継父　はお母さんの再婚相手です。　stepfather 義父　は血のつながりのない父親のことです。stepfather, father-in-law だから義父はどっちの場合にも使えます

i won't say it is a must, but i think that helps.. usually dialects have irregular grammar rules and a lot of unique nouns. I am not sure if the elders can speak common Japanese (like my grandma, she can't speak standard Japanese).

msn とか　facebook の1行の現在の状況（ステータス）を入れるところが読めるよね、っていってるのかもしれません。

doushite watashiga? nande watashiga?

一日中勉強して時間をつぶした。 費やす／過ごす　ｓｐｅｎｄ　ｔｉｍｅ 潰す（つぶす）　ｋｉｌｌ　ｔｉｍｅ ｔｈａｔ’ｓ　ｍｙ　ｕｎｄｅｒｓｔａｎｄｉｎｇ．

I would hang out with him/her more often and talk to understand the person more. I would also try to organize a get-together; lunch, picnic, dinner, party whatever to involve more relatives and friends and take pictures and video. We can share a good time and later we can always talk about it.