Grandchildren

Page Toppers

Dearer than our children are the children of our children.
Generation to Generation
God gives us Grandkids to keep us young at heart
A grandchild is a gift from above...one to cherish and to love.
Grandchildren are the crown of the aged. (Proverbs 17:16)
Grandchildren fill my heart with pleasure.
Each a joy for me to treasure!
Grandchildren restore our zest for life, and our faith in humanity.
Grandkids are Great!
Grandkids keep hearts young
Grandkids make life Grand!
Great joy comes in seeing our family enter another generation.
Happiness is having grandchildren to love.
I thought I had my life organized...then I became a grandma.
If I had known grandchildren were this much fun I would have had them first
The joy of grandchildren is measured in the heart.

Quotes

As I was growing up, I always had the feeling that I understood a lot more than I knew.
When I listen to my grandchildren, I think they know a lot more than they understand.
Fathers are men who give daughters away to other men who aren't nearly good enough...
so they can have grandchildren who are smarter than anybody's.
God gave us loving grandchildren as a reward for all our random acts of kindness.
Grandchildren are a grandparent's link to the future, and grandparents are the child's link to the past.
Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your children!
Grandchildren are loving reminders of what we're really here for.
Grandchildren are our compensation for growing old.
Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation. (Lois Wyse)
Grandchildren are to grandparents like sunshine to a day!
Grandchildren don't make a woman feel old; it's being married to a grandfather that bothers her.
The handwriting on the wall means the grandchildren found the crayons.
How does it feel to be a grandmother? A little odd? It seems quite crazy that your baby should be sitting there with a baby of her own on her lap. But good...A sort of bonus.
I may not be rich, but I do have priceless grandchildren.
I thought I had forgotten how to hold a baby...but my arms remember.
If I had known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren,
I'd have them first.
It's such a grand thing to be a mother of a mother - that's why the world calls her grandmother.
Life is easier if you hear the steps of grandchildren walking beside you!
My name is NO NO but grandma calls me precious.
No sooner have you stowed away the last teddy bear in the attic than it has to be got down again.
Perfect love sometimes does not come til the first grandchild. (Welsh Proverb)
Our grandchildren accept us for ourselves, without rebuke or effort to change us, as no on in our entire lives has ever done, not our parents, siblings, spouses, friends - and hardly ever our own grown children. (Ruth Goode)
Those gasps of astonishment, those shrieks of pleasure, those sighs of delight, lost long ago when your children grew wise and worldly are suddenly given back to you by your grandchildren. What seems to be the same small hands clutch yours, dragging you from one excitement to another. "Look! Oh, look! Come ON!"

GrandChild

Child of my child,
Heart of my heart,
Your smile bridges the years between us -
I am young again discovering the world
through your eyes.
You have the time to listen
And I have the time to spend.
Delighted to gaze at familiar,
loved features, made new in you again.
Through you, I'll see the future
Through me, you'll know the past
In the present we'll love one another
As long as these moments last.

The Joys of Being a Grandparent

Telling stories, buying ice cream, playing silly games,
Hugging, kissing, tickling, giggling, making up fun names.
Going fishing, baby-sitting, tucking in at night,
Dreaming, reading, make-believing, holding hands real tight.
Having picnics, watching movies, buying toys and things -
These are just a few of the joys that being a Grandparent brings!

Grandkids

I've seen the lights of Paris
I've seen the lights of Rome
But the greatest lights I've ever seen
Are the tail lights of my children's car
Taking my grandkids home.

Motherhood's Reward

She rocks another baby...
hums an age-old lullaby.
She hopes no one is watching
as with thanks, she starts to cry.

Remembering the time
when the babies were her own,
And her mother told her gently
too soon they would be grown.

Lots of bedtime stories,
skinned knees, and tears to dry,
Teddy bears, toy trucks and dolls
and kites up in the sky.

First days of school, first loves, first cars,
the proms, the wedding days,
Sand castles and snowball fights
and teaching them to pray.

