a simple inspiration

familysearch discovery

I woke up to an email from FamilySearch telling me about a simple game (Ancestor Challenge) I could play to see how well I knew the faces of my ancestors.  It was quick, and I meet people I didn't know in my tree.  I found a greater connection to my ancestors in a few 10 minutes than I anticipated.

As I was testing the new feature Brick walked in and asked if he could help.  I let him test his knowledge, and we talked about the different people and how they are related.  I told him quick single sentence stories about the people who were popping up on the screen.  He was hooked.  For the next two hours, both he and Dash would try and match the name with the person.  They were in and out of the tree making connections with their people.  I didn't anticipate how much they would love learning about their ancestors.  

Sometimes I worry that they will not feel a connection to our family because they don’t look like them, but I learned once again that family is more than genetics, so I showed them the Compare a Face feature and they loved it.  Thank you, FamilySearch for the email.  Thank you to all who worked on making these programs accessible.  I would love them on the app, someday perhaps.

If you want to see all the different ways you can discover your family go here: FamilySearch.org/discovery  I am hoping it will get it's own little button on the website someday, but I think it might still be in the beta testing.

celebrating Easter (winners of giveaway #3)

Easter weekend was especially lovely this year as it coincided with General Conference ('Conference is awesome "updates coming soon).  I always love spending time with my family listening to the servants of the Lord.  Like every year there are changes in our family and things looked different at home, but that is the only constant thing in life right?

Our Jerusalem dinner was a few days late and became lunch, but we loved thinking about Christ's final hours while we listened to the afternoon session of Saturday's conference. I loved putting together the charcuterie board and am excited to have this tradition continue with our little twist. 

It's been fun to hear and see updates from the girls. It looks like they are having a great time.  It also made me smile to get the photo of them watching conference together.  Our family was in 3 different countries watching and learning together.  Technology is a marvelous invention. 

Traditionally we spend Sunday morning with the Kimballs.  We eat breakfast and watch conference.  How I love my in-laws.  They are such kind, loving people who love each of us.  They have such faith in Jesus and bless our lives in countless ways. 

At one point during President Nelson’s talk about his parents, Oop leaned over with tears in his eyes and said, “my father and his father were golfing buddies.” I think about all the things Oop has witnessed in his life. The people he has known loved and served. How I grateful I am for this wonderful father in law! He is a marvelous man, and I love and appreciate the stories he shares.

I'm sure you can tell who is the favorite person right now.  How we love our tiny grandson!

The end of the day was spent with my side of the family.  Dinner, conversation and a challenge for the year made our Easter weekend lovely and filled with wonderful memories.  My phone was nearly out of battery (I forgot to charge it the night before), so I didn't take very many pictures, but I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family that is supportive of one another.  

I am so thankful for the beautiful comments and support given over the last week.  So blessed by your love. 

celebrating Easter (winners)

One of our favorite parts of Easter week is our poster and photos from TheSmallSeed. (Spanish version found here) The children look forward to adding the pictures and I noticed this year as we were talking about the different events of Holy Week they remembered from previous years what happened and it leads to more discussions each night.  We are a couple of nights behind because of crazy busy schedules, but we will catch up. I'm also excited about our Jerusalem Dinner on Sunday when everyone is home.  If you want more information about it, you can see Jamie Cook's post here on Instagram.  You can also see our Easter post from last year here. It's so fun to see the change in the children in just one year.

I am currently rearranging a few rooms in the house to accommodate the girls new business (more about that later) so Easter is extra simple this year with all the mess that is everywhere.  However, I am so excited to spend time this weekend listening to General Conference.  It's one of my favorite weekends.  

Now to the winners...

How I wish I could have given everyone one of the Easter creches! I loved your tradition ideas. It inspired me to try a few new things. Thank you for your thoughtful comments and kindness towards me. I will have to admit that using the random name picker was essential.  I could have never chosen them based on the comments. I will be emailing you all.  Thank you.  

celebrating Easter (giveaway #2)

As I walked past the Easter creche, I noticed that Christ was back behind everything.  As I reached out to right the piece that one of the children had toppled over, I stopped to seen and understand the significance. One of the children had placed the Christ in the tomb, lying down because He was not yet resurrected.  My heart burst with love at that moment for the simple expression of hope and understanding that was demonstrated. I knew I had been given a simple but powerful tender mercy.

