Inspiration for my LifeStory Books Format /Losing our Family Stories in 3 Generations /The Great Thanksgiving Day Listen — Let’s Do This!

https://itsalifestory.com/life-story-blog/




 

Inspiration for my LifeStory Books Format 

   in All About the Stories / Photos Need to be Seen    by  Michele Kerr    May 2, 2017    0 comments    Working on my own family’s LifeStory book has been way tougher than I  could ever have imagined. I knew that one day I would find inspiration  that would meet my vision but it was becoming painfully clear that I had  found myself at a standstill. Literally. I haven’t even posted here for  months  because I found myself kind of stuck but it was always in the  back of my mind that when I saw it, I would know it… and after so many  years, it finally happened.

Scrapbooking? Genealogy? Me?

For some readers, the whole concept of digital scrapbooking may seem  like a foreign concept and for others, the process of looking into one’s  family history is quite foreign and new. Part of the beauty of this  site is that I can document the process as I discover my perfect mix  between the digital scrapbook world and my genealogy research to bring  my own LifeStory Books to life and maybe it will inspire and encourage  one of you to possibly add one or the other into your own mix!

 

Inspiration

Some things just seem like destiny and just when I was seriously  considering whether or not I could bring this “vision” to life, I came  across a posting of a layout made with a Paislee Press digital  scrapbooking kit and it just about brought me to tears. In so many ways  it felt like I had been given a present that I had wanted my entire  life. I have been looking for that magic mix of documentation, photos  and stories for a long time but found myself stuck because I could never  settle on a style with which to present it.  Finding a style for a  LifeStory Book is such a personal thing but sometimes it is harder when  it is for yourself. Isn’t that always the case? We can see what other  people need to do, but when it comes to ourselves, the decisions become  harder. But, for me, it was important to get this right because I want  it to be exceptional when I present it to a wider audience.


[I want to insert a quick disclaimer in here. Right now I’m using  each of the digital kits that I mention below with a “personal” license.  If and when I can get things figured out to the point that someone  might like to hire me to produce a similar book for their family, then I  will definitely be changing my license to a business license. The  digital artists work very hard at what they do and I fully applaud their  talents!]

 

Here’s the Details…

Just to get my mojo going in the right direction, I thought it would be appropriate to start with a kit named Generations  which was a collaboration between Paislee Press and One Little Bird. I  did add a bit of ephemera from a kit by Sahlin Studio called, Ephemera Stacks. All of these kits can be found on The LilyPad website.  If you should go there, make sure to look at the layouts and their  gallery — I literally spent a good portion of an afternoon just clicking  through the images, one after the other.   Now… how to pull it all together and not look like a jumbled mess?  Because this project will include so many combo layouts that  include documents, photos and stories, I decided to try the pocket page  format once again, but this time I used a template by Lynn Grieveson  Designs titled, Messy Pockets  {no.06} and it is also found on The LilyPad website. It gives me a  jumping off point. I’ve always been a fan of the Becky Higgins’ Project  Life format for creating nice compact little areas to add color, photos  and stories, but bringing documents that aren’t all that visually  pleasing to look at into the mix has also been a roadblock for me. This  Messy Pocket template seems to fit the bill and give me plenty of room  to move things around as needed.

 

Who is your audience?

I want my kids to look at the pages and get a sense for what a census  record or some other type of research document would look like and see  the rich amount of information that you can get out of it. But I know  them and if it looks a bit like all my research binders, their eyes will  glaze over and I will have lost them. This layout gives me some larger  places for the documentation as well as plenty of room for photos and  stories — perfect! And a bonus is that it takes some of the planning out  of the picture (no pun intended… really!) and I don’t have to think so  much about the basic design and can enjoy the process. I’m not that big  of a user of templates, but this set has really been the perfect  solution.   I have my family heritage photos scanned with dates and names  attached along with my documentation that I’ve been collecting for over  seventeen years. And now I have a style and look to start my LifeStory  Book. I’m not sure that it will end up in this 12×12 format, but is a  beginning and I’m feeling very happy to be moving forward! To be fully  honest, I’m skipping my parents’ generation to begin with because I know  that it will take a great deal of time and I want to make sure that I  get all the pieces together. With so many pictures and stories for my  parents’ generation, this is the generation that I think it would be  best to leave for last so I have all the major decisions all ironed out.

 

Can you tell I have a big smile?

