"I am yours and you are mine now, through all eternity!"*

For a long time, I've wanted to get involved with my family history.  But I always seemed to have other responsibilities that were a higher priority to me at the time.  I recognized that it wasn't the right time for me yet, but that as soon as I saw the "right time" come along, I should not hesitate.  So with my youngest beginning school, that was one of the first things I focused on.

But how to begin?  I knew little about doing family history work.  I enlisted the help of my good friend who eat, breathes, and sleeps genealogy, and she was eager to help me get started.  For many weeks, she came to my home each Monday morning and guided me as I began my journey.  I am so grateful for her help and patience!  

A few months later (by this time, we were not meeting weekly anymore, as she had gotten me started and I was doing okay on my own), the youth at church had an activity where parents were invited.  At this activity, the youth (and parents) were taught how to use the new.familysearch.org site to find individuals on their family tree who were ready to have ordinances performed for them in the temple.  With a simple click, Acadia was able to reserve names to take with her during their next temple trip.  I was impressed!  Though I had been searching for family members with my friend, I hadn't gotten to the point of taking them to the temple.  This took my interest and joy of family history to a completely new level!

The following week, Ryan and I both attended with Acadia as she performed baptisms for our ancestors.  It was amazing!  Immediately, Acadia turned those names over to us, it was now our turn to continue the work.  It was exciting and almost intoxicating!  I loved being a part of it!  And I was hooked.  A hopeless addict.  :)

I spend, on average, one or two days a week working on our family history.  I love to find stories about my ancestors and share them with my family members.  I have continued to send Cadi to the temple with family names, as recently as last night!  And I have shared names with my siblings so they can help in the work - and the joy. :)  

Working on my family history has also increased my temple attendance.  I am eager to get this work done.  I look for reasons to go, always searching my calendar for another day I can squeeze a trip in.  I love it!  

It is not always easy.  I am stuck on a few names, information has been lost that I cannot seem to find... yet.  I keep looking and I won't stop.  I am learning more about who I am as I learn more about my ancestors.  I have so much more work to do, I don't know if it ever truly ends.  But I am enjoying it so much, I can't hardly call it work.  It is a joy and one of my favorite hobbies now, definitely a big part of who I am today.

*Words taken from the children's song, Family History - I am Doing It.  The words and music to this song can be found here.

Allow me to Reintroduce myself...

I think it is interesting that sometimes we go months, or even years, without feeling like anything changes.  Maybe we're stuck in a rut, or maybe our responsibilities just don't change and so neither do we, or maybe we just don't try new things.  And then there are times when we look around and realize that almost everything has changed.  Lately, I've felt more like the latter.

There are certain things that will never change for me.  My top priorities of faith and family, for sure.  That will never change, though they tend to grow stronger and deeper as I continue to work, serve, love, and live.  I believe I will always love Lord of the Rings... passionately.  And I also believe I will always love the Patriots... also, passionately. lol  But some of the things I do/think about in my free time (The fact that I even get free time now, is a huge change! lol), have changed a lot!

A few years ago, I was known for my stamping.  Loved it!  Did it daily.  I haven't touched a rubber stamp in years.  I also used to scrapbook.  I still do, but now it is digitally, and typically only for vacations and special events, not every photo, the way I used to.  When I was younger, my whole life seemed to be about whales and dolphins.  I still love them, but I rarely think about them throughout my day.  More recently, I loved candles.  Again, I still like candles, but I don't burn them much anymore, and when I do, it is usually a jar candle, not decorative ones.  At one time, those things were part of what defined me.  I don't think any of them are anymore.

Nowadays, aside from faith and family, my thoughts and time are usually spend on one of three things...

1. Family History
2. Rori's Hair
3. Disney

(And not necessarily in that order! lol)

I've posted about these things before, but not nearly as much as I've thought about them. lol  I think that I hesitated in posting much about them because they were not how I used to be defined.  But in the last year, these three things have quickly become things that do define me now.  I think a lot of that is because both of my girls are in school now and I do get a lot more time to spend on things that interest me; my job of being a stay-at-home mom is not as busy as it was when I actually had a young child "stay at home" during the day.  As Rori's first school year approached, I did put a lot of thought on how I would spend that time; I didn't want to be idle, I didn't want to spend it on things that don't matter.  I considered a few things, but these are the ones that stuck and have seemed to have taken off, as if they were always meant to be part of who I am.

I don't know if in five years these three things will still be so important in my life.  I hope they are, especially Family History and Disney.  I realize that as Rori grows older, she may become less and less interested in the idea of me playing with her hair every morning. ;)  But for now, they are.  And so...

I want to introduce you to the me I am now by introducing you to these three things in more detail.  This post would be too long if I tried to do it now, so I am planning to follow up this post with posts about each of these topics, explaining why I love it, how I got involved with it, and how it's playing a role in my life now.

Links: Family History, Rori's Hair, Disney

Friends

I just wanted to share a couple pictures of Rori with one of her friends from church.  Her friend played in the piano recital that Acadia was performing in, and before the recital began, these girls were happily playing together in the back of the room. :) 

Rori is so social!  She always wants to play with friends.  She has MANY friends and is not shy about making new ones.  :)

Spoiled Girl!!!

