Because of all the various issues, including health, that my Sandwich Generation family is dealing with on a regular basis, we do spend a LOT of time in the car!  I'm always on the lookout for great educational and character building resources for quiet times together and I've got two excellent resources to share with you this week and next.

The first is one I've mentioned before – Down Gilead Lane. It's a Kids Christian radio drama full of interesting stories, character building episodes, and plenty of Biblical values – and it's really fun to listen to!  You can actually listen to episodes at no cost at CBH Ministries or buy them on CD or as mp3 downloads to listen to in the car or on your iPod or other mp3 player.

I first bought a couple of their CDs back when my oldest grandchild was about 10 or 11. We had a long drive ahead of us and I thought they would help to make the trip a bit more enjoyable. They did! And I enjoyed the stories as much as she did! Now my 8 and 10 year old grandsons have started listening and they are all enjoying them just as much. 

The stories center around the Morrison Family – five kids and their parents – living in a small town. They have a variety of friends, some saved, some not. There is mystery, intrigue, family fun, drama, happy times, and sad times – and it's all Christ-centered and biblically based. We are currently listening to the stories about a beloved family friend who is a senior citizen. He is in the midst of developing Alzheimer's Disease and I was wiping away tears as we listened to the story of how he disappeared for a few hours during a storm. Having lived through something similar with a great-aunt, I used this as an excellent opportunity to talk about ways to deal with this situation if it ever occurs again.

I know, from listening to some special episodes set later than this story, that his passing away will also be dealt with – and with senior grandparents on both coasts, I am sure that will be another good opportunity to plant seeds of love, compassion, and caring in the hearts and minds of my grandkids – both from the stories themselves and from our chats as we listen.

And yes, I continue to listen to AND enjoy these stories right along with my grandkids. They truly are very interesting. There are 12 seasons in all, with 12 half hour shows per season. I was able to purchase a complete set of all 12 episodes on CDs during an extra great discounted sale this past Christmas, so if you think you want to buy them, signing up for their email list can be a great idea. I've transferred them to my iPod and "iTouch" and my grandteen is enjoying the new episodes as much as the rest of the grandkids!

I enjoyed reading some of the CBH history in an article by the West Michigan Christian News. I still remember my own kids listening to some of the original radio programs with their home schooling buddies many years ago – talk about your sweet family memories! 

I love the fact that these are audio stories rather than video. Don't get me wrong – I do enjoy TV (LOVE my TIVO), but, as Dr. Michael Rich, MD, MPH, Children’s Hospital Boston’s media expert and director of Children’s Center on Media and Child Health, puts it in the article, Are audiobooks a good use of kids’ time?, "Audiobooks are valuable media for your children because they don’t pre-digest imagery for them. That means that as your kids listen to the stories, they’re given the exquisite experience of actively imagining the worlds they’re hearing about, rather than having the characters and scenery presented to them like in a book or TV show." (Hmmm – sounds like that would make it excellent brain exercise for all of us boomers and seniors as well )

You can get more information about all of this, plus find out about more of the great Christian resources they offer our kids and grandkids, by clicking here. And whether you're out and about on those zillion errands that are a part of our Sandwich Generation lives, or gathered around the computer the way our senior parents used to gather around the radio, enjoy some quality programming and fun stories with your grandkids. You'll treasure your own sweet family memories in the years to come as well. And be sure to check back next week for another interesting audio resource. In fact, to make sure you don't miss it…

P.S.I thought I'd use one of my fun new iPhone apps, Ransom Letters, to wish you all -

Kaye

Eyesight and aging eye changes can definitely be an issue for the whole Sandwich Generation family – from grandtots in eyeglasses to senior parents facing cataract surgery. And one that is especially concerning to me personally, and perhaps to many of you, is Macular Degeneration. Since this is Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Awareness month, I thought it would be good to share some important facts about this not-very-nice disease that my own senior dad had. 

According to the National Institutes of Health:

Macular degeneration, or age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of vision loss in Americans 60 and older. It is a disease that destroys your sharp, central vision. You need central vision to see objects clearly and to do tasks such as reading and driving.

AMD affects the macula, which is the part of the eye that allows you to see fine detail. It doesn't hurt, but it causes cells in the macula to die. In some cases, AMD advances so slowly that people notice little change in their vision. In others, the disease progresses much faster and may lead to a loss of vision in both eyes. Regular comprehensive eye exams can detect macular degeneration before the disease causes any vision loss. Treatment can slow down vision loss, but it does not restore vision.