Now, as she holds her grandchild
and gives thanks unto the Lord,
She knows to be a grandma
is motherhood's reward!

A Bundle of Love

(by Robert Beau)

I stood there just looking around
There was no music, hardly heard a sound
On the other side of the glass, I saw you there
You were so cute; you did not have much hair

Sure there were others but it didn't matter to me
They were not as pretty; it was you I came to see
They brought you to the window so near
I fought to hold back the tear

You had your mother's eyes we all knew
They were sparkling and so blue
A grin appeared, it might be gas
But I did not care; you were such a pretty lass

Although your parent I may not be
Hopefully you'll spend some time with me
You see grandparents have a special role
They are in charge of the baby's soul.

We'd wish our kids were small again...

If we were granted any wish, I'll tell you what we'd do,
We'd wish our kids were small again, for just a month or two.
To hear their squeals of laughter, to watch them while they play.
And when they ask us to join in, we wouldn't say, "Not today."

To hug again their chubby frames, to kiss away their tears,
and cherish childhood innocence that washed away the years.
Then when it's story time again, we'd stay a little longer,
to answer questions, sing the songs, so memories would be stronger.

But time is callous, wishes, myth, yet God in all his wisdom,
has given us another chance before we join his kingdom.
Your faces may not be just the same, your names are changed, 'tis true,
but yet the smile that radiates, reminds us so much of you.

God must have known that grandparents would need a chance or two.
For many little happy things we hadn't time to do.
So God gave love to grandparents to equal that before, that,
in effect embraces those little lives they bore.

For a Daughter

You used to wake us in the night,
Your childish needs to fill -
A drink, a swift assurance
Your fears to still.

Then came the times we lay awake
Waiting the moment you came in,
You still seemed like the little girl
That you had been.

Now you are gone we often wake
And ache for years so swiftly fled,
And sometimes go and stand beside
Your empty bed.

Yet seeing small and lovely ones
With your same eyes
We sleep, Aware that neither one
Would have it otherwise.

Brag Book

(Katherine Nelson)

"Just happen to have them with me..."
This is what I say.
But when you come down to it,
I plan it just that way!

Just happen to have the pictures
Of my sweet grandchildren here -
I like it when folks say, "He's cute,"
Or, "Isn't she a dear?"

Grandparents keep these photographs
And show them near and far...
Their pride is understandable -
That's how grandparents are!

The Little Red Rocker

(Laurie E. Dawson)

The little red rocker was just the right size
To rock her baby doll that had sleepy eyes;
She sang lullabies and crooned soft and low
To the land of sweet dreams where sleepy dolls go.

The little girl soon outgrew the red chair,
The years seemed to fly that we had to share;
Then one day she left for her home that was new
Leaving behind the sleepy doll too.

Years later at Christmas she came for a stay
To visit Grandmother and make her heart gay.
She brought her little girl who was bonny and fair
And just the right size for the red rocking chair.

Then grandmother came with the doll from the shelf
To place in her arms, so the lassie herself
Could sing lullabies and croon soft and low
To the land of sweet dreams where sleepy dolls go.

(There is another poem about a rocking chair in the Fairies file.)

Grandmother's notes (Sarah, incomparable)

(Pollyanna Sedziol)

One would think
I would be comparing you
to your mom, to your dad,
to your aunts, and to your uncles...

they were all precious
even as you are precious
but there is no comparison.

Just as each of them came to us unique
so have you come, being you yourself
and unlike any other since the world began.

Even your name is right for you
as tho you chose it for yourself...

I think you came
with a special delivery tag:

"I am Sarah - love me!"
and we do!

These Things I Wish for You

(Paul Harvey)

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse.
For my grandchildren, I'd know better.
I'd really like for them to know about hand-me-down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover meat loaf.
I really would.

My cherished grandson,
I hope you learn humility by being humiliated
and that you learn honesty by being cheated.

