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Showing posts from December, 2012

What's Ahead In 2013?

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Microsoft Office Downloaded Image I came across this image today and instantly identified with the expression on this woman's face. It's like she's saying with attitude no less, "Do you think, I know where I'm going?" There are times that when I am writing on my blog, that I feel like this woman. People write so many wonderful comments and cheer me on along my genealogy journey and sometimes I feel like whispering, "Psssp...You know...I don't really know what I'm doing." Now of course I know that isn't exactly true. I have been able to find out an incredible amount of information over almost three and a half years of digging up roots and a year and a half of blogging. That didn't happen by accident. It took time and patience. I had to learn how to do research. (Believe you me, I still have a lot of learning to do.) But now that I am here, what's next? What's ahead for 2013? MIcrosoft Office Downloade...

Wordless Wednesday: My Christmas Elf

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My sweet little Christmas elf. Her dear aunt bought her this dress to wear Christmas day. Guess what she did? First thing Christmas morning she woke up, put her dress and hat on all by herself and went into MommyDaddy's room. (That's what she calls our bedroom.) She whispered, "Mom, It's Christmas." I told her, "Yes sweetie, It is."

Merry Christmas Everyone!

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Image courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net  Have a Merry Christmas! Enjoy a peaceful holiday with your friends and family.

A Very Special Message

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Microsoft Office Downloaded Image I came across this clip just this morning. It is from episode 3.14 of The Muppet Show and was featured in the documentary Sing Your Song , a film that tells the story of Harry Belafonte's life . This is a case when something found me at just the right time for me to fully understand and appreciate it's message. The song Mr. Belafonte sings here, reminds me of something Oprah Winfrey said during the closing episode of her daytime talk show. "I've talked to nearly 30,000 people on this show, and all 30,000 had one thing in common: They all wanted validation. If I could reach through this television and sit on your sofa or sit on a stool in your kitchen right now, I would tell you that every single person you will ever meet shares that common desire. They want to know: 'Do you see me? Do you hear me? Does what I say mean anything to you?" So with so much craziness happening in the world as of late, I think perhaps we...

Wordless Wednesday: My Son's First Christmas December 25, 2005

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"Peek-a-boo!" "I love my house"

Blog Caroling: O' Holy Night

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I am happy to be participating in Blog Caroling again. This a wonderful Christmas tradition created by Footnote Maven. If you are not familiar with Footnote Maven's blog, here is the link:  http://www.footnotemaven.com/ O'Holy Night continues to be one of my favorite Christmas Carols. Last year, I featured a version done by Patti Labelle  on this blog. Still love, love, love Patti's take on the song but I wanted to share a version that I stumbled across on YouTube by Traci Chapman. Feel free to sing along.  O holy night the stars are brightly shining It is the night of our dear saviors birth Long lay the world in sin and error pining Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices For yonder breaks a new glorious morn Fall on your knees O hear the angels voices O night divine O night when christ was born O night divine, o night O night divine A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices F...

Wordless Wednesday: Dad, Mom, and My Big Brother

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Dad, Mom, and My Big Brother I think this picture was taken in 1970.

Taking Another Look At My DNA (Because I Can't Help Myself) --Part two

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Microsoft Office Downloaded Image If you missed my last post, here's the link:  Taking Another Look At My DNA (Because I Can't Help Myself) --Part one So what on earth is going on with this DNA? If mom's DNA shows French and Romanian ancestry, why didn't that show up in my test results with AncestryDNA?  Since my mother took her test through FamilyTreeDNA, I thought it would be logical for me to take another DNA test using the same company that she used. Thankfully, FamilyTreeDNA ran a sale in November that made springing for the cost of a new test less painful. The cost of $199.00 still hurt though. I placed my order on November 14th. The company already had my DNA on file from when I took my MtDNA test, so I did not have to re-swab. I received email notification that my information was in on December 4th. Woohoo! Results returned to me in just under three weeks. Drum roll, please! My Results: 30.69% Europe (French, Orcadian, Romanian) 69.3...

Taking Another Look At My DNA (Because I Can't Help Myself) --Part one

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Image courtesy of  "dream designs" / Free Digital Photos.net I have to share with you guys that this whole DNA thing has sparked some of my family members curiosity.  Back at the end of June, when I shared with my mom the results of my admixture test that I received through AncestryDNA she was quite intrigued to find out what my genetic breakdown was. I shared my findings in the following post:  The Results: I'm What?!!  As a recap, here's what I found out. West African   70% Finnish Volga-Ural   11% British Isles   10% Scandinavian   7% Uncertain  2% I could see it in my mother's eyes that she was thinking about taking a test herself. Then finally on July 1st, when my mom, brother, and I were hanging out around my dining room table and chatting about my results again, she finally said "Hey, I want to do that!" Within a few minutes, we were online ordering a Family Finder test kit from FamilyTreeDNA. Within a coup...

Sentimental Sunday: My Brother's Kindergarten Graduation

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Today was my brother's birthday and so in his honor I thought it would be nice to highlight him in pictures. These are photos from my brother's kindergarten graduation from June 1972. He looks so adorable here. It must have been truly special for my Grandpa Lemuel that day because he was celebrating the graduation of his youngest child from kindergarten as well as his grandson's. Yeah, I look good. My parents and my brother David.  Grandpa Lemuel Harrison (my mother's father), Grandma Ethel Murrell (my father's mother),  and the graduate. The graduates --my brother and his aunt Wanda. My dad, his mom and David. My aunt Janice (my father's sister) with my brother. What a handsome young man! Mom, my brother and me. What? You can't see me? I'm there. Safely in my mom's belly :)