The three weeks break has gone by so quickly and now I am preparing to jump into the whirlwind of classes and studying again.  I keep telling myself to be patient because I am so very ready to be back to a full time job!  So while off I began job hunting again.

However, I spent the majority of my vacation finishing my annual family calendar!  This year’s theme was “A Mad Mix of Things” and is concentrated upon the things in our lives that bring back good memories.  I also threw in family history, as always.  My basis is this scripture:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  –  Philippians 4:8

Examples: a couple of traditional style digital scrapbooking pages, and then a couple of pure family memory grabbers:

Below are the small records my siblings grew up on… next year, the large records.  I have started recording (I have a record player that digitizes the sound) the old gospel music from my childhood and hope to get copies to all of us eventually.

Technical notes:

• 8 calendars printed on an Epson extra wide photo printer
• Page size: 13×19
• 7 pages of thick double sided matte photo paper per calendar (there is a cover /bonus page)
• My own camera and hours on the farm photographing places we played and things from the past
• Hours on the internet researching the 40s/50s/60s/70s
• Some topics: Candy of the era, dolls of the 50s, toys of the 60s/70s, family recipes, family books, glassware and items that sat around the house, household furniture, old games, etc
• Software platform: Powerpoint (very easy to use and my templates from past years are already set up)
• Spiral binding and the hole for hanging provided by Kinkos
• Total cost is approximately $40 each and a lot of time

I can’t say which ones are my favorites.  I love the one of my Great Grandpa, my Mom’s dolls, and the Christmas recipes (one in Grandma’s writing) and pictures from my Mom’s cookbook… but then I also like the modern photo page of our childhood haunts on the farm.  They are all so very different and they all pull on something warm within me, bringing prescious loved ones closer and making family bonds stronger.