While out enjoying a post recital lunch, Sami gifted Acadia with a totally awesome birthday present!

CARMEX!!!  Just kidding.  Well, she did give Cadi Carmex, since Cadi kept using all of hers and I'm sure she just wanted to keep her own Carmex safe... but that wasn't the "totally awesome" present.

This was:

A CASSETTE TAPE!!!  Just kidding.  It *looks* like a cassette tape (I doubt Cadi even knows what a cassette tape is! lol), but it is really...

AN iPHONE!!! (With a cool, orange, cassette tape cover.)  See, totally spoiled.  Sami had gotten a new one, so she gave Cadi her old one.  It does not have cellular service, and won't for now, but she can use it for music, games, and apps.  Including apps that allow her to send and receive texts for free.  And access the internet, e-mails, and FB for free.  Do you see where the spoiled part comes in?  ;)

Well, Sami had checked with us first, and we were intending to get Cadi an iPod later this year, anyway, so this was perfect.

Thanks, Sami!  :)

I'm a mother of a teenager!!!

This year, Acadia turned 13 years old.  Key word:  OLD.  Which is how I feel.

We had a party for her, hoping the weather would cooperate so we could BBQ and enjoy the firepit, but it didn't, so we changed our plans to Plan B and ordered pizza and played games.  It was all good, we had a ton of fun!  Like when we wanted to play Twister, but couldn't find the game, only this towel, so we improvised... "left earlobe on yellow!" lol

Sami gave Cadi mustaches, and the party quickly turned into a Mustache Party!

Isn't this cake awesome?!?  My amazingly talented friend made it for us.  Thank you, Alia at Peace*Love*Dessert!

I failed to blog then, because we were so busy at the time, but I want to just say how much I love Acadia!  I am so grateful that she is in our family.  She is such a good girl and has been growing into a wonderful young woman.  We love her quirkiness, thoughtfulness, and testimony as it is evident in all she does.

Happy Birthday, Cadi!

Belated. ;)

Memorial Day, a.k.a. Sami's Birthday

Sami's birthday frequently falls on Memorial Day weekend, and some years, like this one, it falls on Memorial Day, itself.  Fun!

This year, we went laser tagging.  We had never gone before we were excited and really looking forward to it.  IT WAS A BLAST!!!

After the laser tagging, we headed over to *Uncle Scott's house.  We had a lot of fun playing games, exploring his property, visiting emus, and of course, BBQing (it *was* Memorial Day, after all *wink*).

Upstairs, there was ping pong, pool, and foosball to play together.  Spencer was so patient with Rori! lol

Outside, we visited the emus.  Acadia was obsessed with them!  She insisted on going into their enclosure.  She wanted to hug one.  She was adamant, even though most of us thought it was a STUPID idea.  Andy went in with her, though, and when it came down to it, she totally was scared.  She still claims she wasn't, but every time one came close to her, she hid behind Andy.  lol

So, instead, we hugged all of these emus...

While Acadia was having her adventure with emus, Rori was having an adventure with Debbie and Scott.  They went off roading!  They traveled all over.  I think I heard they went to New York City, even!  Rori was having so much fun!

On Scott's property, there is a river, so we took the little walk and explored it a bit.  It was beautiful. :)

Finally, before we headed home, we helped with some chores that Scott needed done.  Everyone pitched in.  Even Rori helped!  We cleaned the drive and entry area, the kids liked using the pressure washer.  lol

It was a beautiful and very fun day!  We were so glad to have an extra reason to celebrate and such a great group to celebrate with!

*Scott was Mary Jane's brother.  Since then, Scott has passed away.  It was sudden and completely unexpected.  He was a very loving and important part of their family and I know his loss has been deeply felt.  He is missed very much.  Thank you for being a part of our lives, Scott!

Change can be good.

I've felt a change lately.  It started earlier this year and has continued, and in some ways, grown.  I think it's a good change.  And I'm glad.  But there have been some side effects.  Like, less blogging.

It has been a spiritual change, mostly.  I have felt a strong spiritual growth as I've been studying the Book of Mormon more deeply and fully than ever before.  (I LOVE my calling for this very reason!)  And as a result, I've been feeling a change in my thoughts and actions throughout the rest of my day, too.  I *humbly* think that it's a more selfless way of thinking.  I haven't been thinking about *me*, or what I can get, or what people will think of me.  I've been thinking more of others, what might help them, what will make people feel thought of, special, not alone, etc.  It's a good thing.  But doesn't really make for good blogging.  The things I've been thinking (and trying to act upon) are not things I feel comfortable blogging.  It's not something I want to share.  That's not what it's about.

But there have still been other things in daily life that are good to blog, and I've neglected them. Partly because I've been busy.  Partly because when I'm not busy, I'm tired and then I feel lazy. lol

Today is my birthday though, and I'm making a conscious decision not to be busy.  And that means I have time to be productive in areas I've neglected.  Like blogging.

I'd like to promise that I'll be better in the near future.  I'm not sure yet.  I love blogging.  I love sharing our lives with family and friends who care and aren't here to share these things with us in person.  And I love sharing my testimony, whether it's spoken or just in how we/I live our lives.  So, I will try to be better.

And in the meantime, I will try to catch up.  :)