The last few days I had been worrying about all that I wasn't teaching the children.  Our scripture study is consistently inconsistent and is often filled with dissension and distractions, but today God showed me that deep down the children are listening and learning.  This simple wooden piece gave me unexpected hope.

"As the world grows darker, the light of the truth shines brighter. As the hearts of men become colder, the warmth of the Savior’s peace burns stronger. As the noise of tempting voices shout louder, the still, small voice of the Spirit comes with even greater clarity. As evil increases in the world, the Lord sends the power of revelation and spiritual gifts for the righteous.

IN CRIST HOPE COMES ALIVE." (Neil L. Andersen, "A Classroom of Faith, Hope, and Charity," CES, February 2014)

I have learned that hope sometimes comes in unexpected ways, like that simple wooden creche piece or in the blades of wheatgrass.  The flowers on our kitchen table were tried and wilting. I didn't want to get new flowers as I was feeling a little sick last week and with Easter around the corner, I decided to try and grow wheatgrass.  I filled a couple of pots with borrowed potting soil from our neighbor, opened the bucket of wheat from the food storage, and started misting the seeds hoping it would work. I probably should have looked up some directions.

The children loved spraying the wheat, and in two days little shoots started to pop up, and four days later we are starting to get a lush lawn filling in.  It's been so fun to hear the children's amazement as they come back from school and see measurable growth.  It's been an expected delight for everyone and a tradition I will keep going, perhaps I will plant more pots next year.

Now you might wonder why I am mentioning this new Easter grass tradition, in part because it is one more way the Lord has shown me He is aware of us.  He knows us as individuals and loves us.  

I knew I was going to be giving away two copies of Emily's book "Celebrating a Christ-Centered Easter" today.  I have had this book sitting on my shelf for a couple of years now, but have not taken the time to read it. I decided that I should at least start the book if I was going to give it away. Emily shares the lives and experiences of seven people that lead us back to Christ. Her introduction chapter is lovely and chapter one titled, "Lazarus" talks about recognizing unexpected hope.  She then suggests growing wheatgrass.  

I stopped and immediately knew saw that God is in the details.  He knew I needed the reminder that He loved my children and me.  He knew that I would want to say something meaningful and so He gave me wheatgrass.  How I love God.  I glory in my Jesus. 

If you would like a chance to win one of the two books, please leave a comment below sharing one way you have felt God in the details of your life today.  I will post the winner on Good Friday, March 30.

dear Emma

As I awoke this morning I was again reminded how much I have neglected sharing the stories of our lives here the last few years.  I decided that I needed to stop making excuses and just start again.  I will fill in the past few years as I go along, but I can start today with today.

Part of that story is Emma's mission.  She has been a missionary now for 2 weeks. We have loved getting her letters and hearing all the things she has learned.  

Like Whitney's mission (You can go back and read it here: my life in music), I have decided to share Emma's letters via blog posts as well.  But instead of setting up her own blog I am just adding it as an extension here as I don't know if she will ever want to continue blogging after her mission.  

So if you would like to read Emma's letters you can go here: Emma. Also after the first couple of weeks, I have found that I am really terrible at sending out her email to people and I have forgotten who wants to read her letters.  This way I hope it will reach everyone who wants to read them.

Another reason I am sharing her letters in this manner is that the weekly posts are a conglomeration of several emails she sent to us here at home.  It gives us a fuller picture of her week and thoughts from the little bits she shares with John and I and her siblings. 

I also included the talk she gave in church the Sunday before she left.  It was so lovely and everything I hoped she would have learned thus far.  Not that it was comprehensive in any way, but a moment when as a parent you feel some relief that your child will, in fact, be a good human in society.  You can read her words here: God loves us.

