Photobooks

I have been told I traumatized my children, dragging them through cemeteries and they heard way too much about family history over the years.  I even had a wall of ancestor pictures in the form of a tree on our living room wall for years.  They were sick to death of genealogy – my worst fear is that they will pitch everything when I am gone.

I had made a photobook for each of them of their years 0-6 years old one Christmas.  When I suggested I might make another book for them the next Christmas, my daughter said fine, …as long as it isn’t about family history!   I was sad…because indeed it was what I had intended to do. I didn’t make another book that following Christmas…but the next year had an idea.

I put together a photobook and made it into a “this is your life” theme.

I put my daughter, flanked by her father and myself and wrote in when and where she was born. The next page was her father, flanked by his parents and his story…with his siblings and their story on the next page….and so on. I had a picture and then a write up…kept them with same information on each person and kept it short.

That Christmas, my son opened his first – my daughter hung over his shoulder…looked at me and said…” I would have liked one of those!”  I just had to say – “You told me you didn’t want a family history book”.   Her response was, “But this one has pictures!”

When she finally got to hers opened it, she was thrilled and then ran off to her room.  She had gone and taken multiple pictures and posted them on Facebook.  Her post brought me to tears…” I can go buy myself whatever I want any time of the year…The best presents are the ones my Mom MAKES me… This is awesome! So much to read!! #familyhistory #scrapbook #justalittlepreview”