You are loved

 

I am a daughter of a loving Heavenly Father.

I can be happy, because I deserve it and am loved.

 

We all have dark times and feel down and need to be lifted up and this quote is a reminder to me and others to know we are loved. It just made me heart happy!

Stars are within your Reach

As the new school year has started people think about their future, what they want to learn, and how their life will turn out. Will they accomplish their dreams? I have always told my kids that they can do anything that they want to do. If they work hard, have enough passion and never give up they can accomplish something.

My son Cameron wants to be either a Paleontologist or a Lego Builder. What do you think I say to him? Do I tell him, sorry there’s not many jobs needed there? Or Building Legos isn’t really a job. Nope, not even close. I tell him that is amazing. Being a Paleontologist would be so awesome, and if you are a Lego Builder, I would come visit you at Lego Land. Maybe he won’t do either of those things, maybe that’s just the spark he needs to find his real dreams. Maybe he will be a Scientist or write books about dinosaurs or become an Architect.  Whatever he does, or all my kids for that matter, makes them happy.

There is a quote that says “The poorest person in the world is the one that only has money.” What is the point having a good, well-paying job if you don’t like it? I have thought a lot about my own dreams and aspirations. I am a mom who dabbles in little hobbies here and there. When I was younger I wanted to be a nurse (I’m married to one—does that count?). From Junior High on I wanted to be a reporter, a teacher, a mom, a writer, and a Sign Language Interpreter.  I think about that and think I am all of those things. As a stay at home mom I am a teacher, and a nurse. I use my free time (what’s that- oh nap time) to write on my blog and different stories. And the sign language—well let’s just say that knowing some Sign Language has come in handy a few times. Also I have taught my kids some of it as well.

So I am doing all of the things that I wanted to do. I am happy at where I am in my life and I think that is all that matters. We need to be happy. We may not all accomplish everything we dreamed we would, but sometimes you shoot for the moon and find a star instead. And stars are beautiful, without darkness you can’t see the stars.  Don’t quit, stars are within reach.

Goals

 

A few years ago a Hummingbird made a nest in our tree. We named her Honey. We were so excited to realize two little eggs in her nest.

 

 

I think a lot about goals. I have for a really long time. I have always struggled with making it that last step. I work really hard, but I get scared. I don't want to cross the finish line, just in case it's not good enough. I've spent many years working on a story about my grandparents. I want it to be so good, perfect. I realize that it won't ever be perfect. It could always be a little better, but I have to finish. I have to take that last step.

We loved seeing the babies Pebbles and Bam Bam.  

No matter what it is in life that we want to accomplish, we have to work hard, believe in ourselves, and do it. I really need to trust myself. I love this quote, "A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because her trust is not on the branch, but on it's own wings. Always believe in yourself." ~Unknown

Pebbles and Bam Bam got bigger and learned to fly. They left after a few months and we haven't seen them since.

I've used the excuse that no one believes in me or really supports me, but that doesn't matter. I need to believe in myself in all that I do and prove to others that I can do anything.

I found this cute book called Someday. It's about  goals, and how it takes little steps to achieve them. We don't always get them right away and we need to be happy in the mean time. "Someday I'll be a famous artist and make millions from my paintings, but today I'll paint the garage."

We had a family home evening lesson on Goals last week. We talked about individual goals

And then we talked about family goals we could have together.
We hung the banner up in our kitchen to see it daily.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

A few years ago I read the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith for the first time. I have heard a few people say they didn't like it. They say it was boring, or slow. But to me this book was inspiring, sad, and so honest. Betty Smith is a poet. This book was a memoir of her life, but her publisher said no one would want to read a true story like that, so she called it fiction. What a tragic life, yet so beautiful the way she lived it.

 

My dad gave me this First Edition book. I was so excited. He gave it to me because my daughter's name is Brooklynn and he thought it would be fun, but he didn't realize how much I truly love the story of Francie Nolan.

 

It is funny how something can be so ordinary to someone, but to another it is a treasure. I try to look at life with that outlook to make things extraordinary. 

 

There are a lot of parts of the book I love but here is one of my favorite quotes.

 

She thought: If I open this book fifty years from now, I will be again as I am now and there will be no being old for me. There's a long long time yet before fifty years. . . millions of hours of time. But one hour has already gone since I sat here . . . one hour less to live . . . one hour gone away from all the hours of my life.

 

"Dear God," she prayed, "let me be something every minute of every hour of my life. Let me be gay; let me be sad. Let me be cold; let me be warm. Let me be hungry . . . have to much to eat. Let me be ragged or well dressed. Let me me sincere -- deceitful. Let me be truthful; let me be a liar. Let me be honorable and let me sin. Only let me be something every blessed minute. And when I sleep, let me dream all the time, so that not one little piece of living is ever lost."

 

I am not perfect. I have a lot to work on. My house isn't perfectly clean, I get upset at my kids, today I am sitting still in my pjs with no makeup on, we sometimes eat frozen pizza for dinner, but I try. I love my life, I love my kids and my husband and I try every day to be happy.

I want to live my life every minute that I can.

Genealogy Goals

Genealogy is something I have grown to love. We have a love/hate relationship as I continue to learn the process. I often have people asking me for advice on what to do. The thing is that every tree is different. It can be really hard to know what to do, except keep looking and trying.

Maya Angelou said, “The more you know your History, the more liberated you are.”

Family history can feel time consuming, overwhelming and never ending. I have a secret, it is all of those things. It seems that just when you think you have come to the end something new pops up. One way to not stress over these things is to make small attainable goals. However, you cannot have a goal to catch up or finish your tree.

Remember to make a realistic goal, don’t set yourself up for failure. There are so many things that you can work on and be satisfied with your progress. I have listed a few ideas of goals and family history projects you can work on.

~You can choose to work on one branch of your tree and see how far you get.

~Another goal is finding stories and information about certain members of your family.

~While some want to travel to different places ancestors have lived or are buried.

~Learn how to use different genealogy programs on your computer.

~Start a journal yourself to pass on to future generations.

~Organize current genealogy papers and files.

~Attend Genealogy conferences to learn more tips and tricks.

~Revisit and assess previous research

~Choose a living family member to interview and write a biography about.

~Use Ancestry.com’s DNA source and research different places your ancestors came from.

Take a look at what you want most. For myself I would rather have less names on my tree and more pictures, and stories. I want to get to know my ancestors. You have to choose the thing you want most and work on that. Once you pick your goal, make a timeline that works with your schedule and get to work. Family history is supposed to be fun and a wonderful experience.

 

“Walking, I am listening to a deeper way. Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say. Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands.” ~Linda Hogan, Native American Writer