crafting with grandma - hand-print elephants for World Elephant Day August 12th

A sweet friend emailed and asked me if I had any ideas for fun things she could do with her one and three year old granddaughters while they spent a few days at her home. I sent her a few ideas and thought I'd share one with you today as well. 

Make a Difference - the Legacy Grandparenting Summit Can Help!

There are many things we can and will be remembered for by our grandchildren - my grandsons will remember the fun we had on sleepovers, the waterballoon pinatas, the ice cream creations, the snuggles and science projects, to mention just a few.

But, the most important thing for them to remember is their grandma pointed them to Jesus. I want them to remember how I told them God loves them; they are able to love Him back, God hears their prayers; He will answer them, too, and helped them learn to pray.

Pray & Help Those You Love Learn to Do the Same

Prayer is taking the time to talk about what matters the most to us with the One Who is able to do what we can not. I have been able to see amazing ways God is answering prayers which matter very much to me - I know He does what He said He would do - He hears, He listens and He answers prayer!

If you would like help praying for your grandchildren, check out my books - Deeper In 4 Grandparents & Parents, Too - Praying the Scriptures for the Children You Love (Psalms Edition and Old Testament Edition). I'm helping my grandsons learn the pray Scripture, too. We choose a passage in Psalms, talk about what it means and they they help write the "nut shell version" of a prayer for the passage. Children understand far more than for which we give them credit! My grandsons' prayers have been amazing!

What are you doing to pray for the ones who matter to you? How are you helping the children you love learn to pray?

Ice Cream Creation Challenge!

My grandsons were over for a sleepover Wednesday night, so Thursday we decided to do something fun, simple and definitely tasty . . . have an ice cream creation challenge!

For this activity all we needed were a variety of add-ins (candy, chocolate chips, peanut butter, cereal, chocolate syrup, fruit, whatever we could find in the house) and, of course, ice cream. 

Help Wanted!

For a few months now I've been working on a new writing project; it's title is, "The DNA of a Praying Grandparent". In this book I will be sharing the "Prayer Histories" of people in the Bible who prayed, people through time who prayed and people from today who prayed and talk about how to develop a life of prayer, live as a person who prays and reproduce this life of prayer in the children and grandchildren who come behind us.

I would love to be able to include the true, "Prayer Histories" of real people and how God answered their prayers - or the prayers of their grandparents. If you have a "Prayer History" of your own or your family's - or know someone who does - and would be willing to share it, please email me - lyndagcj@gmail.com

I shared about how God answered my grandparent's prayer a few weeks ago - you will find it at this link taken from a book about my grandparents, Clarence and Faye Fullmer, written by my sister (Clarence & Faye - copyright 2016 by Loretta Baughan). 

Summer & Prayer

My grandsons have one more month of Summer vacation to enjoy before it is time for them to go back to school. It is hard to believe the Summer is almost over . . . it has flown by for sure!

This year my grandsons will be in preschool, first grade and fourth grade - they are growing up so quickly. It is one thing we as grandmas do know . . . these sweet children grow up quickly - very quickly. It may not feel like it in the day-to-day living of life in a family with children, but the truth is they are grown and on their own before you know it.

Upcoming Anniversary & an Important Example

My husband and I are just two weeks from celebrating our 36th wedding anniversary! We met on a volcano and were married on my grandpa/ma Fullmer's 55th anniversary - both sets of my grandparents and now my parents had/have long committed marriages. They all set the example for me of loving, honoring and cherishing my husband. I never one time heard my grandparents or parents say anything negative about each other - I think this is what the vows mean - or part of it - when we commit to love, honor and cherish the one we marry. (This is a photo of us . . . we were SO young!!!)

Birthday Blessing!

Today is one of the most wonderful days in my life . . . it is the birthday of one of my sweet grandsons! He is six today, but we have been celebrating for a couple days with his party with friends and his birthday dinner at my house.

I love my grandson! He is such a sweet gift from the hand of God - an amazing blessing - I am so very thankful for him! He has a sweet, tender heart and is a bit of a rascal - well, actually quite a bit of a rascal! He is loving and creative and has a curiosity - especially about things like rocks and fossils! I am so thankful he is my grandson!

Take Time to Make Time - It Is SO Worth It!

