Memorial Day Memories

Memorial Day is a time that we reflect on those who gave their lives to preserve our freedom. If you have lost family members or close friends in a war, it is important to record your appreciation of their sacrifice in your story. Those family members who served in the military and were willing to sacrifice their lives if necessary should also be remembered and honored. You may also honor those who would have served if they could have. I have family members who were turned down for service in the military because of health problems. As you reflect on Memorial Day, it is appropriate to record those you have know who truly wanted our freedoms to be preserved and were willing to do all they could to help preserve our freedoms.

Armed Forces Day

In our town Armed Forces Day is celebrated in a big way. There is a parade, activities in the park, an art show, business decorating contest, vendors and activities, fireworks and a light show. No other holiday is celebrated with as many events. Since there is a lot to do in our small town on this holiday, it has become a time for family get-togethers.
Celebrations like this give families opportunities to do things together and to create memories. Take photos on occasions like these. Write down what things you did to celebrate the holiday. Many memories will be good ones, but occasionally a memory will be of an unforgetable experience that wasn't fun, such as getting sick or missing one of the events you really wanted to attend. Writing down what was memorable from a celebration adds a lot to your story.

Memories of Mother

It is less than a week until Mother's Day. Every one of us has a mother. Most of us truly appreciate the love and care our mothers gave us. If our mother is still alive we want to show that love to her on Mother's Day. Why not write down some of the fondest memories you have of your mother? What were your favorite foods that she cooked? Where did she take you that you remember the most? What advice did she give you that you have appreciated the most? What things did she do with you or for you that you enjoyed?
You could make a special Mother's Day card with these memories to give to her. You could probably do this every year and not run out of memories. You could give her a binder to keep the cards in and add to it each year. A simple way to make a binder would be to cut a piece of card stock a little larger than the cards and decorate it. Then one-half inch from the center score down the middle on one side and then score one-half inch from the center down the other side. Now fold each side over at the scored lines. This should make a spine for the binder. Tie narrow ribbons or other fibers tightly around the spine with just enough give that a card could be slipped between the ribbon and the spine. A sturdier binder could be made with chipboard or mat board. Several members of the family could make cards and give with the binder to a mother or a grandmother for a nice completed gift.
Whatever you choose to give your mother for Mother's Day adding your written down memories will make it an even more special gift.

Ordinary Things

When you write your story, include the ordinary things. What is an ordinary day like in your life? Sometimes ordinary things don't seem very important, but 100 years from now they could be very interesting. Your grandchildren and great-grandchildren may really want to know what an ordinary day was like for you. Things have changed over the years. Several years ago a mother might have spent an ordinary day caring for her children, walking them to school, preparing the family meals, cleaning the home, sewing clothing, growing a garden, harvesting and preserving the produce from the garden, mending clothing, and playing games with her children or reading books to them and singing songs before bedtime. Today a mother may pour bowls of prepared cereal for a quick breakfast and then drive the children to a care provider or school while she goes to work at a job for eight hours. After work she picks up her children, takes them to dance lessons, or music lessons, or sports practice, then she grabs fast food for supper since she is too tired to cook. She supervises the children's homework, turns on the television afterward to unwind, checks her email then plays her favorite music CD before drifting off to sleep. We spend our time today doing things that weren't even imagined 100 years ago, but it can be just as hard for someone living now to imagine what life was like 100 years ago. Recording the ordinary things from each day can help. So as you write your story, remember the ordinary things.

Pine Forest Miracles Quote Family Tree
by storykeeper

Researching Your Ancestors

Have you done research to know who your ancestors are? There are many ways to research your ancestors. First of all talk with family members. See if parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and other relatives can give you information on your ancestors. When I moved twenty years ago to a small town over 500 miles away from where I grew up, I discovered that I have distant cousins here. Those cousins have shared stories and photos of our common ancestors with me and I have shared what I have with them.
Next go through family records and find what information you can there. Birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, deeds and other documents will have some information that may help you learn more about your ancestors. Letters and cards may also give information. Even a calendar may have events and appointments written on.
Next check family photos. Some one may have written information on the back of photos. Names are commonly written on photos, and dates and locations may also be written. You may also get information like how many children there were in a family by counting the number of children in a family group photo. You may also see what a home was like or where the family traveled to in the photos.
Next search online. A good website for researching your ancestors is www.familysearch.org. Here you can put in a family name and you may find a lot of research has already been done on some members of your family. You may also choose to subscribe to a website where you can access more records to search for your ancestors. You can put the name of a person in and search the web for that name. I found a website on one of my ancestors that way.
After finding information on your family members, you may want to make a pedigree chart or a family group sheet to preserve that information and display it in your home or in a scrapbook.

My Family Tree (Elm Tree) Poster
by storykeeper

Inspiring Quotes

When you read an inspiring quote do you think of how it applies in your life? Maybe you heard a quote in a speech or read it in a book, and it has given you a new insight. Recording those inspiring quotes in your life story or making a scrapbook page using that quote is a good way to share the insight you received. I made a scrapbook page with an acrostic poem using the word "family" and a photo of my parents. Following is the poem.

F ather
A nd
M other
I
L ove
Y ou.

There are other sayings I really like. I could use those throughout a scrapbook to show what quotes have influenced my life. Think of those quotes that mean a lot to you and how they could enhance your life story.

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Easter