In 2012, the week after Christmas, Don and I traveled to Colorado to visit our grandkids. We loved and missed our daughter and her husband, but we went to see the grands! I’m always grateful for the time we took, in those early days, to spend time with them. Ashley, the grand in this story, is now in her mid-twenties and a wonderful hairdresser. They grow so fast, and you can’t reclaim their childhood. Hence, the perilous drive in the winter. : )

Ashley was nine and needed a bag to carry her scriptures to church. She and her mom searched but couldn’t find one they liked. So, they bought a kit. I hadn’t been in the house 30 minutes when I was shown the kit and asked, “Grandma, can you help me make this?”

Join me as I share the fun we had, the things we learned, the mistake we made, and a tip that will help you enjoy doing anything better with a child.

A few days before my 54th anniversary, May 28th, I spoke to my good friend, Joy. I had been down with bronchitis for three weeks. I was challenged to keep up with caregiving and was feeling down, not at all like myself.

At the time, I was reading the book Master Your Mindpower. One exercise was to make a list of 100 things you would like to see happen in your life. I didn’t know if that was possible. Caregiving requires a lot of time and emotional and mental energy. I had given up my former life as a speaker and writer to care for my family. I felt like I didn’t have any current goals or dreams. What few there were were hazy and far in the future. And I would be older, and then what could I really do? I was also challenged because I am at a place in my life where I am paring down, I don’t want more things.

Join me as I share how this exercise changed my days and how it can change yours.

Here is part 2 of the wonderful experience I had with my Colorado grands in the summer of 2012, as we embarked on our chemistry adventure. If you haven't listened to part 1 of this amazing learning play saga, you can find it here - https://five.libsyn.com/show/episodes/view/37552330

The wonderful experience I had with my Colorado grands in the summer of 2012 is too long for one article, so I am breaking it into two parts.

When we had this adventure, Ashley was eight, Lizzy was six, and their little brother, Parker, was three. I asked Lizzy and Ashley if they wanted to help me put some family mementoes into my hutch. It was fun work and led the girls on our chemistry adventure because of something this job sparked in them.

This was such a fun experience, I know you will enjoy hearing about it and possibly doing something similar with your children or grands. They will learn a lot and you will make a marvelous memory.

Learning by doing is a powerful way to teach children. When they experience something new or exciting, it’s an effective way to absorb information and to learn.

Join me as I share numerous experiences I have had, and that my friend, Joy, has had, as we have helped children experience the power of immersive learning. It will assist you to give your children more powerful learning expereiences.

Sometimes something happens that dictates what you introduce to your children or grandchildren. Don and I sat on the balcony to enjoy the fall sunshine one afternoon. Right there on the deck was a perfectly preserved dragonfly. These happen to be my FAVORITE insect, next to the Cat Spider, which isn’t an insect. LOL A few days later, while I was walking to the car, there on the sidewalk, in plain sight, was a magnificent and dead katydid. Eureka, what an amazing find!!! You don’t see them often. I planned on introducing my grands to these two fascinating insects.

Join me as I share the fun experience we had and discover the outcome fourteen years later. : )

On my daily worksheet, I have ‘smile’ in the section titled Care for Self. Yup, I must remind myself to check in and see if I've made the effort to smile during some of my busy and often chaotic days.

Recently, I had a conversation with my friend, Livia. She has an alarm set on her phone that reminds her to smile. Whew, I am not so weird.

The truth is, we need prompts to remind us to do the things that often get left behind in the business of the day. Join me as we explore how to make that happen.

Once a month, I talk with my friend Joy Petty. I LOVE these calls. They are interesting and resource-filled. Sometimes I share something that helps her, and she does the same for me. We both go away elevated. On one of our recent calls, the subject of how I have been feeling about writing came up. The reason it happened was that Joy said a recent article was just what she needed. She was going to be teaching a class on forms, the old word for systems. Some of what I wrote about systems was helpful to her. I was blown away.

The reason it impacted me so much is because I have had this recurring thought in the last five years – “Why are you writing? You aren’t raising kids anymore. You aren’t homeschooling. You’re getting older. Are you even relevant?”

The more we can confirm to ourselves the value of our current mission, the better we will manage it. So join me as I share this impactful conversation, what we shared, and what I learned about knowing our mission matters, even if it is imperfect.