Fun Foods

What kinds of fun foods have you made?

Do you remember making fun foods? Did you make cookies for holidays? I accumulated a lot of cookie cutters so I could make sugar cookie dough and cut out holiday shapes for the different holidays of the year. My mother usually used a glass to cut out round sugar cookies, but I liked making different shapes. Did you make candy from scratch? My mother would make fudge and would recruit me to stir the fudge. If it wasn't stirred enough it would be grainy. She also made divinity from scratch. It took a lot of stirring and testing to make sure it was cooked to just the right stage. My mother made rhubarb pies and custard pies. When my mother baked bread, she would often fry flattened pieces of the dough. We could put honey or jam or cinnamon sugar on them, but they were good with nothing else on them. Sometimes we made popcorn in a pan with a lid. We would have to shake the pan over the burner. If we got tired and set the pan down on the burner for too long, we would have burned popcorn. My grandmother had a plum tree. She made plum-filled cookies and frequently offered them to us. One time she gave us dried corn. It was so sweet that it was almost like candy. A couple of years ago one of my daughters wanted to make chocolates. Again there was a lot of stirring to get it cooked just right. Then we added lots of different toppings. Customizing the chocolates with what we wanted was a lot of fun. I have learned to make treats with stevia or just using fruits for sweetening. I like making a type of fudge with dates, coconut oil, cocoa and shredded coconut. I learned how to make teddy bears out of bread dough. They are fun to give to someone for a special occasion or to say thank you or to welcome a new neighbor. Making a family recipe book could be a memory making project. Recording how you made fun foods can be an important part of your life story.

Recipe for Teddy Bear Bread with Photo Cutting Board
by storykeeper

What roles did your parents have?

Did your mother work at a job outside of the home or did she stay at home and care for you and take care of the household tasks?  Did your father work outside of the home?  Did he help with the household tasks?  Were your parents helpful to each other or were they strictly devoted to doing their own tasks?  What roles your parents took on affects the roles you take on in your home.
In my home when I was growing up both of my parents worked from home.  They had a chicken farm.  Each one had certain roles, but they helped each other when needed.  My mother did most of the cooking and cleaning of the house.  She did the laundry and she sewed clothes for us. She did the bookkeeping for the family business and she paid the bills.  She cleaned, candled, graded and cased the eggs for sale.  My dad took care of the chickens--feeding them, gathering the eggs, growing the grain to feed them with.  He also cared for a couple cows, milking and feeding them and growing hay and other feed for them.  My dad built our home with help from my mother.  He build the coops, corrals and other farm buildings.  He kept the cars, tractors and machinery running.  They would help each other.  My dad helped finish getting the eggs ready to deliver.  Both of my parents did the delivery of the eggs--of course with us kids helping.  My mother would gather eggs and feed chickens if my dad needed help.
A lot of your ideas about your role in life comes from your parents.  Record in your life story the roles of your parents and record how it has affected you.

 

Vintage Farmer Working on the Farm Postcards by YesterdayCafe
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What things have you learned that you want to share with your family?

Are there things you have learned that you want to share with your family.  Include quotes, references to quotes or talks or even complete talks as part of your family history.  Perhaps a talk you listened to or a video you watched had a memorable quote that you would want to share with your family.  You could make an image with the quote that could highlight that quote, and you could place it in your life story.  Maybe the whole talk or video was so uplifting you would like to share the whole of it with your family.  You could include a link if your life story will be read on the computer or you can print out the whole talk and include the printed copy with your printed life story.  

Today I watched The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints General Conference.  I enjoyed the talk by Dieter F. Uchtdorf which can be viewed here.  There was a quote that I want to remember.  I decided to make an image that I can print out and post in my home to remind me of it.  

Image made from designs from "God's Fall Paintbox" by Digi Cyber Scraps from mymemories.com 

What are some of your favorite quotes?

Every so often you come across quotes that make a lot of sense.  I like to have quotes where I can see them and read them again and again.  Recording your favorite quotes can really add to your life story.

My youngest daughter posted the following on Facebook a few days ago.  This is a quote that I want to remember.    

