Family Fun

I don't even know where to start this post because I could really write volumes about this subject.  It's one of those without a beginning or end. It's something that's hard to explain because you can't do it justice.  In fact I'm contemplating starting a blog to share the experiences I've had with it.  I'm talking about Family History.  Now, don't go to sleep on me. Many people think family history sounds boring, but I think it's the greatest thing in the world.  It's fun, but it's so much more than that.  Watch this video I found that explains the joy I feel in doing Family History.







I love how this movie shows how these people on paper are real people who lived actual lives just like us. Finding their names, visiting their graves, looking at their pictures, and reading their stories all bring them to life and make them real. We are a product of how they lived, what they valued, and what they worked for.   I want to know them and be connected to them through ordinances in the temple.  I want to live my life so that I can qualify to live with them.  I have felt so strongly their presence as I have done this work.

Unknown family-Check out that mustache

It seems like I've always got several Family History projects opened up. It's a work in progress for sure and it can get overwhelming if I'm not careful.  Sometimes I have to put something away for a while and pick it up again years later. Other times I feel a great urgency to get something done right away. I'll give you an example of that happening right now.

A dozen years ago I was with my grandma when she was going through some stuff. It must have been when we were living in her apartment next door.  We found a box of really old pictures and noticed that more than half the pictures were not labeled and the others had first names only. My grandma wondered about the need to keep them, but I told her we should keep them.  Although the identities were unknown, the faces had a familiarity about them and I had hope that someday we would know.


The box was put away for a time until a few years ago when I got it back out of the closet.  I was ready to do some investigating so who did I call?  My sister Holly who is always up for a Family History project- thanks Holly!  We got out all the pedigree charts and looked and searched and wondered and made progress.  After a couple of hours we connected kids to parents and cousins to cousins.   We had piles and stacks and felt good about our efforts.  It was a fun day. But, because of all the other stuff I had going on at the time, the box got put away again.

This winter/spring I felt an urgency to get out the box once again and scan the pictures.  After I scanned some of them I found out that FamilySearch.org had a new feature where you could add pictures to your family tree. I was all ready to go!  For the past several months I have continued this scanning and uploading process. I have no time whatsoever! So if time is your excuse, it's not a good one. I have probably spent more than 20 hours on this project and I'm not done yet.  I do it here a little and there a little.  

My great-great-grandmother(right) with her mother

One of my gg-grandmother's picture albums

The rewards of this are so rich.  The very first picture I uploaded onto family search was my great-great grandmother and her mother. I can't tell you the beautiful, powerful spirit I felt as I looked into their faces and knew that I had just given their names on that pedigree chart a face.  I made them more real for others who would look for them and wonder who they were.  Since then I have made many amazing discoveries. Because other people can view Family Search and upload pictures in their collections, I have been able to identify many of the pictures.

Tintype of the Froerer boys

Through Family Search I connected with a distant cousin. I have an original picture of her great-great-grandfather that she's never seen before. And, the timing is perfect because there is a reunion coming up in two weeks where I will be able to give her the picture.  She didn't even know about the reunion and now she's coming from out of state to attend.  This reunion isn't something that happens every year or even every five or ten years.  Also, at this reunion I hope to identify many of the pictures I have.  I know I was inspired to get these pictures scanned.  I know that urgent feeling came from the spirit.

I don't know who they are, but aren't they cute?

These pictures belonged to my grandpa. He received them from his parents and he kept good care of them.  He did all he could during his lifetime with the technology available to preserve and share this history. I feel strongly the responsibility to do all within my power, with the technology of today to carry on his work.   I hope he is pleased with my efforts.





If you haven't started your family history, start today. It's so much fun!