To genealogists everywhere: We are the chosen

I saw this on the Jones Genealogist and wanted to share it.

We are the chosen. In each family there is one who seems called to find the ancestors. To put flesh on their bones and make them live again, to tell the family story and to feel that somehow they know and approve.

Doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts but, instead, breathing life into all who have gone before. We are the story tellers of the tribe. All tribes have one. We have been called, as it were, by our genes. Those who have gone before cry out to us, "Tell our story!" So, we do.

In finding them, we somehow find ourselves. How many graves have I stood before? How many times have I told the ancestors, "You have a wonderful family; you would be proud of us." How many times have I walked up to a grave and felt somehow there was love for me? I cannot say.

It goes beyond just documenting facts. It goes to who am I and why do I do the things I do. The bones here are bones of my bone and flesh of my flesh. It goes to pride in what our ancestors were able to accomplish, how they contributed to what we are today. It goes to respecting their hardships and losses, their never giving in or giving up, their resoluteness to go on and build a life for their family.

It goes to deep pride that the fathers fought and some died to make and keep us a Nation. It goes to a deep and immense understanding that they were doing it for us. It is of equal pride and love that our mothers struggled to give us birth. Without them we could not exist, and so we love each one, as far back as we can reach. That we might be born who we are. That we might remember them. So we do.

With love and caring and scribing each fact of their existence, because we are they and they are the sum of who we are. So, as a scribe called, I tell the story of my family. It is up to the one called in the next generation to answer the call and take my place in the long line of family storytellers.

This is why I do my family genealogy, and that is what calls those young and old to step up and restore the memory or greet those whom we have never known before. So we do.

Author Unknown

This is my sentiments exactly!!

August already?

I can't believe that August is tomorrow! It's been a crazy month here! Let me update you all. I started working mornings at WIMPS Fitness. I figured it would be the best way for me to get my butt in gear and start working out regularly. It worked! I lost 16 lbs and 30 inches in a month. Woo hoo!!

I had to give a talk in Sacrament and I was a little worried, but I was able to do it. I actually stood and spoke for 25 minutes. It was awesome!! Today, my youngest is giving a talk about YW camp and she's nervous.

We got Zakk's room assignment and he's all set to check in on August 19. I can't believe that's in three short weeks. But, I am excited to see him off on his own adventures.

I got to meet via telephone my mom's cousin Darrel. He is the son of my great aunt Lorene. We were able to talk at length and I found him a very nice man. We are working on establishing our native american ancestry. He also gave me some photos that I really love. He connected me to a researcher in Texas and now I'm going to be helping write the family history of our two families for her to include on the county webpage. That should be an awesome experience.

I've done a lot of scrapping lately. I am now on a new CT and I love it. I've always loved this gal's layouts and now I get to play with her gorgeous templates too!! So, here's some layouts I've done using her templates and of course the gorgeous designs of The Ettes, both designers are located at Pickleberry Pop. Here's the links to their stores:
The Ettes: http://www.pickleberrypop.com/shop/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=85
Jumpstart Designs: http://www.pickleberrypop.com/shop/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=102

Now for the layouts:
These two use The Ettes Going Coastal kit and Jumpstart Designs set 1 templates.




These two use The Ettes Hey Girlfriend kit and Jumpstart Designs set 1 templates:




These two use The Ettes PS I Love You kit and Jumpstart Designs sets 3 and 4 templates.




These two use The Ettes If My Heart Could Speak kit and Jumpstart Designs sets 3 and 4 templates.




These two use The Ettes Time 4 Dreams and Jumpstart Designs set 2 templates:




These two use The Ettes Time 4 Family and Jumpstart Designs set 2 templates:




I just love working with these designs!! I have some more, but I need to put finishing touches on them such as shadows and journaling, so be on the lookout for some more!

Until then, have a good and safe August!

Fearless Females: Day #2

Post a photo of one of your female ancestors. Who is in the photo? When was it taken? Why did you select this photo?



