Grandparenting

Grandma School

by Karen Robbins March 20, 2012
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School? At my age? Well, yes. A special school—one for new grandparents. They are springing up all over the country. Grandparents have become more than just the occasional babysitter in many cases. They are often the go-to people for help with child care when parents need two incomes and can’t find affordable or trustworthy day [...]

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A Grandparent’s Influence

by Karen Robbins March 12, 2011
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Never underestimate your influence as a grandparent. While you may not see it or realize it now, the relationship you build with your grandchildren will last for generations. While surfing the net one day (I am a techno-savvy grandma some days), I came across an article written by Rachel Anna, “Special Gifts: The Influence of [...]

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Grandma’s Resolution

by Karen Robbins January 5, 2011
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There is an expectation that once you have an empty nest and near retirement that life will slow down and there will be all the time in the world to do the things you’ve wanted to do. Actually it appears to be the reverse. Time seems to speed up and days seem to have fewer [...]

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Grandma, I’m Pinkalicious!

by Karen Robbins November 5, 2010
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Each week my daughter-in-law, Leah, sends us an email full of pictures from the kids’ adventures for the week. A couple weeks ago, there was a picture of three-year-old Annalise who had dressed herself in a pink shirt, pink pants, and pink socks and announced, “I’m pinkalicious!” I thought she was just being clever with [...]

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A Grandmother By Any Other Name

by Karen Robbins September 8, 2010
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This time of year there is a wildflower that blooms around our area and on my morning walk I noticed a field that was peppered with them. I’ve tried to find out the correct name for them but haven’t hit upon it yet in my search. My aunt called them blue bachelor buttons. They resemble [...]

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Grandma, What’s There To Do?

by Karen Robbins July 2, 2010

Vacation stays at Grandma’s can often wear down quickly if you’re not prepared. I have a friend whose grands come for a week’s stay every summer and she is always prepared. This year, the visit was early and I saw the fruits of her labors, or rather her plans, modeled by her grandchildren. She bought [...]

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You Know You’re a Grandparent When…

by Karen Robbins May 2, 2010
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This past month another of my friends became a grandma and joined the growing group of women who have license to love, pamper, and spoil grandchildren unconditionally. Now I knew for sure I was a grandma when, after a visit from our young grands, I found Cheerios under the coffee table and instead of grumbling [...]

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You Don’t Bake Cookies?

by Karen Robbins March 1, 2010
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If you are like me, you grew up on the family shows on TV that featured a lovely fashionable woman in a crisp shirtdress, coordinating apron, pearls adorning her neck, and wooden spoon in hand as she cheerily greeted her family and kissed her husband without ever mussing her makeup. That image of motherhood faded [...]

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“Pawpaw’s Rich”

by Sharon Patterson February 7, 2010
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It was one of those rare naturally teachable moments, not just for our grandson, but for our entire family. We were all in the kitchen preparing to serve lunch. Both our daughters-in-law were busy doing all the little things it takes to get our five grandchildren ready to sit down to eat Christmas lunch. The [...]

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Grandparents Who Pray

by Karen Robbins February 5, 2010

My friend, Trish Berg, author of Rattled, Surviving Your Baby’s First Year Without Losing Your Cool (Multnomah Books, 2008), says in her book that the only place she often finds to do her devotional reading and praying is the bathroom. She’s the busy mom of four young children including a teenager now. I can relate [...]

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The Family Tree

by Karen Robbins January 15, 2010
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Many of us were blessed to be able to spend time with close family and even some extended family this past holiday season. When we don’t get together often, it gets more difficult to explain to grandchildren how all these people are related to them. While kids generally are more interested in just playing with [...]

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