My Meager (but Growing) Family Photo Book Shelf

So one of my favorite past times is creating photo books to capture memories. Over the past year, I have tried to diligently create a new one every few months on some event or topic that was important to my family. Obviously, I do work on mammoth-sized books for vacations (seems like I have one in process year-round because they are so work-intensive) but I try to throw in a little one every now and again because life happens in between the big momentous vacations we save up for each year.

It is hard – sometimes impossible – but I devote as much time daily to achieve this personal goal. It is so critical in my mind as I have very little of my childhood memories “captured”. This lack of photo albums, scrapbooks, or mementos combined with a move across half of a continent 14+ years ago means that much of those years have faded away from my memory. (Honestly, I struggle even with some college memories but that may be for a different reason altogether … ) And so I endeavor to create a better opportunity for my children to remember their (hopefully) cheerful and fulfilling childhood through reliving the cherished moments we have together.

The regular season Auburn Majors Team

Recently, I put together a photo book for my daughter’s softball coach, who is a friend, colleague and a mentor to not just one but both of my girls. It was a pleasure to do this for her for many reasons, but most of all, because as a woman, mother and business owner, I knew she would cherish the final product as much (if not more?) than I would. You see, regardless of our efforts, no mother is able to capture as many memories as we would like. We all fly at the speed of life and with all of our engagements, volunteerism and commitments, we often take the pictures, save the ticket stubs, collect the programs, etc., but put off the actual work until a later, to be determined date.

And to have our memories captured and presented in a neat package is probably one of the best gifts on the planet (IMO). Which is why I took great pleasure in creating the book below.

Click here to view this photo book larger

My new summer project with my girls is to start working our way through the boxes of memories we have stored upstairs – all the little items that document their life’s experiences to date. They can each create their own scrapbook (the original kind, not one of these cool new digital books!) of all the memories I have painstakingly collected over the years. My hope is to reminisce with them, remind them of other favorite moments, and yes, capture special memories that may otherwise fade. With baby #4 on the way, this seemed like a great activity to bond with them, create a lasting memento and clean out some dreadfully over-run storage boxes 🙂

So what do you do to capture memories? Are you a family photog with boxes or remote drives of photos? I would love to hear what others do to keep your family memories and experiences alive as the years march forward?