house on their property, paying the carpenters with two fine colts which they had raised during a five year period. Money was not plentiful and as there was demand for good livestock, they raised much of it. Our father grew up learning all about the care of horses, oxen, milk and beef cattle, hogs and poultry. I don't remember his talking about sheep, although we know that in the Squier family they grew sheep and carded and spun their own wool, using it for knitting and weaving.

Grandfather (Cyrus) tried a short stay in Vineland, New Jersey, to relieve his asthma, but this did not help, so they settled for a time at Pittsford, Michigan. There were five children, Cyrus Homer (1850), Lucy Amelia (1852), William Newton (1854), Thomas Elliott (1859), and Fred Elmer (1867). Their Uncle Thomas Lee, (brother of Cyrus Lee) lived on a farm near Hudson, Michigan, not far away. 

Page 3.

This was the original farm of their grandfather, Cyrus Peck Lee, who had died in 1842, and their grandmother, Lucy Adsit Lee (born 1788), who now lived with Thomas, his wife Evelyn, and their daughter Nellie, or Ellen. Our father remembered going often to this farm to visit his uncle and grandmother, to help with haying or sugaring. The farm "had two good springs, one of which was piped to the cellar. The house was a very comfortable frame house. Lucy Adsit Lee was an excellent cook and taught Mrs. Thomas Lee how to cook. Thomas and his family were Baptists and attended church regularly, but Grandmother Lucy was never able to accompany them. She had had a bad rupture early in life and was very much crippled, making it impossible for her to travel. She spent much of her time by the fire, knitting or sewing. She had not had much education, but had a quick, active mind, even in old age. She died in 1868 and was buried in the little cemetery across the road from the farmhouse." (From Reminiscence of C.H. Lee)

Uncle Thomas' daughter (Nellie or Ellen) married David Kelley, in Michigan, who accepted a job as station agent for the new Union Pacific railway being built west from Omaha, Nebraska. He was assigned to the new station at Silver Creek, Nebraska, as the first agent, and they came out there to live in 1868 or '69. They were so enthusiastic about Nebraska that they persuaded Ellen's father and his family to come out from Michigan by train. This was our great uncle Thomas Lee. He also had suffered much from asthma and found himself greatly improved in Nebraska.

The Union Pacific established stations along their new railroad line about every 10 or 12 miles, in order to provide water for the steam engines. Every station had a small depot and a tall substantial water tank. Later on freight houses and railroad sidings were built. Silver Creek was at first considered the "large station" between Columbus and Central City. Another station "Duncan", to the east, never became a real town. Clarks was between Silver Creek and Central City and was very small until it became a junction point with the Burlington Railroad, after that line was built. Silver Creek was at first called Silver Glen.

Great Uncle Thomas and his wife began farming and wrote to his brother, Cyrus Lee, in Michigan, to persuade him to come west. They needed a doctor very much, around Silver Creek, and as Grandfather Cyrus Lee was a successful and experienced doctor, they urged him to come. He came in 1870, bringing his wife Harriet, and his five children. The eldest, Cyrus Homer Lee was then twenty, the youngest, Fred, was three years old. They took up homestead land and Grandfather began the practice of medicine.

Settlers "were coming in, thick and fast", as the main line of the Union Pacific was here, and the new town had much business. Dr. Cyrus Lee soon established a store, and a little later opened a small hotel. Our father, Cyrus Homer was his main stay at the store, while our Aunt Lucy (later married to T.C. Glenn, 1872, at Silver Creek) assisted him with the hotel. For a time he prospered, but after about two years his asthma returned, and he was unable to go on with his work. His brother, Thomas Lee, had by this time moved on to California, so Cyrus decided to move to California also, and in 1872 he turned over the store to his son, Cyrus Homer Lee.

...to be continued...

Lottie's Memoirs: The Story Begins

... This is part two in a series. Please see the initial post for explanation.

The Lee Family at Silver Creek, Nebraska

Lottie Me Lee Houston

Mrs. Andrew Houston

1964

Page 1. 

Our father and our mother, Cyrus Homer Lee and Mary Josephine Lawrence, were both born in the month of April, 1850. The Lees lived on a farm near Ransom, Hillsdale County, Michigan, the Lawrences at Camden (now Kipton), Ohio, and although these places are not many miles apart, the two young people never met until they were grown and had gone westward to the new settlement of Columbus, in Nebraska.

They grew up in the days before the Civil War and both Lees and Lawrences were Abolitionists in sympathy, both helped with secret escapes of run away slaves who crossed Ohio and Michigan to the Canadian border. Both our parents remembered vividly the death of Abraham Lincoln and the national period of mourning when the train bearing his remains made its slow progress toward Illinois and the final resting place. Both families were deeply religious and attended church regularly. Both were very eager for the education of their children, girls as well as boys. 

