Eowyn got some really cool Christmas gifts this year, such as the Bitty Baby doll that looks like her, from her Great-Grandparents Presley! Heheh it was really funny to see her stare that "other baby" down! But the coolest gift that she got is much cooler; so cool that I wanted to share it with you all,because you might want to try and make your own!
For Grandpa's birthday last year, Ryan & I got a blank scrapbook, and wrote one or two questions on each page-- things like "What do you remember about your mother?," "What kinds of chores did you have as a boy?," "How did you come to know the Lord?," "What honors have you received throughout your life?," "What famous people have you met?" and "What is your favorite book?" You get the idea. We basically asked Ryan's grandpa all sorts of questions about himself, his tastes, his courtship of Grandma, his childhood, his schooling, his travels, and his spiritual journey. Grandpa is a pretty quiet guy, especially in large-group settings, so it's not every day that we get to hear these sorts of things from him. Well, he worked really hard, and had it finished in time for Christmas! He'd not only answered every question and filled in most of the family tree we'd put in there, but he even found relevant family photos to include!
Ryan & I read the anecdotes with amazement and delight! Despite us learning that Grandpa's least favorite subject in school was English, he is an excellent writer, and some of the stories in there are just plain hilarious! We cannot wait to tell Eowyn all about her great-grandfather in his own words, and give her more of a taste of life during his lifetime. It's been such a success that we'd like to repeat it with Eowyn's other grandparents and great-grandparents. How much family history is lost just because we never think to ask? We're so busy in our own day and age that it's easy to forget about past days and ages, times that are past and gone, but not very far away at all.So Grandpa, thank you SO MUCH for your hard work... Eowyn will LOVE IT!!! :)
3 comments:
That is a great idea! We actually did the same thing with all the grandmas in our family this past Christmas. We are excited to have a heritage of stories and life to pass down to our kiddos too. (And they're so much fun to read!)
All of my grandparents died before I had a chance to do something like this. =( But it would be great to do with my parents! Thanks for the inspiration. =)
Darrell did the same type of thing with his parents a couple of years ago, only he did it with a video camera. It was a blessing he thought to do it back then, since Dad has dementia and the memories are fading quickly!
Kathy
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