Posts Tagged: "daughter"

Gift of Education: 529 College Savings Plan

Princess Diana - November 24, 2015 - Baby Shower, Birthday, Christmas, Graduation, Kids, Money

As parents, we want to provide for our children. We give them food, clothing, shelter and affection. These are things they need now and today , but what about their needs down the road?

Parents also want to be able to provide for their children’s future, which is what my husband and I did when we opened up an Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan for our son.

By saving and investing money to help pay for college or trade school, we’re giving our son the gift of education – a gift with lifetime benefits.

I must say, I felt an immense sense of pride after opening our son’s college savings plan because I knew it was one of the most important decisions I could make on his behalf.

The tax advantages that come with a 529 plan makes it a much smarter move than just opening up a regular savings account. For starters, contributions to our son’s Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan can be deducted from our Oklahoma taxable income up to a maximum of $20,000 per year ($10,000 for individual tax payers).

In addition, the earnings portion of any distributions used to pay for qualified higher education expenses will be free from federal and Oklahoma income tax. That’s huge! It’s also important to know that what is considered “qualified” expenses goes beyond books, tuition and fees. For example, certain costs associated with room and board can be paid for with money from a 529 plan.

A Letter to Your Child | Christmas Tradition

Princess Diana - December 17, 2014 - Birthday, Christmas

I started a new Christmas tradition in my family by writing a letter to my child.

Life moves at lightning speed, and each year I want to take the time to stop, reflect and remember all of my child’s happy moments full of fun, love and laughter by writing about them in a letter.

write-letter-to-child-christmas-tradition

This Christmas gift idea will be cherished far more than any wrapped present under the tree.

I must admit, the whole process intimidated me at first.

How am I supposed to cram a whole year’s worth of stuff into a single letter? I don’t have time to write pages and pages! What should I focus on if I can’t write about everything?

I stopped freaking out when I thought – KISS. Keep It Super Simple.

Focus on the cake and worry about the frosting and sprinkles later. If all I end up with is cake, it will still be awesome and better than nothing. (That just popped into my head. I’ve never thought of comparing a letter to a cake before… It must be because I haven’t eaten dinner yet… even though it’s almost 8:30 p.m.!)

So I came up with the basic ingredients for a letter to a child:

Thank You Card Using Photo of Your Child

Princess Diana - November 4, 2014 - Thank You

Do you have a photo of your son or daughter that you know will get people to say, “Awwww… so cute!”?

thank-you-card-photo-child2-thoughtful-gift-idea

Glue a cute photo of your child to the front of a blank note card for a thoughtful thank you card!

That’s exactly what you’ll need for making this thank you card using a photo of your child.

When my son turned two years old, I wrote thank you cards to everyone who gave him a gift. Even though my son isn’t old enough to make or write his own thank you cards, I still wanted his thank you cards to be representative of him and his Oklahoma City Thunder basketball-themed birthday party.

I purchased blank note cards in the Thunder’s team colors, blue and orange, and made multiple 4X4 prints of a close-up photo I took of my son at his birthday party. In the photo, he is wearing his Thunder basketball jersey.

Not only is the photo adorable, but it will remind everyone of his birthday party!

Carry Your Memories With You | Coin Purse

Queen Darlene - July 15, 2014 - $20 or Less, Condolence

Mother passed away in 2012 at the age of 84. She was a very important part of my life. We spoke daily – using email or telephone relay service since she was deaf.

Mother was instrumental in developing my creativity. Ever since I was a little girl, she would ask me to think of ideas for gifts or games to do for birthdays, anniversaries or family gatherings. (Now I’m blogging about those ideas she encouraged me to come up with. Thanks Mother!)

When she died, I felt lost and missed her terribly.

Unique Money Gift for Graduates

Queen Darlene - May 15, 2014 - Graduation, Money

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Jqcl8XOzKU&feature=youtu.be

Face it. Kids want money. Even though most people want to give a memorable gift, many times they end up giving money in a blah graduation card. I’ve come up with a fail proof “you will remember this money gift above all else” high school or college graduation gift.

Purchase the latest issue of Money Magazine which gives advice on how to save, invest and make money. Hide multiple crisp dollar bills (or higher!) within the pages. Now roll it up with tissue paper and tie it up with a ribbon like a diploma.

It never fails. When they open it, they say…”oh, thanks”… and this is where your part comes in.

You say something like, “There is a wealth of information in that magazine about how to manage money wisely. Now that you have graduated and you’re an adult, it’s important that you learn this skill.”

They usually say thank you and place the magazine to the side – without even opening it.

This is when you enthusiastically encourage them to open it and find an article to read. They will oblige but unwillingly. (I have yet to have one person open a page with a dollar bill showing. I have no idea how that happens!)

They usually have to thumb through and when they discover some of the cash money, they’ll quickly flip through page after page to look for more and when they do that’s when you’ve done it! You’ve made them smile really big. (And that’s hard to get teenagers to do you know.)

Then they’ll get smart and go back to the very first page and methodically turn each page looking for more dollar bills until they’ve found them all. This gift is as much fun to give as it is to receive! The only way this gift gets a backseat to any other graduation gift is if the graduate gets keys to a car!

The safe way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket. – Frank Hubbard

Mother’s Day Love From a Special Needs Daughter

Queen Darlene - May 8, 2014 - Anniversary, Birthday, Christmas, Mother's Day

My sister-in-law Nancy is an amazing mother to her daughter, Whitney, who suffered from a brain injury at the age of four months. The doctors did not give much hope on her survival but she lived. She lives by a mother’s pure love for her child.

Then the doctors said she would never walk but she did. Nancy taught Whitney how to walk forward as she walked backwards while holding up her daughter.

The doctors said she would never talk but she communicates in a way her mother understands.

I am in awe of Nancy. She makes me want to be a better mother. I have also never met anyone with as much faith in God as Nancy. She praises Him for her daughter’s gift of life.

When you have a special needs daughter who is legally blind with poor hearing, your life is not considered normal. But Nancy and Whitney have created a life that is normal for them.

Did you know one in every 12 children in America is physically or mentally disabled? Mothers of disabled children earn a particularly special place on Mother’s Day, and disabled children sometimes need a little help in celebrating and expressing their love for their mother. And that’s where you and I can come in!

Mother & Me | Copycat Photos

Queen Darlene - April 24, 2014 - Birthday, Christmas, Mother's Day

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVM-NRryU84

Mother was a very visual person. She was deaf so her eyes were truly her window to the world.

She loved to look at everything and she filled her home with lots of beautiful and unusual things! There was not a spare inch on the bookshelves, hutch, desks, cabinet counters, windows sills or walls. She even collected more than 10,000 owls! (But that will have to be another story.)

Pictures were important to Mother. My brothers and I learned to stop whatever we were doing right then and there to take a picture if Mother wanted it. It was just easier to get it over with than to fuss with her. (Funny how history repeats itself. My boys stop and turn on the smiles for me – click – then they are off and on their way).

Mother cherished her pictures, and they brought her much happiness.