While this style isn’t for everybody and it might still glaze over a  few eyes, but it makes me very happy to share this with my family! Most  importantly, I know that this might not be the format that I eventually  decide to follow, but I am actually back into the game and it feels  really good. The only puzzle piece that I’m really not sure about at  this point is the size of the pages! But that is why I’m going ahead and  jumping back into this. Sizes can be adjusted at a later point. Seeing  the stories begin to take shape along with the all goodies I’ve been  collecting for so many years is a work of love — my gift.




I hear stories all the time that people are amazed at how deeply they  have been affected once they learn about their family’s history. It  never surprises me. In fact I’ve said quite a few times that researching  your own genealogy is, 

“Better than any reality show out there.”

 

More than a feeling

Since I began my own journey discovering my family’s past, I could  never understand where a certain feeling of intense well being came from  until I listened to an opening session at the Midwestern Roots  Conference recently held here in Indianapolis. This feeling, which is hard to describe, stays with me all the time;  it was and is a sense of very intense love and appreciation for not only  my ancestors but also for my state and country. I’ve always loved  history, and as the genealogist for The Society of Indiana Pioneers, I  have the wonderful opportunity to steep myself in the rich stories and  history of the state where I was born and grew up — Indiana. Little did I know how all my knowledge was affecting me and I think  that you might be a bit surprised yourself when you read the rest of the  post!

 

That “aha!” moment

Curt Witcher never fails to catch my attention, whether or not he is  talking about the Allen County Public Library Genealogy section or the  topic that he chose for the Midwestern Roots Conference. He is and will  forever be associated, in my mind, with the ACPL because of the  tremendous job that he (and a lot of others, I’m sure) has done to  transform it into the United State’s largest public genealogy library. This year, Curt had the privilege of opening the conference and his  title for this session was, “Your Story, Our History: The Power and  Value of Story.” Well, let’s just say that there was never any question  that this would be one session that I would for sure be attending and he  didn’t let me down.

 

It gets Real

Of course there were lots of stories that Curt so eloquently told us  but the part that truly caught my attention was his quote that 

“If we don’t tell our [family’s] stories, they could be lost in just three generations.”

He went on to explain in more detail about the article where research  claimed that children were more resilient if they had a firm knowledge  of their family’s history.  Whoa… This validated me and instantly tugged  at my heart; I knew this statement to be oh, so painfully true. Here is another quote Curt zoomed in on: 

“Children that know about their family history deal with tragedy better, and are more accepting of diversity.”

To sum it up, they are more emotionally stable and can handle the  up’s and down’s of life much better. Wow… just wow… I felt so immensely  warm and fuzzy when he stated that there was actually research out there  confirming what I had felt for so long and still feel very strongly  about. But to hear that there was proof, a real study that had been  completed, confirming that family history does indeed give you a  foundation to live your life to its best, well, that was priceless. I  could have left after that and been quite content knowing that my belief  did indeed have proof to back it up. Ready for another quote? 

“We hold our children’s histories in our hands.”

Oh, Curt really summed it up in those words, didn’t he? Now it is up  to all of us to share this knowledge, our knowledge of our families and  their stories, so that our children and grand-children will also know  their stories and have a foundation to build their own lives upon.

 

Here’s the proof

The article, “The Stories That Bind Us”,  written by Bruce Feiler, March 15, 2013 for The New York Times, gives a  more in-depth explanation of the study and the epiphany that Bruce, the  author, had within his own family. It is inspiring and if it doesn’t  convince you to start writing down your own memories, I’m not sure that  anyone or anything could. In the article, the question is asked, “What would you want your  great-grandchildren to know about you?” If you don’t start to write and  narrate your own story and the stories of your parents and grandparents,  then they will soon be lost. Remember, 

“If we don’t tell our stories, they could be lost in just three generations.”

Oh, it just gets better, believe me! Let me leave you with another quote from the article, The Stories that Bind Us: “Decades of research have shown that most happy families communicate  effectively. But talking doesn’t mean simply “talking through problems,”  as important as that is. Talking also means telling a positive story  about yourselves. When faced with a challenge, happy families, like  happy people, just add a new chapter to their life story that shows them  overcoming the hardship. This skill is particularly important for  children, whose identity tends to get locked in during adolescence. The  bottom line: if you want a happier family, create, refine and retell the  story of your family’s positive moments and your ability to bounce back  from the difficult ones. That act alone may increase the odds that your  family will thrive for many generations to come.”

