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Earlier this week, on a rainy morning when we were all stuck inside, Braelynn queued up our OLD family videos – videos of us doing daily life 3+ years ago.
WOW have my kids grown up in just 3 short years.
They sat completely mesmorized by their baby cheeks, silly mannerisms, baby voices, and tiny antics (oh wait, I was the one mesmorized – and they were too).
It feels like just yesterday that I took those videos and yet, it’s already been years in the past.
I know I say this all the time, but I am so thankful for this “little” project (that’s turned into something way beyond “little”) – my memories would still be trapped in the archives of my hard drives if I hadn’t decided to give this a go 3+ years ago. These videos, like our big fat family yearbooks, are so incredbily precious to me. They tell the stories that have been forgotten and compile just a few of the pieces of our daily lives that make us who we are today.
Moments of note this month:
(0:07) The kids have been OBSESSED with the How To Train Your Dragon series all month, so Braelynn spent some of the money she earned to buy Toothless and the Light Fury for her and her brother
(1:18) Leander “learned” how to hold his breath and stick his head under the water (this isn’t the first time he’s done this – he’s obviously swam in lots of water before, but this seemed to be the first time it actually CLICKED and he realized what he was doing!)
(1:29) Henry and Mudge books have become a summer favorite in the Abbey house and Braelynn loves to read them to Leander!
(1:35) Looking back, this appears to have been the start of a new trend – and I should have nipped it in the bud right then and there. I didn’t realize it at the time though, so I let it slide ..
(1:55) We went swimming at a friend’s house for the afternoon and the kids were ready to simply MOVE IN!
(2:40) My sister created two stuffed doggies for Braelynn and Leander out of the blanket Abby always slept on. They affectionately named them “Abby 1” and “Abby 2” and have been carrying them everywhere! What a precious gift!
(4:21) Leander finally was brave enough to try a NEW ride at Kennywood: The Pirate Ship!
(4:49) Kennywood hosted their first ever drone show and it was so cool!
(6:01) We spent the weekend at Uncle Paul and Aunt Naomi’s!
(6:44) See? I should have nixed the “coloring on things” trend way back at the beginning of the month – before my bedroom got a makeover.
(6:53) At the end of July, my Grandfather went to be with Jesus.
He left behind the most beautiful legacy: 64 years of marriage to my Meme (his highschool sweetheart), 2 sons and their wives, 14 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren.
He was an ambitious entrepreneur, an incredibly hard worker, and generous toward everyone in both his time and money.
Everyone in this community knows the name: Frank Eichelberger. It’s synonymous with honesty and integrity.
He taught us to always stop for ice cream, that milkshakes are always an acceptable “lunch”, and that time spent at the Lake was always the BEST time.
He bought me my first “real” camera and drove me to Florida when I started my internship with Disney. He always wanted to hear all about our latest travels and what my business was doing.
Needless to say, we’re all completely brokenhearted, but rejoicing that this world was never his home. We miss him terribly, but our sorrow has an element of peace because we know He’s in heaven with the Lord.
Just in case you’ve missed what I’m doing – I decided that I wanted to create a curated “home video” for our family every month (remember those old “home movies” our families used to create? with the giant video recorders that an entire VHS tape fit in?) Those videos were fantastic, but if you’ve ever sat down to watch one (does anyone even own a VHS player anymore?) you very quickly realize that you do a lot of “fast-forwarding”.
So, my goal, is to take all the little videos I take of our family over the course of a month & create a short (my goal is to be around 10 minutes) video of my favorite snippets. I am SO excited to finally have a dedicated place to chronicle my family videos & keep them safe & accessible.
Enjoy a little peek into what our July looked like!
