Traditions

My Irish Santa Ornament

The Carnival of Eastern and Central European Genealogy, 32nd edition topic is anything to do with the Holidays.


With the holidays right around the corner, it got me thinking about my family traditions as I frequently do every year around this time of year. 

Every year, the weekend after Thanksgiving my husband and I put up our Christmas tree and decorate the house.  This year was no exception.  Satruday evening.  We took out our artificial prelit tree and let the kids put on the decorations.  Of course our daughter, who is 4, delights in putting up the decorations.  The next morning she woke and looked at me with a bewlidered look and said, "Mommy, there's no presents under the tree!"  She made me laugh and I explained to her that it wasn't time yet. 

All the special ornaments are on the tree.  One special one sticks out in my mind this year.  It is my Irish Santa.  I had bought one for my grandpa and gave it to him when he was still in the nursing home.  He had it hanging on his buliten board while he was still there.  I bought the exact same ornament for myself.  Every year I hang it on my tree. It give me happy memories of my grandpa, who was very proud of our Irish roots.  I remember he used to tell us grandkids that "You can always tell and Irishman, but you can't tell him much".

Another tradition that we have every year is that everyone gets to open one present on Christmas eve.  Now this year may be different.  This year I have to work the 7pm to 7am night shift at my job, so we may not continue this tradition this year, although if my daughter has anything to say about it, I'm sure we will!

One of my favorite things about Christmas is all the decorations.  My husband and I started taking trips out every year to see all the lights and decorations that people put up outside their houses in their yards.  Let me tell you, we have seen some pretty elaborate set ups.  My daughter love to see all the lights and she gets very excited, even now as more and more displays are up when it gets dark out at night.  We can always count on hearing, "Look! Christmas!" from the backseat of our mini van when my daughter sees the lights outside.

'Tis the Season

It is the season for family traditions and for celebrations. We have a lot to celebrate this year with the birth of our son and now being a family of 4. Christmas time is always a happy time of year for me and I am thankful to have a little break from school, even if it is only 3 short weeks this year.

I have taken some time to up date my genealogy to-do list and to think about next year's Genealogy goals. We are still planning our Pennsylvania trip for Septmeber. Just me, the hubby and the two kids in a rental RV from our Michigan home traveling the 700+ miles to PA, but we will have the RV, so it should be an easier ride then trying to drive it in the family mini van and jumping from hotel to hotel. This is going to be our first real Genealogy vacation and I'm hoping to discover more about my paternal grandfather's line.

So what is your goal for the new year in your genealogy? You can share your goals in the comments section.

I've taken time to actually do some research to make some Random Acts of Genealogy Kindness requests for some research. With my college graduation right around the corner I'm excited to have more free time to do my research...what will I do with myself? After the first of the year I'm packing up the baby and hitting the local library and family history center to work through some of my research to-dos before the next semester of school starts.

Happy Hunting.

PS Check out my new blog at http://www.scappyalanna.blogspot.com/

Happy Independence Day, Thank a vet

First of all, I am so excited to share that my blog is now part of the Geneablogger website list. I am very excited to be a part of the Geneabloggers and that I am now included on the list on the website. See the website at http://www.geneabloggers.com/.

As we all head off to our traditional, or not so traditional, 4th of July activities, take time to pause and thank the veterans that have afforded us, through whatever sacrifices, the freedoms that we enjoy today. Very few times are these men and women thanked for their sacrfices that they make to serve our country.
Whatever your celebrations are today, have fun and be safe! Remember when you are gathered around with the family to start jotting down those family stories as well, not matter how mundane they may seem...they are the treasures of future generations who will be curious about our lives, just as we are curious about past generations.

Happy Independence Day and Thank you to all the men and women of our Military for the sacrifices that you make everyday.

Thinking about family traditions

Fourth of July is just around the corner, it is time to think about family traditions once again. In our family we all gather at Grandma's house for a 4th barbecue. Cooking out on Grandma's deck has become a family tradition for my Aunts, Uncles and Cousins.
Another bonus to our family traditions is being about the see the National Cherry Festival air shows from Grandma's back yard. My parents live 2 houses away, and growing up between the airport and the airshow space has always had its advantage, we have our own private viewing area from the back yard! Until the trees got too tall we were able to see most of the fireworks as well.
These family get together's are a good time to update some files as well and share my latest research accomplishments. It is also a time for our family to share stories and, of course, get the latest updates on everyone's lives.
Happy 4th and Happy Researching!