"The biggest thing I learned in life. You otherwise let everything that's bad hold you down, or you get up on your feet and start moving forward. YOU'RE THE AUTHOR OF YOUR STORY. So if you don't like it right now then change the main characters (YOU) thoughts for the better."  Donelle Larsen

Words can truly bless our lives.  They change the way we think and can change the way we do things.  Record you favorite quotes in your life story.

Red Yellow Variegated Rose and Thorn Quote Spiral Notebook by Quotekeeper
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Smokey Skies

News headlines can be interesting to read, but sometimes they are about things that really affect you.  Part of your life story may be affected by what is in the news.  Right now there is a major fire in Yosemite National Park.  There are national headlines about this fire because it is one of the biggest fires ever and because it is burning in a national park.  When the wind is blowing in the direction of our town, we get a lot of smoke.  Yesterday the air was filled with smoke.  We couldn't see the mountains.  There was a fine layer of ash on doorknobs and cars and anything outdoors.  This afternoon there was hope for the smoke clearing out as we could see blue sky and a few clouds, and we could start to see the outline of the mountains again.  Unfortunately about an hour before sunset the smoke started to move in again.  The sun was red.  We couldn't see the mountains again.  I tried taking my dog for a walk.  I gave up after only walking about ten minutes because the smoke irritated my eyes and my throat.
An important part of your life story may be how current events and news headlines have affected you.  Record those events and what they have done to you and those around you.

I took this photo a little while before the sun set tonight.  The sun looked red.  The sky was gray and you could not see the mountains behind the trees.  I hope tomorrow the smoke will clear out again.  I hope and pray the fire in Yosemite will soon start to be controlled.  Sometimes I don't like being affected by the news headlines.  Sometimes news headlines can be very exciting and sometimes they can be very frightening. 
 

Learning about ancestors really makes your family's story come alive. The first step is learning their names.  Sometimes names were misspelled.  Sometimes names were changed.  Sometimes people would only go by a nickname.  Once you know names you can start to look for dates like birth dates, marriage dates, death dates and dates of other important events.  Then you can look for places lived.
There are several sites where you can pay to research your family history, but there are also ways to research without cost.  Family Search is one place that you can search for your family members without cost.  My late husband didn't have a whole of family information when he died, but I put in the information that he had and have found two or three generations back on some of his family lines because other people have been researched his lines.
Using the information you find you can create family history charts.
The more you learn about your family they more you learn about yourself.  Take time to do a little research on your family tree and learn a lot more about your family's story.

Military Service

What was your family's attitude towards military service?

Today is Memorial Day.  In our town there is a big celebration for Armed Forces Day on the third Saturday of May.  The decorations of red, white and blue are kept up until Memorial Day.  Many people in our town have served in the military and many others have worked at the Ammunition Depot close to our town.  Honoring those who serve our country is a big deal in our town.  We have had young men die while serving in the military and also loose their limbs or be severely injured while serving.   Some families have a proud tradition of serving in the military.  Others are totally opposed to anything to do with war.  What were your family's attitude about military service?  Did anyone in your family serve in the military?  Did that service make the family more patriotic or less patriotic?  Did someone die while serving in the military?  Did a friend of the family die while serving in the military?

I have ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War, who were involved in the Bear Flag Revolt in California, and who served in the Mormon Battalion.  My dad received a draft notice during World War II, but during his physical his arm became paralyzed.  He was rejected for service.  Fortunately the paralysis was only temporary though I'm not sure how long it lasted.  My dad lost his best friend in World War II.  My father-in-law fought in World War II and received a Purple Heart.  He didn't want to talk about what happened during the war.  Military service does affect a family.  Record how it has affected your family in your story.

The above image was made from a photo of the big flag in our town and embellishments are from a kit called "Election Day" designed by Digi Cyber Scraps at .  A free download of  Gift Card Envelopes is available also for a limited time.   

What is your favorite flower?

May is a month filled with beautiful flowers.  What flowers do you remember from your life?  Were there flowers growing around your home when you were young?  Do you have flowers growing in your yard now?  What kinds of flowers do you grow?  Why do you grow those flowers?  Do you like cut flowers?  If someone gives you flowers, what kind of flowers do you like to receive?  Were there any special times when someone gave you flowers?  