I love this photo because it contains three of my direct line ancestors. The lady on the front row is Mirrietta Walker Wooten, my great great great grandmother. The lady sitting beside her is her mother, my 4th great grandmother, Martha Luticia Portis Walker and the young lady standing between the old man and the woman with the baby on her lap is my great grandmother Gladys Ruth Wooten Graham.

We believe this photo was taken circa 1910-12. My great grandmother was born in 1900 and she looks to be between 10 and 12 in this photo. I love this photo because it shows a line of my family that I have worked very hard on. It really brings faces to the names that I've researched for so long. I chose this photo because it represents three of my direct line ancestors and I just love it.


In other news, it's been two weeks since I last spoke about the show Who Do you Think You Are? and we've seen the journeys of Rosie O'Donnell and Kim Cattrall. At first, I didn't really care to see Rosie O'Donnell's episode. She's too far left for me, but since the show is about genealogy, I decided to watch it. It was very neat because it focused on her Irish ancestors who were affected by the potato famine. I have ancestors that were also affected by that, and it really brought home to me what my ancestors may have gone through. She was also united with distant relatives that she didn't know she had, which was very cool. I enjoyed that episode very much.

Then Kim Cattrall's episode was last Friday. Wow! That's all I can say. She had a grandfather that left her grandmother and his three daughters and never contacted them again. It was sad to find Kim Cattrall finding out that her grandfather was really a jerk. I really was affected by this because my grandfather supposedly left my grandmother and mother as well. Only to find out years later that he never left her that it was actually my grandmother who did the leaving, which made huge impacts on my mom her whole life. At the end of the show, Kim decided not to contact her grandfather's four children, but her mother and two sisters did. That made me feel so good. Perhaps I should contact my mother's two surviving half brothers and meet them.

This week is Lionel Richie and that one looks like it's going to be good. I also found out that there will be a third season of this show. I am so happy because I really love it.

Anyway, I hope you all have a great day! Now that I'm feeling alive again, I need to scrap what I didn't get done last week and add this week on top of it.

Fearless Females: Day #1

Once again, in honor of National Women’s History Month, Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist blog presents Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women’s History Month.

Here's the March 1 prompt: Do you have a favorite female ancestor? One you are drawn to or want to learn more about? Write down some key facts you have already learned or what you would like to learn and outline your goals and potential sources you plan to check.

I do have a favorite female ancestor, and I know quite a bit about her. She was my paternal great grandmother and her name was Ellen Jane Folden Ausmus. Nellie, as she was known, was born 4 March 1881 in Strang, Fillmore, Nebraska to parents Charles William Folden and Alice Amelia Kirwin Folden. She married John Calvin Ausmus on 2 March 1902 in Strang, Fillmore, Nebraska. She and John were the parents of four children - Ethel Alberta Claudia Ausmus, John Donald Ausmus, Ruth Ausmus (died at three days old), and Charles Clair Ausmus (my grandfather).

Nellie was only 11 years old when her mother passed away. She lived with her mother's brother and worked for him on his farm. Nellie married John Calvin Ausmus and had her first child Ethel in Nebraska. John and his two brothers wanted a better life for their families, so they immigrated to Saskatchewan, Canada. Nellie came with her daughter and sister-in-law a few months later. Nellie had her last three children in Saskatchewan. They lived there for 11 years and decided that the winters were just too harsh for them. They moved to Los Angeles, California.

Nellie was a wonderful mother and devoted grandmother. She lost her beloved John in April 1940 and devoted the rest of her life to her children and grandchildren. In December of 1952, Nellie was diagnosed with stomach cancer. She was only given a few weeks to live. But, determined not to ruin Christmas for her children and eight grandchildren, she hung on and spent her last Christmas with her family. Nellie lost her battle with stomach cancer on 4 January 1953 in Torrance, Los Angeles, California. Nellie was cremated and her ashes scattered in Palo Verde, California.

I have always felt a deep connection to this lady. I can't explain it, but I have often felt her presence in my life. I know it sounds strange to feel this presence when I've never even met the lady, but her presence is strong in my life and in me. I love her and look forward to the day that I can meet her.

