Family Treasures

About a week ago I got a special package in the mail from my aunt Jeanette my mom's sister. After my grandpa died in Feb my aunts and mom had the the difficult task of going through my grandparents house and all their belongings and trying to divide what they had between siblings and grandchildren, great-grandchildren etc. The sisters divided the family items between them and then they gave us the opportunity to have some priceless possessions as well. There came a point where there were items that they wanted the grandchildren to have so they put all of our names in a hat, then they would pick up an item and someone would pull out the name and that person got that item.
I was blessed to get some very old and precious books. Some of the books are signed by the author. I also got an old pitcher of my grandmothers, a framed poem that my grandfather sent to his mother (my great-grandmother) for mother's day while he was on his mission in 1933.

One of the greatest treasures is a stone necklace, my aunts had one made for all the grandaughters. With the necklace came a letter telling us where the stone came from. In the early 1950's my grandparents and 3 of the daughters traveled back east to pick up a new car. On their way home they stopped to see the remains of the old Navuoo Temple. They collected a few of the stones from the Temple to remind them of the sacrifice of the saints (some of our ancestors were in that group of saints). Those stones were in my grandparents house and the aunts decided to have the stones made into necklaces for the grandaughters. This truly is a treasure for me. Some women wear a rock (diamond) around their neck that might be worth more in money but this rock has more value to me than any other stone that I could purchase or own.
Included in my treasure box are some letters that my grandma sent to my grandpa, letters that my great-aunts sent to my grandpa while he was serving his mission in 1932. My aunts are in their 90's now and one is deceased.

Opening that box last week was like opening 97 years of history. Looking at their handwriting, reading their letters and the love they had for each other. Realizing the trials they endured made me appreicate my heritage and the legacy that they left.

I will cherish these things for the rest of my life!