Family History Projects for the Next Generation

Rather than giving more stuff, the gift of an experience has become all the rage.  And what better experience can you give than working together as a family to learn about your family history?  This year you can give the gift of a family history experience by choosing Zap The Grandma Gap books for the youth in your family.  These books put the young person in the driver's seat and will have them asking you the questions about your family history.  With fun projects to do together, our activity books will ensure many hours of fun exploration.  Order by  December 16th for Christmas delivery. 

Our Biggest Sale Ever: 50% off eBooks on Cyber Monday

Our biggest sale ever will happen on Cyber Monday this year.

All e-books will be 50% off.  No coupon necessary.  

Just check out the website on Monday for great ideas to help you connect with your family.

The Importance of Food and Family History

Five Family Photos To Take This Year

Happy Thanksgiving

Dia De Los Muertos

Last weekend, at a local event center Thanksgiving Point, my family and I got to attend a Dia De Los Muertos Event.  I'm not a big fan of Halloween--it just really isn't my thing, and I've always wished I lived in an area that celebrated Dia de los Muertos because that seemed a little more up my alley.  I love how it is a celebration of your ancestors and a chance to remember and honor them.  So we decided to go check this celebration out.  It was fun.  The decorations were beautiful with bright colors and Papel Picado flags representing the wind and the fragility of life. 

I love how happy this celebration is.  I love how it is a celebration of those who have passed on, not sad like a funeral, not scary like halloween, just fun--like a party. 

Waiting for the presentations.

There was great food and great signage everywhere to help people understand the significance of each part of the traditions. 

I loved the altars.  Families build altars to celebrate the life of someone who has passed on in their family.  It is a happy event to invite their loved one to return and enjoy some of the food, music, etc that they enjoyed during life.  It is also a great way to keep alive their memory and teach the younger generations about those who have passed on.  Altars can be built at home or in the cemetery and they are filled with offerings such as photographs, bread, flowers, toys and other things the person liked.  They typically have four elements to them: earth, wind, fire and water. Earth is usually represented with soil, stones, or pottery and wind is represented with the papel picado tissue flags (which I find interesting because in Hebrew, the word for wind is also the word for spirit). Fire is usually represented with candles that symbolize the soul of the loved one and help them find their way to return. Water is usually found on the altar to help quench the thirst of the loved one after they make the journey to visit.  Any family can build an altar for Dia de los Muertos as a fun way to teach the children in their family about their ancestors. 

I loved that they had a community altar where participants could leave remembrances of their ancestors.  And the marigolds (traditional flowers) were gorgeous and everywhere. 

All throughout the weekend there were performances, kids up on stage, etc.  We saw an awesome group that recreated Aztec dancing. They were fascinating. 

This would be a spectacular celebration to pass down your heritage with your family.  Especially if you come from a culture that celebrates Dia de los Muertos, but even if you don't.  There were lots of children's activities, face painting, sugar skull decorating, paper flag cutting, etc.  It is a great time to remember your ancestors, have fun with the children in your family and get together and celebrate the lives of those who came before you.  Enjoy. 

Thanks to my Dad

My Grandfather George Alvin Carpenter in his garden

I’m so thankful for my Dad today.  He took my son out to lunch for a visit and they ended up visiting the home where my father’s parents lived.  They had a long talk about my grandparents, about what they were like, about my grandfather’s career.  They found that my Grandfather’s garden plot was still there and that the current residents were still growing a garden there.  I remember every time we visited there we first had to go see how Grandpa’s garden was doing and admire his plants.  Dad talked to my son about how he met my mom and about his own life when he was my son’s age.  I’m so grateful for the time they got to spend together.  So glad they spent some time connecting the generations.  Thanks Dad!

Family Cookbooks

I had a wonderful email from a reader, who said I could share her ideas with you. Take a look:

"For years my daughter and I have talked about a family cookbook.  This year we actually pulled all the recipes together and I am now organizing them.  The recipes are the dishes that I grew up on, so therefore my kids grew up on them with the addition of some recipes that he brought from his family.  As each generation begins their own family more recipes are added from other lines coming into the tree.  We are binding it in a 3 ring binder, so that it is easy to add.  There will be a short comment on how the recipe came about, some variations etc.  