When I was young I remember gladiolas growing wild along the fence.  One year we planted an area in front of our house with all kinds of flowers.  Sunflowers grew wild along the edges of fields, along the road and along ditch banks.  The flower I thought was beautiful was the sego lilly.  The sego lily is the state flower in Utah because it provided food for the early settlers in Utah.  One year there were sego lilies growing on our farm.  That is when I decided the sego lily was my favorite flower.

Flowers cheer us up.  They make us feel better.  Giving flowers to someone can say, "I appreciate you" or "I love you."  Record your experiences with flowers in your life story and add more color to your story.

 

Sego Lilly Canvas Bag by TheFold
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Cut Out Sunflowers Dry Erase Whiteboards by storykeeper
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Grace Compared to Piano Lessons

Mormon Porn (Sex) Addict: Happy Easter: In light of the commemoration of Christ's sacrifice I have decided to add this wonderful talk that I was shown on my mission and is a gr...

Reading the blog post linked to here, I was very impressed with the explanation of grace.  It is from a talk given by Brad Wilcox called "His Grace is Sufficient".  The comparison of grace to piano lessons makes so much sense to me.  Christ paid the debt for what we have done.  He doesn't ask us to pay the debt, but he does ask us to keep the commandments and to love others.  He doesn't expect us to be perfect, but he does expect that we will repent when we do something wrong and we will keep on trying.  Just as a parent who pays for piano lessons for a child doesn't expect the child to pay for the piano lessons, yet the parent does expect the child to learn and to improve and to practice.  A parent doesn't expect their child to be a virtuoso after one piano lesson, but the parent does expect the child to keep practicing and learning and improving. 

I liked this quote from the talk:  "Think of your friends and family members who have chosen to live without faith and without repentance. They don’t want to change. They are not trying to abandon sin and become comfortable with God. Rather, they are trying to abandon God and become comfortable with sin."

I thought I would share the link here since his explanation is so much better than mine.

I just found the video of this talk so if you prefer the video here is the link. http://youtu.be/yLXr9it_pbY

 What talks have you listened, or what articles have you read, or what movies have you seen, or what music have you listened to that has changed the way you see things?  What would you like to share with your family?  Write about what you enjoyed and why you enjoyed it and include it in your story. 

Vintage Piano Lessons Poster by cooltees
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Books That Have Influenced You

What books have influenced you?
What books have had the most influence on you?  The things you read do influence your life.  Writing about what books you have found interesting and what you have learned from them can add a lot to your life story.  Much of what we believe comes from what we read.  There was a time in the United States when everyone that went to school read and learned from the Bible.  The stories from the Bible did influence people.  There are many other books that influence us.  Sometimes we read just for entertainment and to relax.  Sometimes we read to learn and become informed.  What you have read has helped shape your life.  Record about what you have read and learned from in your life story.  Write about what books you found most enjoyable to read and why you enjoyed them.

I enjoyed books like "Horton Hears a Who" and "Horton Hatches an Egg" by Dr. Suess.  From fourth through sixth grade we had almost an hours wait after school let out until the bus came to give us a ride home.  There was a library a couple of blocks from the school so we would go there and check out books to read.  When I think back on it many of the books I checked out were biographies or autobiographies.  I think I read every biography in the library on the presidents of the United States.  History and true stories has always interested me.  What kinds of things have you read that have influenced you?  Write about what you like to read in your life story.
 
One of the books that has most influenced my life is The Book of Mormon.  I have learned many things as I have read it that help me decide how to live my life.  It is something that I have tried to share with my family.  I feel I should write about what I have learned from it in my life story.  If you would like to have a copy of The Book of Mormon to read yourself you can request a copy here.

Write about what you have learned from the books you read and add to your life story.





 

Mylifeisbasedonatruestory Shirt by CreativeColours
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Recordkeeping

Do you have old records?

Have you kept your old tax returns, utility bills, pay stubs, insurance records or other records?  Some of your history is recorded there.  Before you toss the older records go through them and record the addresses, the dates, the places worked and other information that may add to your story.  Inflation has made a lot of changes in the amount we are paid and the amount we pay for things.  You don't want to keep every bill you've ever paid, but a few bills kept might add to your story.  When I first started work, I was earning a little less than $3.00 an hour.  The cost of a first class postage stamp was 10 cents.  The cost of a first class stamp now in 2013 is 46 cents.  The cost of gasoline was under 40 cents a gallon.  It costs about $4.00 a gallon now.  