 

I’m in — let’s get started

So, what to do with this information? I think that we simply need to  use it as a kick-starter to push this to the fore-front of our to-do  lists. After all, what would you give to have stories that your  great-grandparents had written themselves, all pulled together into one  place, for you to read and enjoy and pass on to your own family. Here are a few concrete things that you can start right now:  

1. Begin with yourself. Start a notebook of your own stories – in no  certain order. Just simply let the stories come as they may. Look at  photo albums and think about what is going on in the background of a  photo – the story behind it. Think about places, people, emotions. It’s  ok to start with the basics and then branch out. Don’t be afraid to talk  about current events as well. Even tough times that you have gone  through, is certainly worth getting down in a written form. You can even  post photos into an app like Day One where you can talk about the  picture and it will save by date. There is no time like the present.
2. Start to add your parents’ and grandparents’ information, or if they  are still alive, think about getting them on video or audio explaining  about their childhood, marriage, work, and family. Photos are great  conversation starters. None of these things need to take more than just a  few moments, but it is important to keep adding more and more so that  one day, you will find yourself with a rich history that can be shared  for generations.
3. Get the old photos out and start to write down whatever information  that you might remember. These are great starters for your parents and  grand-parents.
4. And last, but not least, we need to start to share all this  information in ways that our kids and grandchildren will be able to  remember and take with them.

 

Here’s where the no-guilt, no-pain part comes in

So, I know this all really sounds like a huge commitment and that’s  where I plan to come in and try to take some of the overwhelming-ness  (can I use that as a word?) out of the project. As you follow along, my  plan is to offer memory prompts to get you started with your own stories  and ideas on how to get bashful parents and grandparents to start to  open up and share their wealth of stories. It is all a process, but it doesn’t have to be painful! (That’s where  I plan on helping.) If you know someone that has children or  grandchildren, please share this post. We tend to focus on making  millions of memories with our children and grandchildren, but it’s  equally as important that they know the generations that made them who  they are and will become. Help me spread a message that is part of what keeps our country and  society functioning – our knowledge of our past so that we can make a  strong future! (And no, I’m not running for President – even though my  husband keeps on writing my name into the ballot when he is frustrated  with the candidates [not even kidding there!]) 

Too many times we feel like we can’t do anything to make  “things” better and here is one fairly easy way to leave your mark – by  leaving your story.

 

Feel free to Share!

For anyone on Instagram, follow me on @_ItsaLifeStory  where I show you how I am documenting my own family momentos for my  children to see. How will they know what anything is if I don’t tell  them! It’s just one way that I’m working through this myself in order to  pass on my own memories. For those of you on Facebook, I have a page for my website as well. You just need to search for “It’s a Life Story” or  @itsalifestory. When you find it, click on the LIKE button so that you  receive my updates. I have a lot going on between the FB page,  Instagram, this newsletter and my website but I think that each one has  their place! To get you going, I’ve started a #MemoryMonday where  I am going to be posting a prompt every Monday in Instagram and  Facebook to inspire you to write down a memory that can be either long  or short. It is all up to you. You can chose to write it on your own  Instagram page, on your own blog, in an app like Day One, or on your own  Facebook page. In one year, guess what? You will have written down 52 stories or  memories that you can compile into a booklet, pdf, or whatever kind of  format that pleases you!  The main thing is that you will have started  and one year from now, you will have no regrets and realize that it  didn’t take all that much time to accumulate all those great stories! Here’s a tip: I use the Day One app in the  evening when I take a few moments to do some decompressing from the day!  I can use a pic from the day or take a quick one of a photo or momento  to use as my own memory booster. For anyone that also does scrapbooking,  this is an excellent way to write your journaling to be used with a  group of photos in a layout when you are ready to work on them! Remember to SHARE this with anyone and everyone that  has children and grandchildren! Let’s show them exactly how much we  love them by giving them that all-important piece of ourselves! Suggest  that they sign up for my email list to receive newsletters in the  future so they can find the inspiration and ideas of how to get started  as well as how to pull all their research and hard work together into  one format that can be shared across generations. 

Together, we can make sure that we will not be forgotten in three generations!

 

Feel free to Share!