I will be adding photos and such as I go back through the photos, but for today I am adding these that I got off of her phone.  Dash took them.  He misses her like crazy.  All the children do.  Although she is learning how to be a missionary, I know she is having fun and she is helping others see the joy in serving and sacrifice.  

Also, thank you to Jenn for reaching out to me via Instagram and helping us learn about her mission and a few things to get ready.  I really appreciated it.

a giveaway: RootsTech 2018 (closed)

It's that time of year when the final preparations are being made for RootsTech 2018, and as I anticipate the new conference I can't help but reflect on why I go to RootsTech year after year. First and foremost I attend because I am given a free pass as part of being an ambassador, but I get to giveaway a free pass to one of you.  Hooray!  But really, why do I drop everything and leave my family for four days? Why do I talk about it year after year in hopes that you will go?

1. KEYNOTES.  The speakers are always so fantastic.  One of my favorite parts of the conference is listening to the inspiring presentations. I laugh. I cry and everything in between. This year you can hear from Natalia Lafourcade, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Brandon Stanton, and Scott Hamilton.
2. CLASSES.  There are so many more classes than you could ever take during your time there.  From beginning levels to advanced (haven't been to any of those yet), I have always found the classes to be interesting and informative. 
3. EXPO HALL.  This massive room contains nearly everything and anything you can imagine to help your family history endeavors.  I am always amazed at the different exhibitors and their ideas and products.  I never make it to every booth; it's an event on its own.
4. EVENING EVENTS. There is always something exciting and entertaining each night.  They are fun and full of great energy and entertainment. I am particularly excited about the "My Family, Mi Herencia"; a Luz de Las Naciones production on Saturday, March 3.
5. FAMILY DISCOVERY DAY.  One of my favorite events. I love hearing how God sees and uses family history to bless my life.  

If you would like to join me, you can register here: RootsTech 2018.

If you want to try and win a pass leave a comment here telling me one thing you are excited to see or hear at this year's conference.  I will choose the winner on Monday, January 22, 2018.  

The pass will include ONE complimentary RootsTech 2018 4-day pass ($279 value). Airfare and accommodations NOT included. Neither is the Light Keepers workshop, but I'm giving a pass away next week.  

Decided to add a few of the images I used to talk about the giveaway on my Instagram accounts: personal and my other account that I don't know how to quantify. I would have preferred to use one of the photos showing Brick's adorable face, but the giveaway image washed out.  Happy to be able to post them all here.

our stories: favorite posts

I love Instagram. I love being able to tell our stories in bite-size pieces and being able to scroll through the memories a few minutes here and there. But today as I was looking for something here, I remembered how much I love a rich narrative.  I love reading the stories that require a little more detail and character development.  Something that lingers with me long after the moment is over.  

I don't know if I will ever be that kind of writer, but as I looked through our archives I remembered things I was certain I would never forget and did.  I started making a list, a simple list with 10 favorite posts for the year. You can see it here: FAVORITE POSTS.  It was hard to narrow down my favorites there were so many wonderful memories and I only made it through 2 years, but I will keep reading and adding.  Someday I will format the favorite posts page so it looks pretty and interesting, but for now, it's a start. 

It also helped me want to fill the pages here with what is most meaningful once again. I have neglected our stories. I haven't made it a priority and I want to change that.  I have years of stories that are now memories and I feel overwhelmed by all that I need to do, but I can start today. I need to practice what I preach. So that I don't forget the simple moments, like this, of sharing a treat on the front porch as the sun was setting.  The giggles and silly conversation they were having about school and their friends.  

The photo isn't great and the moment was small but in that simple, nondescript minute relationships were strengthened and I thanked God that I was their mother. 

All this also helped me remember we are creating our own family history, our family story is what will live on and I want to be one of the narrators so that I can express my love as often as I can.  

If you need some further encouragement or inspiration The Small Seed is focusing on Family History this month and have created a lovely study guide (see this post) along with their posts (like this one, or this one, or this one) that I have found beneficial and inspiring.  I need to remember to do a few more #52 stories: see this post. I haven't done as well at remembering as I should, but I'm not going to feel guilty. I will just write one today and enjoy the memory however simple and unimportant it might seem.  My grandchildren or great-grandchildren will be happy with whatever I leave.

changes

I was recently complaining about how exhausted I am with these long summer days and staying up late until the children come home from their activities.  I'm exhausted and the bags under my eyes are more pronounced.  I don't get to the gym as often and sleep seems to be elusive. See, I'm whining about it to you.  

