Tuesday, July 3, 2018

How to Create A Family Journal and Why You Should Start Now

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Do you ever find yourself saying "Oh, I should write that down!" after one of your kids says something funny, wacky or inspiring. I know I say this all the time, but regrettably I never end up writing them down. These are memories and I don't want to forget them!

Here are some funny things my kids have said to me or my hubby or done over the years (that I do remember) that I thought you would enjoy reading:

How my son expressed his love to me when he was 5:  "Mom, I love you more than a dump truck"
What my son age 4 says when he is inspired:  "I have a good un-dea..." (idea)
My middle daughter just tells it like it is: "Dad, you have the worst breath ever"
The time my son crawled into our bed just to snuggle one last time with us before he fell asleep. 
The first time I took my son camping and he said all weekend "this is the best time ever" 
My youngest son refused to eat a grilled cheese sandwich because he said "I'm a boy I don't want a "girl cheese" sandwich." 

These are just precious to me and I don't want to forget these great memories and events. So writing them down is exactly what I started doing!

All of them! - In ONE place.

No more sticky notes, napkins, paper plates or scrap pieces of paper, which all end up getting lost somewhere with these little gems written on them.

Instead I started a family journal that any of us can use to write down quirky things or great memories. I can just imagine 20 years from now flipping through these journals with my grown children and possibly grandchildren reminiscing about the good old days what was said by my children at the time. Pure treasure!

I found these wonderful journals to use for our family journal and I wanted to share where I found them with you. This journal is a printable created by Sunny Day Family and it is amazing!

Click To Learn More

My favorite thing about this journal is that I can print as many pages as I want from my own home! The journal contains 16 pages total all undated. The blank daily and weekly pages are a great place to write down those funny things your kids say or an activity you did together. I'm not a traditional journaler so what appeals to me about this journal is that it isn't a traditional style journal. I love just quickly jotting down memories and moving onto the next task on my to-do list!

Here is what I wrote yesterday in our family journal:
7/2 - Taught "J" how to dive off the diving board! He was all smiles.
Simple right! No need to write line after line of text to capture this simple memory!!

In addition to the undated pages I just mentioned, this pack also has a monthly recap pages. On these monthly you can record milestones, holidays and a favorite moment(s) from the month. Isn't that so COOL!!

Can't remember whose side of the family you celebrated Thanksgiving with last year? No problem - check your family journal monthly recap page where you wrote down how special the day was at Papa and Nana's house for Thanksgiving in 2017!

The really nice thing about this journal is that you don't have to wait until January (start of a new year) to begin! Because the daily/weekly pages are blank you can start anytime. You can purchase this printable from Sunny Day Family HERE. (affiliate link).

Pulling It All Together

After you purchase your printable from Sunny Day Family I recommend you print out the pages you want on card stock or some other sturdy paper. If you have a 3 ring binder all you have to do is hole punch the printed journal pages and insert them into the binder. Another option would be to hole punch the journal in 3-5 places down the left side and secure with brass fasteners. If you want to get really fancy you could purchase this sweet little comb punch binding machine and make your journal look professional! (affiliate link) It's a small investment but something you could re-use over and over.

purchase HERE

What are some of your everyday memories? I'd love to hear about them! Leave a comment below and let me know.



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