And now, the headstones...

When you move into a new place, and know it was lived in by many before you got there, you might expect to find 'treasures' in and around the house. When we found the cd's and and the folding knife on the top shelf of the birdhouse room (the walls are institutional brown, and there is a wallpaper border at the top with birdhouses), I was not too surprised. We knew the house had been a foster home for boys and the knife explained the strange marks in the ceiling of that room. I was also not too surprised to find the prescription bottle that still contained pills. I was a little surprised at what we found in the HVAC vents; a b-ball hat, two baseballs, a 'Happy Meal' toy and assorted garbage. (That was all in one vent!) Then there was the vent full of cigarette butts and ash in the master bedroom. YUCK! I thought we had found most of the treasures; the mixer, cutting board and sippy cups still in the kitchen cabinets. Then we started watering the thirsty yard... What would you think if you moved into a home once used as a group home for 'wayward' boys, and found these...

The first one shown above, was broken into two pieces with the piece on the right being found upside down near the hose spicket and the larger piece being about 7 yards away under the master bedroom deck, also upside down. Cam found the smaller piece while using the hose, and at first thought it was a stepping stone, but then it was just to perfect. He turned it over and found the name 'Rose' inside a heart. After that grim discovery, he began to take a closer look at the other stepping stones in the area and located the top stone in the next picture.

I had a better picture of it, but can't seem to locate it. The smaller headstone is very detailed and for a 3 month old infant, Brianna Arlene V*****, born September 16, 1994, and passed away in December of 1994. (That one was a little to close for comfort for me.) Cam contacted the local cemeteries to see if any were missing these headstones. We are still waiting to hear back from a couple.

A few days later, my Mom and I were walking through the backyard discussing ideas for the landscape. While looking under the back deck, I located the larger piece of the headstone in the first photo. Cam came out and removed it from under the deck and turned it over to confirm it went with 'Rose'. Once again, he contacted the local cemeteries, this time with the last name for the larger stone. While he was in on the phone, my Mom and I continued to look around the back yard. I began to take a closer look at the step in to the large shed. It just seemed to perfect; nice crisp edges and corners... I dusted off the corner, and could tell by touch that it was NOT cement.

Cam came back out and I helped him maneuver it out from under the lip of the shed. It was definitely another headstone! This time we had found one that would have sat up on a base with a curved top. We muscled it over to check the other side. Thankfully there was no engraving or anything on either side. That is when we began to suspect if maybe one of the old residents of the house was a stone engraver. We have still not received an answer from two of the local cemeteries. I pray the headstones we have found in our yard are 'mistakes' and not stolen from someones loved ones.
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No, it's not a ghost...


The last two pictures are just for fun. While I was trying to take a picture for the blog, one of our boy cats thought it would be fun to walk in front of me...twice.