The best advice I can give you concerning writing is this.... just do it. The more you write, the easier it will become. Pretty soon you will have many, many ideas and you'll have to choose one or write more often.
And now on to today's topic....
YOUR FAMILY
As a mom, it seems natural for me to write to our sponsored children about my own kids. But it occurred to me that they might also like to hear about my family and my husband's family.
We do not live near either of our families. However, both of our families still live where we grew up so I sent a map to show our kids where we live.
Other details you might want to share:
- Do you have any siblings?
- Who are the members of your family?
- What are some favorite family memories?
- Do you live near any relatives?
- Have you gone to any family gatherings recently?
- How does your family celebrate upcoming holidays?
- Photos of your family members
Here is a sample letter I might send about my family.
Dear ............
It is a joy for me to be able to write to you again. How are you? We are doing well here. We are excited because next week my (Jill's) mom and her husband are coming to visit us. We do not get to see them very often because they live very far from us. Kevin's family lives even farther away.
Have I ever told you about our families? I grew up in Illinois (you can look at the map I enclosed for reference). I come from a small family and have only one sibling, a brother named Aaron. He is two years older than me and is an artist and art teacher at a school. My dad works for a big tractor company called Caterpillar and my mom is a nurse. Sadly my parents are no longer married to each other. But each one is remarried and this means more grandparents for my own kids!
Kevin grew up in the state of New York (also shown on the map). He comes from a very big family compared to mine! He has six sisters - yes, he is the only boy and he is the second oldest. His parents are also divorced and both are remarried. All of his sisters are married and several of them have kids of their own. When we have family gatherings in New York, there are lots and lots of kids around. Kevin's youngest sister got married this past summer and we were able to be there for the wedding.
Kevin and I met when we were in college. We both attended Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia. We got married in 1996 when we graduated and now we have a family of our own. But of course you know all about Sydney and Kayleigh, our girls.
I would love to hear more about your family. I would especially like to learn the names of your family members and how old your siblings are. Do your grandparents live with you?
I will close by telling you that we are praying for you and your family. Please tell your family hello from us.
As you can see it's not long, too detailed or very eloquent. Keep it simple and be real. When writing a letter like this, I would do my best to come up with photos of our family members (Kevin and his dad, Kevin and his mom, Kevin and his sisters, etc.)
Have you ever written to your kids about your family? Do you have anything to add to this? I'd love to hear your ideas!
