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 our daughters got married and immediately left with her husband for medical school in a distant city. She was leaving the security of the nest to begin a family of her own. I wondered: “Did I teach her everything she needs to know? Does she...
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 her hand, snapping photos of birthday parties, family vacations, babies. Those photos went into picture frames and albums. Her simple 8 millimeter movie camera, purchased in the 1950's, captured priceless footage including this clip of me as a toddler with my grandfather, Edward Raymond Kelsey. He...
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 the classic "A Christmas Memory" by Truman Capote for our December Book Club selection. Capote wrote this short story in 1956. He tells of one Christmas when his seven-year-old self and an elderly cousin celebrated in their humble, simple way. A poignant, beautifully written story,...
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 you click the link and make a purchase, we receive a small commission but it doesn’t change the price of the item. Thank you for your support! The book opens with the arresting account of ten year old Lily Casey saving the lives of younger...
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. I am the daughter of a keeper of heirlooms. My mother has kept jewelry, clothes, dishes, books, pillows, quilts, and more. When she moved from her home of fifty years, she went through her cedar chest with my sister and me. As we divvied up...
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 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 the item. Step back in time and discover the sport of rowing. Set in the northwest, mainly in Seattle, this book...
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 doesn't know or care how much you know, all it provides is the dash. It's up to us as family historians to discover the rest of the story. I mentioned this concept of "the dash" in my family history class a few weeks ago and a...
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 album or book so my kids can easily look back on our family's memories - which is what my mother did for me. She created albums with our family and individual photos over the years for each of us kids. When I moved out, she gave me...
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, he landed his first job in the Amazon jungle. It was there that his daily experiences evolved into some of the most thrilling jungle stories. He told of the dangers of jungle life, such as wrestling a giant boa constrictor. He even owned a 20-foot...
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 the item. Thanks! Custom Bottle labels Use an old photo of Dad or another family photo to customize his favorite soda or drink with bottle labels from Pinhole Press. Here's a tutorial about how to remove the original bottle labels and replace with the ones...