If you are fortunate enough to have parents or grandparents records you can add a lot to their stories.  You can add where they lived and when, where they worked and how much they were paid, what they spent their money on and what it cost them.  Most people don't have a lot of records from their parents or grandparents, so count yourself very lucky if you do have records.

Use your old records to add to your story.

 

$20 The New $1 Bumper Stickers by CJA_the_humorist
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Letters written to family members can be an important part of your family's story.  Do you have letters that your parents wrote to each other?  Were they separated because of school or serving in the military or for other reasons?  Did they write letter to each other?  Those letters can add a lot to their story.  People used to write letters more often.  Telephone calls cost a lot more in the past.  People would limit the time they talked on the phone because of the cost.  They would write letters because it didn't cost much to send a letter.  The letter could be kept and reread.  If your parents or grandparents kept letters they had written to each other, you have a valuable part of of their story.

Have you kept letters that were written to you?  They can add a lot to your story.  When you go through papers either your own or other family members, watch for personal letters.  A lot of family history may be recorded in those letters.

You may want to take excerpts from the letters and include them in your story.  You may want to include the whole letter.  You might want to kept the letter separate.  One way would be to put the letters in sheet protectors in a binder or a scrapbook.  If the letter is written on both sides of the page you could see both sides by putting the letter in a sheet protector.  However you preserve your letters, they can be an important addition to your family's story.

The above image was created with embellishments from the Attic Treasures designer pak created by Scrap Wow.  Check out this scrapbooking software at the link below.  Copy and paste this code STMMMS62320 to save $10 when you make your purchase.
 

Genealogy Fan Chart

Genealogy Fan Chart

If you use familysearch.org you can create a fan chart with your family history.  All of your ancestor's names that are available through familysearch.org will be automatically filled in to create your chart.  This is a great way to see what ancestors are known in your family history and where you need to do research to see if you can find other family members who are missing.  This chart can be printed out on a 8 1/2" X 11" sheet of paper or it can be printed in larger sizes through a copy shop.  It is a wonderful visual way to see your family history.  With it you can see what lines you need to work on to find the names of more of your ancestors.  Getting to know your ancestors helps you to know yourself better.  Check out your family's fan chart at the link above.

Learn How To Research Your Family History

Finding information about your ancestors is an important part of your story. What happened to your ancestors has affected your life, even though you may not realize it. Researching your ancestors is very interesting, but it can be challenging. You can take a online class to learn about researching your family history here.

Resolve to Preserve Your Family's Story

Have you resolved to preserve your family's story?

Have you thought about preserving your family's story?  Is it hard to do because it seems overwhelming?  Sometimes I think of all the pictures that need to be organized.  Then I think of all the stories that should be written down.  Sometimes I think I'll never get it all done.  That is true for as long as we live our story keeps on being added to.  Recording your story will never be completely done.  It isn't something that can be done perfectly.  You may not have pictures of important events from your life.  You may not be able to remember details of important events.  Another family member may have a different memory than you have of a certain event.  Whatever you write down is valuable for it is your perspective.  Whatever pictures you do have are valuable especially if you take the time to write down what was happening and what you feel about the picture. 

My family didn't write a lot down.  My mother wrote a page giving a summary of her life and she helped my dad write a summary of his life up to a certain point.  My sister wrote a few comments on a calendar on what was happening in her life during that year.  There are letters that tell some of what happened.  Photos are another source of what happened.  Then there is my brother's memory of what happened.  These few things trigger memories for me and are valuable to me.  I write a few things at times.  I try to organize a few pictures.  Hopefully what I have done to preserve my family's story may some day be valuable to my children.  For now it brings back wonderful memories of my family, and it helps me to understand where I have come from and why I may have become the person that I am. 

Don't get discouraged if you can't get your whole story completed in a short time.  Just keeping a little here and there.  Write every week for fifteen minutes, or half an hour or an hour--whatever amount of time you have available.  Organize a few pictures in albums, scrapbooks or online.  All the little things you do will add up and create memories for you and for your family.

Family Story Binder by DoodlesGifts
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