A recent article reviewed “The 50 Best Blogs By and About Grandparenting”. We are honored to be in their list. It is a particular honor to be chosen as the #2 grandparenting blog!

There are many other excellent blogs about grandparenting in the list that I recommend. I visit several of them regularly. Some of the authors have written guest posts here at GrandparentsTLC.

- Grandpa Shayne

Do you have other favorite blogs about grandparenting you’d like to share with us? Fee free to leave a link in a comment below.

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Grammy Tanda and I are celebrating our 33 1/3 year anniversary this weekend! That’s a third of a century! She is a wonderful lady. It’s been a fun adventure so far!

Shayne and Tanda Wedding March 12, 1976

We are blessed with 5 children and 8 grandchildren.

- Grandpa Shayne

Grammy Tanda and I are going to be featured on StoryOfMyLife.com this week. My story will be published Wednesday, Feb. 4th, 2009, and Tanda’s will be on Thursday, the 5th. Our featured stories were written by a professional storyteller, Sarah Peppel, whose own story you can read at the Story of My Life website.

We are incredibly honored to be featured by Story of My Life. It is an amazing website. They are doing wonderful things. I am finishing writing a review of the site, and will be posting it Wednesday. Stay tuned…

- Shayne

[Update: You can read my Story of My Life website review here. It also has the links to our stories on their website.]

As a way of saying thank you to our readers, we are having a Christmas giveaway. We will award 35 copies of the New York Times bestselling book, The Christmas Box, by Richard Paul Evans. He originally wrote The Christmas Box as an expression of love for his two daughters, never intending for it to be published. Now, many Christmas seasons later, this touching tale relates the meaning of Christmas in a profound but simple way.

This book was the inspiration for the many angel statues around the country which are places to remember a child who has died. Mr. Evans founded The Christmas Box House International, an organization devoted to building shelters and providing services for abused and neglected children. To date, more than 16,000 children have been housed in Christmas Box House facilities.

The most important story we will ever write in life is our own — not with ink, but with our daily choices. ~Richard Paul Evans

The Christmas Box – Richard Paul Evans shares his story.

“So,” you ask, “What do I need to do to get one of these free books?”

Just two easy things: First, we want you to subscribe to GrandparentsTLC.com, either by email or RSS. Subscribing is free, and lets you know as soon as new posts are published.

Second, we want you to share with us a favorite holiday activity or tradition you have with with your grandchildren. Holidays such as Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or a special New Years Eve party. To qualify, your story needs to be a minimum of 100 words (about 9 lines in the comment field). Write your entry in the comment section of this post.

We only have 35 of these books to give away, so don’t miss out! Do it now while it’s on your mind. Click here -

1. Subscribe to GrandparentsTLC.com RSS feed or by Email.
2. Add your story.

So spread the word, and let the comments commence. Thank you. We look forward to reading your entries.

By the way, If you already own a copy of The Christmas Box, you can gift this to a grandchild or a friend.

- Shayne and Tanda Packer

We will mail a copy of this book to you at no charge. So be sure to enter your correct email address in the email field. We will contact you for your shipping address. This free book offer is good only while the supply lasts. Entries will be accepted until midnight January 5th, 2009.

[Update: Please feel free to add your story, even though this giveaway has ended. No more books will be given out. Each of the people who commented before the deadline will receive their book.]

Today is Blog Action Day 2008 – Poverty. Have you heard about it? I wanted to write about it and support this worthy cause. Since it is not about grandparenting, I posted it on my personal site. Please take a moment and learn about Blog Action Day at ShaynePacker.com.

Thank you! Shayne