What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?

What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!

Friday, January 11, 2019

Friday Foto Friends-Preserving Family Heirlooms

 Hello Friday Foto Friends!  I hope you are enjoying this beautiful new year! It's hard to believe we are almost into the middle of January already! They say that time really flies the older we get, and I guess that must be so, because this "old gal" can't keep up with it.

I thought I'd share a few more special "Christmas gifts" with you. You may have already seen this picture on my Facebook page.  These are our kids (aka "The Newlyweds") along with my hubby, and he is showing a special gift that our son made for him.

Here's the story.  When my father in law died in 1995 my mother in law was given this beautiful big American flag because he was a veteran and was given a veteran's burial.
When my mother in law passed away this past year, she had specified that my hubby, her oldest son, should receive the flag. Therefore, we have had it for a while, but we had no way to display it or keep it covered to keep the dust off of it.

And so our son the carpenter created this beautiful case for it as a Christmas gift, however what we all didn't realize was that this flag was a bit too large for the standard size case.  

Oops! Back to the drawing board, and he was able to create a larger case. This was a close call, because this wood is actually very special, and there wasn't much left.  


My Mother in law had written this note to keep with the flag.

You see, there is a history to the wood that was used to build this wonderful gift, along with some other special Christmas gifts ...

This is my hubby's maternal grandfather, Granddaddy Martin:
And yes, those are his glasses in that case...

He also was a carpenter, and in addition to building houses he also built some special pieces of furniture.

This is Granddaddy Martin's old tool caddy, that has been passed down to his great-grandson.

Sad to say, I don't have any pictures of the piece that I want to tell you about.   Granddaddy Martin had built a tall chest of drawers out of red cedar many years ago.  It was given to us after my husband's grandmother passed away.  Unfortunately, due to its age and years of being in and out of different temperatures the wood had developed some cracks and the drawers were stuck and extremely difficult to open.  We tried to repair the dresser, but it became apparent that it really wasn't going to be repairable. It was decided that that old chest of drawers might serve a better purpose if the wood could be repurposed into some special items for family members.

And so, this past Christmas, since it was the first Christmas since "Nanny" (my mother in law) had passed away, we thought this would be a good time to make some special family gifts from Granddaddy Martin's cedar chest of drawers.  Hence, our son made the flag case for my hubby.

Not wanting to leave out my husband's brother, our son also created something special for him from the cedar wood:  I'm sorry this picture isn't real clear, and actually I turned it around upside down

because the shelf is still sitting on the floor, waiting to be hung on the wall.
But hopefully you get the picture.  It is a wonderful shelf to set a few things on and to hang a jacket or robe or towels, or belts, whatever... and it is a keepsake made from Granddaddy Martin's cedar chest of drawers!

Not to be left out, my son also made something special for me:


Yes, this beautiful new cedar bird feeder!  It is so pretty that I hate to let it get messed up with bird seed. I am thinking I will save it for when we move to our new house (sometime in the future...who knows when? God knows!!)...

and even then I may just have to decorate it and keep it inside...not sure that I want birds pooping on this...

But, then again, maybe the birdies do need a new place to dine...this old bird feeder is getting worn out...


All I can say to close this out is that I feel abundantly blessed to have a part in preserving some of our family history...we have such a rich heritage of love and family.  These are a just a very few things I am thankful for as we begin a new year.

What about you?  I hope you are also feeling "abundantly blessed". God has been so good to us.

I am looking forward to seeing what you've been doing this past week. Let us hop on over to Deb's place at Breathing in Grace and check up on the rest of our Friday Foto Friends.

Until next time...here's some verses about "Abundance" (my One Word for 2019)

Isaiah 55:1-3
1.  "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, 
Come to the waters;

And you who have no money,
come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.

2.  Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
and let your soul delight itself 
in 
ABUNDANCE.

3.  Incline your ear, and come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
And I will make an
everlasting covenant with you...
The sure mercies of David."

Oh my! We need to keep reading...skip on down to verses 6-7:

"6.  Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
7.  Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will ABUNDANTLY pardon."

Some wonderful thoughts for the New Year.  Praise God!!!!!

20 comments:

  1. Oh, I love your "one word" and yes I truly am feeling abundantly blessed more and more every single day. This year I'm focusing on attitude and I can feel such a tremendous difference in how I feel. I love the treasures your son made out of a family heirloom. Oh, that makes my heart so happy to see each of the things he made for you all. He's so talented and thoughtful. Happy weekend to you, sweet Lady!