This is so true. We have our grandsons to our home for a sleepover typically once a week during the school year. But, in the Summer we add at least one extra sleepover each week. We try to plan time for fun - like waterballoon pinatas! It "pays off".

Saturday morning, after a Friday sleepover, the first thing Caleb said when he woke up was; "Thank you grandma for letting us have so many sleepovers!" 

Yes, it takes time to make time, but it is so worth it!

grandma's cookbook - Birthday Chocolate Cake

In just three days my sweet rascal Caleb will be six years old - the years have flown for sure! We will be expressing how thankful we are for the amazing gift of Caleb as we celebrate his birthday lunch on Sunday after church - his choice is pizza and chocolate cake; so today I'm sharing with you the recipe for chocolate cake I will use when I bake his cake tomorrow.

AirTime Trampoline Park Review - Great Family Fun!

I was recently given the opportunity to review AirTime Trampoline Park, so this past Tuesday my hubby and I took our three grandsons to check it out. When we left my oldest grandson said; "This is the best place ever! It is way better than (another trampoline park in town). If I would have known how great AirTime is, I would never have asked to go to the other one."

So, today I'm very happy to share with you about our experience at AirTime and encourage you to visit with your grandchildren/children (they have six trampoline parks throughout Michigan).

Waterballoon Pinata!

We are enjoying our two days of fun - reason for this late post today. I want to take just a minute to let you know about something simple and fun you could do with your grandchildren - my grandsons are LOVING it! Waterballoon Pinata!

Just grab some balloons, fill them with water, knot them off, tie them to a branch or - as we did - to a playground, grab a stick and get ready to get - as my grandson said - "totally wet!"

Fun, simple and memorable . . . what could possibly be better on a hot summer day!

Grandparents Do Make a Difference!

The Legacy Coalition (legacycoalition.com) has a facebook page where typically a couple times a week they post a photo with encouraging text (meme). The one they posted today is excellent, (they put the following text with it - Tag someone you know who is pregnant, or just had a precious little one; let them know God has a wonderful plan for their lives . . . and grandparents are a part of that! www.LegacyGrandparentingSummit.com), so I'm sharing it with you - please pass it on!

Almost Everybody Farts - I'm Giving One Away!

When you see the title for this book review and giveaway and the cover, you may wonder a bit, but allow me to say, I was invited to review this book. At first I almost didn't, but then I thought, well, my grandsons would likely enjoy this book, so I decided to do so.

They are eight, five and three years old and they did laugh quite a bit when we read it. So, today I am sharing with you my review of Almost Everybody Farts!

Celebrating Another Year - Birthdays!

We are in for a busy few weeks here at my house. Yesterday

was my husband's birthday and we are celebrating it tonight with a birthday dinner. Next Saturday is a birthday party for Caleb (he will be six), then the following day is his birthday dinner at my house. A couple weeks later it will be Shane's birthday (he will be four) - and of course, we will have a birthday dinner for him at my house, too! Josiah's birthday is a month later (he will be nine) . . . three sweet boys and three celebrations . . . and their Poppa's, too!

grandma's chuckles - "I AM a Little Brother!"

I had three wonderful, sweet boys at my house yesterday!

At one point, Josiah was coding/programming and Caleb wanted to show him something - which Josiah found being interrupted while he was coding to be annoying. The boy's aunt was here and told him little brothers can sometimes be annoying - to which Shane spoke up and said; "I AM a little brother!!!" 

Share Your History!

This week I've been writing about some of the family history of my grandparents - how God saved my grandpa and grandma Fullmer from a tornado and how my grandsons discovered slag/rock my grandpa Bristol put in his driveway - which is now my driveway - more than 60 years ago. Family history - important accounts to share with my grandchildren to help them have a better understanding of the people who are in their family line.

I want my grandchildren to know who their great-great grandparents were and how God worked in their lives. I also want them to know how God has worked in my life for many reasons, but especially because they are able to see me, hug me, laugh with me, snuggle in my lap for stories - when they hear how God has worked in my life it does make a huge impact in their lives.

Last weekend I told my grandsons how God used a decision my grandma made when I was just their age to buy a cottage on a lake to one day get me to California on the volcano where I met their poppa, and eventually, through "twists and turns", introduced to people who would years later make it possible for me to be part of the Legacy Coalition!

