When is the last time you wrote a love letter to someone? So I was curious what that large box was in my parent’s closet for years. No one ever opened it. The box was extremely heavy for my eight year old arms to move, so I had to push it out of the closet with my feet. Once I got the box out, it was filled with a lot of old photo albums and letters. The letters were written from my mom and dad back and forth while my father was in Vietnam and my mother was still in college in Texas. It is interesting what you can learn about your parents when they are not looking. Secretly I started to read the letters. They were definitely in love. Yuck. I was not into boys at that age.

Now that I remember this moment when I was eight, I reflect back and realize how romantic that was. It was a collection of moments my parents might have forgotten about had they not saved every letter. It was a priceless moment.

Hold on to Love Letters

With Valentine’s day coming up, it is important to realize that love letters are not just meant for a girlfriend or boyfriend. They are meant for anyone we care about deeply. Handwritten letters add intimacy and interest to your heritage scrapbook pages or “Any Occasion” DIY Time Capsules. You can also pass on touching, love letters to your baby or grandchild in a Baby Time Capsule from www.timecapsule.com.

Hold on to your love letters for you never know when that special person may be gone and you long to hear their voice again. Just pull out that old letter again, and it is like they are still here with you.

What could be better than a love letter from your Grandfather to your Grandmother during the war or a sweet note from your sister about your baby? Document these memoirs in a scrapbook or preserve them in a time capsule. You will regret it if you don’t.

What to Write About

A message from the heart means the most. Your letter can express appreciation from those who have significantly affected your life. Who brought special joy, pleasure, or happy memories to you? Express love, apologies, seek forgiveness, reconciliation, or use the opportunity to express unfinished business (especially if you know someone is about to pass). Please be cautious not to give the letter to someone if it may harm their health more and stress them out more. Use the letter opportunity as a means to get things off of your chest that you have held onto for years. Then put the letter in a balloon and as the movie Frozen teaches, ‘Let it Go.’

Share your hopes and good wishes, or predictions of what happens to survivors. Share your values, or what you hope your family remembers from you. What do you want your children and grandchildren to pass on into the future and never forget.

Share Wisdom

Watching my parents now raise their own grandchildren has taught me a lot. Grandchildren love to talk. Grandparents are there to listen. It is a great role to use as a grandparent and explain to your grandchildren how things work in the world, answering their questions with a great amount of patience. You can use letters to let your grandchildren know you are always there for them. Teach your grandchildren what life was like when you were born through a letter. Explain about colors, flowers, animals, or share with them experiences you have when you were their age. You can communicate to them through the love letters. Save your art projects you make with your grandchildren in their own time capsule, so when you are no longer around, they can open the time capsule and hold something tangible and remember the time spent with you making that craft together.

With so much social media available nowadays, it is even easier to track your life everyday. Record what you do on a daily basis and put it on You Tube. You could even write down in a love letter to your children or grandchildren, the links to your videos, so when your child is older he or she can go back and watch the videos to know better what life was like for you while they were growing up. What were your questions as a parent or grandparent? What were your emotions or thoughts while raising your child? If you are a parent who is not allowed to see your children currently, due to a divorce or something else, use things like social media or You Tube to record your messages of hope, advice, or words of wisdom you want to offer your child in the future. You can still teach your child, even when they seem out of reach.

So go now, even if it is only a small scrap piece of paper. Get started sharing your messages of hope, stories of unconditional love, humor, and recipes you want to keep in the family. Write them down, save them in a time capsule, or give to your loved ones today. It is the greatest gift I can think of for you to pass on to your family this Valentine’s day.

Who do you want to write a love letter to today? Comment below.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

– Marcie

The post How to Write a Love Letter to Someone appeared first on Time Capsule | Personalized Gifts.

Lessons Passed from Generations to Generations through the Time Capsule – Lead to Warm Fuzzy feelings as we Reminisce.

What lessons will you pass on to your children? A time capsule is a great way to preserve some of the best stories or lessons in life. Sometimes we lose sight of what really matters. It is important to raise a confident child. Check out this fun Fall lesson plan idea of how to teach your children to give and receive compliments and watch their self-esteem boost.

It is officially Fall here in Indiana. The leaves are changing and I am ready for some warm fuzzy moments, like sitting by the fire, warming up under a soft blanket, eating hot chocolate (with marshmallows of course), and eating comfort food. Who is with me?

Photo from: http://cowboybootsandcountrydudes.tumblr.com/post/95704572554

We want to start a mission here at The Original Time Capsule company. We want everyone who reads this post to share it with their friends, along with a compliment (or warm fuzzy), and boost someone’s happiness feeling scale for the day. This is what we feel our unique products, the Baby and Wedding Time Capsules do. They bring back the warm fuzzy feelings when a family member finally opens their very own time capsule, and reminisces what life was like the year he or she was born or married. What a great feeling.

