Welcome to a place where we can share ideas about grandparenting, especially ways to pass spiritual values and family stories to the next generation.

Mary is the co-author of The Grandparent Connection: 365 Ways to Connect With Your Grandchild's Heart.
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Co-author of The Grandparent Connection: 365 Ways to Connect With Your Grandchild's Heart

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Tell Our Stories


Tuesday's Grand Connection Thought
by Mary May Larmoyeux

As a friend and I recently ate lunch together, we talked about passing down family stories. She referred to a passage in Psalms 78 that tells about the importance of sharing spiritual stories.

Psalm 78:4 (NIV) says: “We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.”

The Bible paraphrase The Message says it this way (verses 1-4): “ … I'll let you in on the sweet old truths, stories we heard from our fathers, counsel we learned at our mother's knee. We're not keeping this to ourselves, we're passing it along to the next generation—God's fame and fortune, the marvelous things he has done.”

It is up to us to pass on family stories—especially ones about God intervening in our lives and homes. We can share these stories with the grands while washing dishes together, taking a relaxing walk, or going on a drive. We can record our stories and burn them on CDs, or write them down in notebooks. … We can even do something really simple—jot them down in our Bibles.

For years I've jotted down things I want to remember in my Bible—births, weddings, deaths. Memories such as,“God protected my child from a terrible wreck when he did a 360 degree turn on a wet freeway and ended up in a ditch,” “God protected my husband when a car burst into flames 3-4 feet from a propane tank by his office,” “God protected our son and his wife when they had a gas leak in their house,” and on, and on, and on.

As I’ve once again read the countless ways God has protected and led our family, I’m reminded that He can be trusted for the future.

I have to agree with the Psalmist, “He has done marvelous things!” Things that I want to remember. Things I want my grandchildren to remember.

He is able,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/

Article and Photo © Mary Mary Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Outdoor summer fun


Friday's Grand Connection Fun

by Mary May Larmoyeux

Looking for some fun things to do with the grandkids this summer? The National Wildlife Federation's website says that today's kids spend more than seven hours a day in front of electronic media, and only four to seven minutes a day outside.That's why it's asking parents and grandparents to join their Be Out There™ movement.

If you sign the Be Out There pledge, you'll receive an email with a link to download a Summer Survival Guide. It's filled with games, ideas for outdoor activities, and more.

And, while we're "out there" with the grandkids, we may want to have an outdoor scavenger hunt. The National Wildlife Federation gives an example of one on its website. They suggest that the kids collect items such as "a blade of grass longer than your finger, an acorn cap, a leaf on the ground, a pine cone, etc." Of course, you and I could design a scavenger hunt based on what's available in our unique backyards and neighborhoods.

We could also ask the older grandkids to plan an outdoor scavenger hunt for their younger brothers and sisters. And we could help our grandkids design one for their long-distance cousins—mailing clues and scavenger hunt objects to them.

What fun things have you done with your grands outside?

Have a great weekend,
Mary
Mary May Larmoyeux
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/

© 2010 by Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.
Photo Courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

The Disappearance of the Marie


Tuesday's Grand Connection Thought
by Mary May Larmoyeux

Sammy Tippit says in his wonderful book Praying for Your Family: "Each of us has a history —a story that joins the providence of God with the personal decisions we make daily. The history creates a personal legacy to be left with our children and grandchildren. The heritage of our families becomes the history of our nation."

The older I get the more I realize that life truly is short. I want to document our family's history for our grands and tell them about their heritage.

A friend of mine, Teresa Newton-Terres, never knew her father. He disappeared at sea when she was a very young child. Yet, she has been on a life-long quest to capture his story. She recently produced a short video documentary about the 1960 disappearance of the vessel Marie and its seven crewmen. One of them was Teresa's father.

I enjoyed watching Teresa's documentary and learned a lot about not only her father, but also the Cold War. Here's the link to it:  Marie Remembered.

"We begin to forge the future," Tippit says, "by learning from the past.

He is able,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/

Article and Photo © Mary Mary Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Kitchen Memories with the Grands



Friday's Grand Connection Fun
by Mary May Larmoyeux

What do you remember about your grandmother? The touch of her hand, the sound of her voice ... the smell of homemade cookies?

I remember how my Nana made miniature cakes for the grandkids when she made regular cakes. My brother, sisters, and I felt so special!

You know, it’s easy to help a child feel special.

Last weekend, two of Jim and my grands spent the weekend. The oldest asked for pancakes for breakfast … and not just any pancakes. She wanted heart-shaped pancakes.

Ummmm …. I thought. How can we do that? I don’t have a heart-shaped pancake mold. And then it came to me. Just cook the pancakes and then cut them out with heart-shaped cookie cutters. Easy! Worked great and she felt special! We also made star-shaped pancakes and served the pancakes on the pink plate, our "special plate."

By the way, our 3-year-old granddaughter and I made two batches of the Oatmeal Trail Mix (with and without nuts). They were so good! Here's the recipe from the National Wildlife Federation: It's a keeper!

Oatmeal Trail Mix
from http://www.nwf.org/

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cups of Oats (or combination of Oats, Bran, and Wheat Germ)
3/4 cup of powdered milk
1 T plain gelatin
1 cup of dates, apricots, or other dried fruit, chopped
1/2 cup of raisins
3/4 cup of chopped nuts and sunflower seeds
6 T honey
1/4 tsp. grated orange or lemon peel
4 T water

Preparation: Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix honey, water and citrus peel. Combine second mixture with the first. Knead with hands until thoroughly mixed. Press into a baking pan to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Bake at 150 degrees for about 6 hours. Don't let it brown! It burns easily. Cut into bars 1" x 2" or larger, wrap in wax paper. Store in a cool place until needed. May be eaten in bar form or crumbled in water or milk as a breakfast cereal.

What special ways have you made memories in the kitchen with your grandkids?

Have a great weekend,
Mary
Mary May Larmoyeux
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/

Article and Photo © Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Grandmothers remember


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Tuesday's Grand Connection Thought

by Mary May Larmoyeux

You may recall a recent Grand Connection blog called "If You Could Go Back in Time ... What Would You Do Differently?" I think the memories in Pops' and my home are what prompted me to write it. You see, we are moving.

We've lived in this house for 28 years.

Many thanks for the comments that many of you wrote about turning back the hands of time—to once again be a young mother.  Karen, you are so right about resting in the presence of God in all stages of life. And Rita, that was a great tip about putting the chore list for the kids on the refrigerator, instead of constant reminders. (That's a good tip for grandkids, too.)

I think that you would enjoy an article that is in FamilyLife's current webzine. It's called:

If I Could Be a Young Mom Again
Grandmothers share what they would do differently as young moms.

Have a great week,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/

© Mary Mary Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.
Photo © Krasphoto / Dreamstime.com.