Not Quite Obsidian

Almost sixty years ago my grandfather worked at the piston ring foundry in a town nearby. From time to time he brought home slag - stones - from the furnace which he put in his driveway.

Today I live in the house my grandparents lived in (and had built in the 1920's) and this past weekend when my grandsons were here for a sleepover, they started digging in my driveway for rocks . . . and found what we all thought was obsidian! We were amazed they might find even one piece of obsidian in our driveway (we live in Michigan - not really close to any sources of obsidian), but they found zippy bags full of obsidian. It was a puzzle.

Share Your Family Faith & Prayer History with Your Children & Grandchildren

When it comes to passing on our faith to our children and grandchildren, there is something very important we need to do – which sadly, we do not often think to do. What is this, “very important thing”, you ask? It is being intentional about telling our children and grandchildren the, “Faith History” and “Prayer History” of your family.

My children and grandchildren know their genealogy when it comes to how their great-great-great-great-great, well, many greats relative was living in Scotland when he was thrown on a ship and shanghaied to America where he was sold as an indentured servant or about our relative who tried to overthrow the Canadian government and decided to trade his house for a fast horse, so he could get away from Canada and into the USA. These and many other of our “family histories” have been passed on to my children and grandchildren to help them have an idea of the people who came before them in their family line.

These histories are important to share with our children and grandchildren, but just as important, if not more important, is sharing our family’s “Faith History” and “Prayer History”, so they are able to see and understand how God has worked in the lives of their family. It is a very powerful thing to share the true family histories of how God has worked in the lives of their ancestors and how He has answered their prayers. When our children and grandchildren hear and understand these true accounts, it makes a powerful impact on their understanding of how God will work in their lives, too!

So, what might a “Faith History” or “Prayer History” look like? Allow me to share with you one such history from my own family, taken from a book about my grandparents, Clarence and Faye Fullmer, written by my sister (Clarence & Faye - copyright 2016 by Loretta Baughan). The year was 1964 and the place was the small village of Cedarville, Michigan, just east of St. Ignace, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, along the shore of Lake Huron. My grandparents were staying in a resort owned by a friend when they decided to go fishing for yellow perch. My grandma wrote about what happened as follows:

grandma's movie review - Moana

My grandsons recently watched the movie Moana. While there was certainly a focus upon Polynesian myth, there were a few messages I appreciated and today I'm going to share the one I found to be most important.

July is Ice Cream Month!

I love the month of July for several reasons . . . .

1. My husband's birthday is in July!
2. One of my grandson's birthday is in July!
3. It is the middle month of summer and days tend to be warm and sunny.
4. My grandsons are on summer break and I get to see more of them in the month of July than any other month all year long!
5. It is National Ice Cream Month!

Yes, these are all wonderful reasons to love the month of July, but it is reason number five which I'm writing about today!

Happy 4th of July!

I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July filled with grandchildren, cookouts and a reflection on the freedom we enjoy in this country and through Christ! 

This is from the Legacy Coalition facebook page and I thought I'd share it with you today! Feel free to share it with the people you know! www.LegacyGrandparentingSummit.com

Times of Joy Help Us Build Strong Prayer DNA!

A few days ago I shared a "snippet" from the book I'm working on about how David developed a strong Prayer DNA through the sad and difficult times of his life - as we see throughout Psalms. This is true for us as well. Today I'll share the next part . . .

Camp Out at Grandma's House!

Saturday evening my son, daughter-in-law and grandsons came over for supper and to camp in our yard. We live in the country on a acre with lots of space between us and the neighbors. There are trees behind us, across the street from us - and a lot of them in our yard. It is actually a nice place to camp!

Passing On Faith in Sad & Difficult Times

Throughout our lives there will be many times when we experience joy and are able to share it with our family. Times when we rejoice together. Times when we celebrate.

There will also be times where what we experience is sad and difficult as well. I personally have a friend who is going through a return of her cancer and a friend from church who is experiencing a difficult cancer diagnosis and treatment as well. Another friend just experienced the death of a member of her family - absolutely sad and difficult times.

It is easy to point our grandchildren to God when times are happy, but it is no less important for us to do so when times are sad and difficult. Yesterday on my personal facebook page, I shared a "snippet" from a new book I'm working on. Today I'm going to share it with you. I said . . .