31 Mar 2010

 know you're wondering what I came up with. Possibly it's still a work in progress. I love the posters with Keep Calm and Carry On with the crown - so I'm going with a crown! I have girls - it will work :)

Plus - I can do a whole series of great quote posters such as that - to help with the hormone times. In theory that is ;)

So, here's what I've got:

As we're not big into the cross symbol - I put an S on the top for Shersy!

So what do you think? I'm planning on printing out postcards for our trip this summer with this on it - and letting the girls write or draw pictures of things that happen each day along the way (I'm sure we'll take tons of pictures too). We'll send them home to DJ - and then they'll all be waiting for us to make into memory books! That's the plan anyway....

Today has been pretty good - we're gearing up for Spring Break! I'm looking forward to sleeping in.

Well, that's all for now. Have a great evening!

30 March 2010

It's a rainy day here.  Perfect Spring rain! I'm taking the day off of research so I can put more family stories on. So many stories, so little time! Funniest thing happened - I've been in contact with some from DJ's side of the family - and collecting information from them. One gal sent me the very stories I posted! Had to chuckle! That's good though - that's what I want to happen - stories to be accessible and out there :)

I've researched (a bit) our family name and am working on (for lack of a better word) branding. I have a blog I watch and they show businesses that are well branded. It always inspires me - so I'm going to do something like that for us - something I can put on letterhead (like I ever use that!) - possibly on our outgoing mail template, etc. In short - on anything I like! Should be fun! I think I'll work on that today. I'll probably post some pics on here - minus the actual name so that you can see what I mean. It's going to be great!

I got the printhead replaced - and now my ink is too low :( So - when I'm next at the ink store I'll get more :)

Well, I better get going with all these plans. Have a great day and check out the family stories blog!

29 Mar 2010

Well, we got the trash taken. It was quite the adventure. I'm so glad that I had Amanda and the girls along. DJ ended up working so was unable to help. Although I'm a bit sore - it was empowering to see what we could accomplish.

Had a great Sunday - I'm so enjoying leading the music. What a treat!

I'm even grateful for my trials today. I've become more aware of those around me and the trials they have. I'm glad for what I've been given. So interesting how we each have individualized trials. I find myself making a conscious effort to draw near to my family - the girls and DJ in particular. Seems to me like if we don't draw close, we'll drift apart. Close quarters seem to help that effort. I'm glad I can keep myself busy enough to keep my mind from dwelling on things that bother me. So glad to have useful things to do. Just feeling very blessed.

I got a printer from my MIL - and it worked for a day or so and then decided to take a vacation. Today a package arrived from it's home (the factory) with some new parts that should get it back to work. Not sure how the install will go - how hard can it be?!? Maybe I shouldn't be asking that question. I guess it's a common issue with those Kodak all in one printers. :) I'm lucky to have a printer to fix because the one we had relied on for many (I don't even know how many) years decided to go terminal on us. Alas! The Lord is giving us what we need as we go along. Every time I get feeling a bit stressed, I have to remember this. It is true. If anyone needs to know this - all they have to do is ask to be made aware of the tender mercies of the Lord in their life.

Hope the week is good for each of you. It's going to be great here! Loves!

27 March 2010

Things are going well here. We're gearing up for a big adventure at the landfill - taking some neighbor's trash for her. :) Should be quite the time. My blistered feet are better. Even the next day they felt better - after they had been drained. Just some extra skin now....

The fun continues in the genealogy area. New finds every day. That's the benefit of working on a line that no one else has worked on. I found an interesting lead that I want to follow on DJ's side - but I'm finishing the one line on my side first :) I will get more stories posted to the other blog - hopefully soon!

Hope your day is going great! Have a wonderful weekend!

New Look

So I have a new look with the blog...I rather like it. It's tulips at the bottom :) I'll probably keep it for April. Sorry for those who have had readability issues. Hopefully this is better. Let me know if you're still having trouble :) Make it a great day!

25 Mar 2010

Yesterday was a busy one - doing my shift at the family history library. I made some great progress on my Mahala descendency chart. I need to update the file on my family web site. We got an update from our realtor - and the less time I have to think about that situation - the better! So - I'm trying to fill my time up the best I can.

McKay is home today and tomorrow - and both the other girls will be here tomorrow. Should be a fun busy day!

22 March 2010

I guess nobody knows any more about George than I do. Clearly he existed. Just glad we found him.

