What does Labor Day mean to our families?

Friday's Grand Connection Fun
 by Mary May Larmoyeux

Subscribe to Grand Connection by Email

On Monday we will celebrate Labor Day in the U.S. It became a federal holiday in 1894 to honor the achievements of American workers. Now's a good time to honor the hard work of those in our own families.

Have you ever talked with your grandchildren about the type of work that you and their great grandparents did? If you are still working, have you taken them to your office? I remember taking some of our grands to my office. They were thrilled to see their pictures on my desk and their artwork hanging above it.

But I don't think that I've ever talked with our grands about the type of work that their great grandparents and great great grandparents did. That discussion is definitely overdue! And now would be a good time for Pops and me to talk with the grands about the hard work that it takes to run a household and to teach values to the next generation.

If you'd like to know a little more about the history of Labor Day, you might want to check out these links:  History.com ; Why do we celebrate Labor Day?

How do you suggest that we teach our grandchildren about Labor Day?

Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings.    

(Proverbs 22:29a)

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

© 2012 by Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.
Photo © by Designpicsub / Dreamstime.com

The stresses of school

Tuesday's Grand Connection Thought

by Mary May Larmoyeux

A friend of mine has a little girl who began kindergarten this year. The night before the five year old started school, she asked her mom, "How will I know where the bathroom is? And where is the restaurant in the cafeteria?"

At first her questions brought a smile to my face, but then they reminded me of how stressful the beginning of school can be for children. Some may wonder where the bathroom and "restaurant" are, while others may struggle with deeper questions such as "Will I make a good friend this year?" or "How can I keep my school work organized while living with mom part of the week and with dad the other part of the week?"

Our grandkids always need the assurance of our love, and they also need our prayers. And Psalm 65:2 says: God answers prayer.

What tips do you have about praying for our school-age grandkids?

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

© 2012 Mary Mary Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.
Photo © Steven Pepple/Agency: Dreamstime.com.

Game Time

Friday's Grand Connection Fun
 by Mary May Larmoyeux

Subscribe to Grand Connection by Email

I just returned home after a week of grandsitting. The kids and I had a great time together!

Every evening we played some sort of game: Connect-Four, Guess Who, catch, etc. I had forgotten how to play Checkers, and our six-year-old grandson proudly taught me how to do this.

Old Maid was one of our favorite games. I loved hearing my three-year-old granddaughter cry out "match" in a tone of great satisfaction. It had been a longggg time since I had played Old Maid and I even enjoyed it.

After spending time with the grands, I was reminded of how important it is to just play with them. Nothing could be simpler than tossing a plastic ball to one another or playing a card game. But somehow through laughs and words, hearts are drawn closer together.

Speaking of games, Family Fun has a section on its website with coloring pages, crafts, games and puzzles, and more. I just printed off some "Hidden Picture" and "Find the Difference" pages for the grandkids. They will be great to have at the house for the local grands and to mail to those who live out-of-town.

Of course, older grandchildren love games, too. Monopoly and Scrabble seem to be ageless favorites. And today there are countless online games.

What are your favorite games to play with your grands? Has your grandchild ever taught you how to play a game?

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

© 2010 by Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.

Trouble in Dogville

Tuesday's Grand Connection Thought

by Mary May Larmoyeux

When I was grandsitting for several days recently, God reminded me and a granddaughter about how much He cares about us. We were at the grocery store, and my granddauhter had picked up a bag of rawhide dog bones.

As she was dropping them into the basket, a lady who worked for the store said that we couldn't buy them. I was really surprised by that until she explained the reason.

There had been a recall on the type of rawhide bones that we were about to purchase. If we had gotten them, the kids' dog would have likely gotten very sick.

"Thank you, Lord," I said to myself, and then talked with my granddaughter about how good God was to protect her pet. I was so grateful that I had not bought the tainted bones! Actually, I'm not so sure I was up grandsitting a sick dog and three sad children.

Psalm 32:7 says, "You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance."

How have you seen God's hand of protection in action?
He is able,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/

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

No Guarantees

Subscribe to Grand Connection by Email

Tuesday's  Grand Connection Thought

by Mary May Larmoyeux

One of my favorite books is Let’s Make a Memory by Gloria Gaither and Shirley Dobson. I love what Gloria says, "Special moments don’t just happen; they have to be planned on purpose! In this hectic world when the pace at which we all live is so frantic, we as families must make a covenant with each other to make time for simple things. … We have no guarantees of tomorrows, but we do have this moment."

As grandmothers, we are aware that there are no guarantees of tomorrow and know how quickly the grands will grow up. Are you like me and really enjoy the simple things with your grands—walking in the rain, picking flowers, looking into the clouds together—marveling at the great God who created everything?

How do you make the moments count with your grandkids?

Speaking of making moments count, thanks to those of you who leave comments on The Grand Connection! Here are some of your great ideas: 

Elaine shared how she wrote a prayer for each grandchild and sent the prayers to the adult children to pray for each particular child. She also said that on one of her granddaughter’s birthdays, she and husband made a list of "10 Reasons we appreciate Kelli." Elaine added, "She was thrilled. We put it on poster board and then laminated it."

Did you read Angie’s comment when she said, "The Bible says that children are a gift from God. I agree, but I think grandchildren are the ribbons and bows on the gift!" I just love that word picture!

Couldn’t you almost hear Laurie laugh when she wrote that her grands call her "Grandma Doggie." Yep, you guessed it—she's the grandmother with three dogs.

And Jean surely had a smile on her face when she shared in an e-mail that every time her grandkids come over they cook something. "They marveled over things made from 'scratch.' They never knew all things didn’t originate from a box or can," she says. "I hope they will remember the fun times as long as I will."

She later wrote that her daughter told her that she baked from scratch for the girls often. "Kids have short memories," Jean said, "and they [the grands] said, 'Oh, yeah, we forgot.'"

Have a great week,

Mary

http://www.marymaywrites.com/

http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/

© 2009 by Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.

Photo © Geoarts / Dreamstime.com