The Family Reunion Planner - It's In There

After 15 years of development, Brenda and I are so proud of what Fimark's family reunion planning web app has evolved into. Over 10,000 families in America have used it! The family reunion planner, keepsake, history book, and heirloom along with the reunion planning web app have become a mainstay among inspiring planning guides for memorable
family reunion events. 

Is Everything In There? The Family Reunion Planning web app? Well, let's see...

1. Step by step event planning checklist? It's In There!
2. Task To-do list? It's In There!
4. Reunion printable templates? It's In There!
5. Reunion Planning Worksheets? It's In There!
6. Reunion Planning Organizers? It's In There!
7. Reunion Planning Craft Ideas? It's In There!
8. Reunion planning Journal? It's In There!
9. Keepsake Features? It's In There!
10. Genealogy Research Templates? It's In There!
11. Family Line Template? It's In There!
12. Family Recipe Compiler? It's In There!
13. Inspiration? It's In There!
14. Family Reunion Poems? It's In There!
15. Family Reunion Letter Samples? It's In There!
16. 5 Family Reunion Themed Planners? It's In There!
17. Theme Itineraries? It's In There!
18. Family Reunion Cruise Travel Planner? It's In There!
19. Family Reunion Games and Activities Ideas? It's In There!

And yet there's so much more...

No wonder it makes a great gift!

Take the first step to bringing family together to experience something wonderful and real like no other event can. 

Plan your 2nd-millennium reunion and find your richest treasure - family. To learn more click "Fimark's Family Reunion Planner Guide and Keepsake" to access this amazing reunion planning package.

12 Ways To Honor Your Mother and Father

There is a saying I am particularly fond of. "When I was weak, family saved me."  We were weak when we were born. We could do nothing for ourselves. But we are reading this blog because we survived not by our own will but that of a caring family member who loved us.  The fact is family often comes through when no one else will.  They deserve our deepest respect. How can we show this regard in such a way that it is undeniable?

Showing Deep Respect

Visit and write them more often. Express appreciation for specific things they have done. Take the time to take them out and show them off to friends and acquaintances. Speak respectfully and kindly of them. As they get older they may need financial support. Always leave them a little extra. Help them to grow old gracefully. Overlook minor issues while making them feel more secure. Give them reassurance of your love long before they ask for it.

There is another saying. "Honor your father and mother." Yes respect is felt, but honor is shown publicly. How?  Being quick, not slow, to reveal the deep respect we have for them within. Always say thank you and openly speak humble expressions of love before all onlookers. Another way is to shower your elders with a cascade of tokens of appreciation throughout the year. That said, after they have paid the price and bore the brunt of our burdens... after they carried the load that we could not carry, it only makes sense to give back in an even bigger way. How can we do that?

Showing Honor Before Others

One of the best ways of showing honor is planning an event for that very reason and inviting friends and family to attend.  When doing so choreograph a series of expressions of honor sure to become memorable moments they won't soon forget. Here are a few ideas that are bound to inspire you and touch the heart of your loved one.

1. Hold an honorary dinner ceremony highlighting specific acts of kindness and love.
2. Sing 2 or more songs dedicated to the life of the honoree.
3. To mothers give a large flower bouquet fit for Queen.
4. To fathers place upon his neck  a bronze medal.
5. Have family members recite a poem about the past present and future.
6. Read passages from a family memory book.
7. Tell tasteful stories laced with good humor and gratitude.
8. Raise a long horizontal banner the carries a phrase often spoken by the honoree.
9. Relate how the words and actions of the honoree inspired family members.
10. Have a lineup of young people each saying thank you as they walk by placing the written words .they speak in a keepsake treasure chest.
11. Play a video of special moments in time growing up under the care of those being honored.
12. Take pictures and video and make a keepsake they will enjoy the rest of their days.

There are so many other ways to honor your loved ones each and every day. But this is how you show honor in the most memorable sort of way.

More Tips and Ideas

For more ideas tips and guides to plan and arrange your next family event consult Fimark's Family Reunion Planner Social web app. Or get the book Fimark's Family Reunion Planner Keepsake sold at most online bookstores such as Google Books, Google Shopping and Amazon.com. What? Don't have the latest copy of Fimark's Family Reunion Planner yet? Follow the links on this blog to access the family reunion planner app complete with eBook detailing how to plan an honorary dinner program and Ball for the Living Legends in your family.

Wake Up - The Lights On Outside

This weekend Brenda and I entertained our one and only granddaughter, KK. Since the beginning KK and Brenda were the very best of friends and for awhile I have to admit I felt a bit of an outcast. You know the feeling. Like being on the outside, on a frigid day, looking in.  Brenda and KK have an unspoken language, energy and shared understanding of their girly girl universe that I simply know nothing about. That said, KK just did not quite know I fit in her world.