Our parents were children during the Civil War and knew personally many of the Union soldiers. Mother remembered helping at the church in Ohio with rolling bandages from old sheets, and "picking lint" from linen, to make surgical dressings for the Ohio soldiers. Each state sent its own supplies for its boys. This was before the days when sterilization of bandages was known to be necessary, but Mother told of how very clean the ladies and young girls tried to be in preparing these things.

Mother's three brothers, Mortimer, Warner and John, were in the Union Army and experienced tremendous hardships in Southern prisons and camps. The sorrows and the painful experiences which were theirs were reflected in the family for many years afterward. In fact, in the 1920s, both Mother and Aunt Frankie (Frances Lawrence Brown) would be moved to tears whenever they spoke of these things.

Mother and Father also remembered talking with "old soldiers" of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. American history was very vivid to them. The Lawrences had not come to America until about 1830, but among the Lee ancestors at least three served in the Revolution, Captain Ezra Lee, Lt. Stephen Adsit and Nobel Squier. 

During their childhood the great western migration of American people was in progress, and covered wagons moving west were common sights. 

The railroads were developing all over the east and central states, with crisscross lines reaching into almost every town of any size. There was a dream of transcontinental railroads to link the 

Page 2

east and west coasts, and several railroad lines were surveying the west, notably the Union Pacific. 

Our Mother, Mary Josephine Lawrence, had graduated from the town school in Ohio and taught her first rural school at the age of fifteen. Later she attended Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, for two years. She was deeply influenced by her experiences there and remembered all her life President Finney and a number of outstanding teachers. 

A young woman going to college was a rare thing at that time, and Oberlin was one of the first co-educational colleges in the country, a Congregational institution, of high scholastic and ethical standards. Mother said that while she was admired by some of her townspeople for attempting higher education, she was criticized by many for her boldness! She hoped to continue in college, but money ran short, and her brothers, who had gone out to the new country in Nebraska, after the War, wrote to her that they could get her a school to teach if she would come out. She joined them at Columbus, Nebraska, and lived in the home  of her married brother, our Uncle Warner, while she taught school in Columbus in 1869, 1870, and 1871. 

Meanwhile, Cyrus Homer Lee, our father, was growing up in Michigan. His father, Cyrus Lee, was a doctor who had built up a large practice of medicine around Ransom, Michigan, and who also had a farm and a store where he sold apothecary supplies, as well as some other things. He suffered greatly from asthma, and his son (our father) had to saddle his horse for him when he was called on a case. The asthma became so severe that he gave up medicine for a time, moved his residence and store to a new 100 acres, and devoted his time to farming. Our father often told of how they trained oxen for farm work, of "sugaring off" in the maple groves of Michigan, of gathering great harvests of nuts (hickory, black walnut, butternut) of riding horseback for long distances on business. His mother, Harriet Newton Squier, was the daughter of Noble and Susannah Elliott Squier, and had taught school before her marriage. She had poor health all her life, and was small and thin. She had a sweet and gentle disposition and was greatly loved by family and friends.

... to be continued... 

Memoirs of Charlotte Mae Lee Houston, 1964: Who Was Lottie?

This shall be the first in a series....

Among the many treasures my family has passed down is a memoir, written by my 1st cousin, 3x removed, Charlotte "Lottie" Mae Lee. Although I never met Lottie, I have heard about her what seems like all my life. She had a reputation in the family that carried over.

To give an example, she used to tell my Grandpa that if he would just add an "e" on the end of Brown, our family would be held in much higher regard, as BROWNE was of a higher class than BROWN.

That same Grandfather rented his land from her, and he operated a Dairy Farm. Every year, they would "re-negotiate" the lease, and Lottie would add $1.00 to the rent. Just $1. Just because she could.

I think you get it.

She wrote her memoirs in 1964, and the copy I have is an original, given to my Grandparents, "with love". [Ahem.]  They entail 22 pages, which I will transcribe over the next few days to be shared here.  These memoirs were written with this same attitude, so as they are posted, keep that in mind. History is stranger than fiction...

Charlotte Mae was the first of eight children born to Cyrus Homer Lee (1850-1937) and Mary Josephine Lawrence (1850-1931). For those of you keeping track, Mary was sister to my 2nd great grandmother, Frances Elizabeth Lawrence Brown. Born in Silver Creek, Merrick County, Nebraska, the majority of the family stayed in Nebraska most of their lives. Lottie completed three years of high school, and does have some higher education. On the second of September, 1903, she married Andrew Houston in Bellevue, Sarpy County, Nebraska. Between 1910 and 1913, they moved their family of three children to Osceola, King County, Washington; where they bought three "40's", or 3 tracts of 40 acres each, of land.