52 weeks of genealogy: week 7

Week 7: Toys. What was your favorite childhood toy? Is it still being made in some form today?

My favorite childhood toy was Hot Wheels cars. Yes, I know I am a girl, but I really loved playing with Hot Wheels cars. I had a ton of them and played with every single one of them. Then, one fall, my two uncles came to visit. They came every fall to go deer hunting with my dad. My uncle Bob always gave each of us kids $10 to spend on what we wanted. I thought that was the coolest thing! So, when I was six, I got my yearly $10 from my uncle and we went to the local TG&Y store and I bought a Drowsy doll. I totally loved that dolly. She spoke little things and had the cutest little pink and white polka dot pajamas on. I still have that dolly today. I love her.

On another note, has anyone been watching this season's Who do you think you are? I have and have been enjoying it immensely. The first week was Vanessa Williams and I have to admit, I wasn't looking forward to her. I have a friend in the entertainment business and he said that she's a real snot to work with and that she has that attitude that she's better than everyone else. So, going into it with those preconceived notions about her, I wasn't too thrilled about it. But, I have to say, that it was wonderful to see her find so much on her ancestry. She even found a photo of one of her ancestors in his military records in Washington D.C. which is amazing. It was neat to learn about her and her ancestry.

This past week was Tim McGraw and I have to admit, I was totally looking forward to this one! He's one of my favorite country singers, and I thought it would be neat to see his journey and I was NOT disappointed. He chose to research his dad's side, which I can totally understand since he didn't even meet his dad until he was 11. He had some amazing links to some pretty amazing Americans - George Washington (a brother to one of my ancestors) and Elvis Presley. It was also neat to see his link to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia since I had ancestors that lived there as well at the same time as his. I wonder if they knew each other? It was awesome and I enjoyed it.

This next week is going to be Rosie O'Donnell and I have to admit, I don't really care to see it. But, the genealogist in me can't not watch it. It's just what I do. I love anything related to genealogy, so I'll watch it, but Rosie is too left wing for me. It will be interesting to see her journey though.

52 weeks of personal genealogy: week #6

Week 6: Radio and Television. What was your favorite radio or television show from your childhood? What was the program about and who was in it?

When I was a kid, I loved to listen to the local rock radio station. I would hold up in my room listening to that and read. I loved it. When I did watch tv, we watched shows like Little House on the Prairie, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and CHiPs. We weren't allowed to watch too much tv. Little House was on Mondays; Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley were on Tuesdays; and CHiPs was on Saturdays.

52 weeks of genealogy: week #5

Week 5: Favorite Food. What was your favorite food from childhood? If it was homemade, who made it? What was in this dish, and why was it your favorite? What is your favorite dish now?

When I was a little girl, even to now, my mama would make catfish and hush puppies. I LOVE my mama's catfish. She didn't do anything special with it, but she made it perfectly. Even now when I go home to visit, I beg her to make it. It's comfort food for me.

So many people

Through this journey of mine to climb the family tree, I have met so many wonderful people. People who see my family tree at ancestry.com and want to share information/photos/documents etc. It's been a wonderful experience sharing what I have with others.

Recently, I received an email from a lady who is researching the Wooten line for her cousin. She saw a photo that I have on my ancestry.com account of my ggg grandmother and realized that her cousin was also a descendant. We've been in touch and I'm so excited to share what I have with her. You see, when my great grandma passed away in 1989, my uncle had planned to throw a big box of "junk" away. But, seeing that it had documents and such in it, my aunt suggested that he give it to me. It was a treasure trove of genealogical information!! I can't believe he wanted to throw it away.

In the box contained letters that my ggg grandparents wrote to each other while he was serving in the civil war. It contained their marriage license, and two telegrams informing her of his passing. The photo that I mentioned above was also in that box along with some other things including his hat from the civil war. I guess it's true that one man's junk is another woman's treasure. LOL

Anyway, my next few days will consist of scanning the already printed letters (I printed them off once so as not to handle the originals too much) and sending them to her.

So, my advice would be this - never be too shy to reach out to someone while researching your genealogy. You never know who you'll meet or what you'll come across.

