We want to honor all you mothers and grandmothers this Mother’s Day. You do an amazing work!

No other success [in life] can compensate for failure in the home. (David O. McKay)

Here’s a fun Mother’s Day video I created with JibJab.com, starring my wife, Tanda.

Click on the Play triangle below.

Last year, Grammy Tanda wrote a mother’s day post about the lessons she has learned from her Grandmothers.

Happy Mother’s Day!

- Grandpa Shayne

Here is a funny video of our “Shorty Claus” skit that my son, Kerry, and I performed for our church Christmas social. After you watch it, I will give you some quick instructions on how to post your own YouTube video. So click the play button and enjoy!

If you had fun watching this video, please give it a quick “thumbs up”: vote for it on YouTube, and leave a comment there also. Thank you!

Now, I’d like to make a disclaimer: I don’t usually wear a beard. (I don’t particularly like the look. And Tanda gives me ”the look” when I kiss her, like it’s dis-”taste”-fully itchy.)

The simplest toy, one which even the youngest child can operate, is called a grandparent. ~Sam Levenson

How to post your own YouTube video

We are creating more in-depth tutorials that we will post later. But these steps will get you going.

Step 1. Shoot movie

Shoot a movie with a video camera, camcorder, anything that takes video. A digital video camera is the easiest to use and upload. Here’s a couple we recommend that have great consumer ratings.

• Flip Video Mino Series Camcorder, 60 Minutes for $159.00
• Canon VIXIA HV30 MiniDV High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom for $542.00

Step 2. Import movie into computer

Plug your camera into your computer with the USB of FireWire cable. Plug in the camera’s power cord. Power up the camera. Launch your video editing software. (This is one reason we love the Mac, iMovie comes free, and is so easy to use.) Some software lets you queue up the video to the first of the scene, or you can do this before connecting the camera to the computer.

Step 3. Edit movie (optional)

You can fine-tune the beginning and end of the scene, add title text, transitions, music, effects and adjustments. (Be sure to save your work if the software doesn’t automatically save it.)

Step 4. Upload video to YouTube

Note: You will need a YouTube account. You can sign up for free account if you don’t have one yet.

Some software, such as iMovie, lets you do upload directly. It also lets you add the description and tags. You can also upload videos from the YouTube site.

Step 5. Publish video

Once your video is uploaded, YouTube takes a few minutes to get it ready to view. Be sure to check all the settings, description and tags. If you have a blog, you can embed the video on your site, just like I did with my video above.

Step 5. Promote video

Email a link to your blog post, or to the video’s YouTube page. Tweet it. Put it on FaceBook. Ask all your friends and family to vote for it and write a comment, just like I’m doing now. I can’t wait to read your comments!

The "Real" Santa

So, have fun and create your own YouTube movie. Who knows, it just might be the next viral video! (Right after mine, that is).

Enjoy – Shayne

Please vote and comment on my Shorty Claus video now. Thanks!

You can give us a Christmas gift by bookmarking or emailing this to a friend!

Grammy Tanda and I went to a cultural performance with our son and his wife and their daughter. Our granddaughter, baby Isabella, is now 5 1/2 months old.

It was lots of fun; singing and dancing by several groups from Latin America. The problem is that the baby was supposed to be sleeping. There was just way too much excitement for one little girl — with the loud music, interesting movements, and colorful costumes.  So on the way home, she became cranky. Even Grammy singing Isabella’s favorite song wouldn’t calm her down. (She still loves you Grammy.)

Then I remembered I have thousands photos of the family on my Apple iPhone. (I figure it’s a grandparent’s duty to carry around as many bragging photos as possible.) So I said, “lets see what this high-tech grandpa can do!”

I whipped out my iPhone, chose a photo album with cute photos of the grandkids, and put it in slideshow mode. I held it in front of Isabella. She looked at and calmed right down. She was fascinated with all the photos of her cousins! 

Now, the baby is at that stage where she loves reaching for things and grabbing them. She put one hand on each side of my iPhone and held it there, mesmerized by the pictures on the screen. Well, she is also at that stage where her first teeth are starting to come through, and she likes to put things in her mouth. So she started “chewing” on the corner of my iPhone. I gently pulled it away, but she’d seen enough of my slideshow for one evening! She would rather chew on it. We went back and forth for a minute; a power struggle over who would win this high-tech duel! Luckily, we were about home by then.

If your baby is “beautiful and perfect, never cries or fusses, sleeps on schedule and burps on demand, an angel all the time,” you’re the grandma.  ~Teresa Bloomingdale

I’m happy to report that our high-tech grandbaby had a nice warm meal from her mom, and a pleasant night’s sleep. And in case you’re concerned, I’m also happy to report that my iPhone still works, ready to come to the rescue again at a moment’s notice. I love technology!

Keep on smilin’, Shayne

If you had fun reading this story, please bookmark it or email it to a friend. Thanks!