It was a nice weekend. Looking forward to all this week has in store for me :) Should be good. I printed out several of the census' I've collected - now I just have to get them organized. I was surprised to see how much I really had. Still mulling over the best way to organize it all....I'm leaning toward using my Photoshop Elements to help. Categories for type of record - Census, Death record, Marriage Record, etc. Broken down by year for census. With the people's names somehow tagged on each record. We'll see.

Well, I'm getting ready to go visiting teaching. Found a really good handout - lucky and blessed with a quote by Elder Bednar's talk in the May 2005 Ensign. Well, I better get going I guess....:) Have a great day!

20 Mar 2010

In reading the comments from my previous post, I think that there's some confusion. According to the 1850 Census - Henrietta is the 5th child. Here's the picture:

Robert (40)would have been born about 1810

Sarah (39) would have been born about 1811

Henry (15) would have been born about 1835

Mary J (13) would have been born about 1836

George (8) would have been born about 1842

Martha (5) would have been born about 1845

Henrietta (3)would have been born about 1847

Caroline would have been born about 1850 (2 months before the census)

Now here's 10 years later:

Robert is 57 (born about 1803)

Sarah is 48 (born about 1812)

Martha is 15 (born about 1845)

Henrietta is 13 (born about 1847)

Caroline is 10 (born about 1850)

John is 4 (born about 1866)

Henry is listed with the family above - helping his sister's family next door?

Henry is 25 (born about 1835)

Mary Messler (next door) is 23 (born about 1837)

...so the question is - what happened to George? Henrietta was young enough that she might not have remembered him. Perhaps he died somewhere between New Jersey and Illinois? He would have been about 18 in this census. The rest of the family is accounted for - and Henry is not married yet (at 25!).

This is why I think George was part of this family and am so glad that we've found him!

I'm giving the RootsMagic program a try - so far so good. Family Insight just wasn't doing it for me :) Plus, once I pay for the program, I can use my GenSmarts with it! If only it would document sources for me :)

Well, the family is waiting on me so I better go. Hope to hear what you all think about what happened to George.

18 Mar 2010

That is actually Taylor. She's covering her ears as Hinks is vacumming. Too loud :)

I've got some computer work to finish today - so it's going to be short. Have a great day!

16 Mar 2010

Edited - the camera wasn't cooperating yesterday. Posted on the 17th of March


Thanks for the feedback. I'll keep the stories coming. :) I'm just having too much fun researching. (Never thought I would say that!). Yesterday I had a real breakthrough. I found the record in New Jersey of Henrietta Bye's family. The enumerator (the guy writing everything down) spelled their name Buy. Sure enough though, she's there! I also noticed there was a brother that we were previously unaware of. Tender mercies! If you would like to take a look at this census here's the web site:

http://pilot.familysearch.org/

then you will need to enter Henrietta Buy. You don't need to put in any other information. The first result on the list should be her. :) She's in household 190. Very cool! She's 3 in the 1850 census. :) Just wanted to share. I seem to find some lost individual most days (or two or three!). The pilot site is really easy to use. I'm finally getting better at it. Once you have your list of results you can narrow the list in many ways - by year, place, etc. All the filter options listed at the top. Also - to move the actual census around the viewing window you just hold down your mouse on top of it and drag it to where you want to go. Hope that makes sense. It really is amazing to see your people on pages of history!

Well to the other information:

Dear G. Sue,

Today we had a bit of a mess. We were bringing flour upstairs and it got spilled. We did our very best to clean it up and all helped. Here's a couple of pictures to recap:

Sorry about that. Bet you didn't even guess :) We love you!

I'm walking gingerly as I had a rough time with some new shoes. Thought they would be wonderful - and they were until I tried walking 2 miles in them. Here's the result:

Don't worry! DJ drained them for me and they're feeling much better. Not wearing those shoes for a few days....

Enjoy your day and make it great!

15 March 2010

It's been a good weekend and a good day today. I so dislike the time change. :( Oh well!

Is anyone reading the stories I'm putting on? Is it worth my time to do?

12 Mar 2010

What a great Friday! I've had some wonderful research this week and found more family than I ever expected to find! I'm working on updated the records on new family search so you can all see what I've found too! That's keeping me busy for now - so this is short. Have a great weekend!

11 Mar 2010

Busy again today - but a good busy. Not much to say, unfortunately. I did find some interesting family history stuff - always finding things like that. If only Aaron wasn't one step ahead of me! Anyway - there's a great class at Big Picture Scrapbooking. Looked interesting. Here's a link: http://www.bigpicturescrapbooking.com/mirror.php

I'm going to show Kimball and let her do it :) I may do it myself too!

That's about it. Have a great evening - we're going bowling!