52 weeks of genealogy: week #4

Week 4: Home. Describe the house in which you grew up. Was it big or small? What made it unique? Is it still there today?

The very first house that I remember is one that we lived in out in the country. It was on a dirt road. Across the street and to the right of the house were woods that we used to live to explore in. In the back was a HUGE garden that my mom and dad planted vegetables in. If we were to walk up the road on the right about a half mile, we would get to our babysitters house. Her name was Janice and she lived there with her parents. Her daddy worked for the city and drove an orange truck, so whenever we saw an orange truck, we'd say, "There's Janice's daddy." If you were to walk up the road on the left, you would get to a big house that was owned by the man that owned our house. His name was Vernie. We lived there until I was seven and we moved to California. The one thing that I loved about that house was the long summer nights. We would lay out on the grass and catch fireflies. I loved it. That house burned down in the 80s, but it was rebuilt and is still there today.

When we lived in California, we lived in an apartment that my parents managed. We lived there a year, and then we moved back to Arkansas. We lived in a house that my great aunt owned. It was a two bedroom house, but my daddy enclosed the back porch to make another bedroom and it was mine. I loved it out there. But, my parents decided to move me in a room with my sister, and then give my brother the other room, so the back porch became their bedroom. That house is no longer there. They torn down the entire block to enlarge the army reserves location.

We later moved to Texas when my dad took a new job. We first lived in an apartment, and then moved to a house that was owned by a man in our church. We lived there until I graduated and moved to a neighboring town. That house has a lot of memories. We actually moved there my last month of high school and stayed there until my third child was born. It was a little three bedroom house and we loved it. I have a lot of memories in that house. That was the house where I planned my wedding. It's the house where I brought my children to come and visit their grandparents. It's the house that I lived in when I graduated high school as well as junior college. I will always love that little house.

That's about all the main houses that I lived in. Man, it was so much easier to be a child. I miss those carefree days.

52 weeks of genealogy: Week #3

Cars. What was your first car? Describe the make, model and color, but also any memories you have of the vehicle. You can also expand on this topic and describe the car(s) your parents drove and any childhood memories attached to it.

My first car was a Plymouth Volare station wagon that my parents let me use my junior year of high school and on into my first year of college. It was a yellowish tanny color and I hated that thing. LOL But, it was a car that I could drive and get around in and that was great for me. Once I went off to college in Idaho, my parents sold it to this jerky guy that kept wanting me to marry him. I had NO interest in him at all, but he thought it was kismet that he drove my car around. Yuck!

When I got home, my dad told me about a co-worker of his that was selling a used 1980 Toyota Corolla, and I bought it for $500. It was blue and got good gas mileage. I even drove it back to Idaho for my second year of college. I had that car until I got married in 1989. It was a good little car. We had some good times in that car.

Ahh, those were the carefree days of my youth.

52 weeks of genealogy: week 2

Here is this week's prompt: Week 2: Winter. What was winter like where and when you grew up? Describe not only the climate, but how the season influenced your activities, food choices, etc.

When I was growing up, which was in Arkansas, we got occasional snow and it was a real treat when it happened. We experienced the seasons there and my favorite was fall. Spring was always so beautiful with the budding flowers and plants. It always smelled so nice because my mom had a lot of rose and mum bushes around the house. I loved seeing those flowers bloom every spring. Summer was a bit warm, but we usually spent those days fishing at the pond at my Grammy's house or swimming. I loved the summer food because it was fresh fruits and veggies. Yum! Then fall would come along and it would cool things down and the days got shorter. It was in the fall that my dad would go hunting and my two uncles would come from California to go with him. Winter meant colder days and break from school, which I loved. It also meant a trip to Grammy's house to spend Christmas with her.

I think of those days with much fondness and remember quite a few seasonal traditions we had. One such tradition was canning. When the summer started winding down, we would head over to my great Aunt Jo's house and can the fruits and veggies for the winter. My mom, Grammy, and Aunt Jo also made homemade jams, blackberry and apple butter mostly, and I loved spending time over there helping them with the canning.

