Her Gift

We got word years back that she had cancer.  Knowing how tough she is, I knew we had time. Time to make more memories, time for more photos, more emails and more communication.  Three years has passed since she was diagnosed with bladder cancer and she's losing the fight. The DREADED cancer has taken over her body and traveled to her brain. Once we heard that, we knew that time was of the essence. Suddenly, time had become our enemy. She was becoming tired and just wanted to forgo anymore treatments.  She was done.  My mom called me and let me know. I was devastated and wanted to give her a gift. Something that would bring even just a small glimmer of joy to her. That's the least I could do after all those years of love and support she'd offered me. I quickly ordered my album, contacted cousins, scanned and developed pictures and got started. So...I'm here to share the finished album, a glimpse of the documented life of my Auntie Jan.

 

I started by purchasing the cherry mini album. I used cards from my stash of kits; mostly the Seafoam kit and some of the Amber kit. For this album, I wanted to coordinate the cards to the pics as well as I could.  So I used the pics as a base point. On the front cover, I used my vintage typewriter to type up a verse from one of my favorite praise songs. I wanted her to see the cover of this album and instantly feel joy. "This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it..."

The first page, I made for more of a dedication page. I also went with the theme of butterflies-butterflies being symbolic of change, a metamorphosis. Each page had a butterfly on it, some hidden, some not. 

Many of these old photos were scanned in and printed at Costco, they did a phenomenal job with the printing.  I was pleased. Here's just a quick page dedicated to her two children, with their baby pictures and a couple fond memories.

This page had pictures of us, the extended family, cousins, nieces/nephews at various points in our lives. Cookouts at their house before the fourth of July fireworks, ski trips, weddings, christmas' past.

A page dedicated to their grandchildren.  Some of these pages, I found so tough to document because they were her memories.  Much of this, I either wasn't around for or was too young to remember-I did my best.

Here, I included snapshots of the trip my hubby and I took to the east coast our first year of marriage. We met up with my aunt and uncle and toured around most of Washington d.c. with them. We got to stay with them for a few days which is a vacation I will always cherish.  

Here, we're moving up to more current time. Snapshots from my wedding and more scripture. I wanted this page to show the love my aunt and uncle have for each other.

 

 

Once again, more current times with pics of my family and my sister's family.  She hasn't had the chance to see her great nieces and nephews much due to distance but we've managed to do our best by posting pics to facebook and sending occasional cards.

 

 

More snapshots and an introduction to our newest baby, Levi who was born in March. Adding one more into the mix :)

 

 

This is the last photo page in the mini album. The next generation and the newest members to our family. My cousin with his newborn son and my three.  How amazing is it to see just a few pages back, my cousin sitting near the pool, maybe 5 years old at the time and then here, holding his son. So thankful for these images that help trigger those memories.  Simply amazing!

 

 

This page, I put together at the last minute.  The day before I was going to ship this off to Florida, I found out we were meeting both of my sister's for dinner.  I quickly put together this page, with custom notecards for each sister and my mom to sign.  I wanted to close out the book with written sentiment.  Something written from the hearts that she has blessed.  And with that, I was finished with the book. 

I originally had wanted to videotape the pages of this album and walk you through my journey but honestly, the moment I closed the album I was flooded with emotion.  There was NO way, I would be able to make it through a video.  A good cry was what was needed instead.  There was an overwhelming sense of finality to it.  At the time I thought it was because  I had just pieced together memories from a loved one's life but now I know different. 

 

My auntie received her album about two weeks before she died. It was a finality I was feeling.  The finality of knowing that no more photos of her will be filling that album, no more memory making to be had.  It was done, over, this chapter of life was over for her and she's moved onto another. I've heard from my cousin and my mom {and from my aunt, herself} just how much she adored this album.

 

 The day she got it, I got a message from her daughter, my cousin saying "I believe the Lord really worked through you, you've brought such joy to her." I got the chance to speak with my aunt about a week before she passed, she repeatedly told me how amazed she was by this album, the love and thought I had put into it.  She even told me that her neighbor had delivered chocolate chip cookies the same day this album arrived, she could do without the cookies but not the album.  She and I reminisced about what a sentimental woman she was, always having pictures and family photo albums around the house.  I remember that about her and knew this gift would be meaningful to her. From what I understand, anytime she had a visitor in those last two weeks of life, the first thing she showed them was the album. "Did you see this album my niece made for me?  Look at this beautiful album." 

 

My heart is still heavy from her passing as it's still so new and fresh.  But, I'll always cherish the weekend I spent putting that album together for her, knowing that it brought her a tiny piece of joy, a small glimpse back at those memories. Those pages I put together may not be worthy of any design team, but the joy that it brought in it's simplest form is irreplaceable.  In the end, it didn't matter that I didn't use the trendiest chipboard pieces or that my stamp turned out crooked or even that  handwriting was askew-all that mattered was the joy. The joy it brought in those final days.   

Sharing my album on Jessica Turner's blog, The Mom Creative