Great Photo-book Offer from Snapfish . . . Buy One, Get Two Free!

Both Mother's Day and Father's Day are not far away, so if you are looking for a great idea for a gift which will be sure to be treasured, check this offer from Snapfish for two free photo-books when you buy one!

Remember What Truly Matters

It is all so easy for life to become busy; too easy. We have family, work, church, places where we volunteer and the list goes on. All of these require time from us and there is only so much time in a day. It is easy for us to be so focused on these things; things which are important, yet we end up losing sight of those things which truly matter.

As grandmas, we all know how very fast children grow up. It is easy when we are moms; especially when our children are young, for us to feel tired, worn out and like our children will never grow up. But they do. And they grow up quickly. We grandmas know this, because our children grew up; quickly.

So, as we are blessed with the opportunity to spend time with our grandchildren, remember how fast they grow up and keep our focus on what truly matters; having them grow to be people who know and love God.

crafting with grandma - Minion Bowling "Pins"!

Children's Day is just a month and a half away (the second Sunday of June), so if you are looking for a fun idea which you could use for your grandchildren, take a look at these fun Minion Bowling "Pins" which I found on Pinterest!

crafting with grandma - Mother's Day Gift Idea - Paper Flowers!

I have grandsons; and they are still young - ages five, two and nine months. But, if I had older granddaughters, I absolutely would teach them how to make these beautiful flower balls for their mother for Mother's Day! (They might also make a lovely, thoughtful and unique gift for an end-of-year teacher gift!)

I found these beautiful flower balls on Pinterest - of course - so, all you have to do is follow this link and you'll find complete directions along with a photo tutorial!

Only Ten Days Until the Start of the Special Month of Birthday Give-Aways - Pass it On for Bonus Entries!

Yes, in ten days my third Special Month of Birthday Give-Aways begins! This year I'm giving away a variety of things . . . books, a candle, an American Girl Doll, Special items you can have your photos on from Shutterfly, some Folkmanis puppets, a Cusinart Griddler and more!

If you have not entered the drawings for these fun prizes, please be sure to do so . . . there is still time to get in on all the give-aways! So far I've announced 11 prizes and I still have a few more to let you know about in the coming days and weeks! 

I thought it might be fun to offer an opportunity for you to receive five bonus entries for the prize of your choice . . . you can do this by getting a friend to "like" grandma's cookie jar for the first time on facebook using this link (not just liking the post). If you recommend grandma's cookie jar to a friend and they "like" it on facebook, please comment to let me know your and their name and the prize you would like your extra five entries to go towards. (They have to show up as someone who has "liked" grandma's cookie jar for you to receive the bonus entries - and they will receive five bonus entries, too - they will also need to comment to let me know which prize they want their bonus entries to count for).

Thank you so much for reading grandma's cookie jar and for sharing it with the people you know!

Special Birthday Give-Away - Mud Puddle Hunting Day

Spring has arrived in Michigan! I can tell this by the way the flowers are starting to bloom, the trees are budding, the temperatures are warmer, the snow has melted and most especially by how my grandsons are very quick to jump and splash in every puddle they come across! Ah, yes! Spring and mud puddles do tend to go together, so what could be more fun than jumping and splashing in puddles? Possibly reading a book about mud puddles! So, today I'm very happy to announce another special give-away for my Birthday Month of Special Give-Aways!

FREE Photos!

If you are like me and took some photos of your grandchildren for Resurrection Sunday . . . or even recently and just have not had them printed up yet, check this great offer from Shutterfly! They are offering 101 FREE prints through now and Tuesday, April 22, 2014!

"That's Why the Egg is Empty!!!"

We celebrated Resurrection Sunday yesterday with my family. The boys decorated eggs and I sat down with Josiah and Caleb and went through the Resurrection Eggs - Josiah enjoyed discovering what was in each egg and listening to why it was there. When the last egg was opened, he was surprised it was empty and thought I had lost the item which belonged in it. I told him Jesus' tomb was empty because He was risen! Josiah got a big smile on his face and said, "That is why the egg is empty!!!"

crafting with grandma - Mother's Day Gifts!

Mother's Day is just a few weeks away, so if you are starting to think of things you could help your grandchildren make for their mother, check this wonderful site I found on Pinterest for 51 excellent ideas!

Follow this link and you'll find free printables and dozens of ideas which use simple items you can find around your house or on a nature walk . . . or buy at the store for just a little!

Special Birthday Give-Away - The Amazing Spiderman 2 Prize Pack

Question for you:  are there any Marvel Comics fans in your household? If so, I think you'll be THRILLED with this special opportunity for everyone and a fun prize package for one of you! 

The Amazing Spiderman 2 comes to theaters this May - so if your grandchildren enjoy superheroes like my grandsons do, you are likely to have some excited grandchildren as the release of The Amazing Spiderman 2 draws near! I thought it would be fun to share the preview trailer with you for The Amazing Spiderman 2 and then let you know about a free Family Discussion Guide which you can download and use with your grandchildren! First, the movie trailer . . . 

grandma's chuckles . . . I'm doing, "A Really Good Job of Being Grandma!"

Last week was Spring Break, so Josiah and Caleb spent a few days and nights at our house! We had fun hanging out, baking cookies, doing science projects, reading books, making up new stories, playing games and just being together!

On Wednesday night when Josiah went to bed, he told me, "You do a really good job of being grandma!" 

While it is extremely easy to, "do a really good job of being grandma" to these three sweet boys, my heart is oh, so happy!

grandma's cookbook - Lemonade Ice Cream Pie

I've been debating for a few days what I want to fix for dessert for our Resurrection Sunday dinner . . . I've known for a couple weeks I'm fixing a ham, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, roasted asparagus and homemade bread, but had not decided on a dessert. However; today I decided . . . Lemonade Ice Cream Pie! This pie is so tasty - and simple to make . . . I think I'll have Josiah and Caleb make it and thought you might like the recipe as well!

You just need four ingredients . . . 

Special Birthday Give-Away - Pig Puppet from Folkmanis!

Over the years I've been blessed with the opportunity to review - and give away - a number of amazing puppets from Folkmanis. I love their puppets because not only are they great puppets, but they are the most wonderful, plush toys, too! If you get a puppet from Folkmanis, you can be certain attention has been given to design, style and quality; and no matter who you give it to, they are certain to love it!

So, when I was given the opportunity to review - and give away - some of the new puppets from Folkmanis again this year, I was very happy to do so!

crafting with grandma - Two Minions Completed!

I'm crocheting purple minions for my grandsons this year - last year I crocheted Perry the Platypus' for each of them. So far I have two completed and am almost finished with the third and final one. I thought I'd show you a photo and give you a link to the pattern in case you want to make one . . . Children's Day is the second Sunday in June; you have plenty of time to make them by then if you want to!