Well, an era has ended and a new one has begun. After 30 years, our Bishop Family Letter has seen it's last edition. I took over the letter about 15 years ago and have loved being in charge of putting the news of my parents, siblings, and their families together. The past few years have been a challenge.....not many of the family really cared about it, at least not as much as my Mom and I, so we decided it was time to put it aside and have each of us kids do our own thing for our own families. It's so wrong, but it feels so right! I thought it might happen after my parents were gone but the time has come and I think it is a good thing.
I am now changing my own personal blog to my family blog. I'm very excited to begin a new venture called the "Brooks Family Blog"!! I will gather letters from each of my children monthly and add pictures of their families that are pertinent to what has happened in their lives during that month. I was always a little worried about bragging about my kids, but now I don't have to worry about that. I can brag and post like a crazy woman!
It is hard to believe that our Bishop Family News has ended, but I can truthfully say that having those monthly letters to look back on has been a great thing for me personally. I have never been good at writing in my journal but I always have my monthly letter to count as my family history. I can literally go back through the letters and find out what we were doing in any particular month. I remember the most poignant experience using the letter......Tom had passed away and I was asked to deliver his eulogy. I locked myself in my room and poured over 25 years of old family letters to write his tribute and quote him in his own words. It was a priceless tool in paying tribute to my amazing brother.
My Mom has been the best example of keeping record of her life and the life of her family members that I can think of. She has volumes of journals in her closets and has kept a detailed record of every event that has happened in her life. It is amazing to me. I know that we will pass those journals down through generations of our family and that they will become priceless records of a legacy lived by my most wonderful mother.
My daughter, Ciara, has also set a great example of faithful record keeping as she has been perfect in her journal writing for many, many years. She has even helped her children start their own histories by helping them write in their journals with pictures and their limited writing skills. My daughters-in-law, Charity and Christine, along with our youngest daughter, Summer, all have blogs for their own families and will hopefully continue these histories over the years. I am surrounded by examples of great people who understand the importance of keeping record of our life here on earth.
So, this month I have written my last Bishop Family News and my first Brooks Family Blog. The torch has passed from one name to another. In the end, it's all about family. That's what's most important to me and to my Heavenly Father. I am blessed beyond measure for being raised by goodly parents and being blessed with siblings I love and admire. And I am so grateful to have four awesome children, four fabulous sons/daughters-in-law, and 6 incredible grandchildren - soon to be 8! And how could I forget the most important person of all - the love of my life, Michael! Life is good and I am happy!
I am now changing my own personal blog to my family blog. I'm very excited to begin a new venture called the "Brooks Family Blog"!! I will gather letters from each of my children monthly and add pictures of their families that are pertinent to what has happened in their lives during that month. I was always a little worried about bragging about my kids, but now I don't have to worry about that. I can brag and post like a crazy woman!
It is hard to believe that our Bishop Family News has ended, but I can truthfully say that having those monthly letters to look back on has been a great thing for me personally. I have never been good at writing in my journal but I always have my monthly letter to count as my family history. I can literally go back through the letters and find out what we were doing in any particular month. I remember the most poignant experience using the letter......Tom had passed away and I was asked to deliver his eulogy. I locked myself in my room and poured over 25 years of old family letters to write his tribute and quote him in his own words. It was a priceless tool in paying tribute to my amazing brother.
My Mom has been the best example of keeping record of her life and the life of her family members that I can think of. She has volumes of journals in her closets and has kept a detailed record of every event that has happened in her life. It is amazing to me. I know that we will pass those journals down through generations of our family and that they will become priceless records of a legacy lived by my most wonderful mother.
My daughter, Ciara, has also set a great example of faithful record keeping as she has been perfect in her journal writing for many, many years. She has even helped her children start their own histories by helping them write in their journals with pictures and their limited writing skills. My daughters-in-law, Charity and Christine, along with our youngest daughter, Summer, all have blogs for their own families and will hopefully continue these histories over the years. I am surrounded by examples of great people who understand the importance of keeping record of our life here on earth.
So, this month I have written my last Bishop Family News and my first Brooks Family Blog. The torch has passed from one name to another. In the end, it's all about family. That's what's most important to me and to my Heavenly Father. I am blessed beyond measure for being raised by goodly parents and being blessed with siblings I love and admire. And I am so grateful to have four awesome children, four fabulous sons/daughters-in-law, and 6 incredible grandchildren - soon to be 8! And how could I forget the most important person of all - the love of my life, Michael! Life is good and I am happy!