The cover will have a chart with all of the cooks and their descendants and something about what they liked to cook the most and for laughs a few disasters thrown in.  When cooking with your child, it is a perfect time to talk about Grandma Betty as we put her "famous" recipe together. 

Have a good day!

Liz"

Family Recipe template from Zap The Grandma Gap:Power Up Workbook

What a great idea to put a chart on the front so that everyone can see how they are related.  And to put it in a three ring binder is brilliant too.   This sounds like a perfect gift for Christmas or for a new bride in the family.  Way to go Liz!

You can find ideas like this and many others by signing up for our 52 week Tuesday morning newsletter at zapthegrandmagap.com

Family History Eagle Scout Projects

Eagle Scout Projects are a great way to engage youth in family history while providing leadership skills and service to the community. Eagle projects can be used to share family history and to record family history. If you have a potential Eagle Scout in your family you might think about genealogy for a great project.

Digitizing cemeteries using the BillionGraves app and website is fabulous Eagle Project which Geoff Rassmussen's son recently completed. Several of my neighbors have completed Billion Graves projects for their Eagles as well.  That is a great project that helps preserve cemeteries so that people can find their ancestors online.


A few years back my oldest son Adam completed his Eagle Scout Project by showing ways to involve youth in the vendor booths at genealogy conferences. While I was UGA president, we tried shaking up the conference a little bit by challenging each of the vendors to also sponsor an activity booth and giving them a discount on the booth in exchange for the activity.  Adam offered to help with some of the booths if the vendor didn't feel like they could do it alone.  He developed some great activities. 

Family History Bingo Make and Take

The RootsMagic Photo Booth

Family Roots Publishing sponsored popcorn

Games Your Ancestor Played was a popular booth.  It was fun to see the older generation teaching something fun to the youth.  The kids loved. it.

Making cemetery rubbings

Unfortunately we were about 2 years too early.  We didn't get a great turn out for youth but we learned alot of important lessons about youth and family history.

Luckily that has all changed now.  RootsTech is seeing record numbers and youth are getting involved all over the place. A couple of weeks ago, my son Matthew spoke again at the Ogden Family History Conference and the room was standing room only--completely filled with youth.  As he's given his "Get to Know Your Geezers" talk over the years, the room has filled with more and more youth--a great thing to see. The genealogy world is attracting youth in greater numbers and the trick is to keep them interested by providing fun opportunities within our families and communities.

An Eagle Scout project is a great way to get started.  Congratulations to Evan Rassmussen.  Our newest Eagle Scout genealogist.  Way to go!

Family History and Youth Infographic Part 2: Emotional Benefits

 

For more great ideas in teaching your children and grandchildren about family history, take a look at our Zap the Grandma Gap books and workbooks.

Family History & Youth Infographic Part 1: Academic Benefits

For more help in teaching your children and grandchildren about family history, check out our Zap the Grandma Gap books and workbooks.

Fun Printables and Resources For Youth and Family History

I found some fun resources online to assist with getting children and teens interested in family history. These free downloads include a "Family History Detective" badge to use in coordination with a fun printable graphic that incorporates the twenty questions from the "Do You Know" study that came out of Emory University in 2009.  These printables can be assembled into a fun file folder project that children will enjoy putting together, learning from, and sharing at family gatherings.

Sugardoodle.net is a fabulous website for the LDS (Mormon) community and she shares lots of ideas for youth and family history including Family Home Evening ideas, descendancy research, and indexing tips.

Lastly, I received an email from Jana Greenhalgh about her new blog called The Genealogy Kids.   She's been doing lots of fun things with her kids including a big list of family history activities, tree tips, and research rules.

Kickstarter Campaign to Assist in Family History Activities

Troy Hallewell, an author, recently contacted me about his illustrated children's book in the works called, "The People Who Made Me."  He wrote a cute poem that has a sweet message relating to family history with a catchy rhythmic beat that is fun to read aloud. In order to move forward with hiring an artist, he needs to pre-sell copies and he's using Kickstarter to help fund the project.  Take a look here for more information.  