But the reality is, I love it.  I love waiting up for the children. I want to know they are home safe and sound, but more than that I look forward to the conversations we have about their night, their feelings, the silly things that happened or they heard.  This time with them, usually one on one is something I treasure and I certainly shouldn't complain about the side effects of my choices.

So I tried to edit the tiredness out of the photo Loaf helped me with and am going to try and change my attitude.  This time with the children is important to me so I am going to try and remember when I'm a little more tired than I would like for these moments are fleeting.  

Loaf has been working with me in the studio each day.  I adore that she is filling notebook after notebook with her paintings and dairy entrees.  She is teaching herself and about light and shape as she creates.  She is learning about color and mixing as she works and experiments. I love seeing where her creativity takes her. 

Summer has been hard on her as well, a nap during time out.  She is also not getting nearly enough sleep as she stays up late with the children.  Being the youngest is hard in the way, but she also adores her time with her siblings.  It's amazing to me how different her growing up is to Whitney's who was in bed by 7 or 8 each night.  Another change, perhaps not of attitude because I would still love for her to be in bed by 8, but of circumstance happening in our home.

 

Other changes happening around here involve are due to Samantha's influence and drive.  She started working with a new company my brother started, Kivul Nutrition and she has been changing or trying to change the way we look at food.  We love fruits and vegetables, but like most people probably don't get enough in our meals.  She has just completed a cookbook, that you can sign up and get off their website and we have happily been her testers.

One morning Brick came running to me with eggs on his eyes saying, "We're running low on eggs mom.  We only have one package left."  That packaged happened to hold 48 eggs, but it was cause for concern.  We eat large quantities of eggs, to be honest, we consume large quantities of just about everything with our big family.  Every time I go to the grocery shopping I get asked if we are having a party at our house.  I just smile and say, "every single day." Love our big crew.  That will never change.

do we have a food tradition

One morning while I was making breakfast I turned on the new FamilySearch recipe videos for the children to watch.

The little boys watched and watched oohing and aaahing over the traditions and recipes shared.  The fourth time through the videos they moved to a bigger screen for closer inspection if ingredients and they needed their hands to eat their breakfast burritos.  They critiqued the ease and/or difficulty of the food preparation.  They discussed how they would alter the recipe, leaving out ingredients they did not like or additions that would enhance the food. Apparently, Si, from A Bountiful Kitchen, did not add enough chocolate chips in her family cookie recipe. The boys were not convinced even after I told them that they were indeed perfect, having tried such cookie from Si.  We will have to make them ourselves and see what they think. 

An impromptu dance party happened when the French onion soup music came on and the morning turned into an unexpected teaching moment, in a way that was relatable and fun the children were learning about how food and family history are connected.  Often when I bring up a topic, they roll their eyes and tune me out, this morning they were engaged and asking questions, and I just sat back and enjoyed the process.

"Mom, let's start a tradition."  

"We already have food traditions.  Can you think of any?"

I was met with blank stares and doubting minds.  They are not convinced that we already have food traditions.  They wanted to adopt one of the ones featured in the videos.

Then I proceeded to tell them all the different ways food is part of our family history and narrative, from holidays to comfort food our lives are filled with memories that revolve around food.  The boys quickly joined in talking about their favorite foods and how we could make our own food video. 

Steve Rockwood of FamilySearch said, “No matter where you live and no matter where your family is from, in all cultures throughout the world, we have all gathered joyously around food in the kitchen, around the dinner or breakfast table, centered around homemade dishes prepared thoughtfully by a loved one. We perpetuate these wonderful experiences and, in a very real sense, honor our heritage when we share these wonderful recipes with our children and grandchildren."