I truly miss those days because they were simpler and families spent more time together than these days. Nowadays, it's all about Xbox, PS3, and DVRd television shows. I miss the days when families spent time together and actually communicated with each other. Now, when I want to talk to one of my kiddos, I have to text them.

52 weeks of personal genealogy: Week #1

I've decided to be a more active member of my Geneabloggers group. I haven't been too active in the past year, and I feel that needs to change. I mean, this blog is called The Scrappin Genealogist for heaven's sake. LOL

So, each week, I'll be doing the weekly prompt. Here's week #1's prompt: Did your family have any New Year’s traditions? How was the New Year celebrated during your childhood? Have you kept these traditions in the present day?!

When I was little, our biggest tradition was that we got to stay up until midnight to ring in the new year. We always had sparkling apple cider and lots of yummy snack type foods. In later years, it sort of became a tradition that the girls would dye their hair. You know, new year, new look. We would put the dye on our hair, eat the goodies, and sit and work on jigsaw puzzles. When I was in my early to mid teens, we even watched New Year's Rockin Eve with Dick Clark. I have a lot of fond memories of those days.

As for New Year's day, my mama always made a pot of black eyed peas, corncakes, fried potatoes, cabbage, and some sort of dessert. I think it's a southern thing to eat that kind of stuff and I always found it a good tradition. As for keeping up the tradition, well, I am ashamed to say that I haven't kept it up. Where we live, the local community always has a big New Year's eve party for the kids at the high school. My kids have gone every year since we've lived here. So, this year on New Year's Eve, I sat and watched Three Stooges with my hubby and he ended up falling asleep. We ate leftover tamales and enchiladas.

We got snow and more

I woke up Wednesday morning to snow. Can you believe it? I was really enjoying the fall weather and winter snuck her little behind in. There is still a little in my yard and it's still cold, but it's nice and sunny today. Yea!!

Lots has happened in the 11 days since I posted. The first thing is that international digital scrapbooking day was last Saturday and Cindy Schneider was having a contest to join her CT. Well, I just had to enter because I LOVE Cindy's templates. And guess what? I won!! I am now a full time CT member for Cindy Schneider. I couldn't be more thrilled about this. That puts my CTs up to four - Amy Wolff and Cori Gammon at The Lily Pad, Cindy Schneider at Sweet Shoppe Designs, and Pickleberry Pop. I am also guesting for Jacque Larsen this month. It's been a fun month!!

Last night was the ward chili cookoff. It was the third annual one and it was fun. We had 16 chili entries. It was nice to see so many people there. Now, we have the Feliz Navidad to plan and then I'm taking a break for a few months. =)

I've been faithfully doing my 30 Days of Thankful. Here's my list so far:

Day 1: I am thankful for the 6 lbs I lost at my weigh in making my total loss 62 lbs!!!
Day 2: I am thankful I can make my voice heard through voting!!
Day #3: I am thankful for having good people in my life whom I call friends.
Day #4: I am thankful for my three kiddos who make me smile, laugh, love, and a few negative emotions as well!
Day #5: I am thankful for my cousin Kathy, who celebrates her birthday today! Happy birthday cousin! I love you!
Day #6: I am thankful that it's international Digital Scrapbooking day!!
Day #7: I am thankful for NyQuil geltabs!
Day #8: I am thankful for the wonderful Young Women leaders that teach my daughters.
Day #9: I am thankful it isn't snowing anymore.
Day #10: I am thankful my migraine is gone.
Day #11: I am thankful for my uncle Bob and cousin Jason who served in the armed forces of this great country. I am also thankful to other relatives and ancestors who served including my grandfather Charles Clair Ausmus who would have been 94 today!
Day #12: I am thankful for my calling as Activities Chairman and getting to plan fun activities for the ward. I'll see all you Ely 1st Ward peeps at the chili cookoff tonight!!
Day #13: I am thankful for a beautiful sunny day today!