Kickstarter can be a great way to help raise funds online for creative projects in order to promote family history.  Write a book about your own family history and get family members to donate. From the Kickstarter website:
"Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. Everything from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology. Kickstarter is full of ambitious, innovative, and imaginative projects that are brought to life through the direct support of people like you!"

Gofundme.com is another helpful site to assist in raising money online.  You can personalize it to fit your needs and easily share your campaign online through social media.  Engage your cousins and other family members to help pay for your family reunion or family history chart if funds are short.

I hope Troy is able to raise the money.  It looks like a great book.  Go check it out. 

The Top 8 Websites For Family Reunions

Family reunions are a great time to explore your family's heritage together. Whether your family reunion is large or small, the key to a successful event is in the planning. Once you have selected the date and location, the beauty is in the details.  How do you inform family members about the family reunion?  What about meals, sleeping arrangements, and transportation?  What activities will bring the family members together for a meaningful event?

Take a look at our favorite 8 websites to help you plan your upcoming family reunion:
family-reunion.com
Wonderful website with all sorts of ideas from the people at RootsMagic. Also check
out their family reunion planner software at rootsmagic.com.
gatheredagain.com
Laura Phelps has written a beautiful website to accompany her book. Ideas
for activities, food, locations and much more.
reunionsmag.com
Popular magazine website gives resources for exciting places to hold your
reunion. Lots of amazing ideas.
family-reunion-success.com
Extensive planning website that includes e-books and e-courses with lots of
ideas. She gets the heritage piece.
familytreequotes.com
Reunion theme ideas with lots of great quotes on family.
genealogy.about.com/od/family_reunions
By Kimberly Powell, also a great starting place for learning about your
family’s genealogy.
familyreunion.com
The world's largest family social network. Share your favorite photos, create a profile with your family reunion announcement and add a homepage with up-to-date information about your event. Members keep the dialog going by leaving comments, questions, photos, ideas and encouragement on each others' posts!
pinterest.com
Search Pinterest for great ideas for reunion planning.

As you gather ideas for your family reunion, consider the interactions between family members to be one of the most important purposes of gathering together. Have you ever been to a family gathering where the kids go off to play together, the teens all sit around and look at their screens and the adults talk in the other room? Or have you ever been to a large family reunion where people didn’t know each other well and they were too shy to get to know their distant cousins?

Our newest book, "My Ancestor Family Reunion Edition" will show you how to change all that. Included are many ideas that will have Grandma playing games with her grandchild, aunts and uncles interacting with distant cousins and Grandpa sharing stories with the whole family. A real family reunion has cross-generational activities where everyone gets a chance to interact with their relatives, old and young. Order now and let the planning begin!

5 Fun Tips for Using Technology With Family Reunions

My son Matthew and I are in sunny California this weekend at SCGS Jamboree. Not only are we seeing both new and old genealogy friends at our vendor booth and hearing some great lectures (I brought Matthew down early so we could catch some of DNA day), but we are also speaking on some fun topics including online activities and using technology for binding families.

I'll be speaking on "Family History Adhesive: Science and Simple Tech for Binding Families" and "Family Links:Easy Interactive Online Activities to Share Your Family History".  And Matthew will be giving his "Get to Know Your Geezers" lecture.  

Two of our lectures are being streamed live.  You can catch them on Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon at http://genealogyjamboree.com/2015/schedule-streaming.html 

With family reunion season in full swing, here are 5 fun tips for using technology with your upcoming family reunions. Incorporating technology and devices is an enticing way to get the younger generations involved in planning and participating in your family reunions.  What a great way to Zap the Grandma Gap--instead of rejecting technology, embrace it!