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    1. Thank you, Debbie. Yes, our attitudes do matter so much, and mine is being tested all the time. It truly helps to focus on the Lord and His blessings, and then I am able to overcome my frustrations with a better outlook.

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  2. Oh, Pamela, it's wonderful that the wood from the old dresser could be repurposed in such beautiful and meaningful ways. Benton sure has talent!!! Thank you for sharing some of your family history with us, too.
    Blessings in abundance! (Just love your word for the year!)

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    1. Thank you, Martha. Yes, I am so pleased that Granddaddy Martin's workmanship will be remembered in future generations in a different form, but still remembered. And that the carpentry skill is still alive and well in this present age, and hopefully in the future. So many blessings. Yes, an abundance of blessings!

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  3. It is so wonderful to pass on gifts from older family treasures. All the handmade items are beautiful!

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    1. Thank you, Carol. I love being able to be part of this heritage trail. It is quite a blessing.

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  4. Its wonderful to keep such memories alive and these are gifts that keep on giving for years to come.

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    1. Yes, that is so true. I know these items will be passed on to future generations...most likely the bird feeder will be feeding "stuffed birds" in the house...ha ha!! I just hate to see it get ruined outside. We'll see...

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  5. Pam: I enjoyed reading about your special Christmas gifts. In my living room, I have my great-grandmother's library table and my grandmother's cedar hope chest. I need to polish them both and take better care of them.

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    1. Oh, what treasures those are, Cecelia! Yes, by all means take good care of them. (I'm sure you already do). Those are definitely special pieces that should be passed down from generation to generation. I love the idea of both...a library table! Wow! And a hope chest! I never had one of those and always wanted one. Such a special place to store precious things. You are blessed!

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  6. How very thoughtful of your son to repurpose this treasured chest into something new! He is very talented to be able to make the flag holder work in spite of the larger size of the flag, it looks so wonderful on your table with your husband's father's picture! Such a beautiful family treasure! I too would feel the same about having the bird feeder outside, perhaps you can arrange some greenery, a candle and a fake bird inside it and use it as decor... it is truly a beautiful piece of work! So thankful you had such a blessed and special Christmas! Many hugs to you sweet friend :)

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    1. I like your ideas about the greenery, candle and bird on the bird feeder. I may come up with something like that. It is so special. Thank you for your kind thoughts. Actually, our son had to make a different new case for the flag as the other was just too small. But it is not going to waste. Our younger son has claimed it for a display case for something special. So it will still be used and stay in the family. Many hugs to you and yours as well. I loved your pictures the other day. Still wishing I could come to Idaho someday...it is SO beautiful!!! Thank you for sharing it with us!

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  7. Oh Pam, what sweet, precious, thoughtful, and amazing gifts! God does bless us so abundantly.

    Your son clearly has a God given talent with wood.

    Blessings!

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  8. Pam, I always feel abundantly blessed. My goodness, but our God is so amazing and good! I love those things your son made out of that precious wood! He is so talented and now everyone gets to keep something made from that chest. Awesome!!

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  9. What beautiful treasures your son has created, Pam. Thank you so much for sharing the family history behind the wood that was used to make them.

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  10. Oh wow!, I enjoyed this today. How blessed you are to have such family treasures. When I retired I started researching my family history, it was so fascinating and so enjoyable. I put together a book and our grandchildren have loved looking at it and learning about their ancestors.

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  11. Beautiful, skillful woodworking really does run strong in your family! Thank you for sharing the special pieces and their stories with us.

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  12. Pam- What a great repurposing of an old family piece. It gives everyone something to treasure and remember the family ties to it. You sure have some skill in your family when it comes to woodworking! xo Diana

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  13. Abundantly blessed indeed! I can see why you have chosen this word for the year and I look forward to seeing how the Lord uses it in your life this New Year.

    This posting was heart felt and just melted my own heart.
    What a fantastic way to keep that dresser in the family! I read this post to my husband, who is a finish carpenter himself and thought it would be a good thing to do with some of the furniture peices of his deceased parents.
    There are furniture items my husband made for his parents,including some when he was in high school that he could make into smaller items for his daughters and grandsons. You've got my wheels turning. 😉

    Beautiful post, my friend ♡

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  14. "Hence, our son made the flag case for my hubby."


    I LOVE this.

    What an honor.

    :)

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