From my house to yours

Since Christmas is fast approaching, I wanted to share a few decorative touches around my house. So this post is Merry Christmas from my house to yours.

 

Ancestors

Today is my dad's birthday.

Elmer Ward Crum 1920-1979

His great grandmother Catherine Smith came from England in 1840 when she was a small girl with her parents Edward and Elizabeth Smith and ten siblings. They brought their belongings across the Atlantic Ocean in an old blue sea chest. The initials E. S. were on the end of the chest. The chest is currently in the possession of Clara Belle Crum. Clara is the widow of my dad's older brother Everett Crum.

Catherine Smith Reynolds Hancock 1833-1918

Back Row - Third From Right

Several years ago my cousin Ellen had scanned many old family  photos and had given me a disc. I chose this photo to print on paper and use inside the bottle.

 

In the jar from an earlier post I shared the stairstep pose of my dad with his older brother Everett, his older sister Lois, and his younger sister Mary Ruth. Later there would be another sister Jane.

my dad with his mother 

I keep some mementoes of the past out where I can see them. They remind me to be thankful of the people in the generations before me who lived, loved, and worked hard to see dreams come true. All families have interesting stories with successes, failures, heartaches, and joys. My dad's Indiana family tree is certainly intriguing to me. 

This corner of the guest bedroom is where I have these keepsakes of the past.

Let me know if you decide to display a photo inside a bottle.  I highly recommend it!  

Picture in a Bottle

I have a big interest in bottles right now. All kinds of bottles and jars. Even though my photography is not the greatest, I wanted to share this particular picture. An old family photo of four siblings. My dad is the younger fellow. Placing a picture inside a glass object seems to make it  more important.  I know I love having it out and like looking at this captured moment. Wish I could have seen him interact with family and friends back then. Sometimes we tend to forget that our parents had childhood experiences that shaped them into the unique individuals they became.