52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Week #7 - Barbies For Christmas

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History by Amy Coffin is a series of weekly blogging prompts (one for each week of 2011) that invite genealogists and others to record memories and insights about their own lives for future descendants.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Week #7 - Toys. What was your favorite childhood toy? Is it still being made in some form today?



This photo shows our first Christmas in Spartanburg, SC in 1968. We had a brand new split level house and our backyard connected to my maternal Grandparent's backyard. My Uncle James sits with us on the couch holding our cousin, Kenneth. Kenneth was born in July 1967 so he nearly 1 1/2 yrs old. During this Christmas we each got our Barbie dolls. Much later we got Ken Barbie dolls but that was it. So we only had those 2 Barbi dolls each and I still have both mine. We would play for hours with our Barbie dolls. We loved them! You can see I'm holding mine and Melinda is holding hers.

Our Last Christmas in Elizabethton, TN

This was our last Christmas in Elizabethton, TN. Mom & Dad had bought an old farm house with barn and some acreage along the river. Dad had totally remodeled the house and it was finished for this Christmas. We are in our new den for this 1967 Christmas. But we moved to Spartanburg the following February, 1968. I think this is the Christmas when I got a microscope and that little toy microscope was fascinating to me. Notice the strung popcorn on the tree? Yes, we really did that. We did the cranberries too.

Melinda's First Christmas

Our youngest sister, Melinda, was 4 months old for her first Christmas. I was 4 yrs old and Elaine was 2 yrs old. We were living in Elizabethton, TN by then. We lived in Elizabethton for 4 yrs before moving to Spartanburg, SC when I was 8 yrs old. At this Christmas we obviously got matching dolls from Santa. I also got this Fisher Price wooden radio. This may be the Christmas that we also got matching cradles for the baby dolls. But that was our big Christmas! Not much compared to children of today but we didn't know any different and were always very happy with what we got. We always had wonderful Christmases with our families. I don't know why we were looking so solemn in this photo. Little Brett always has that same solemn look too. In fact, Elaine looks so much like Brett in this photo!

Talented Tuesday - Sewing

Talented Tuesday is a daily blogging prompt used by many genealogy bloggers to help them post content on their sites. Got ancestors who had a special talent? Be it musical, comical, or any manner of skill, we post it on our genealogy blog through words and pictures.

In my family, the women were sewers. My Mother, both my Grandmothers, almost all of my Aunts could sew. They sewed their own clothes, trouseaus, clothes for their children and quilts. My sister, Melinda has picked up their sewing talent.

Here is one of the many quilts/quilt tops/quilt squares that I have. Each square is a signature of one of my family.







Here is an outfit made for me.


I still have this little outfit.



Mom made this little dress for my youngest sister, Melinda.



My Grandma, Vivian Mae Barnes Huneycutt, made this purple dress with the beading at the neck. I still have it.



Mom made this lovely blue dress in the 1970's.



I always wanted to be able to sew. But it just hasn't come through for me. I have a sewing machine and can sew a straight stitch, load thread, change needles, load bobbins. I can make some simple things like pillows, curtains. My sister, Elaine, can do simple repairs and make things like her dog belly bands. Our sister, Melinda, really has the talent. She makes dog coats, belly bands, dog beds and other craft things.




















For your own custom made dog coats you can contact her at heart4rescue@wmconnect.com

Melinda And Maxwell

Our Granddaddy had a black cat named Maxwell. Granddaddy loved to tease and play with Maxwell. Here are some photos where he was telling Melinda about how a cat can jump. She was a little too fascinated and I know Granddaddy was chuckling. This digital scrapbook page about her playing with a black cat goes along with this time of the year.

Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil

My Uncle James liked the three of us to pose as the 3 wise monkeys: Hear No Evil, See No Evil and Speak No Evil.

Mom's Family Supper

Luke wanted to come out to the Farm so Mom invited us for spaghetti supper on their deck. Uncle Glenn and Aunt Janis came too. It was a very nice evening!

Welcome Home Luke!

Our nephew, Luke Harris, has spent the last 4 months in Iraq as a member of the Air Force. We really missed him! But he came home the weekend before Labor Day weekend and we celebrated with family cookouts for a week.





Luke had been planning for the last few months on upgrading his Ford truck. He had purchased some stuff online and had it shipped to his parents home. So he couldn't wait to get to work on it. Here he is taking off his old bumper to add a new bumper.











Lee



Hannah is 5 months along now



Mom


Melinda



Dad



Elaine

Hershey Kisses

Melinda made Brett a chocolate teddy bear to take with him when they moved to Illinois. Her handmade teddy bear was a hit! I wanted to scrapbook the moment she gave him his teddy bear. She named the teddy bear Hershey. So I used Hershey Kisses as my theme. I chose a chocolate colored paper and silver metallic matting or frames. I added a teddy bear element and some stitching and silver brads as embellishments. I used a label and a funny font for a caption. But I used a Photoshop brush to add some lines for Melinda to do her own journaling about the bear. I cut one photo of Brett and his bear into a heart and matted it with the silver metallic and gave it a shadow to make it look raised. I thought it symbolized the love she showed him in making him his special bear.

Scrapbook Page of Melinda's Art Photos

Elaine on Your Carolina Last Year

Elaine last year when she and Melinda were on a local TV show called Your Carolina with Jack (Roper) and Kimberly (Kelly).

Melinda on Your Carolina Last Year

This 2 page layout is Melinda's pages on the day she and Elaine were on Your Carolina with Jack and Kimberly.

Melinda At Work At Church

Melinda at work.

Melinda On The Praise Team

A scrapbook layout documenting Melinda's years on the Praise Team at the church.

Melinda And Her First Motorcycle 2006