More Powerful Beyond Measure

SWEET BIRD, and SWEET MEMORIES

I have so many precious family pieces. Pieces, that once belonged to my family that are now together in heaven. Some things I know very little about, some I know ever detail of, all I cherish in the same deep, loving way. Most are kept in a trunk, in my workroom, but some I have no idea where in my house they live. However, I do enjoy stumbling across them as I clean and plunder...sometimes I move them to a safer spot, sometimes I just place them back where I found them until later.

Each summer off, I clean and discard things, as well as, rest and relax from the school year. 

I have a closet under my staircase that had been neglected over the years, each summer it has been left to hold on to it's packed away memories.

It stores Christmas things that I take out each year, but in the back...ooooh, in the back of this deep, deep closet has sat boxes not touched since the day we moved in 14 years ago. 

So, this was the summer to clean and discard from those mysterious boxes. It was a major chore to move, tug and pull them out of the dark. But once in the light, oh what fun! Sweet memories and puzzled questioning. Why did I keep this or that!???!!

Some held school work from Jared's elementary years. Oh, how sweet to lay my mama eyes on those art pieces, awards and writings. Just thinking about the little fellow who made it all, brought tears to my eyes. I miss my little boy, but I am so blessed. I am getting to see what he is becoming and where he is going with his life. I couldn't part with most of  the work done by my little man, who is now a 6' 2" wonderful, grown man. I bought new containers for that precious stash, hardly discarded any. I know, I know. Please don't tell that Peter guy that forces people to throw meaningful things away on that TV show. Sure, I know, whatcha gonna do with it? Well, for now it's going to sit in my closet and wait for the day I look at it again.

Also, way back in the back of the closet I found my wedding dress. I had been wondering where it was! I designed my dress...drew it off on a piece of scrap paper and hired a friend to create from my drawings. 

It is a precious keepsake, 

so it is no longer stored in a box way in the back of that closet. 

It's in the top of my newly organized bedroom closet.

Many precious things were found in those few days of closet cleaning, stuffed toys, baby clothes and some Christmas are on their way to the thrift store as donations. 

However, just as everything that was staying was going back in I realized there was just one more box I had not gone through. UH! MORE!!

This turned out to be one of the best boxes. Deep in the bottom of this box, for what reason I do not know, was an old ledger book. It was my Great-Grandpapa's. It dates well back into the 1800's...way back. My Grandpapa was born in 1880 so this dates way before then. I have a table that has a glass top for storing and decorating...that's where that book now lives. I had forgotten all about the book. I remember my Grandpapa showing it to me. The lettering is beautiful, but hard to read with all it's curves and swirls. As I was slowly flipping through the book, and fussing at myself for letting it dwell in that box for so many years, I found an ink drawing of a bird. Under the bird it said Sweet Bird in pencil. Maybe someone wrote that years after the bird was drawn in ink. Just time I saw the bird, I sighed. It's beautiful. It also reminded me of the art work you see on blog headers and as different labels and blog decorations.

It may become my header one day...

Imagine this drawing is close to 150 or more years old.
The person who drew this never dreamed of a computer, and certainly never dreamed it would end up on a blog. 
How amazing is that? And a bit ironic. 

Cindy, of I Owe It All To Him, is asking for our favorite words this week. I am going to link up and I'll have to say my favorite word for now is MEMORIES.