You can watch his RootsTech presentation here: "What is your Rocky Road."  His talk doesn't have a title, so I made one up from a question he asked the audience after sharing one of his family food traditions.  He talked about food traditions in such a beautiful, engaging, and delicious way and inspired me to want to create more meaningful cookbooks and recipes.

 

I am viewing our food preparation and time together in new ways.  It also comes at a perfect time for us as our family meal time is harder to have with conflicting schedules.  Family dinners have always been important to us, something I learned from my parents and grandparents.  It would be so easy to let this time go in the business of our lives, but the value is irreplaceable, so I appreciate a beautiful reminder of the learning and memories that take place in our home.  

I hope you will join me in documenting those smells and tastes that fill our memories with love.  If you want to learn more about FamilySearch/Recipes go here or here.  You will find examples and questions to help you think about your family food traditions.  I have a few stories I am just finishing up to share with the family. Legacies and heirlooms that will help them remember who they are and where they come from because that is what is important. 

remembering

Look what I found while trying to find something for another project.  These photos are from last year, but perfect for this week and the starting of RootsTech. 

One of the first things I noticed is the light in Guelita's eyes has dimmed.  She has Alzheimer's, and it's amazing the change I immediately noticed.  It's happening so slowly, yet quickly, but in an instant, I saw these photos I could see it.  Her short term memory is nearly gone, and it's hard to see her body deteriorate, but she has lived a good life and misses Guelito terribly.

One day while I was visiting with her I bought out her wedding picture,  turned on my phone and started recording her talking about the photo and that time in her life.  It was unscripted and simple, just Guelita and I at the kitchen table. This is what I love about family history; there are not rules.  It can be a simple as a video and photos on your phone to the words on a page.  There is no wrong way the beauty lies in the record and sharing the stories with others. 

These photos were going to be something I was doing for last year's Easter celebration: Hallelujah.  You can still watch the video about how Christ is the reason we will see our loved ones again.  Each of the children picked someone they wanted to know better.  I remember thinking I am going to focus on each of these people during the next year, but I forgot. I got busy with other things and didn't follow through, but the beauty of family history is that it's never to0 late to start.  I can start this week, and we can remember these special ancestors who have shaped our lives.  

One story a week. I can do that.  

Not a biography, a story.  Something simple.  

Something simple.  

 As I think about my RootsTech experience the last two years, I am amazed at all that I've learned about family history in general.

I'm not an expert and might not ever become one.  I am constantly asking friends and family members to get me out of binds it's amazing the messes I can get myself into, but with each mixup, I learn more than I would have otherwise, and the most important thing I have learned is nothing is permanent.  Everything can be fixed, and the important thing is that I am trying.  

Family history is for everyone. There is something that everyone can do, no matter your circumstance and situation in life.  Big or small your efforts will be rewarded in ways you never thought possible.  

Little things over a long period of time yield big results.  I don't have significant periods of time to devote to family history, but a minute here and a minute there create a greater whole.  I've learned not to disregard the single minutes.

The story is important, perhaps essential. This is certainly not a new knowledge for me; I am the storyteller in my family.  I am the record keeper and talk about it regularly here, there and everywhere. The thing I have seen the last couple of years is how much this knowledge has been reaffirmed over and over again.  

Open the books. I have books sitting on my shelf about my ancestors, files on hard drives, and stories on FamilySearch.  They don't help me if I don't open them.  Great sacrifice was made so that I could have them.  I am grateful more and more each day.

Our ancestors don't like to be called dead.  Now this might sound crazy, and technically their bodies are dead, but their spirits are very much alive and help in miraculous ways to find their records.  I could tell you experience after experience whether personal or from a friend, neighbor or from an email of how the ancestors' presence was felt. It's impossible to put into words, but it's real and powerful.  Miraculous. 

Your love will grow in ways you never thought possible.  I feel like it's a cliche to say, I've heard it so many times for teachers and apostles. Family history was always for someone else, or I'm too young, or whatever excuse I have felt or given.  As I result I have missed out one some beautiful relationships that I am making with my ancestors.  I am so thankful for their lives in new and beautiful ways. 

Everything  circles back to love.  Love of family.  Love of the Savior who made this all possible.