Family Ties That Bind

When Tami posted her Journella story about her Mom, it made me think about my own Mum. On Monday, April 23, she will celebrate her 84th Birthday. Two years ago she'd come through a rough winter, a car accident had left her recovering and cooped up for a while. She was staying with us during that time and while that can be very entertaining...we brought in a British TV series called Monarch of the Glen to keep her from trying to do too much. The scenery was beautiful but what it did was create an intense desire to go home and visit her brother and sister and a few of her nieces and nephews. She insisted it would likely be the last time she'd be able to make the trip.  I insisted she was in no shape to go on her own (the last time I arranged assists for her she refused them on site and in the end landed up missing a flight home through Newark) So I said, I'd go a long. Figured that would curb her desire to go, and it did momentarily, but then...before I knew it we were planning a trip. 

We were due to arrive on her birthday, but a pesky volcano refused to let us even depart...trip delayed about a month and off we went. She was going mainly to see her family...it's why she always goes home, but this time, I wanted to see things I remembered from my childhood and things I had been researching in genealogy records. What we got was family going out of their way to take me places they'd never taken her! In the end she loved seeing everything and everyone, granted, everyone continues to age, but the time with them was so very precious to her. This is what is important to her. Being able to make this trip with her is one I'll remember. However, she has been dropping hints she's ready to go again...

This page is photos of her with her younger brother (and his wife and daughter) and an older sister (and one of her daughters). they are #13, #14 and #15 of 15 children and are within a few years of each other. An older sister (10 yrs older!) lives in Ontario, Canada (we run up there about once a year.) Also, a nephew she grew up with, and an older sister's daughters that were small when Mum immigrated to Canada. These were the main characters of our trip!

This layout is made with the MMDT March Challenge Page Kit. That challenge was to change up the kit in some way. So I thought I'd throw this together last night and I went ahead and followed through on that challenge by changing the background grid paper from the white that comes with it to Eggplant...and I love the color and think it really makes the mats pop. HOWEVER, I see that the six-pack of Eggplant paper isn't available anymore...there is a pack with 2 pages of eggplant, white, and mango, but I'm voting for the return of the six-pack!