Documentation

How much documentation do you have of your family/children and in what form?

I don't mean birth certificates and passports, I mean documenting their childhood somehow in ways that they will enjoy to look upon as adults.

I have about 1500 nice snapshots of my kids to put into albums, a few scrapbook pages, one portrait studio sitting, several class photos and 100's of hours of video (not all digitally edited yet).

I was thinking of finishing up a couple of general scrapbooks, and then spending time to make a keepsake DVD of each year that I've filmed, and continuing that pattern.

My mother saved some of my kindergarten projects and that was cute to look at but I wasn't really interested. I would have enjoyed photos or videos more.

I haven't even made babybooks for them because I feel they won't be interested. Am I the only one who feels that way?

Charlotte, one of my favorite bits of advice to give to Mom's (I'd give it to Dad's, but they already spend too much time on the toilet) is to put a pack of 3x5 cards on the back of the toilet with a pen (since that's the only time most Mom's have a second to themselves - IF then!) and jot down the date and ANYTHING that they think of about their child: something cute they said or did; the way their smile touched their heart; what it felt like to watch them walk out the door alone for the first time -- just anything. Now that I think about it, there should be stacks of cards and a pen in other places too, near the bed, on the kitchen counter, etc.

This idea would never replace the photos, videos, and scrapbooks, but I like it BECAUSE it's not a big project, you can do it whenever, and all you have to do is throw them into a box or an envelope with the name of each child on it.

Can you imagine how wonderful it would be to have those thoughts from your Mom about you? My Mom has very few memories of me to share, but I treasure each one. If anyone wonders if their child will appreciate this: walk up to him/her and say, "You know what I remember about you? I remember when you ..." and watch their eyes light up!

PS: Sometimes I suggest this, and people get sad because they WISH they had thought of it earlier, to which I say, "Do it now!!!!" Doesn't matter if your kids are 30!!! Jot down the things that you remember about them, and give it to them.

Hmmmm, I just thought of something else --- maybe my Mom would like it if I gave her a few index cards with some of the things I remember about HER! ;)

One more thing - I started an e-mail with my sisters and cousins where we write down our memories and everyone adds to them or writes how THEY remember it. (I HAD to add that because one of my sisters and I never, never, never remember anything the same way! LOL) Don't be afraid to talk about the sad things - sometimes you have to remember through the sadness to get to the good memories. It's great fun and/or very poignant for us and I think it will be wonderful reading for the next generation.

If anyone wonders if their child will appreciate this: walk up to him/her and say, "You know what I remember about you? I remember when you ..." and watch their eyes light up!

This is SOOOOOOO true! My kids are absolutely (even at 19) enthralled with stories about themselves. If I tell one, then they are all over me. "What did I do?" "Did I do anything cute?" "What was I like at 2?" I have tons of videos, pictures, and my absolute favorites, cute stories they wrote and/or art and/or cards they made. This summer I plan to organize these artifacts into memory boxes for each kid.

This is SOOOOOOO true! My kids are absolutely (even at 19) enthralled with stories about themselves. If I tell one, then they are all over me. "What did I do?" "Did I do anything cute?" "What was I like at 2?" I have tons of videos, pictures, and my absolute favorites, cute stories they wrote and/or art and/or cards they made. This summer I plan to organize these artifacts into memory boxes for each kid.


If you can get your videos imported into your computer, you can use Windows moviemaker which I believe is free, and string them all together with transitions, add titles, dates, voice over, and write them to a DVD. I did this for the grandkids. Boy, do they love watching their own movies! Their parents are also thrilled with them. Keepsakes forever.:)