Janiece Self

Grandma's Teachers by Janiece Self Cellphones, computers, tablets, I-pods, TV remotes, touch screens, Bluetooth, GPS, MP3/MP4, multimedia receivers.  Do I need to say more?! If you are one of the people over 18 that understands all this, you may go to ♡ at the end.  But for the rest of us, we

Snow had fallen over night and the darkness had given way to a cold but beautiful winter morning.  The earth, at least from my window, which was brown the day before, was now glazed in shimmering white.  "NO SCHOOL" scrolled on the TV screen. It's a SNOW DAY! An unexpected holiday and because we all

Last spring the youth group at our church sponsored a fishing tournament. The team of two paid an entry fee of $25.00 with all proceeds going to their summer work/witness trip to Arizona. My 16 year old grandson willingly agreed to be my partner. That in itself was a BLESSING. Sure, we started with

As a child, my mother and I would make our own clay to shape and mold designs. I actually have a recipe: flour, salt, creme of tartar, water, corn oil and food coloring. It was fun to play with and all I had. Our girls played with homemade clay and then purchased play dough (which by the way has the

My granddaughter is almost 12 years old, but as a 3 year old, she had a very interesting conversation with her mother one day… "Mommy, who is that big guy?" "What big guy, where is he at?" my daughter asked.  "The big guy that eats pancakes at grandma's house," my little granddaughter answered. (I'm

I love for my daughters to text me pictures and stories of what is happening in my grandchildren's lives on a daily basis. You just never know what it is going to be. One day my oldest daughter sent me a comment that her 22 month old son had just said to her. While in their regular morning routine,

On one particular Saturday I was praying before my noon meal and I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to pray:  "Please don't let anyone drown."  Although I was at home watching football, my youngest daughter and her family were spending the day boating at Lake Rathbun. At 1:19 pm, I received a text

My 8 year old grandson was so excited to show me, at a recent visit, his latest find while fossil hunting Sheol Creek south of Centerville. This creek runs through their farm and he and his sister love to fossil hunt while their dad or grandfather is doing field work. They have quite a collection

I love to rock the grandchildren. When they are small, under 2 maybe, this is possible. Nap time is a great time to cuddle and rock, but can turn into a bit of a competition to see who can stay awake the longest or who goes to sleep first. It can be a challenge to make these little balls of fire sit

"Grandma, will you tell Brenna that Santa Clause isn't real!" What?!!! I thought to myself. May I say in two seconds, I had at least 4 different answers to this timely question spinning in my mind. This is a job for super-grandma, Lord help me!, because Brenna is not my granddaughter, although she

Much to grandpa's dismay, the grandchildren refer to our home as Grandma's House.  He wonders why it is never Grandpa's House, because it's his home too.  I have my theory, but grandpa does, from time to time, attempt to get the attention directed to him.  Grandpa can be quite a tease and is

With suitcase packed, and pen and paper ready and waiting, I left for a week’s vacation with my youngest daughter, son in-law, and 3 grandchildren. A Grandma's Point of View spectacular! My first of several life applications came as we were in line for the Safari ride at Animal Kingdom at Disney

My youngest grandson is 17 months old and beginning to talk. He has two older siblings, so there is never a time in each day that he does not observe or hear adult conversation or interaction. He knows and says the word for many body parts. He knows all the farm animals and the sounds they make.

The question: "Grandma, is it my turn to spend the night with you?" gets asked in my presence quite often these days. Why? The reasons have not changed from my generation to the present. (1) It was a short trip, so if I changed my mind, home was not far away; (2) It gave me a break from my mother,

My daughter and son-in-law recently went on a 3 day hunting trip to Oklahoma. Their children are 7, 5, and 3. The children’s care for the 3 days was well planned in advance, and the children were looking forward to visiting and staying with different family members, with my husband and I receiving

Anyone who has small children or grandchildren (sometimes older, yikes!), knows that we cannot always be responsible for what words might come from their innocent mouths. Most of the time though, they are just repeating what they have heard from adults, their siblings, or from what they hear and

When we were expecting our 8th grandchild, I had the privilege of going with my daughter to an ultrasound appointment. I could not tire watching the screen! As the paddle was moved around, I was able to see baby’s body parts that were recognizable, such as spine, hands, and beating heart, and then

Traveling in a car with an older grandchild is a gift. They can sit in the front seat beside you and we can just talk or be a good listener if needed. It had been Halloween a few days before and my 11 year old granddaughter began to tell me of her haunted house adventure. One of the classes at our

  While cuddling my 3 yr. old granddaughter, she suddenly sat up and began to feel my arm, then my neck and belly. In a true and honest voice she said, "Grandma, you are jiggley." In the next 2 seconds, I had several thoughts go through my mind, but my response to this precious child was,

My four year old granddaughter has learned to ride her bike! One sunny spring day, as she began her ride down a long driveway, I reminded her that the rock was rough and that she would need to look forward, not back, as I was following her in my car. I encouraged her to focus on pedaling and