Between Me and You - Keepsake Journals

A few days ago I received a spiral bound, hard cover book, about 6" by 6" square, from Winston Simmonds Jr of Sand Dune Publishing, LLC. The book is one in a series of about 15 versions, called "Between Me and You" . The one I received is titled "Between me and you GRANDMA. A few things I've been meaning to ask." At first glance I thought it was going to be sort of a like a diary that I (as the grandma) would write in, then give it to my grandchild. I love writing so that would be fine by me, but I thought, "hmm, not everyone is going to feel comfortable formulating their thoughts into something that would be worthy of giving to someone else as a gift." But then I realized that this book was actually like a 'guided journal' with questions that would stir your memories and help you put them in order.

As soon as I opened the journal I started reflecting on fond memories of my relationship with my great-grandmother who I loved so much and who shared so many stories of her lifetime with me when I was just a little girl. I felt sad about all the stories that I never got a chance to hear because she passed away while I was still very young. Then I began to think about how nice it would be to put MY stories in a journal for my granddaughter to have and for her to read one day so that we too could share that special bond. So I opened the journal with pen in hand.

I turned to the first page that said, "This book belongs to" (and contained a blank where I would insert my granddaughters name) "and was given to my grandmother" (and had another blank for inserting my name). The next page contained a very touching pre-written letter that said, "I am giving this book to you so that you will return it to me. You're so very special and this is my chance to learn a little more about who you WERE once upon a time and who you ARE right now. Please take some time to reflect on the questions inside and write as much or as little as you want. Please know that I will cherish it not because of what you write, but simply because you wrote."

This brought tears to my eyes...the thought that whatever I write in this book will be read by my granddaughter one day. How special that would be for both of us and what a wonderful Keepsake this book will be for her. It made me cry because I wished that I had a book like this filled with my great-grandmothers stories.

The book is divided into sections such as, When you were a kid; Your Youth; My Grandfather; You Then; You Now; and Other Stuff. Then each section has questions to stir your memories and help you know what to right. It isn't all mushy stuff either, it has questions like, "What were some of your favorite things to do as a child?" and "What kind of music did you like as a teen?" and "Tell my about the first time you met my grandfather." These questions easily help you think of what to write, then you just write the answers as if you are telling that person about the stories. I found it extremely easy to put my thoughts on paper. I also felt very happy while writing in the journal that would be given to my granddaughter who is now almost 3 years old, knowing that one day when she is a pre-teen she may read the stories, and probably again when she is a young mother and who knows, she may even read it again when she too is a grandmother.

Sorry for getting so melancholy over this review but I truly think this series of books are the most wonderful, beautiful, touching keepsake gift that you could ever give to someone you love. There are 15 different keepsake journals (including two in Spanish) that are available. I am going to order some of the 'Sister' books for my daughters and for my sister, as well as the 'Aunt' & 'Unlce' books for my daughter & son-in-law to give to my grandbabies, and I will have to get the 'Honey' book for my Sweetheart and the 'Mom' book for my daughters as well. At a price of just $14.95 each this is a very inexpensive book that will last longer and have more memories than any gift you could give.

Winston & Sand Dune Publishing have generously offered to give a "Between Me & You" book to one of our lucky readers ANYWHERE in the World! If you would like to win one of these beautiful books you must complete at least the mandatory entry below. For extra entries you can complete any or all of the additional tasks below.

If you can't wait for the close of this giveaway or, you know you are going to want more than one journal even if you are the winner, you can use this Special Code "BM001" that Winston has created especially for our readers and you will receive $1.00 off of EVERY keepsake journal that you purchase by 11/02/09.

To WIN a "Between Me & You Keepsake Journal" from Sand Dune Publishing, LLC, here's what you need to do:

Entries in this particular giveaway are open to anyone, anywhere in the world!

FIRST, you must complete the Mandatory Entry by visiting the Sand Dune Publishing website to see all of the different Keepsake Journals that are available. Then comment below to tell us which one you would like win. Be sure to include your email address in the comment so I can contact you if you win. To prevent bots from picking up your email address and sending you spam, please enter your email address as: "BloggerMommies at gmail dot com"

After completing the mandatory entry above, you can get additional entries by doing any or all of these tasks: (you must leave each entry in a separate comment in order for them to each count.)

~ Become a Follower this blog. (then post in the comment box to say you are now a follower of this blog.)

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~ Follow @JournalDude on twitter. (then tell us that you follow @JournalDude on Twitter & include YOUR Twitter name in the comment box)

~ Follow @BloggerMommies on Twitter (then tell us that you follow on twitter & include Your Twitter Name in the comment box)

~ Tweet about this Review & Giveaway on Twitter, you must include at least the following in your tweet: WIN a "Between Me & You Keepsake Journal" Makes a Great Gift http://bit.ly/2RGsrX @BloggerMommies ends 11/2 (Copy & Paste as it is, to prevent errors in your tweet. If you get a 'Duplicate Post' notice from Twitter just add the RT to the beginning.) You may tweet this up to 3 times per day, no more often than every 4 hours. Be sure to post a comment here immediately after each time you tweet and include your Twitter ID & link to your status in the comment box (I will reject any comments that say "tweeted yesterday, or earlier this morning", comments must be submitted within an hour of when tweet posted).

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*NOTE: Your comments will not immediately appear because they have to be verified & approved first.

This Giveaway will end on Monday, November 2, 2009 at 5:00pm (Mountain Time). One random comment will be chosen at that time. The winning comment will be verified at that time so if you said you follow the blog in your comment and we don't find you in the follow list, we will choose another winner. The winner will be contacted by email and will have 48 hours to reply with their name and shipping address. If a response is not received within 48 hours that winner will forfeit the prize and a new winner will be selected. Sorry, no exceptions. [19042-25982]

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