Printers Tray - Yours, Mine and Ours - Family

I am so excited about this post today.  I have been looking for a printers tray for a while now and almost decided to buy a new one.  Over Memorial Day weekend there is a HUGE flea market in Packwood, WA.  Packwood is a very small town that is taken over by hundreds of vendors and they run up and down both sides of the Hwy. that goes through the middle of their town.  So with my husband, chihuahua and lab in tow, we headed up there.

At one of the first vendors my eyes lit up and I grabbed this printers tray for $10!  My husband was so glad that I found this so close to where we had parked the car because he really didn't want to pack it around all day.  So, my purchase was made and he ran it quickly back to the car while my mind was a whirl with all the things I could put into this.

During the week I rummaged through things of my mothers, my husband and my little jewelery box from when I was a kid.  Paper was cut to fill all of the compartments and then I worked to fill them.  I took the baby spoon that fed both of my kids and all eight of my grandchildren.  The baby shoes that my kids wore, a little train that I got as a child, my husbands baby pictures along with his parents and a watch that was his fathers that was passed down to my husband.  Both of my step-daughters and their families.  (okay, the missing spot is for Lauryn that I have to find a picture I like)

The little cat was from my grandmother and it was always in her front window.  The picture is my parents and their first little dog.  In the top right corner is the ration book, with stamps still in it, that was made out to my mother.  Inside the coin purse I found tokens.  Five of the small red ones added up to one cent.  One the left is my fathers 4th grade report card.  Not bad scores dad!

I have my daughters family next with her husband and their two sons.  The palm tree is because they were married in Hawaii on the beach.  The bracelet is my daughters when she was two.  It has her name and contact information on it.  Kind of a return to sender if lost.

Below that is a picture of my father when he was in the Navy and his dog tags.  The middle picture is bath time in the tub when he was a kid.  I included a little pocket knife of his also.  The last picture is from my wedding to my husband.  Alzheimers, had by then, taken so many of my fathers memories but he was there for me that day and I will never forget his smile.  I miss you pops!

 My son, AJ and his wife Lindsey and a picture of him as a kid on the Zoom Zoom.  The little pinball games are ones that I saved as a child from Cracker Jacks from the days when they gave away really good stuff and one of my first Matchbox Cars.  The arrow heads, Indian beads and old bottles were hand dug by my father when I was little and I remember going out with him.

It is very hard to see in the picture but the smallest compartment is filled with the beaded necklace that the hospital used to give the new babies when they were born.  Yes, it's mine, with my last name WHEELER.  My husbands and my compartment seems to have been cut off from the pictures but we are in there.  My pin from when I raised five assistance dogs for CCI, the tie clip from when my husband was a reserve sheriff and dice and chips.  Yes, he loves to gamble!

I am sure this will be a work in progress as our family changes and the grandchildren grow.  I hope to always be adding little memories to our life.