They have some very useful and comprensive information and FAQs for us at their site, Facts About Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Genentech and the American Society of Retina Specialists also share some concerning info about this disease including:

"The same things that put you at risk for heart disease and stroke also put you at risk for AMD, such as:

• Obesity
• Smoking
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol

I was surprised to discover that gender (WOMEN more than men) is one of the other things that play an important role in whether you might get this disease, along with age (over 60), and family history. You can read all the warning signs and find more useful information at their site, AMD Awareness.

As Dr. Ryne C. Wood, Optometrist with Leet EyeCare in Missouri, points out, "February is AMD Awareness Month and we encourage all people, especially those at higher risk for this disease, to familiarize themselves with the potential symptoms and need for regular eye examinations." Sounds like good advice for all of us in the Sandwich Generation, along with our senior parents! 

P.S. If you'd like more information on this subject, you might like to check into the book, The First Year: Age-Related Macular Degeneration: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed by Daniel L. Roberts, which comes in a Kindle and Extra Large Print books. Mr. Roberts is a patient of AMD himself and has a resource-full website devoted to the topic of AMD.

P.P.S.

Kaye

I've enjoyed focusing on WORDS the last couple of weeks including lots of fun with phonics and spelling as we have been playing the Words With Friends game apps as well as Hangman, I've also seen a focus on THE WORD here and in my grandsons' schoolwork, as they are memorizing the encouraging Bible verses from John 1. That's one of my favorite passages! I love the way it points up the importance of The Word and the fact that IN Jesus "all things came into being" AND the truth that Jesus, The Word, is God. What joy to join with Thomas and say, "My Lord and my God !" John 20:28. 

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. 9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.' " 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses ; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.  John 1:1-17

I've shared these very thoughts with my grandkids over the last couple of week, planting sweet seeds of the Word of God in their hearts and minds along with the prayer that God would multiply those seeds into a blessed harvest in the years and decades to come. Such a sweet joy for this Sandwich Generation granny nanny on this Word-Filled Wednesday! How about you and your grandkids? Been enjoying any particular Bible verses with them lately? We'd love to hear.

P.S. I've been having fun experimenting with different photo editors and apps and writing about them, primarily on Mondays, as I research replacement(s) for Picnik.com. So I came up with TWO different variations to share some of these vital truths from John 1. Ransom Letters is at the top, followed by WordFoto, which I wrote about on Monday in The Sandwich Generation Granny Nanny Loves Fun iPhone Apps That Make for Creative Activities for Grand kids and Grandparents – Like WordFoto. Seriously fun for me and, hopefully, serious fun for you. What do you think of them?

Kaye

Last year, I wrote that it was the "year of weird weather" for my whole Sandwich Generation family! Apparently, this year is trying to tie that record! We've gone from ice cold freezIng to California-style warmth to snow to tornadoes to EARLY DAFFODILS! WOW! My senior mom is thrilled and hoping to get back to gardening early, while another sweet senior is concerned we'll get a late frost that will wipe out fruit tree crops. Hmmmmm!

Inside, things are warm, busy and fun with the Words With Friends game app, old AND new LEGOs activities, checkers, and plenty of solid ABCs with junior high homework and gradeschool homeschooling programs like Time4Learning.com.

Not only that! My grandsons have been working hard in my living room creating ever new and very cool forts! Today's fort has been dubbed the "beaver lodge." (Yup, the Wild Kratt Brothers are still a fun part of this weird winter season.)

Check out a couple of their fort-tastic forts - 

Total pillows for this grandchild:

This grandkid added a chair to help stabilize his longer fort:

I'm continuing to enjoy researching easy (and not-so-easy) options and iPhone apps for editing photos from my digital camera. Lots of fun goodies out there that I'll be sharing on Mondays – starting with yesterday's WordFoto  (Great reds for Rednesday ) and the new online and app tool, Pixlr, I tried out today.  Gotta find some good tools for photos for Sweet Shot Tuesday, right?  

Well, that's the good AND bad weather and home news around here. So, how's the weather in your Sandwich Generation neck of the woods? 
 And…

Kaye

Well! Who knew! That sad sad news about Picnik.com has turned into pretty good news for this Sandwich Generation granny nanny. It sent me off on a hunt for a replacement for an easy to use photo editor for my photos from each digital camera and in the process, I've discovered SEVERAL great new tools – most on my iPhone, but not all. And yes, I'd LOVE to share the cream of the crop with you over the next few weeks, starting with a fun new iPhone app, Wordfoto, that is $1.99.

