Mothers who actively choose to remember important experiences and stories from the past and share these memories with their children have great power to shape their children’s emotional well-being. In a 2003 General Conference talk, Susan W. Tanner told about a little journal she wrote for her 17-year-old daughter. Almost three years ago, one of […]

Do you know a memory keeper? The person in the family who captures a moment in time with a photo or video, sharing and displaying, collecting and keeping? I have the good fortune to be the daughter of a memory keeper. As long as I can remember, my mother, Anna Mae Kelsey, had a camera in […]

Do you have a Christmas memory that stands out as particularly significant? Maybe an incident involving a family member or friend or maybe the year you learned giving was better than receiving? It could be a hodgepodge of memories centering around a family tradition. Have you shared that memory about a Christmas past? We’re reading […]

With summer about over are you ready for another great book? Half Broke Horses by best-selling author Jeannette Walls reminds us of the power of family stories. In this “true life novel” Jeannette gives us anecdotes in her grandmother’s voice that prove real life is often crazier than fiction. This post contains affiliate links. If […]

Do you have family heirlooms hiding away in a trunk or cupboard? Do you know the stories behind each keepsake and have you recorded those stories? One small artifact might be an important key to understanding an ancestor’s life. Here are some simple steps you can take now to preserve the memories behind each heirloom. […]

If you read just one book this year, read The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown. Since we’ll be cheering on our favorite athletes in Brazil this month, this is the perfect book to get into the Olympic spirit. This post […]

When is the last time you looked at your family tree chart and thought about the dash?  The dash as in: Edward Raymond Kelsey 1886-1972 or Rachel Cox 1827-1870.  The dash represents everything between birth and death.  You might know a lot about your ancestor’s life or you might know a little.  Your family tree chart […]

For the last several years, I have been keeping my digital photos organized on my hard drive by year and month. Although it’s nice being able to find my photos when I need them, I would like even more to to have hard copies of them to show off. My goal is to put the photos in an […]

  by Ana Maria Cannon   Stories That Bind Us One of my fondest childhood memories is sitting outside at night on the front porch, listening to my father tell jungle stories. Dad worked as a geologist, drilling for oil and water in countries around the world.  As a young geologist right out of college, […]

  What are you giving your dad this Father’s Day? Here are some ideas that won’t take long but can be made meaningful by including a little family history. This post contains affiliate links. If you click the link and make a purchase, we receive a small commission but it doesn’t change the price of […]