MERRY CHRISTMAS

                                                             MERRY CHRISTMAS

We talk a lot about seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child.  The magic.  The stockings, the chimney, the reindeer, and the jolly old elf.  But, take this moment, friends, to see Christmas through the eyes of another with child like faith:  Mary.
The incredible wonder of it all.  Total belief.  Complete faith.  Excitement.  Heavenly messengers.  The birth of a beautiful, truly perfect baby boy to call her own, and to call the world’s Savior.  Mary, with the faith of a child, shows us how to respond to Christmas.  Awe.  Joy.  And reliance on the truth of God’s promises.
Luke 2: 8-14
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 

        Thanksgiving When the Halloween pumpkins are gone,
And the leaves have all fallen to ground,
When the air has turned windy and cold,
Then Thanksgiving will soon be around. Thoughts of loved ones all feasting together,
Pleasant pictures from past times appear
To dwell in each heart and each mind--
Then Thanksgiving is finally here! The kitchen has scrumptious aromas,
The dining room looks oh, so fine,
Decorations with pilgrims and turkeys,
And now we are ready to dine! First the napkins are placed on our laps;
Now the prayer for the meal to be blessed,
Then we stuff the good food in our tummies,
And we hope for it all to digest!

Summer is Almost Over

This Summer is almost over and we have been so busy that it seems Summer has flown by.  Another thing is that we had the most rain this summer than we have had in many, many years.  This has meant less sunshine and without sunshine - it just doesn't feel like Summer.  June was a month of finishing up projects at home.  July was a month of family visits and trips.  My son and his family visited us for two weeks from Nevada and everyday we did something different and fun.  August has been a month of birthdays, get together with friends and my daughter and I took my grandson to Wilderness in the Smokies for his 7th birthday.  It was a huge waterpark and kept all of us busy for two days.  It has been a busy and different summer and I hate to see it leave us.  I love the summer flowers, the trees with leaves on them and even mowing the grass.  God has blessed us all as a family, keeping us all healthy.  We have a lot to be thankful for. 

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

So thankful to live in a Free Country - one our Ancestors fought and died for.  Thank you to all of them -  for without them, we would not be here.
                                    GOD BLESS AMERICA 

A Little Genealogy Humor

                                      FAMILY TREE OF VINCENT VAN GOGH

 

His dizzy aunt     ----------------------------------------------- Verti Gogh

 

The brother who ate prunes-------------------------------     Gotta Gogh

 

The brother who worked at a convenience store ------ Stop N     Gogh

 

The grandfather from Yugoslavia     ----------------------------- U Gogh

 

His magician uncle --------------------------------     Where-diddy Gogh

 

His Mexican cousin ----------------------------------------     A Mee Gogh

 

The Mexican cousin's American half-brother ------------     Gring Gogh

 

The nephew who drove a stage coach --------------- Wells-far     Gogh

 

The constipated uncle -------------------------------------     Can't Gogh

 

The ballroom dancing aunt --------------------------------     Tang Gogh

 

The bird  lover uncle --------------------------------------     Flamin Gogh

 

An aunt who taught positive thinking ------------------     Way-to-Gogh

 

The little bouncy nephew -----------------------------------     Poe Gogh

 

A sister who loved disco      -------------------------------------- Go Gogh

 

And his niece who travels the country in an RV --- Winnie     Bay Gogh

 

I saw you smiling . . .. there ya Gogh 

 

Easter 2013

Easter is March 31, 2013.   Easter is always a time for revelation. I wish you encouragement and inspiration.
May the emptiness of Good Friday.  Be refilled by the promise that Easter morning has fulfilled. May the joy of Easter morning be a kind light. May the peace of Easter shine around you at night. May this peace and joy fill the hearts of all you know.  Filling empty places wherever they may go.  May Everyone had a Happy and Blessed Easter, Christ has Risen. 
 

Happy Valentines Day               My Valentine took me to Ruth Chris             Steak House at Harrah's in Cherokee. Salad with walnuts and apples; Steak and Shrimp, Mash Potatotes Sauteed Mushrooms, Bread, Peanut Butter cake                       with Chocolate Ganache.

                     I see dead people - but that's a genealogy thing. Hand me a shovel, my files and a pen. 


Have you ever thought about the odds that you would be here reading this? Prepare yourself for a shock. Obviously, you have a mother and a father, and each of them had a father and a mother. This makes you having four recent ancestors, and so on. The following is a chart that reveals how many direct ancestors you had in the 1600′s, assuming births were from about 30 year old ancestors. You would have 1,024, 7th great grandparents.

1 (your self)1948

2 (parents) 1924

4 (grandparents) 1889

8 (great grandparents) 1863

16 (great great grandparents) 1840

32 (great great great grandparents) 1804

64 (great great great grandparents) 1765

128 (great great great great grandparents) 1737

256 (great great great great great grandparents) 1695

512 (great great great great great great grandparents) 1656

1024 (great great great great great great great grandparents) 1623