I used it yesterday for my post, Verse By Verse Bible Studies “To Go” Are A Blessing for the Busy Sandwich Generation, to create this fun picture with encouraging Bible verses:

And here's another cute picture I whipped up in just a matter of minutes. All you have to do is:

• Open the Wordfoto app
• Press the 2nd icon at the top of the app
• Select your picture
• Select T from the bottom of the app
• Click on Add New Word set
• Type one word in each block, click return – you can enter up to 10 words – and words can be a max of 12 letters 
• When you are done entering the words, click on BACK at the top
• Select the word set you want 
• It then creates your Wordfoto and voila, you have your picture.

You can also crop your picture, do some fine tuning, and even change the shading like these:

It's a fun little app that you and your grandkids might have fun with - for example, how about using it for spelling words with a picture of your granddog?

Wouldn't they have fun looking for that spelling word? It would also be fun for easy handmade greetings cards crafts for grandkids and all us seniors. It's definitely one of those fun and useful little apps for the iPhone that are handy grandparents in the Sandwich Generation.

Kaye

Woooo! Do you ever feel like you are living life in the hyperspeed fast lane? That's been the month of January for my Sandwich Generation family - starting with me! Frankly, it makes me tired just to think about it! I'm blessed to say that, even though lately I've felt very overwhelmed and often haven't done half of what's on my to-do list, I have been keeping up with my verse by verse Bible studies by fellow baby boomer and grandfather, Pastor Joe Focht. I can thank the great mp3 downloads from Calvary Chapel Philadelphia playing cheerily on my iPod while driving all around town.

I have expanded my options for those, just a bit. Instead of working straight from Genesis to Revelation, I'm now alternating between the Old and New Testament starting with Luke and Acts. My grandkids enjoy listening along with me once in a great while, chuckling at his fun jokes, and I realized that Luke is a bit more "age appropriate" than some of the sections in, say, Leviticus. And to be totally honest, as interesting as Pastor Focht makes Leviticus – with intriguing background details and specific applications for our lives today, it is a bit "dryer" than Luke. So interspersing the Old and New Testament books makes this year (or so)-long plan through the Bible even more interesting for me.

There are days I can listen to 30-40 minutes solid and other days, I'm lucky to get 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there throughout the day – until I reach my personal minimum of 30 minutes per day (though I often enjoy more – just coz they're so fascinating). But either way, I'm seeing the sweet fruit of the Spirit. I'm blessed by the learning I'm enjoying (not to mention the excellent brain exercise I get as I listen ) AND I'm enjoying sharing many of the tiny nuggets of facts and truths from these verse by verse Bible studies with my grandkids during our own Bible story times together. Since one of my primary goals in life is leaving a sweet spiritual legacy in the hearts and minds of my family, that's definitely a win-win for this Sandwich Generation granny nanny, as are the sweet prayer times as I drive, listen, learn and pray about it all.

God is so good. I love all the different ways we have available to us to read, hear and learn His Word, full of comforting and encouraging Bible verses and lessons. I'm so very grateful I live now as opposed to Old Testament times when there was no New Testament and few people ever even touched the Word of God! How about you? How's your daily time with God coming as you go about dealing with all the many issues and ramifications of the Sandwich Generation?

And…

Kaye

I recently got the prettiest velour sweat shirt/jacket, similar to this shade of dark pink, during the after-Christmas sales. Quite pretty, easy wash and dry, and it looks so nice – even with my Sandwich Generation/baby boomer burgeoning metabolism and tummy. 

This being Pink Saturday, I'm betting many of us also have a cute pink sweat suit – one that looks so perky and raises our spirits. Even our senior moms may have one of those. The senior dads probably prefer grey, what do you think? 

Why all the sweat suit talk? Because I found a note I made to myself after a dear friend's surgery a while back. No matter how cute they look, do NOT wear those cute pinks or "stylin' greys" if you are headed for the hospital for surgery. Why?

Depending on the surgery and all that it entails, there's a good possibility they will get spotted, stained, or totally ruined. While we were in recovery for an out-patient procedure, I overheard another patient commenting that she had gotten blood on her pants and was so upset as it was a favorite pair of hers.

