My family tree

I have always been fascinated by the comparison of a family to a tree. I guess it is a sensible comparison because a family starts out small and then steadily grows and branches out. The desire of a family is to set down roots and continue to grow as it weathers the winds of life. Pretty neat.

A few years ago, while I was still teaching in Canada, I decided to make a special present for Heidi. I have made her homemade gifts in the past and it usually drives her nuts because I spend so much time on them, I run out of time to get her something practical or that she really needed or wanted. That is not to say that she hasn't appreciated my efforts but still. It i s probably a desire to have me listen to what she wants.

But I digress....

I decided that it would be great to have a family picture that could be updated frequently. I struck on the idea of a family tree. I envisioned a magical and elderly oak, beautiful and majestic and strong.

I got a large piece of mat board (36x24) and asked Michelle, a student of mine who was a very talented artist, to draw me one. I had her draw an ancient looking tree that had one set of roots and one main trunk but then had it branch out into two trees. One for my family and one for Heidi's family. To say that it turned out amazingly would be the understatement of the year. IT WAS AWESOME.

To make it pop a bit more, I used embossing powder and embossed it. It was pretty neat.

I then cut holes in the tree for a full family photo of each side of the family and then a smaller spot for each individual family member and their own families. It was my hope to continually update these photos. To help do this, I put photo corners on the backside of the mat, so that photos could easily be interchanged.

The one part that I really loved about this was our family photo in the middle of the trunk and then the kids' photos in the roots.

I have a really nice ornate frame that this is meant to be in (although it is really heavy and needs new wire so I can actually hang it on the wall again). I am hoping to update it again in the near future and also get it back up on the wall. I will be replacing the now broken glass with plexiglass soon as well.

I just want to have the reminder of a strong family tree to look at. I am proud of my family and what we are. I look forward to our tree continuing to branch out.

And as a preview of things to come soon, I have decided to write about my roots that I have been expanding in my family tree. I'll be talking about a different ancestor each week (hopefully). Stay tuned.