Mariel reveals her spiritual side, religious views & thoughts on family today at “We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice in Christ” as part of September’s Family Celebration.On to the post…
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My name is Carrie and I consider myself a work of art in progress. I have a blog called All that is Sweet in Life where I pretty much sum my life up. You can check it out if you want. No pressure.
Anyways, here’s my guest post on how I preserve our family history.
Recording Family History Through Pictures:
When I was a kid I heard a lot about genealogy.
And it made me groan. All I could picture was my Granny…and the stories I heard of how she bought a hearse just so she had room to store all of her genealogy files while she traveled.
Wouldn’t you groan at that image, too?
But as I grew older, I began to see it differently.
I now know the importance of preserving what is and what was.
And I want to capture it for my family. Every little bit.
I had an idea…
One day at my in-laws family farm I was watching my child play in the same room I knew my husband played in when he was little. The room suddenly felt very nostalgic. In fact, everything in the room became nostalgic. I thought, when the house and the playful family gatherings are gone, how can I help my children remember these moments? How can I help their children imagine the stories of cooking in the kitchen that they would one day be told?
So I brought out my camera and began to photograph things. I asked my sister-in-law, “Hey! What’s your favorite thing in this house?” She and my husband both replied that it was a painting in the living room. As children they stared at it all the time. So, I took a picture of that picture.
(This light is a really big part of my husbands life. He and his siblings would lay in their Grandparents bed and pull the string to turn it on and off. My kids do it now, too.)
And I am doing it. (you can too!)
(my daughter and her great-grandmother)
To see more pictures of the farm and to get some ideas of the things YOU can preserve through pictures, go here. I hope you enjoyed my idea of recording family history through pictures!
PS. After I took all the pictures I made a blurb book of them combined with memories that each family member wrote. The book is now in all the siblings homes…always ready to be read and remembered.~ CarrieFor gift ideas for everyone on your list, check out the Gift Ideas tab and be sure to pin Gift Idea Central, to keep the whole collection in one place.
Love it!! Great idea! Thanks!!
Wow, that’s really great! thanks so much for showing this…the images are so cool! I wish I had done this before my parents sold their house!
I come to genealogy from a different angle – that of a fractured family with pieces shattered and scattered across the United States. Few are the memories of gatherings – like you describe.
BUT – We did gather a couple years ago – four generations in my mother’s home and my granddaughter (age 5) was given the camera to document the visit. She went all over her great-grandma’s house and captured “things”. I need to pull those into a blurb book.
Your post is wonderful – full of ideas and concepts to keep a family busy for awhile! Thank you so much.
I love this, Carrie! Most people would never think to photograph the home (up close and personal) to include with their family history. Very cool, thanks!
Great idea Carrie- my parents are moving from the house I grew up in and my kids know- I’m going to go over and take some pictures- thanks so much!
Thanks, ladies! I never had the opportunity to know my side of the family in that way and it always made me sad–so when I married my husband I was thrilled that he had such a tangible history I could record;)