just as grandma's cookie jar should always be full of good things, this blog will be full of good ideas, information, activities and reviews of things to help grandma . . . and grandpa, mom and dad too . . . pass on a heritage of faith to the children in their lives!
Yesterday I wrote about one way grandmas (and grandpas, too) absolutely are able to make a real, significant, and important difference in the lives of their grandchildren – they are able to point them to Jesus. I shared a simple way we are able to do this . . . by reading books to and with our grandchildren and shared with you several of my favorite books I like to read with my grandsons.
As 2021 comes to an end and 2022 begins, if you are looking for a few fun craft ideas which you can enjoy with your grandchildren, take a look at these ideas I found on Pinterest . . .
As we are about to start the new year, I thought I'd take a minute to remind us, the things we say and do with our grandchildren do make a difference. This is absolutely true. Grandmas (and grandpas, too) most certainly are able to make a difference, so for the next few days, I’m going to share with you some of the ways we are able to make a real, lasting and important difference in the lives of our grandchildren; starting with . . . we make a difference in pointing our grandchildren to Jesus!
My grandsons typically spend part of their Christmas break at my house . . . one of my best Christmas Gifts Ever . . . spending time with my sweet grandsons! So, as I thought about what we might do while they are here, I looked back at what I posted last year on grandma's cookie jar for some ideas. I found the following post which I might do with the boys and thought I'd go ahead and share it again with you! Enjoy!
I have friends who only let their grandchildren spend time at their homes a couple times a month. They said they thought it was "wise" to set "limits", so their own children did not take advantage of them when it came to taking care of their grandchildren. They said this "freed them up" to be able to enjoy their retirement.
If your grandchildren are anything like my grandchildren, they enjoy playing with Legos. But, one thing about Legos, unless you buy a big container of random pieces, they tend to come in kits where children build specific items. This is fine - my grandsons have enjoyed building Hulk or Captain America, Iron Man, Star Wars or whatever the kit is, but after they build it, they tend to not build other things with the pieces.
Can you believe it? 2021 is almost part of the history books. As 2022 begins, it can be so easy to be so focused on the things we are planning for 2022 we forget to take time to thank God for His many blessings - big and small - from 2021. So, let’s take some time to remember the blessings we experienced throughout 2021. Consider the following . . .
Do you have things in your life which you think you will never use? Things you had to learn or do, mostly when you were younger? Well I do . . . or at least I did!
Yesterday I wrote about what my husband and I are doing this year to hand confident faith to our grandsons. I shared how we are making Lamentations 3:21-23 our focus in 2022.
Yes, today, December 27th is Cut-Out Snowflake Day! Who of us has not made paper snowflakes when we were little - and with our children and grandchildren?
It is Christmas - we celebrated last night with family at our house - and it was wonderful for sure! While all the celebrating is fun; something I look forward to each year, the most important thing is taking time to thank God for the reason we are able to celebrate . . . the birth of Jesus!
One of our Grandmas with Heart - Sherry Schumann - shared with me a fun idea for handing down confident faith with our grandchildren, so today I'm delighted to share it with you.
I am blessed to count Janae Dean as one of my friends. Her husband is Wayburn Dean - he sang with Acappella - and since they go to my church, from time to time we are ever so blessed to have him lead our worship services. Janae shared a link to Wayburn singing, "O Holy Night" and today I am ever so happy to share it with you. Enjoy!
When we experience loss, we experience grief. It is important for us to work through grief, and while there are tools available to help us do this, today I am happy to let you know about a new book which is now available to help you do exactly this.
I am very happy to let you know about one of the books in the "Life on the Goldilocks Planet" curriculum and book series which is available in our bookstore and on Amazon! Megabats, Bengal Tigers, Quetzals & More! is a multi-purpose book, while it makes an ideal gift for the children you love, it is also a curriculum resource which will equip grandparents and parents as they strive to hand down confident faith.
Nearly everyone loves rice crispy treats and nearly everyone loves oreo cookies . . . so what do you get if you "mix" the two together??? Oreo Treats! I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought I'd share it with you today.
A few months back I saw an interesting post on a friend's facebook page . . . and it made me think . . . as grandmas, we certainly want everything we do and say to cause our grandchildren to "feel" our love, so, how do we do this? Consider the following . . .
I was browsing again on Pinterest
and found what has to be one of the most amazing recipes for cinnamon bread ever . . . cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread! This is going to find it's way to a table in front of my family very, very soon . . . I'm sure your family would be delighted to find it on a table in front of them very, very soon, too! :^)
If you are looking for a simple, fun and beautiful craft you could make with your grandchildren for Christmas, consider the Book-page Star Ornaments I saw on Pinterest! You'll find complete directions for making these little stars and putting them into a glass ornament at this link, so have fun!
Make several . . . they would make beautiful gifts for hostess gifts, teacher gifts, pastor gifts, neighbor gifts . . . . and certainly fun to have on your own tree, too! Use metallic paper for shiny stars or paper your grandchildren colored with chalk, crayons, paint . . . use your imagination and just think of the fun and beautiful ornaments you can make!
With Christmas just a few days away, I thought I'd share with you some Christmas thoughts . . .
Corrie Ten Boom knew the joy of life with family and the incredible loss of her loved family in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. Yet, through it all, she held tightly to her faith in God, His love, and His goodness. I love this quote from her . . .