10 Mar 2010

Sorry to leave you all wondering if I made it home.....I did :) Late Monday night. I drove the whole way back so DJ could get some rest. Still recovering from the late night....but we had a wonderful time visiting family! Well, I did anyway. I'm off and running this morning - Family History Center Day! Hope your day is great!

8 Mar 2010

I know I have been MIA. Wanted to update the blog so you know where and what is up. We went to my in-laws for the weekend. Took the Toyota for some repairs. Enjoyed a baby blessing (Griffin) - and the family. We are getting an extra long weekend because the Toyota needed more repairs than we thought. DJ is continuing the repairs this morning (after working all day Saturday and late into the night, then again Sunday after church - late into the night). We have to be home tomorrow - so he has to get it done. Head gasket. So I'm posting from Dan & Kayes.

That's all thats up here. I have not been worried about the car getting done - really getting into the spirit of the word of the year - Savor. Just enjoying my time here. Grandma Dona is here too - so we have enjoyed seeing her.

Well that's enough for now....enjoy!

4 March 2010

So I missed yesterday. I was just too busy researching. It really is addictive! I'm going to put an assignment out there for anyone interested. Check with your local library - via web site - to see if you have access to Heritage Quest. That's it. Not any big deal. It will open doors for you previously unknown. When I think about what researchers in the past had to do - and what they had to work with - it is unbelievable how easy it is today.

So - if you do have access to Heritage Quest - you can search census records. Keep in mind that these haven't all been indexed - so you'll need to check a searchable index elsewhere (http://pilot.familysearch.org/ or http://www.ancestry.com/) to find where your ancestor was - then go to Heritage Quest and find the census image and download it :)

Because I missed yesterday, I put two stories on today and I'm going to do an extra one because I know my one follower to the story blog wants stories from another branch of the family.

Good luck with your assignment. It will only take a minute to see if you have access. That way you can research even more from home. I found that the pilot site has an index to the 1920 census - but no images. Well, Heritage Quest has the images. :) Let me know how it goes :)

2 March 2010

Well, the new blog is off and going! I'm finding that the closer the relation - the more editing needs done to protect the privacy of those still living. So - if you think the story is a bit different than you remember - this is why. I have taken out some names to protect the living.

Had to comment on Sarah's comment on the family site - All the work is already done. Really! I did the majority of the work back in 2008. This is giving me a chance to proofread the stories again - and I'm coloring the name in my files as I do them - to indicate which side of our family they are on (DJ or mine). That way when I'm ready to publish them in a book form for my girls - they will be all ready to go! It's just cutting and pasting :)

So today, my post took maybe 10 minutes to put together - picture and all. Not too bad! I'm going to check my settings to make sure you can subscribe in reader (if you choose). I'll also put a link on my personal blog :)

Well, that's about it for today. Just getting things set up so we can all access and more easily enjoy :) Loves to all!

New Blog

I am still going to do this blog as my personal blog - but I wanted to let you know I've started a new blog. I wanted to get the family stories out and more accessible to the world - so the new blog: http://myfamiliesstories.blogspot.com/

I am only posting the histories of those who have passed on - so if I have a history of you and you're still living, don't worry! Your history is safe with me :) I will not be indicating my (or your) relationship to the individual listed. Privacy and all....I will start with the family histories that I think will be of most interest to my current followers - but eventually all the histories in my family history book will be on here. Each will be listed under their name - for easy location of stories. I plan to do one a day (or so). I'm not going to post the picture pages on here - for many reasons - but I will post a individual picture that I have with the stories. If someone wants more pictures I'll do my best to get them out. I know that most of my family has a disk with these stories (or rather their stories) on it. Whether they have been read or not, I don't know. So - if you haven't had a chance to get into the disk, don't worry - just follow along with the blog and you'll hear incredible stories. If you wonder if you are related to the individual featured - simply log onto http://www.new.familysearch.org/ and take a look! If you have any other questions - email me and I'll get back to you. Please let me know if things need corrected :)

I'm hoping that we can collaborate a bit - possibly document under each individual what documents the family as a collective has. That way - if you want a copy of a specific document, you can contact whoever posts what they have and get a copy. More efficient I think....

And in case you haven't heard, Aaron is going to be spending a week researching family history with professional helpers in SL - in April! We are so excited about this!

Over the next few days I'll be reviewing what I've learned from the St. George Expo. As I think back, I'll post information on my personal blog here to share with those interested. While I'd rather my blog not be too publicized - I would like to share the myfamiliesstories blog with anyone. Feel free to publicize it anyway you like. Thanks in advance!