Not a fun or exciting post – but an eminently practical one with another of my simple tips for taking care of our Sandwich Generation family, from elderly parents on down to the grandkids. BLACK is definitely the color to pick when you are headed for the hospital – preferably with full elastic waist pants. It may not be quite as pretty as our favorite pinks, but it is definitely less likely to show any stains – whether blood, medications, or spilled food. And those full elastic waist pants will be much easier to put on and take off! Comfort clothing for the hospital for all, from grandkids to elderly parents – "the only way to fly." (And yes, that cute velour set at the top comes in black as well. I do love ! )

Kaye

With grandkids on both coasts who LOVE old AND new LEGOs, not to mention my senior mom's OTHER sweet AND great-grandkids who are also fans, LEGOs are a constant source of fun, creative thinking, and comment for this Sandwich Generation granny nanny.

This week, they also ran the gamut of educational wonder to sadness, sorrow, and actual tears on the part of one of my grandkids! The educational part was the pleasure of enjoying a program, the Ultimate Factories – LEGO, put on by National Geographic. A very interesting show for my grandson and I enjoyed it as well. 

Sadly, that was followed with the very upsetting news that one of his favorite websites – LEGO Universe – is closing it's virtual doors permanently in about a month. They've apparently refunded all the fees and it is supposed to be open – including its premium site – to all for the remaining days but we weren't even able to do that successfully. I'm not sure if the issue was on their side or ours but it was a definitely frustration. 

 Coming on top of the sad news about Picnik.com also migrating PART of their tools to Google+ and closing down as well, it wasn't a fun tech week for this Sandwich Generation family. I have been busy learning new tips and tricks for the photos from my easy to use digital camera AND iPhone camera that I hope to be sharing with y'all over the next few months. And my grandkids were consoled somewhat with playing on Jumpstart.com along with some very fun new iPhone game apps for kids, like Dragonvale, not to mention playing with their actual LEGOs, so it wasn't all a totally depressing week. But still… So if you have LEGO-loving grandkids who have enjoyed LEGO universe, I wanted to make sure you were also aware of this. And in the meantime, I'll keep researching great options and reporting back to you. Don't forget…

Kaye

Depression! It can hit all ages, can't it? I was mildly depressed when I discovered my favorite, easy to use editing tool, Picnik.com – perfect to help me with pictures from my digital camera – was closing up and partially moving to Google + (yes, I do take my tech goodies a little too seriously at times, but really – this is costing me a TON of time to find a replacement, so it is a bit of a big deal. ). One of my grandkids was in tears over similar geeky news in his world this week (more on that tomorrow – and yes, he's doing fine! ). And for the Sandwich Generation, caring for elderly parents, we well know that depression can also impact our aging parents.

Whether it is over the loss of a beloved spouse, being alone so much, or having to move from their beloved home to a family member's home or a senior care residence, depression can definitely be a big factor in all of that.

If your senior parent is taking, or thinking of taking, medication for their depression or anxiety, do have them be extra cautious. I had already heard that Xanax was a cause for concern for a beloved senior citizen as they are more likely to fall due to it. Now there is important news for seniors about Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) that are often prescribed for depression – they, too, are causing more falls among the elderly – particularly those with dementia – At Dementia Today, I read, "However, now it is being said that SSRIs make a person suffering dementia to fall quite often which could lead to his death. As per the research, the risk of this kind of medication is three times more than that caused by using conventional dementia drugs."

And the headline at Online National News Network exclaims, "Depression drugs ‘causing falls,'" with a quote from Professor Clive Ballard, from the Alzheimer’s Society, who said it was "worrying" that such a commonly prescribed anti-depressant was causing increased risk…It is important to highlight any aspect of care that might be causing risk to a person with dementia. We want to ensure that people with the condition are always receiving the best care possible."It's definitely cause for concern, awareness, close supervision and lots of prayer for all of us in the Sandwich Generation, caring for our elderly parents and other relatives – in their own home or in a care facility! Don't forget, a big help with that awareness factor is #eldercarechat as well as #talkalz on Twitter.  You can find a recap of the latest #ElderCareChat all about the Sandwich Generation by clicking here, follow SandwichINK on Twitter by clicking here, and…

Kaye

Holidays are over, winter – full of wild weird weather – is fast upon us, and with health issues, money issues, and all the other issues that are bound up in the multigenerational Sandwich Generation family, it's easy for us to sometimes slow down, grow weary, maybe even struggle with depression over a variety of issues – like finding out my fave photo editor site, Picnik, is closing – or my grandchild's fave website, LEGO Universe is closing (Can you tell it's been a tough tech week for us ). But Paul, and this sweet little grandcat are here to remind us…

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. Galatians 6:9

Have a blessed Word-Filled Wednesday, full of encouraging Bible verses, as you juggle all the issues of the Sandwich Generation. And…

Kaye