Happy New Year's Day 2012 to all of us in AND out of the Sandwich Generation. Have you made any New Year's Resolutions? I usually avoid those but this year I did sort of make one.

They hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold." Mark 4:20

I have been really enjoying listening to the verse by verse Bible studies taught by fellow baby boomer and grandfather, Pastor Joe Focht, of Calvary Chapel Philadelphia. He is interesting, funny, insightful, and shares such intriguing insights and historical details as he works through the Bible, including sharing words of encouragement and inspiration for grandparents as well as parents. Since it looks like they have worked through the whole Bible more than once and have the studies all available at their site, I decided it was time for me to work through the Bible again, as well, by listening to his studies daily on my iPod. And I'm hereby inviting you to join me.  

Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." Luke 11:28

If you have a SmartPhone, you might also enjoy the church's app which offers the option to pick through any of the verse by verse Bible studies as well. An easy and powerful way to study the Bible through the year. In fact, my grade-school grandkid listened to him with me in the car and enjoyed him as well. 

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near. Revelation 1:3

So if you're looking for an interesting way to spend the year, growing in the Lord, that works well with the multigeneral issues juggling we do, I highly recommend Pastor Joe Focht and his verse by verse Bible studies. A practical way to grow spiritually for the busy Sandwich Generation.

Kaye

Happy New Year's Eve Week! I've had a fun couple of weeks with granddogs and grandkids and snapping lots of photos with my easy to use digital camera. Here are some cute pix of a Sandwich Generation granddog or two to put a smile on your face along with your grandkids and senior parents. Here's Mr. B with a sweetly serious, almost studious pose for us.

Mr. R was having way too much wiggle fun to be serious. You can even see a smile on his little face. He definitely put a huge smile on my baby boomer face.  

Mr. B is back with a RED hat on for Rednesday and a snoozy pose to reflect his desire to take a bit of a nap. 

Fun for this Sandwich Generation granny nanny and her digital camera, along with the aid of the always easy to use Picknik.com. I'm hoping you enjoyed it as well. Don't forget, it's Sweet Shot Tuesday. Enjoy!  

P.S.

Kaye

Autumn is here. The fall leaves are tumbling down, along with the temperatures. My grandkids are excitedly counting down the days til Halloween with the fun harvest festival at church, not to mention visiting a few of their neighbors to show off their latest disguise decor. And I've been having fun snapping tons of photos of grandkids and granddogs with my easy to use digital camera as we have all been reveling in the fun and crunchy leaves of all colors from yellows to browns to vivid reds. And I am finally all ready for all the cute trick or treaters who will come to visit our Sandwich Generation family.

I have my braces-friendly candy, my fun alternatives to candy, the cute cards with encouraging Bible verses, and last – but definitely not least – the "cushion candy." What is cushion candy you ask? That's the extra bags of candy I buy so I make SURE we don't run out. BUT since those are all usually left over (to make sure I have a REALLY good cushion just in case the weather is perfect and we get double the amount of kids from previous years), those candies are the ones my senior mom and I love. Like my M&M peanuts, which I console myself with the thought that they are relatively healthy!?!??!?!?!?! Not to mention full of red M&Ms for Rednesday.

And then there are some of my senior mom's favorite candies, including Almond Joys, along with some divine dark chocolate which we both love (dark chocolate is the new green vegetable you know! ), all in their pretty pink bags for Pink Saturday!

So what are YOUR favorite "cushion candies" that you like to keep around the house, for those moments the munchies attack or the Sandwich Generation issues "blues" hit and you just need a bit of a chocolate boost to help you stay on track? We'd love to hear.  

P.S. So many of us in the Sandwich Generation love our cute critters like my adorable granddog above. For more cute and cuddly critters, click here for Camera Critters latest post or click here for Eye to Eye: Intimate Encounters with the Animal World, an intriguing book for grandparents to share with their grandkids.  

Kaye

My senior mom, my grandkids and I have been thoroughly reveling in the delights of autumn colors. We've been enjoying a lot of Claritan as well – due to the allergy issues thanks to all that fall foliage! I've also been having fun with my easy to use digital camera, snapping away at Autumn leaves, Halloween treats, and, of course, sweet grandkids. I've also enjoyed the easy to use Picnik.com and thought you'd get as much a kick as me at these pictures…

Would you believe they are just the Halloween treat bags I got for the alternative packages for the sweet kids in my life with food allergies and intolerance symptoms.  :) I love what you can do with Picnik.com, don't you?  

Have you discovered any fun tricks and tips with your own easy to use digital camera – on your own, from Picnik.com, or from other great sources? We'd love to hear.  

