When old becomes new...…..Life has a way of changing quickly, and memories become so very important. I have come to accept that while we may not always understand God's timing, His timing is always perfect. Change is inevitable, and life truly goes on. I do not feel that material items should become something we cling to or place too much value on. With that being said, our house is now filled with so many things that formerly belonged to those we loved so much and whose memory we cherish. Caleb said not too long ago (as he stood in my dining room door) that I sure had a lot of stuff. I told him that the good news was that it would belong to him and Lindsey one day! I'm not sure just how excited he was! I was extremely close to my grandparents. It is a relationship that I cherish, and that has defined me in many ways. I am truly blessed to have so many precious memories of them and my mom. David, Di and Reed's parents also left us with so many memories! Papa's unexpected death over a year ago has had such a profound effect on us-especially Reed. He was his primary caregiver, best friend, and faithful son. They shared such a special bond, and I have told Reed many times that he should always be proud of the way he cared for and supported his parents on a daily basis. Papa's death was the end of a very special era in our life. Each room of our house now holds treasured items to remind us of these special people that have gone on before us. We are blessed to have had them in our lives, and these little reminders help keep those memories alive on a daily basis. I am only sharing a few of the things that we now consider treasures.
It would have been easy to simply sell the furniture that belonged to Papa and Grandmother, but thankfully we were able to have much of it redone, and we couldn't love it more. Reed and I, along with Lindsey and Caleb are enjoying these pieces every day. I think they would be pleased that we chose to keep and cherish these things. We could not recommend Neely Pearson more. She is simply wonderful to work with. She has done other things for each of us, and we think she is just fantastic! I think we had a total of 9 of their pieces updated, and actually have more to take.
First, some of the before pictures. We have more of these, but this will give you a good idea of where we started.
And now, the after pictures. This bed was beautiful before, but we really love it now. It's now in Lindsey's old room. Lillian and Maddie enjoy sleeping here!
I did not like this piece before, but love it now. It's also in Lindsey's old room, but I use it daily. This mirror actually went with another piece pictured below, but works great with this vanity. I liked it much better than the original mirror, which we still have.
The next two pictures were actually in Di's old room. Love them so much!
This is now our TV stand. They are not pictured, but we also painted our coffee table and an end table. I am still working on finding matching pulls for this piece. The holes are an odd size, and it's proving to be a challenge.
This piece is now being used by Lillian and Maddie. Pictures don't do the next two pictures justice. Both of these pieces are gorgeous! Reed and I actually had a set very similar to these that are going to be redone soon.
This one began in the sunroom at Caleb and Taylor's, but is now in John Sawyer's room.
This piece was not an heirloom, but I love it so. Neely once again did an awesome job! Many, many years ago Mrs. Carolyn gave me her original china that is very similar to mine. A few of each sets are displayed. I also have lots of my mom's and grandmother's, and I have made a promise to myself to start using it all more........I should have added a picture of my Christmas china that my mom made. Up until last year, I used it every Christmas for about 20 years. I was afraid I was going to damage it, so I bought a new set.
Next are a few things that belonged to my mom and grandmother. I will add here that I have no intention of having them redone. I like the mixture of brown and white.
This is my latest project. This was an old gun cabinet that I painted and Reed distressed. It is now home to many of my afghans and quilts that were made by my mother and grandmother. I also added one of Mrs. Carolyn's and one that Di gave me. I have several more, but my sweet grandmother's quilts are so big that they took up more space than I expected. I love that I can see these everyday, and that they are no longer in a closet.
This piece belonged to my mom, and is home to lots of goodies. It's about 200 years old.
I love that these things and many more that aren't pictured can be treasured by our children and grandchildren for years to come. Isn't it amazing how quickly time passes? I feel extremely blessed to have such special memories. I will also add that we are in the process of remodeling Papa and Grandmother's house, and will probably move there in the foreseeable future. Lots of work has been done, but Reed still has a ways to go. More posts on that process soon.
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