For anyone on Instagram, follow me on @_ItsaLifeStory  where I show you how I am documenting my own family momentos for my  children to see. How will they know what anything is if I don’t tell  them! It’s just one way that I’m working through this myself in order to  pass on my own memories. For those of you on Facebook, I have a page for my website as well. You just need to search for “It’s a Life Story” or  @itsalifestory. When you find it, click on the LIKE button so that you  receive my updates. I have a lot going on between the FB page,  Instagram, this newsletter and my website but I think that each one has  their place! To get you going, I’ve started a #MemoryMonday where  I am going to be posting a prompt every Monday in Instagram and  Facebook to inspire you to write down a memory that can be either long  or short. It is all up to you. You can chose to write it on your own  Instagram page, on your own blog, in an app like Day One, or on your own  Facebook page. In one year, guess what? You will have written down 52 stories or  memories that you can compile into a booklet, pdf, or whatever kind of  format that pleases you!  The main thing is that you will have started  and one year from now, you will have no regrets and realize that it  didn’t take all that much time to accumulate all those great stories! Here’s a tip: I use the Day One app in the  evening when I take a few moments to do some decompressing from the day!  I can use a pic from the day or take a quick one of a photo or momento  to use as my own memory booster. For anyone that also does scrapbooking,  this is an excellent way to write your journaling to be used with a  group of photos in a layout when you are ready to work on them! Remember to SHARE this with anyone and everyone that  has children and grandchildren! Let’s show them exactly how much we  love them by giving them that all-important piece of ourselves! Suggest  that they sign up for my email list to receive newsletters in the  future so they can find the inspiration and ideas of how to get started  as well as how to pull all their research and hard work together into  one format that can be shared across generations. 

Together, we can make sure that we will not be forgotten in three generations!


 

“Make Family History With An App From StoryCorps.” 

Can I just say that this headline from today’s Personal Journal  section of the WSJ had my attention at first glance? It’s this article  that has drawn me to sit down and try to reach as many as I can about  the potential this simple, yet powerful App could be for all of our  family histories. You can read the article written by Geoffrey A.  Fowler HERE. Today, as I have barely finished my first cup of coffee, I am bursting at the seams to pass it on.

 

Time for Listening

Can I add my own challenge for the upcoming Holidays? This app is  free. Let’s all download it and make a point to interview one or more  family members.  Don’t let it wait for another holiday or think that you  will see Grandma so-and-so at Christmas or at least next year. Let’s  all take a few minutes out of our busy lives and sit in a quiet room  with a family member, look in their eyes, and ask a few questions.   

Be ready to listen – really listen. You  might find that you have given them the biggest gift ever – the gift of  your time. You might also find that you have given yourself the  best gift ever.

 

Legacy

Anyone that knows me well, will tell you that I am all about family  history. I love the research, whether in a library amongst all the  wonderful books, or online while at home still in my workout clothes. I  love the family photos that just beg to have their own stories told so  that precious snippets in time will live forever. And, I love to uncover  family stories that pull all my research and photos together into a  powerful legacy.
 

Options

Why am I so excited about this particular app? I’m always looking for  ways to make the storytelling process as easy as possible and I have  downloaded several very promising apps hoping to find one that allows me  to either publicize it to the world or most importantly, keep it for my  own archive. Most apps upload to one central online archive and are  only available in a public format. This app has my attention because I  can choose whether I want it to be public or stay private. This one has  “options” and as my husband always says, “It’s nice to have options!”
 

Library of Congress

StoryCorps has been recording family stories since 2003 and they are  all “recorded and preserved at the American Folklife Center at the  Library of Congress.” This app is a spin-off designed to allow even more  people to add to this rich archive of personal/family stories and now  we can all join in the fun! 

Sharing

The main point of this app is to upload our family stories to be kept  within the Library of Congress, but I must say that the biggest  turn-off of using some of the other apps was the fact that I didn’t have  a choice to keep it private or share it publicly. I know that the idea  behind this is to eventually share our family stories for others to  listen to, but the feeling of losing control of my story or my family  member’s story was enough to delete the other apps off my phone and  never use them. Most likely, I will end up sharing all the family  stories that I am able to record but it will be at my choosing – and I  like that. 

#TheGreatThanksgivingDayListen

Let’s all participate in this exciting event!  Then please share with  me your thoughts. I would love to hear them and together we can  discover more and more about the power of what this app from StoryCorps  can do to help our own LifeStories live on. Want some more inspiration? Try “Reality hits — Talking with your older generations just can’t wait!”   

https://itsalifestory.com/life-story-blog/