https://padlet.com/slhelmers/xpfbn7afmj0h Made with whimsy en-us 2018-01-18 17:53:48 UTC 2025-11-17 22:12:37 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/File.png slhelmers https://padlet.com/slhelmers/xpfbn7afmj0h/wish/222541152 My great grandfather on my mother's side ran away from England at 16 to come to the US. I also have Irish, German and as my mom always said "a little bit of Scotch" in my background. The English background of our family was emphasized the most in traditions.
This is a picture of me and my sister with my great grandfather.]]> 2018-01-18 17:54:43 UTC https://padlet.com/slhelmers/xpfbn7afmj0h/wish/222541152 slhelmers https://padlet.com/slhelmers/xpfbn7afmj0h/wish/222550819 I am a huge believer in the importance of traditions. I think they connect families and generations. We make a big deal out of Christmas in our house, just like my parents did for us growing up. We cut down our tree and even though my youngest daughter is 16, my girls still put up their stockings. We've incorporated my husband's Dutch heritage into our traditions by making his mother's traditional appeltart every year for Thanksgiving. I also grew up routing for all of the Philadelphia sports teams and have tried to pass that passion onto my children, although only my youngest seems to have taken the teams to heart!
My daughters at the Christmas Tree Farm.]]> 2018-01-18 18:15:20 UTC https://padlet.com/slhelmers/xpfbn7afmj0h/wish/222550819 slhelmers https://padlet.com/slhelmers/xpfbn7afmj0h/wish/222552469 I value family. I am lucky that my two sisters live close by, as do my parents. My husband and I moved to California for two years, but moved back to the east coast so that our children would grow up surrounded by their relatives. I vacation every year with my parents and sisters at the Jersey Shore and my husband's mother moved behind us. I also value social justice and treating everyone with dignity and kindness. My husband and I have emphasized this as we raise our daughters.
Me and my family.]]> 2018-01-18 18:19:01 UTC https://padlet.com/slhelmers/xpfbn7afmj0h/wish/222552469 slhelmers https://padlet.com/slhelmers/xpfbn7afmj0h/wish/222553565 I think my ethnicity is quite typical, but growing up I always thought it was neat that my great grandfather ran away on a ship to come to the US. ]]> 2018-01-18 18:21:10 UTC https://padlet.com/slhelmers/xpfbn7afmj0h/wish/222553565 slhelmers https://padlet.com/slhelmers/xpfbn7afmj0h/wish/222555594 I grew up going to the Episcopal church and internalized the idea that we should treat others the way that we would want to be treated. I also think it comes from watching my mother and father's actions.
My parents and their grandchildren.]]> 2018-01-18 18:25:03 UTC https://padlet.com/slhelmers/xpfbn7afmj0h/wish/222555594 slhelmers https://padlet.com/slhelmers/xpfbn7afmj0h/wish/222868110 I need to find my keys.

]]> 2018-01-19 17:13:51 UTC https://padlet.com/slhelmers/xpfbn7afmj0h/wish/222868110 slhelmers https://padlet.com/slhelmers/xpfbn7afmj0h/wish/223405697 I love dogs and grew up with dogs and cats all my life. We now have two dogs, Midnight & Stella. We are big fans of rescues, and volunteer with Main Line Animal Rescue.]]> 2018-01-22 16:13:52 UTC https://padlet.com/slhelmers/xpfbn7afmj0h/wish/223405697 slhelmers https://padlet.com/slhelmers/xpfbn7afmj0h/wish/223408419 We love the beach, skiing and I also like spending time hiking. My children love the shore but tolerate hiking and skiing. It will be interesting to see if they incorporate the latter two into their families when they get older.]]> 2018-01-22 16:18:38 UTC https://padlet.com/slhelmers/xpfbn7afmj0h/wish/223408419