I've also been working hard on the genealogy front. I am so happy with all the success I have had with researching Dylan's ancestry. I am so excited to be able to hand him his binder once I get it finished. I took a little break from his, and worked on some of mine for a while. It's good to mix things up a bit so that you don't get burned out on one family. I have had a little success with some of mine as well. Today, I may just work on it some.

I tackled my office on Thursday. I got so sick and tired of all the clutter on my side of the room, that I worked my rear off purging and dusting and vacuuming. I first thought I wanted to change the layout of the room, so I put it the way I wanted, and then I quickly realized I did NOT like it that way. So, I changed it back to the way I originally had it. But, now it's clutter and dust free and I just love it. Now, if I only had a more comfortable chair to sit in, then life would be grand. This project so inspired me, that I am going to start my room next.

I think that's about all that's been going on here. It's been pretty busy, but I love it that way.

30 Days of Thankful

I am SO glad that October is done!! It was a horrible month! The worst part was that my uncle passed away on October 22. His memorial service was on the 30th, but I wasn't able to make it. Our trunk or treat was that night at the church and it was a HUGE success!! We had hundreds of people there!! I always love it when we have good turnouts!

Ok, so I started this yesterday on Facebook, but I'm gonna make my list here too!!

Day 1: I'm thankful for the 6 lbs I lost at my weigh in making my total loss 62 lbs!!!

Day 2: I'm thankful I can make my voice heard through voting!!

So, the last high school football game for Zakk was last week. It was pretty emotional for all the seniors. Three boys ended up hurt: Zakk with a broken finger; Jake with a broken elbow; and Tyler with a broken foot. It's a good thing it was the last game, since our team was shrinking each week due to injuries!

I've been scrapping, but haven't posted any LOs here. I need to I know, but I just haven't yet. LOL This month I get the honor of guest CTing for Jacque Larsen! I am super excited!! Next month I'll continue with Jacque and I also get to guest for Meg Mullens at Sweet Shoppe Designs!! I am super excited about that!!

I've been working on Zakk's best friend's genealogy. I've found a lot of information for him. It's nice to be able to work on something and have results. I have so many brick walls that it gets a little discouraging. But, that's all part of the hunt. I am glad that Dylan is enjoying seeing his genealogy and knowing that these people are real.

Janet and Ron came over today and took me to the new gym. I am super excited about it! She said it should be opening in a few weeks!! I am really getting excited to see it all finished. The space is really nice and it's going to be fantastic when they get it all buttoned up and beautiful!! And it's less than a quarter mile from my house!!

I think that's all the news that's fit to print right now! LOL I'll be back later to post LOs that I did last month! It sure feels good to be scrapping again!

Updates

The news about my uncle wasn't good. His cancer has spread to his liver, lungs, and lymph nodes. At this time, there is no news on what stage he is in. I am so sad, but I will continue praying for him and his family. My aunt is taking it hard, it just makes me so happy that my dad is there with them.

We had a home game last Friday and we won 60-0. It was AWESOME!! I enjoy watching my son play. It sure makes the games more fun to be able to watch him. Tomorrow's game is also a home game. I love it!!

I have been scrapping more lately. It's been nice to get back to my scrapping. I enjoy being able to scrap for me and my family and not for others. Don't get me wrong, I loved being on the CTs that I was on, but at times, it was hard to scrap. Sometimes a kit just didn't speak to me, or I didn't have the right photos. I am on four CTs now, and am seriously thinking of scaling back two of them.

I have also been working on my genealogy. I think I have finally broken through a brick wall. It's so nice, and I'm working on connecting the lines, but that will come. Now, I have a starting point in which to look. I have also been helping my sons friend with his. It's nice to be able to find stuff and build a tree for someone.

The diet has been a roller coaster. For the past month, I've been gaining one week, losing one week, and so on. It's been getting irritating. So, I've kicked it up a notch and now I am walking a mile a day. I really am feeling good. At times, my body hurts, but that will go away after I've been at it longer. I am working hard on staying on program and there are times it's really easy and times it is so hard. But, I'll keep going. I want to lose 100 lbs by the time my son graduates high school which is May 30.

I guess that's about it. I have to go and cook dinner. I think we'll be having some baked chicken and rice with veggies. That sounds good to me.

