Season for Family

A community of women finding time for family connections.

Bringing your Ancestors to Life

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As David Eagleman put it, “There are three deaths. The first is when the body ceases to function. The second is when the body is consigned to the grave. The third is that moment, sometime in the future, when your name is spoken for the last time.”

When we think about “doing” family history, we often think it involves digging through records, going to graveyards, and trying to find names and documentation. And while all of these things are definitely parts of family history, there is so much more.

Family History can be something as small as speaking one of your ancestor’s names – keeping them alive. This becomes even richer and rewarding when you connect those names with tangible experiences.  

I have found great power and joy in bringing my ancestors back to life – or keeping them from succumbing to the 3rd death. As I have learned about my ancestors’ lives and then created experiences for my children to connect with them, I have felt the immense joy and power of family history.  

I hope to be able to inspire and teach you to find family stories and revive them so that you and your children can connect with those who have come before and paved the way for you.

Summertime is a perfect time of year for this as children are out of school and there is more time to create experiences together.

If you’re curious, and want to go ahead and get started, you can check out the link in my Instagram account @goodmorningshelly to see how I have been implementing this idea of bringing my ancestors to life  (Pioneer Unit and Swedish Unit.) 

I would love to hear any ideas for how you could bring your ancestors to life.  Please feel free to share in the comments.

SHELLY LOPEZ

IG: @goodmorningshelly

Journal Prompts

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Hello! @Annie.hutchings here 💕 I’m a wife, Momma and Photographer. I share daily photo and journal prompts on my feed to help you record your family’s history while you live it. Can I be honest with you? Never in a million years did I envision myself doing any kind of family history. I was super intimidated by it and frankly thought it seemed a bit boring. 🙈 It just sort of fell into my lap about 5 years into owning a photography business. I had reached a space where I needed change and was questioning the purpose of this gift I had been blessed with and was wondering if I was doing any good on this platform, or how I might be able to. I remember asking God “How can I be anxiously engaged in a good cause?”. Still struggling to find my way I began to write. I wrote every gift I had been blessed with and what I believed Heavenly Father would have me do with that gift. This is how my prompts came about. I was absolutely shocked when this idea came to me because I can tell you right now, it wasn’t mine!! I started posting my #weescoutprompts and the funniest thing happened, my relationship with my children totally changed. Every Sunday I spent time sitting on their beds asking them questions for my prompts and writing down their answers. They beam because they feel special, they feel heard, and they love the one on one time. If we miss a week, I get some not so subtle reminders that Mom needs to ask them some questions. 😂😍 This bond has been such a fun and unexpected blessing from this project. These prompts can be used though Instagram with photos to be printed into books or they can simply be written into a journal. You can do them occasionally, once a week, daily, OR to keep it super simple.  


Subscribe above for our bi-weekly newsletter to receive a free printable 30 days worth of my family history prompts monthly 🙌🏼.

We would LOVE to see you using the prompts and share them in our stories.  For us to be able to see your posts to share them, make sure to TAG @seasonforfamily on your Instagram account in your photo or post AND use the hashtag #weescoutprompts .  If you have a private account, send us a screenshot of your post to our DM.

ANNIE HUTCHINGS

anniehutchings.com
IG: @annie.hutchings

How I Told Her

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As we celebrated Mother’s Day this week I think of my journey to motherhood. I struggled through infertility, but we were blessed with our beautiful daughter through adoption. I didn’t know many people who had adopted, and those that did all were very different in their approach to the subject. I didn’t have nine months to prepare for my baby to come, though, I’ve learned that nothing really prepares you to become a parent. However, I have been preparing my whole life to be a mother.

I knew that I wanted my children to always know how much I prayed for them to come to me and that I love them so much. I knew that I didn’t want my daughter to have a traumatic experience finding out that I did not give birth to her. In fact, I didn’t want her to have a memory of us telling her, I wanted her to always know that being adopted was a blessing and it was part of her own unique story. From the time that she was born I would tell her stories and I included her birth story. I told her about THAT phone call that changed our lives, and our drive to the town where she was going to be born. I told her about waiting in the quiet hospital hallway and hearing her first cry. I have tried to show her how unique she is and that her birth was no different. We celebrate her adoption day (Gottcha Day) anniversary as a family.

She is the child that made me a mother, but she is also part of another woman’s story, and I want her to always remember that. This way is not for all families of adoption, but it is what works for us. She is now thirteen years old and I believe that being open; and celebrating her story has brought us all closer as a family. Our stories are all important, it is what makes us the unique people we are. I

It can be easily forgotten that the simple act of sharing a story IS family history. My daughter and I have a special bond because of our story. What makes your story unique and how has sharing blessed your life and the lives of others?

DANI OLDROYD

roots2blossoms.com
IG: @roots2blossoms