Grandma-Would I have made her proud?

I wasn’t able to get to know my mom’s mom. I’ve heard stories, seen countless pictures and can assume from the retellings that I may know what her personality was like. But, I only have other’s perceptions to draw from.

I’ve never heard her voice, saw her hand gestures or seen my own mother in her. These are the things that I’ve missed getting to know about her, since she passed away at the young age of 53.

This is my Grandmother (my mom’s mom) as a teenager.
I wonder if she would have the same bizarre sense of humor that I do, if she would have read my blog, if she liked cats.

 

I wonder if she would think we looked alike-seeing me dressed up like this.

And I wonder how I could I miss a person that I never even knew.

Vintage Feel using Lightroom

I love to be creative with my frugality.
I bought a ream of gray paper for $15 and employ its simplicity when making my own personalized stationary.
I print off photos that I have taken to decorate the front of the cards, adding my own weirdo slogan to suit the recipient.

This shot was taken in a bowling alley one evening whilst I played amongst the friends.
I have been reading King James a lot lately. Forgive me.

I used the ‘Cold Tone’ preset in Lightroom to give this photo its vintage edge. I decreased the exposure in order to see the floor and increased the contrast in order to make out the chair pedestals.
I love how worn out and soft the print now appears.

I ended up going with the ‘Aged Photo’ preset. I decreased the exposure a little, but liked how washed out the floor appeared with this preset.
Simple. Cute.
That’s what I’m into and Lightroom is the answer on these occasions. Don’t get me wrong, I love Photoshop. But sometimes, you just want to quickly edit and be done with it.
This was such an occasion and it worked perfectly.

It’s that time of year-Photo Albums as Christmas Gifts

I love making digital scrapbooks. By scanning in an old photo, I can fix any scratches or flaws with one of my editing programs. I also don’t have to give up that ‘one copy’ of my favorite photo. And lastly, I can make several copies for each family member with a click of a button.

I made an album for Biceps’ Grandma and Grandpa two Christmases ago. Grandpa especially loved seeing himself as a young whipper snapper next to his purty car…

…and seeing pictures of his favorite horse. Grandpa had a myriad of stories about good ‘ol Charlie.
And just so you know, Charlie could do no wrong.

The youngest heard from the oldest the stories that make up our family.

When I become a Grandma someday, I can tell stories of the homesteads that are no longer remaining. The albums will have the visual to give my kids and their kids-roots to farming, to Iowa, to a different life.

They’ll hear from me what I heard from Bicep’s grandparents. Stories about horrific spring tornadoes and God’s provision afterwards.

Stories about the untimely death of this man, Grandpa’s son, who was killed by a drunk driver in the 70’s.

And stories about how Grandpa and Grandma visited the man in the hospital who killed their son and prayed for him. They were able to lead that man to the Lord.

These stories should be shared-generation after generation. They should be memorized, written down and never forgotten. I mean, if you don’t know where you came from-how do you know where you’re going?

If you’re looking for that perfect gift, may I recommend a digital photo album? Or if that’s too much work, may I suggest a roll of 100 dollar bills? I didn’t have a roll of 100 dollar bills, so I went the photo album root.

An Incriminating Past thanks to Photographic Evidence

Several photos have been surfacing lately of my mother’s side of the family that I have never seen. My sweet Aunt has spent hours scanning and emailing them to me.
I love seeing a face that is so bizarrely familiar, that I feel as if I am looking into a mirror.

This photograph has both my mother and my Aunt in it. I love seeing the dynamic of the different personalities in this photo. Most of the people I have never met.
And for some reason, my Grandmother is holding several life vests, although this looks like an obvious ‘Get together for a family photo!’ type of moment.

My mother is clearly feelin’ her oats in this photo.

This disease apparently runs in the family…

…and it runs deep.