Lots going on

I am hoping that once school starts, that I'll be posting more often. This summer has been busy and fun. It makes me sad to think that this is my last summer with Zakk as a high schooler. Next year, he'll be off to Reno, starting his own life. Man, I hope this year goes by slowly.

My weight loss is now 40 lbs! I am super happy about that. I've been walking up at the track every morning with my friends Ron, Janet, and Christine. I pushed myself too hard, and hurt my knee, so now I walk along the football field. It's still 1/4 mile and it still feels great. I started doing yoga and I love it. Ron has me doing some stretching exercises every day, and I am up to four times a day, but am planning on going up to six times a day.

Zakk started football practice this week. He's been coming home exhausted every night. The practices are three hours and they do 1 1/2 hours of conditioning. So, needless to say, Zakk is really tired when he gets home at 8:30. He is going to be playing on the defensive line and he was told that he'll be a starter, which is good! I can't believe he's a senior this year.

Hannah is going to be a junior this year. I can't believe my babies are growing up so fast. It's really made me sad to think that in a few short years, my children will all be on their own and starting their own lives. Time sure flies by quickly. It seems like yesterday they were my babies.

Beka is set to get her patriarchal blessing on the 21st in Spanish Fork. It is such a blessing to have my father-in-law be a patriarch and I think it will be very special for her to get it from her grandpa. She is super excited for seminary to start on the 30th.

I've been scrapbooking like crazy. I realized that I was buying a lot of junk. So, I purged my computer of all the stuff that I know I won't use, and have been scrapping with the stuff that I really like and that fits my style. I am now only on three CTs, and guesting for a designer whose CT I'd love to be on full time. But, we'll see how that goes.

I have also finally broken through one of my brick walls in my genealogy. I've been trying to locate my great great grandmother's family for 25 years and by sheer accident, I found a lead, which definitely panned out!! It's so nice to finally be able to see my great great grandmother with parents. I also was able to locate her first husband and her other two children. So, the genealogy quest has been quite hot lately!

I guess I should get going! I have a lot to do today! The kids and I are going to go school clothes shopping online and I want to continue working on that genealogy lead while it's still hot.

Sleep, sleep, and more sleep

Well, I came home from work on Saturday and went right to bed. I thought it was going to be a small nap, but it ended up being a 14 hour siesta as I didn't wake up again until 6:00 am the next morning. I got up, did a little stuff on the computer, and went right back to bed until 3:30 that afternoon. So, my body must have needed to shut down and rest. I feel great today.

I am going to be working on some LOs today and some genealogy. On Saturday, I worked a little on a baby girl afghan that I've been wanted to finish up, so maybe I'll work on that tonight. And since tomorrow is payday, I am going to be working up my menus for the next two weeks.

Beka had a great time at Youth Conference. I knew she would and she even met a girl there that is moving here to Ely next month. I hope the girl moves into our ward, but if not, at least Beka can be friends with her. Tomorrow is Girl's Camp and she'll be gone for the rest of the week and the week after that, she's heading to Texas! Man, I am gonna miss my baby girl!!

I hope it's a good Monday for you all!!

Got it all pretty!

After a little time, I managed to get my blog all prettied up using Zoe Pearn's beautiful blog in a box graphics!! (You can find the link at the bottom). I think it looks pretty!!

I have decided that I am going to try and write on this everyday! We'll see how that goes! LOL Here's a tentative schedule of how I plan to do my blog.

For scrapping, since I deleted my Scrappinmama website, I'll post LOs here once a week. For my CTs, I have to have LOs finished and posted on Fridays, so that is probably when I'll post my new LOs.

For genealogy, I work on that on my days off which are Sunday-Wednesday. So, if I have anything to share, which I probably will, I'll post on those days!!

For weight loss, I weigh in on Wednesdays, so that is when I will be posting those updates.

Anything else that goes on will be fillers! =))

I'm hoping this new schedule will get me blogging more. I sure have missed it and visits from my old friends. Maybe I can get some of them to come back. LOL