My Chest Full of Memories...

Way back in 1983, my mom and dad surprised me with a Lane hope chest for Christmas. I absolutely loved it and, over the years, it's been the place where I store many of my keepsakes. Abby, especially, loves looking through it with me. Just the other night, in fact, she wanted to take a peek at her baby book. So, we got it out and thumbed through it together...seems like just yesterday that she was born! We had such a fun time! I, however, quickly decided that I really needed to organize my hope chest a little. So, yesterday, that's exactly what I did. I'll share with you some of the things I have stored in it.

See...isn't it pretty? It sits right at the foot of our bed. All too often, it becomes a place to lay "stuff", but I'm trying to get better about that!

This is the name plate that Mom and Dad put on the inside...
Here's the girls' baby books, along with one of my favorite books that I read to them when they were little ..."Love You, Forever". These are the girls' handprints in plaster that they made for me (Abby's is on the left; Brittany's is on the right). I still get a little teary-eyed everytime I look at them....they're so small!
This book was sent to Brittany from one of my dear friends in Alabama, who happens to be her former Sunday school teacher. She sent it to her when my mom passed away and wrote the sweetest note telling her she understood what it was to lose a grandmother at an early age...it had happened to her. The note is tucked inside the cover of the book.

On each of my daughter's birthdays, I always write them a letter telling them how much I love them, and I highlight some of the things that have happened in the past year. Abby has 12 of them; Brittany has 16.
I began keeping journals in the 5th grade. The gold one on the top right is the first I ever had. I sort of skipped a few years, then started it back up in high school. I wasn't real consistent about keeping them in college, but I did my best. These are my personal journals about my own life.

Then, when Chris and I started trying to have a baby a couple of years after we married, I kept a journal about my "journey" from finding out I was pregnant, all throughout my pregnancy, to when Brittany was finally born. I did the same thing for Abby and, also, wrote about the two miscarriages I suffered between their births. Once Brittany arrived, I kept on writing and never really stopped. Here's the pile of journals I've kept on just the girls. Each one of them has their own journals I've written and I'm about to complete two more to add to the collection. I enjoy reading over them because they bring back lots of memories I would have, otherwise, forgotten. Here's just some of the letters and cards I've received from family and friends over the years. I have more in my other hope chest that Chris made for me. The ones from my mom and dad really mean a lot to me since they're no longer here.
One thing I would have given anything for is if my mom had kept journals during her growing up years, and as a new wife and mother. I would love to have the opportunity to read her thoughts and dreams. I guess that's why I'm so motivated to leave this legacy of love for my daughters. I want them to be able to read what I feel and how I think. What makes me happy and what makes me sad? What my are my aspirations and things that inspire me?

My intention is to give Brittany and Abby the journals and letters I've been keeping for them on the day they get married. I hope it will be something they'll always cherish and serve as a reminder that they were deeply LOVED.

May your Wednesday be filled with wonderment!

Hugs and Blessings...