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Beyond the obvious idea of preserving our pictures correctly so that they will be beautiful for generations, scrap booking affords us an opportunity to open the window into our own souls, thoughts and dreams for ourselves and those that we love and care for. It gives others a glimpse into the lives of the people that we are closest to.

This hit home to me personally when I lost first a husband at a very young age of 52 and a mother, mother in law and father in law within a space of 10 years. When we sorted through different memories and pictures that they had in closets, we realized that we did not know what,who and when the pictures were taken. They were stored memories in a box that had very little meaning to us. How sad to get rid of lifetimes of memories for lack of knowing what they were.

More than that, when the grandchildren came, all I had to keep these memories of people that they had never met were the photos of them. To children, just looking at pictures, they were not too meaningful. So that is when I started embarking on my scrapbooks, so that they would know the stories of the people that went before them. And because they were children, I wanted the stories to be colorful and dramatic. That was when I began my journey into scrapping and I have never looked back.

Not only did I tell the stories of those that were gone, but I started to tell my own story as well. I thought about my own childhood and spent time with my aged Dad talking about his life and my siblings. The hours that we have spent together have been precious memories to build hours of scrapping on.

And the it went even farther for me. I wanted to tell the stories of each of my precious grandchildren. So books were started on each of them and whenever I see them their books come out and we share time together. What a moral and a personal growth opportunity for each of us.Some day when they are married, they will each receive the story of their lives rich with love.

Someday, I hope that one one my grandchildren will pull a book out of a bookshelf and will say to a little child, full og wonder," This is your grandmother and all the people who helped make you who you are today."

Yes, preserving the photos are important, but sharing the love and the stories of our lives is the best part of scrapping.

Learn more about this author, Linda White.
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