Oma Books

The Oma Storybook Collection is one of my hobbies.

I'm writing our family history as a children's book, with stories about Dee and I growing up, how we met, and anecdotes about our parents and grandparents. At the same time, I'm assembling materials and doing research for a children's book on our family in England from the Battle of Hastings until they came to America in 1630. It's an exciting and overwhelming project that I've been working on for the past few years.

But the grandkids aren't waiting! I want them to grow up knowing these stories and since they're growing up faster than I'd anticipated, I print out each chapter as I finish writing it, put a spiral binding on it, and send it off to them. Eventually they'll get the chapters all compiled and beautifully bound together in one book, but this way they can learn our history step-by-step as I go along. Seeing their excitement is my motivation to keep typing and make this a reality.

My biggest challenge has been how to illustrate my books without plagarizing other people's art work. I need to get away from scanning and learn how to create my own, so I'm trying out different ideas with each chapter I print for the kids. I just finished Dee and the Giselas, a story about Dee as a little boy, and this time I staged some photo-shoots using the grands as the main characters. It was so fun to have them learn about Opa as they acted out his story for the camera. Then I collaged them together (since the kids live in five different states!) I just have to share some excerpts:

Gordon B. Hinckley said our own family stories are worth telling and re-telling.
Have you recorded yours?