Mary Houston, Lottie's daughter

The Osceola community no longer exists on paper, though there are some there that still identify themselves with that name. Generally considered to be part of the town of Enumclaw, the property sits not too far from where I grew up. The farm was a continuous part of my childhood.

Andrew passed away between 1930 and 1940. Lottie stayed on in the family home, and that is where we find her, widowed, all of her children moved out, in the 1940 US Census. She passed away 7 Dec 1967, with her daughters in attendance.

The Diary

Last year I was entrusted with a family collection of photos, letters, documents... even one reproduction Civil War medal. You know how this works. You get a huge box of unidentified memorabilia, some of which is garbage, some of which you already have (somewhere) and some of which are pure gold. As in, "this should really be in a museum but I'm probably going to keep it for a while anyway" gold.

The Diary is one of those pieces of gold.

The "Carlyle Collection" as I have named it all came to me from my great grandfather's sister's family. Carrie Brown, daughter of Oscar and Frankie (previously mentioned in several other posts) married Adam Carlyle, and Carrie was good at saving things. So were her daughters. I have certainly gained the honor of becoming the family curator, and eventually the collection ended up in my lap. A title I will gladly carry through to the end. The collection had been organized, to my great delight, to a certain degree by a member of the Carlyle family more recently. He even labelled some of those unknowns for me, which is nearly unheard of.

But no one told me about The Diary.

I had spent days documenting, digitizing and doing my best to filter through the collection. It came contained in seven binders and several other collection devices: boxes, plastic bags, loose pieces. The process had been long and tedious - and I still had to go through and translate all those letters, find where all those pieces belonged. I was really just beginning, but the cataloging was dragging on and on, until I was just done. Done.

Then I found The Diary.

In a very plain looking brown bag. On the front was written, "Diary of Carrie E. Reid 1895 Given to Lizzie Christie (1),  Jean Mouat (2), Helen DeVries (3)." In the top left corner a address label was placed for William DeVries of Bellingham, Wash. (Can you say 1940 US Census?) The back of the bag had a printed label for "PayLess: We're Your Mall in One... We've Got It All Together." Obviously, a modern addition to The Diary. The handwriting on front I recognized from some of the photos I had seen in days previous. Even the pen used was the same. One of the names, Helen DeVries, was familiar, but other than that, I had nothing.

Carrie E. Reid wrote The Diary.

Inside the bag was a dictation notebook, similar to the commonly used white and black notebooks seen across colleges everywhere. The front cover, brown with black and gold embossed lettering, reads "Cyclopedia Book, Exercise and Dictation". The back and inside covers are littered with helpful information, such as "How To Tell the Age of Any Person", in chart form, the "Strength of Ice" and "Origin of the Dollar". Held together with a piece of blue tape along the spine, obviously an attempt made several decades ago. The first page entry is dated Tuesday, Jan 1, 1895, by C.E. Reid, "Diary".

               "This being the 22nd Anniversary of Mother's and Father's wedding we 

                  wished to have some enjoyment so we decided on having a little party."

I was immediately obsessed.

Inside were a few items, other than the script of Carrie Reid. She appears to be writing from somewhere in Canada, so a program from the Grand Opera House in Ottawa (Canada), for Tuesday, February 18th, highlighting Madame Albani in performance, made sense. A color print, on thin paper, slightly torn in the corners, of "The Doctor", published by J.A. Austen & Co., Chicago. A small scrap of paper, written in pencil, "July 4th, 1896, Saturday night..." along with a very fragile sample of hand crocheted lace, folded several times over. The last entry is from Jan. 1st, 1896, "Leap Year".

I hope to find out who Carrie E. Reid was, and where her family ended up. How is she related to me? How did this diary, this very precious item, end up in my hands? The trust my family places in me... wow.

Some of the entries are long, involved stories. Some are very simple, one sentence, maybe two. The transcription will hopefully be completed this year, and the storage of this item for preservation carefully considered. It is a treasure, a family heirloom, yes. But more than that, it is a historic artifact. One for the museum, perhaps.

The Diary.

It All Comes Back Around

When I was pregnant with my daughter, my Aunt sent me a baby cup. This was no ordinary cup. It had belonged to my father when he was a baby, and she sent it to me for the baby shower. As someone who truly treasures family heirlooms, this little tin cup is very precious to me. I usually use it to hold my daughter's hospital tag bracelet. Today, I decided to finally digitally document it, and the significance to our family.

In the background is my father, holding his newest granddaughter 30 minutes after she was born.  I took that original photo from the hospital bed; not an easy task mind you, so fresh from labor and delivery.  She was born in March of 2009, and I can hardly believe she will be three years old in just a couple of weeks. Dad has two more grandchildren on the way, and he is one proud man. His cup, however, remains with me and my little girl.