I hope you learn to make your bed and mow the lawn and wash the car -
and I hope nobody gives you a brand-new car when you are 16.
And I hope you have a job by then.

It will be good if at least one time you can see a baby calf born and see your old dog put to sleep.

I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.

I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother.
And it is all right to draw a line down the middle of the room, but -
when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he's scared -
I hope you'll let him.
And when you want to see a Disney movie and your kid brother wants to tag along -
I hope you take him.

I hope you have to walk uphill with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely.
And rainy days when you have to hitch a ride
I hope your driver doesn't have to drop you two blocks away so you won't be seen riding with somebody as uncool as your mom.

If you want a slingshot I hope your father teaches you how to make one instead of buy one.

I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books,
and when you learn to use those new-fangled computers,
you also learn how to add and subtract in your head.

I hope you get razzed by friends when you have your first crush on a girl,
and that when you talk back to your mother I hope you learn what Ivory soap tastes like.

May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on the stove
and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole.

I hope you get sick when some stupid old person blows cigar smoke in your face.

I don't care if you try beer once, but I hope you won't like it.
And if a friend offers you a joint or any dope
I hope you are smart enough to realize he is not your friend.

I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your grandpa
or go fishing with your uncle.

May you feel sorrow at a funeral and the joy of holidays.

I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through a neighbor's window
and that she hugs you and kisses you at Christmas time,
when you give her a plaster of Paris mold of your hand.

These things I wish for you -
tough times and disappointment,
hard work,
and happiness.

Album and Page Ideas

Title Page for Grandparents Album

I traced the hands of my children and my nephews and cut them out of different colored paper. I then stacked them all on top of each other, fanning out the fingers to make a flower. It's for the title page for a Grandmother. Title: "Grandchildren are the Flowers in the Garden of Life". (Nancy Lewandowski)

Grandparent sentiments album

(Here is how "MM" used the poem "Grandchild" in a sentiments album. (In parentheses are the pictures used on the pages.)

Child of my child, (Parent and child)
Heart of my heart,
Your smile bridges the years between us. (Smiley pic)
I am young again discovering the world through your eyes. (Exploring pic)
You have the time to listen (Grandparent and child)
And I have the time to spend.
Delighted to gaze at familiar,
loved features, made new in you again.(parent and child)
Through you, I'll see the future (Inspiring hope for the future pic...I used one of my 1-year old playing the piano)
Through me, you'll know the past (heritage photo)
In the present we'll love one another (Grandparent and child)
As long as these moments last.

Grandparent Album

I helped my sister create a fast and simple album of her 12 grandchildren. She wanted to organize her grandchildren's school pictures. She and her hubby are avid gardeners, so the title page was simply "Grandma and Grandpa's Garden" with flower and vine stickers encircling the words. On the next page, are pictures of them and various grandchildren (making sure everyone was featured!). I made each grandchild a title page. Very simple with a "sideline" of their name, sometimes with a patterned paper background. For example, their oldest grandson is an avid hockey player. Down the right side of his page, about an inch from the edge of the page is a design line, "Clint" spelled vertically between the design line and the edge of the page, and a frog sticker "playing" hockey above and below the name. I used a separate page for each grandchild, incorporating bit of that child's personality into their title using stickers. My sister used "baby/toddler" photos on the title page, then followed with school photos in chronological order on the back of that page. (Cropping the school pictures greatly increased the number of photos that fit on one page!) Pages can be added as she gets more photos.
The grandchildren all live nearby and often checked grandma's progress with "their" section! I could really see the positive effect that creating such a tangible expression of their grandmother's love for each and everyone of them AS INDIVIDUALS! - not just part of the bunch!
Even through the grandkids all loved the photos of them in book, what they liked THE MOST was their grandma's thoughts about each of them that was written on their page next to their photos!! Even the littlest ones who couldn't read yet focused in on "what did Grandma say about me?" Words are the component that COMPLETES the album! (Lyn)