Kaye

Trick or Treat! I really enjoy seeing all the cute little (and not so little) boys and girls when they come to our door, all gaily decorated, and adorable bags and sacks in hand. Most of them get yummy candy, including braces-friendly candy this year, along with some kind of coloring page or "pass-it-ons" with encouraging Bible verses on them. I think it's such a fun way for Christians, including grandparents and grandchildren, to make Halloween extra special.

A few sweet children, though, will get those cards in some special goodie bags I made up. These bags will have NO candy, due to various food intolerance symptoms and allergies that they are dealing with in a very self-disciplined way – and we are ever so proud of them. Since they can't have candy, I always have fun picking out cute little Halloween toy treats, looking for the more positive perspective of cats, bats, and spiders, along with the ever cute pumpkins. 

From fun googly eyes, including red for Rednesday and pink for Pink Saturday, to toys that are baby boomer favorites like the paddle ball to cute little notepads, spider rings, and even pumpkins, these goodie bags are fun, safe, wholesome, and healthy. And, of course, they will also have the cards I picked out – each with encouraging Bible verses on them. A lot of fun for the kids and this Sandwich Generation granny nanny and her grandkids for Halloween. Do you have special needs that you prepare for at Halloween? We'd love to hear what you're up to.  

Kaye

August has turned out to be the month for surgeries for our family the last couple of years! I've learned a lot while caring for the elderly parents and relatives dealing with those and still haven't had a chance to share all the new tips from them. I'll get there though. Just for you, who are also dealing with the Sandwich Generation issues of life.  

One new thing I learned, that actually was an old thing, is that the full elastic waist jeans and pants that were a big help to my senior dad in the end stage of Parkinsons Disease are also helpful for elderly women before and after surgery. When the hospital gave us paperwork that recommended easy on-easy off pants, we did a wardrobe check and some shopping. The easiest, of course, was the elastic sweat pants that are so nice and cozy. We decided on a size larger than the norm and wanted the thick warm ones, as my sweet senior freezes easily normally and knew it would be worse in the hospital. We had to go to four stores and finally found some in the men's department at Walmart. Then I checked my own closet and found a couple more that worked well for her – good enough that she even returned two of the four she bought, since she prefers snugger pants – while I like "room to breath." 

I wasn't too worried, though, if we hand't found them locally. I knew the same resources I found for my senior dad and other elderly men in our family, which I wrote about in Senior Mens Elastic Waist Pants, along with the resources I wrote about in Help for The Family Caring for Elderly Parents Who Are Stroke Patients – Part 3, would have helped us here as well. And if she should decide to get a bit dressier style of full elastic waist pants or jeans, we'll find plenty of those for women at these sites as well as well as men. And in that arena, we've found online often offers more choices than locally. How about you? What are your favorite stores for the comfort clothing for elderly senior women AND men in your Sandwich Generation family – local or online? We'd love to hear. 

P.S. What do you think of these lovely womens comfort clothing from ? Both the skirt and pants share a full elastic waist and on-seam pockets. Sharp looking, comfy clothes – delightful for the elderly seniors in our family. If you'd like more information about them, just click on the picture.

Kaye

Did you get a chance to listen to "I Am" yesterday? It's one of fellow baby boomer Marty Goetz' lovely praise and worship hymn songs and such a peaceful blessing for all of us in the Sandwich Generation – especially any of us going through trials and tribulations! If you missed it, just click here.

Today, I wanted to share one of his more lighthearted and fun songs (though it does still have an important message.) Marty Goetz is one of the many blessed Christian Messianic Jews and he shares his "biography" in this song, complete with some fun piano "dancing."

Wasn't that lively!  I bet our grandchildren would love it as well – and what a delightful opportunity that gives us to talk about Jews today and the Nation of Israel and teach them about praying for Israel, Jerusalem, and Jews everywhere as well as sharing these uplifting Bible verses with them:

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you." Psalm 122:6

"The LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." Genesis 12:1-3

Another fun way for the Sandwich Generation of leaving a spiritual legacy for our grandchildren!  

Kaye

Oh my! As a member of the baby boomer generation, I have vague memories of the original trips to the Moon, strong memories of the space shuttle trips – including the sadness of the Challenger explosion and the excitement of the next Shuttle to land – which I got to watch in person from a LOOOOOONNNNGGG way away with about a zillion other enthusiasts.

I'm a Trekkie who prefers the Classics Star Treks, followed closely by the Next Generation and the newest movies out which mean my grandkids can enjoy Star Trek as well. AND I love praise and worship hymn songs and music, including the song, More, by Matthew West. All of this to say that I was so THRILLED to discover news that More was the song played for NASA Mission Specialist Rex Walheim on the final morning of the Space Shuttle's time in space.