Well, you know what they say, If it's cold inside, turn the heat up. So I did just that.  I made a slideshow of KK from birth. We both made a big muppet style hand puppet together. We baked cookies together and I let her play my keyboard. Knowing that she loves to talk on the cell phone, sing and play along with nursery rhymes on my keyboard, I composed a jazzy version of her favorite nursery rhyme songs and called it KK's Nursery Room, which I recorded  and Brenda sent to her via cell phone. She called back saying she loved the song and over a short period of time an unconditional affection grew.

Five things made this visit particularly special for me.  First of all, although KK seems to personally own just about every stuffed animal and doll ever made, she favors the puppet we both made together over most of her other stuffed friends.

The third took place Saturday morning when I was trying to catch a few more winks before rising and starting the day. I felt a small thud and peculiar presence on my pillow breathing gently on my nose.  After I managed to open one eye I saw the welcomed intruder eagerly smiling back at me. "Good Morning. Wake up granddad," she said. "The lights on outside." Could any moment be sweeter than that?

The rest of the day went much the same way as it began. She put me in a head lock and when I asked her why she was clinging, she said without hesitation, "Because I love you granddaddy." She certainly has her own way of expressing it. But I'll take what I can get. A few hours later I hear my two crazy girls burst into laughter following a big gold medal burp belted out by MaMarie. After KK had a good belly laugh over the whole thing, she then repeated the burping incident and laughed again and again.

Another incident that made this weekend visit particularly special is the fact that she finally became friends with our house cat, scamper. Scamper prides herself on being the center of attention which is slightly diminished when KK comes to visit. Needless to say this shifting of attention usually toys with her esteem. But not this time. KK learned how to rub Scamper's head just the way she likes it. From that moment on they became best bed buddies. When KK jumps on the bed Scamper remains and even trys to share in some of the fun.

Last but not least, our granddaughter was dubbed KK by yours truly. I always thought is was a grandparent's prerogative to call one's grandchild whatever he or she deemed appropriate and KK just seemed right for me. Well on the final day of her weekend visit we called her Kaylah. Quickly we were corrected.  "My name is KK", she exclaimed. Not only has she accepted her nick-name, she insisted on being called KK from that moment on.

The slideshow included the many trips we took to the park playing on the swings and blowing bubbles.  Well, I guess you know the rest of the story. The fact is KK loved her granddad all along. She just needed to see, hear and relive the many memories we made together in order to truly appreciate her place in my world.

KK and her cousin Mekaylah both have vibrant personalities. They are old souls and are fast learners. They will likely be the center of our next family reunions for years to come. The stories we'll tell about their antics and attainments will keep us all enthralled and entertained for hours. Not to mention the slideshows we'll show, songs they'll sing and stories we'll tell while watching them grow. The photos we will take and the family mementos we will craft. This will be a reunion like no other and Fimark's Family Reunion Planner Social web app will help us put it all together.

Happy family reunion planning to you and yours.

Get great ideas for your next family reunion using your family reunion planner web app.
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A Weekend Like No Other

This weekend was a very special one. Brenda and I bonded with our granddaughter. Needless to say she is a cutey. But this weekend was extra special because it was just Brenda, our grand-d and me. We ate at a favorite restaurant and discovered that she loves all things  coconut - just like me. She remembers parts of conversations and repeats the dialog with precision timing. She slept over for the first time. No fuss.

She loves all things mechanical. If there is a button to push a knob to turn or a door to open She's on it. She seldom cries unless she's awakened abruptly. She likes to play with books and cards and loves to sing and dance to music. We took pictures with our smart phones. I think we're up to about a thousand pics.

I composed a lullaby that features a little ditty her father (the son who did his own genealogy research online.) made up when he was about her age. I added the very first song I made up at the age of 8. When she immediately broke into her happy dance it was obvious we had a hit on our hands. She loved it. So that just makes me love her more. Another fond memory made.

Making Family Reunion Keepsake Booklets
In a recent newsletter we discussed where you want to be on the "Family Reunion Timeline Checklist". Complete ordering t-shirts. You should have also collected photos, stories, genealogy research and have started on your photo and genealogy presentations. These can also be added to your family reunion keepsake booklet.

Collecting Photos
You will want to do one of two things with your photos.
1. Scan them into your computer
2. Take a picture of the photo using your digital camera, camera phone or cell phone and transfer them to your computer.

Now that your photos are on your computer use your photo editing tools to crop (cut-around) the images into a perfect square.

Documenting Family History
Next, from your family history files put together two paragraphs of information about your ancestors from the earliest records available. Include full first names, middle and surnames of both father and mother, marriage dates, education, trades and employment, residents, migration and births leading up to the eldest living family member.
http://family-reunion-planner.fimark.net/family_reunion_booklet.html

Putting together your family reunion keepsake booklet can be one of the most rewarding projects associated with the event, so remember to get the family involved.

Happy Family Reunion Planning!

Don't have the latest version of Fimark's Family Reunion Planner?
Get your copy of the award winning Family Reunion Planner 3.0 at
http://family-reunion-planner.fimark.net