I do not have any granddaughters, but if I did, I'd be making doll houses for sure! I was browsing on Pinterest and found a link for a pattern to make doll houses so I had to share it with you!
I was browsing through Pinterest and happened to find a great, simple craft idea which would be so much fun to make with grandchildren on Christmas Sunday! All you need are a few simple - and tasty - supplies!
I do not have any granddaughters, so doll houses and paper dolls are just not things which will work for me. My grandsons loved cars, trucks . . . and of course, one-eyed monsters when they were younger, so when I was browsing on Pinterest and found a link for Car ideas, I thought I'd share what I found with you. I'm happy to say there are several great DIY ideas you can use for the boys in your life!
If you are looking for a simple, inexpensive and fun idea for a gift you can make . . . one which people will love to receive, check out this adorable Snowman Block I found on Pinterest!
My grandsons enjoy "monkey bread" - I have made it from time to time using refrigerated biscuits, but this recipe is one you are able to make from start to finish - and delight the ones you love with the results!
I live in West Michigan. Today it is in the upper 50's - when I was a child the ground was covered with snow by now, but not the case for the past few years for sure.
If you are planning to have your grandchildren to your home for a Christmas party or other special time this year, consider surprising and delighting them with Glowing Snowmen in your yard to greet them!
As I've mentioned before, my grandsons definitely are "fans" of lollipops; however; it can be very difficult to find some which are free of things like Red #40, so I've been making homemade lollipops for them. I wanted to find a new recipe to fix for them, so I looked on Pinterest and found a recipe for Homemade Pomegranate Lime Lollipops - since I do not have any pomegranate juice, I thought I'd use orange juice instead!
Over the years I've involved my grandsons in making several snowman ornaments - my favorite is the melted snowman ornament. It is a fun, simple ornament which you could involve your grandchildren in making - they could give them to teachers, coaches, neighbors . . . to anyone for whom they need to have a nice, little gift!
When my grandsons were younger they made ornaments for each of their teachers. One year they made, melting snowmen ornaments - white glitter in a clear glass ornament with a felt triangle for a nose, two tiny black pom-poms for eyes, and stick arms - very cute and a lot of fun to make and receive!
Christmas is just twelve days away, so I thought it would be fun to look up and share some Christmas "fun facts" which you could share with your family and friends as you celebrate Christmas! Did you know . . .
If you are looking for a fun activity for the children you love take a look at this "mock" Gingerbread Nativity set they can build with graham crackers, marshmallows and candies!
What do you put on top of your tree?. I have a star, but did put angels on top in the past.
When my grandsons were younger, I crocheted a new hat for them each year for Christmas. We live in a snowy state - typically - and winters are cold here; I wanted their little heads to be warm. Plus, if you have to wear a hat, I figured it might as well be fun . . . and a little silly and crazy is fine, too!
I was browsing on Pinterest this morning and saw a link for an activity which I think my grandsons would enjoy - and maybe your grandchildren would as well. All you need are LEGOs - some specific pieces, which if your grandchildren have a lot of LEGOs, they may have the pieces. What is the project? A LEGO Nativity set! Not just fun to build, but timely for this time of year for sure!
I thought I'd share with you today about the shark hats I made five years ago for my grandsons for Christmas. I thought they looked like a fun hat for them to wear - and they were!
Nativity sets are a fun way to help children learn, remember and understand the beginning of the story of the Best Gift Ever; Jesus' birth! So, today I'm sharing two simple, and fun, ideas for how your grandchildren can make their own nativity sets. Sets which will hold up to little hands handling them year after year and which will help children and families start a Christmas tradition of their own, as they set them out each year!
The first year my husband and I were married (forty years ago), he got me the Precious Moments Nativity Set for Christmas. I love setting up my Nativity Set each year - we set it up when we put up our Christmas tree after Thanksgiving dinner. We have a bay window in our living room, which is where we put our tree; I put the Nativity Set in the window as well with the kings traveling across the living room to the Nativity, because I want the focus to be on the Reason for the Season.
We grandmas (grandpas/parents) know God has clearly asked us to hand down confident faith. This is our God-given job and great joy. (See Psalm 78:4, 6, 7)
It is very easy at Christmas for our grandchildren to become distracted by all the lights, special events and gifts and forget why we celebrate Christmas. So, to help keep the focus on Jesus, consider having your grandchildren (children) make some of these wonderful Nativity crafts I found on Pinterest. (You will find them at this link.)
Are you looking for craft ideas you can use with your grandchildren which celebrate the real Reason for the Season? Well, this is an idea you could use with them which not only celebrates Jesus, but is simple and inexpensive to make!
As I browsed on Pinterest this morning I found a recipe which looks easy and tasty . . . one grandchildren are sure to love making and eating! All you need is a graham cracker crust, chocolate chip cookies, milk and whipped topping!
Cuisinart sent me one of their 3-In-1 Cook Centrals so I could try it out and then write about it. So, today I want to tell you about the Cuisinart 3-In-1 Cook Central and what I'm doing with it today!
Many, if not most, of the items in my Christmas Gift Reviews are certainly for children . . . toys, games, dolls, plush toys, puzzles, books, etc. But, there are a couple things which are for grandma - or grandpa, mom or dad! One of these things is the Cuisinart Coffee-on-Demand 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker!
With Christmas just around the corner, I have an idea you may use which is simple, inexpensive and fun to make . . . and one which your grandchildren could make and give to their parents as a gift . . . a Popsicle Nativity!