What fun for this baby boomer. Talk about leaving a great spiritual legacy! He has certainly done that – for his family AND for ours. What a wonderful educational and Godly example this is for all our grandchildren. Thank you NASA Mission Specialist Rex Walheim!  

Kaye

It's been a wild and woolly week for this Sandwich Generation family weather-wise. One minute my senior mom and I are out admiring a neighbor's gardening. (Aren't these gorgeous – some of my favorite flowers this year!) The next, the storm warnings are back to the max. The funny thing was, we STARTED with a power outage BEFORE the bad weather really hit. Go figure! And ironically, as I was feeling my way around the house in the dark with the help of my handy dandy AT&T iPhone and one of its Flashlight. apps, I found it to be quite an "eye-opening" experience as what I could NOT see.

Thanks to my iPhone and my senior mom's hand-crank-Grundig FR200 emergency radio complete with flashlight, we could get around the house fairly easily. But taking a shower in the dark? That was a trickier proposition. My senior mom opted to wait it out but I was off for a day of babysitting grandchildren and didn't have a big choice. I took a flashlight up there but it didn't give much light. Hmmmm, that definitely needed adjusting since we live in an area where longer blackouts are not all that common and we have no windows in our bathrooms.

Of course, I do have a box of candles. But with baby boomer hands that can sometimes shake a bit, I wasn't too happy with that idea. So when my granddaughter and I had to run to the store, I checked out their flashlight and emergency light aisle and brought home these two battery powered lights.

Isn't this pink faux Coleman Lantern cute?

And what sweet family memories it brings back. When I was young, my family went tootling around on summer vacations in a trailer or camper and had several real ones.

This blue battery operated flashlight/lamp was cheaper – and acted like it!

I never could get the bottom screwed back on it! And I'm fairly savvy with things like that. Could you imagine a senior parent trying to do it on their own? It's headed back to the store this weekend! And the cute pink lantern was a bit tough as well. It took me three tries to get it connected properly. The first two times, I thought it was on, set it on the table and it all popped apart. The third time was the charm for me and it did work OK in the bathroom. I've decided to keep it for myself for future power outages but I'm looking for other options for my senior mom.

First, I checked with a favorite resource for products specifically geared to help us when caring for elderly parents, . They had the Verilux ReadyLight Rechargeable LED Lantern that looks quite interesting.

My only concern is that it uses a USB cord to recharge it. I am fine with that since it will easily plug into my computer or the stand-alone USB charger I have for my iPhone and iPod. But if you are caring for elderly parents who don't live near you, they might have a hard time understanding how it works. Particularly if it has a "sticky" plug like a couple of mine do. It looks great, but you'd definitely need to help them set it up and teach them how to use the USB cord unless they are already computer-savvy.

Next I checked Amazon. Remember the candles I worried about? Turns out they have battery operated pillar candles that look just like the real thing but are much safer for aging parents with shaky hands, not to mention tiny grandchildren. And so pretty! I went ahead and ordered one of those. I'll have to update you later to let you know how it works.

How about you? Have you found any great, safe and EASY emergency battery operated LED candles or lamps you use for your Sandwich Generation family? We'd love to hear. And, for more Easter, spring, and PINK colors, ideas, and even some cute plates and tableware for all of us in the Sandwich Generation, caring for elderly parents and babysitting grandchildren, be sure to pop over to Pink Saturday for Bev's special Easter edition. Also make sure to pop over to Laurie's as well for  more boomer, senior, and grandkid gardening delights and other Favorite Things Saturday.  

Kaye

Valentine's Day is coming quickly. Red and pink hearts are everywhere - from our grandkids' schools to the stores we take our aging parents shopping at to the fun baby boomer sites I love to visit online. And NOW, there are some more at SandwichINK.  

You know me, I'm big on fun ways to teach Bible memory verses to our children and grandchildren. Here's a couple of cute Valentines with Psalm 40:8, 

I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.

to help our grandgirls and grandboys understand that God wants us to give Him our hearts and ourselves!

Have a happy week with your Sandwich Generation family as you stay busy caring for your elderly parents and, perhaps, indulge in some fun and easy Valentine crafts and activities for grand kids and the seniors who love them. Speaking of which, Amydeanne at The160AcreWoods has a lovely February calendar page so you can even decorate your computer for the month with wonderful words of encouragement from the Word of God, making it also a wonderful way to set a lovely example for your grandchildren.  :)

Kaye