For years, I have volunteered as a youth pastor.  One of my favorite stories, and lessons is of the Warm Fuzzy.

You can find the story of The Warm Fuzzy by clicking here

Before the day of the lesson, I would go to the dollar store and purchase a couple of bags of “pom-poms.”  These are small colored cotton-type balls.  If you do not have a dollar store, or cannot find “pom-poms,” you can use plain cotton balls instead.

As the students arrived for the evening, I would give each of them 3 pom-poms and tell them three things that I liked about each of them.  (I gave them 3 compliments.)  I told them that they were allowed to keep them for themselves, or give them to someone else.  If they gave them to someone else, they must pay a compliment (give a warm fuzzy) to the person they were giving the pom-pom.  Each pom-pom represented their “warm fuzzy.”

As the night went on, some interesting things happened . . .

1. A few of the students seemed to never get any Warm Fuzzies.
2. A few of the students seemed to get them, but not keep them.
3. A few of the students seemed to get them, and hold on to them.

Overall, we can come to the conclusion that some students were good at giving the compliments.  They are ultimately givers who love to build others up.  They cannot hold on to their warm fuzzies even though they are given many.  Then there are the “outsiders” of the group.  They may not have many friends.  They give away the compliments they have, then no new compliments coming in.  These tend to be the strong, self-sufficient type that play by their own rules.  Then there are those who are well liked, and receive a lot of compliments, but hold on to all of them.  They do not build other up, instead they take from others and seldom give back.

There are merits to every style of person.  Those with a lot of fuzzies are well liked by other.  Those with none are givers.  There is a positive way to look at each position.

The biggest thing this lesson teaches me is that we need to make a difference in the world!  We need to “pay it forward” if you know what I mean.  We all need to be the type of people who will give the complements to others and build them up.  It is when we stop focusing on ourselves, and begin to look around us and put others before ourselves that the world makes sense.  The world is a sad and broken place, but it is up to each of us to make it a little better each day.  One word, one smile, and one compliment at a time.

We can’t change the whole world, but we can make a difference in our little corner of it.  You are beautiful!  You are intelligent!  You are capable of making a difference in the world around you!  Now, take your Warm Fuzzies and give them away!

Please remember that one of the greatest things you can do as an adult, parent, mentor, grandparent, teacher, etc is to pass on great lessons in life to children. They are the future. Save these great stories in a decorative Baby Time Capsule, so when they are older they can read about the stories of what life was like for you when you were raising them, or what life was like when they were born. Get a very artistic, unique Baby Time Capsule from http://www.timecapsule.com/product/milestone-collection-baby-time-capsule-keepsake-gift/.

So who do you need to give a compliment to, or give a warm fuzzy to today? Comment below. Again share this blog with them, along with the compliment.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

– Mark

www.timecapsule.com

The post Raise a Confident Child – Giving Compliments appeared first on Time Capsule | Personalized Gifts.

Who can use a time capsule? – Grandparents

This blog is just the beginning to many in this series. Keep checking back to see who else, specifically, can use a time capsule. A time capsule can be for ages birth on up. It is something you do not want to limit by age, because each age has sentimental memories and items of value to preserve in a time capsule. What was one of your favorite memories in your childhood, compared to your most treasured moment in adulthood?

Every summer of my childhood, my brothers and I rode our bikes to our grandma and grandpa’s house, about 2.5 miles away from our home. We could always count on candy or cookies there. It was like a reward for our exercise to get there. Your ancestor’s stories are told at your grandparent’s house. Their home is like its own time capsule, especially if it is a home where they grew up themselves. That is my grandmother’s experience. She still lives in the home she grew up in, having fun, as a kid.

This is a picture of my cousins, two brothers, and I in front of my Grandma’s house. Good times there.

As we all get older, family stories take on an increasing importance. Our children turn to us t o tell them where they came from. What does your family value? How do you feel about each other? Photos can only go so far to tell your stories. A story with your facial expressions, tone of voice, while holding an actual objet from the story in that photograph, makes old times come alive again. Photographs are only the starting point for capturing great stories. Great story tellers and motivational speakers know this is true.

How to Interview your Grandparents using a Recorder.

Imagine if you lost your memory, would photos be enough to help you remember? Tangible objects or actual items can help you regain meaning of what life was like for you in the past. What tangible items would you put in your time capsule? Also make sure to include a descriptive audio recording or story about your family history. For 50 sample questions to ask your grandparents, check out the interview ideas at http://genealogy.about.com/cs/oralhistory/a/interview.htm or check out the FREE Printable worksheet of questions at http://www.thehouseofhendrix.com/2013/05/25/lessons-i-learned-when-you-turned-100/.

What one question would you ask your grandparent, about what life was like when he or she grew up? Comment below.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

– Marcie

www.timecapsule.com

The post How to Interview Your Grandparents for a Time Capsule appeared first on Time Capsule | Personalized Gifts.