Did you know the month of October is Family History Awareness Month? It is! (Now you know.)

At some point, you’ll want to tell your kids stories about their ancestry. It will help them know who they are today by knowing where they came from.

Author Carol Kuykendall talks about this topic in her book, Five Star Families, which I recently read and LOVED. (You can read my review of it for Christian Book Previews.) If you’re a mom of a preschooler and have ever considered joining the MOPS organization, this is your year to do it because they’re studying this awesome book!

It’s really fun to read – I think every parent and grandparent needs to own it! (My mom borrowed mine, and I already miss it!) I have to add that the cover is lime green with hot pink stars — and it coordinates well with Target fashions — in case you must stuff in it your purse and still want to look a bit trendy.

So, what are some practical ways you can teach your kids about their roots? Here’s a tip that was on the MOPS radio broadcast from yesterday:

One mom hosted a birthday dinner for her father, and placed a piece of paper with a question under each plate. During the meal, each grandchild asked grandpa one of these questions:

Did you have any pets growing up?
What is your favorite time of year and why?
What kind of car did you drive when you first got your license?
What was your first job?
What mattered most to you when you were 16?

MOPS also shared the idea that “many families gather at family reunions and videotape the members of the oldest generation describing their lives. The videotape then becomes a priceless keepsake for generations to come.”

If you’re a grandparent, what can you do to help teach your grandchildren about YOUR parents and grandparents, whom they may not know personally? You have to make the deliberate choice to share pictures, memories, and stories with them. It’s up to you.

Now might be a good time for you to sit down and label pictures, put them into a creative scrapbook full of your journaling, or take a course on how to write a memoir. (You may not be famous, but your biography is immensely important to your family!) P.S. I’ve got a great book on that — just ask me.

It’ll be fun for you and help pass on your legacy for future generations. Plus, you’ll help tired, busy parents who don’t have time to scrapbook not to feel so guilty. (I speak for myself!)

OK, here’s something on a different subject I just could NOT resist. Do you like novels? Would you like to have a part in NAMING a character in a fun, chick-lit novel? Eva Marie Everson, author of THE POTLUCK CLUB, is seeking input in writing a sequel. So, put on your sequel-thinking caps and check this out:

WANNA WIN A BOOK?

Then help me name a character for the THIRD installment of The Potluck Club! She’s young (about 16), works in a bookstore in the mountains of Colorado & owned by her family, is homeschooled, and loves to read about history. Email me from the Homepage at this website and tell me what you would name her! I’ll mention your name in the book AND send you a free copy of The Potluck Club!

Go visit Eva Marie’s site — you can email her from there. Some other time I’ll have to tell you about how she FELL into the Bible — in Israel — she fell into the ashes where Joshua burned Jericho!!!

I just have to add that last week Eva Marie sent out an email requesting us to send her what kind of make-up products and beautifying supplies we use. She’s working on developing her characters and wanted some details…details! So, I brought all my favorite stuff into our home office to write about it — and discovered some shocking things about myself. I told Eva Marie that women who are moms of young kids probably buy their make-up at Kroger, along with cheese cubes, juice boxes, and diapers. Then again, maybe it’s just me who buys super-cheap make-up!

Have fun naming that character! Writing your memoir! And reading great books!

P.S. I think Eva Marie’s Potluck Club trilogy might actually be considered “hen-lit” since her characters are not darling 20-somethings working in posh New York ad agencies — they’re older moms and grandmoms — who are beautiful, fashionable, and great cooks. Her books even contain their recipes!