1. Create a Social Networking Team. In order to have a successful family reunion, you have to tell them about all of the fun you are going to have and then get your family there. Put together a social networking team with some of the older and younger generations of the family to get the word out about your family and your family’s history. A member of the family can set up a family Facebook page, Instagram account and YouTube channel. They can also put together a Twitter account, a blog or a Google+ page. Do a survey of which social networking tools your family members use the most and then focus your efforts accordingly. If family members are spread throughout the different social networking platforms, and you have enough time, consider starting with a blog and then letting your social media team broadcast those blog posts through other social media.
2.  Create a Custom Family Reunion Hashtag.  Designate a hashtag for your family reunion before you get started with these social media ideas. Something like #FisherGathering15 or #ColsonReunion2015 will help you follow what your family is doing and help you determine the winners of any social media contests you have. Hashtags are labels that help people follow what is going on and search for what your family members have said about the reunion.
3. Create a "Get to Know You” YouTube Channel. Challenge each family to send in a short 3-5 minute video about themselves, their pets, their favorite food, song, activities, etc. If you are comfortable with it, and careful with private information in the videos, you can keep the video
   “public”. Otherwise, “unlisted” videos could be used but you will need to share the links with
   family members in order for them to view the videos. The beauty of this activity is that you
   will get to know those distant family members who you don’t know well. You can have something to talk about with them right when you walk into the family gathering.
4. Create a Facebook Storytelling Contest. Once you have put together a Facebook page for your family reunion (private by invitation or public) invite your family members to join you in getting excited about the reunion. Post a few intriguing family stories and then invite the members of your family to do the same. Award prizes for the post with the most comments, the most likes, and the best attachment.
5. Create a Picture Captioning Contest. This challenge works on several different social media platforms. Post a family history photo (or several) and see who comes up with the funniest caption.Votes can be taken online or at the family reunion.

Using these fun ideas for technology at your family reunion will invigorate, modernize, and bring a whole new level of interest and engagement to your family reunion activities.

Find more meaningful family reunion ideas on over 100 pages in my new book, "My Ancestor Family Reunion Edition" .  We offer 8 different versions to customize to your family's heritage. This e-book is an instant download with over 100 pages of fun and ideas for your family reunion.  Click here for more info or to order now and Happy Summer!

A New Book for Meaningful Family Reunions

Summer is upon us which means it's the most popular time for family reunions and gatherings!
We have heard many of you express interest in connecting with your families at family reunions.
Zap the Grandma Gap is happy to announce the new release of  "My Ancestor: Family Reunion" e-book version.  This multi-page resource includes 3 sections:

• A Children's Activity Workbook with rights to copy and use for the duration of the family reunion (Choose one workbook from Pioneer, British, German, Danish, Jewish, Civil War, Swedish, or Mormon) including over 50 pages of culturally specific activities
• 20 pages of FUN family heritage family reunion ideas
• 35 page children's workbook with interactive pages that are perfect for completing at the family reunion

Though every family member is a unique individual, these carefully selected family heritage family reunion activities will help the attendees find purpose, unity, and strength in their lives as they discover their common roots. Create new family history as family members engage in a shared family heritage using social media, blogs, and other online resources. 

Print the activity workbook pages and distribute as desired during your family reunion to explore your family history with fun and games! Youth will gain ownership of their family history and take the lead in learning about their ancestors and the culture that surrounded them.  As they accomplish these activities together with the help of their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and siblings at the family reunion, they will strengthen modern family bonds while strengthening their link to the past.

Click here to order now for use at your upcoming family reunion and we'll get it send right out to you.  This an e-book and will be sent electronically as a PDF, so it's perfect for last minute planning! 

Family History for Star Wars Fans

I've always said that the best way to connect your family with their family history is to take their interests, and apply them to your family history.  So if your daughter is interested in fashion, she might be interested in the beautiful pictures of your great-grandmother and her fantastic hats (see also Maureen Taylor's resources on the fashions of our ancestors.)  Or if your child is interested in trains or animals, find out how those intersect with your family history.  Well Virginia Kysh took my suggestion to heart and came up with an idea for her Star Wars fans. 

If you have any StarWars fans, have we got some fun fan items for you! Take a look over at The Chart Chick to see the coolest chart we just completed based on the Death Star from Star Wars.  We like to have a little fun with our charts and who says family history charts have to be traditional or formal?

Since we had Star Wars on our minds,  this fun Star Wars Family Tree caught my eye on my Pedigree Charts Pinterest board. Wouldn't that make a fun family movie marathon? Pop lots of popcorn and settle in to connect the relations between the Empire and the Alliance.

"Connect with your family by connecting them to their family history."  Zap the Grandma Gap is all about getting your family involved and engaged in family history by incorporating the child's interests. Sometimes it doesn't hurt to take a piece of pop culture to show how it's done.  Family history even happens in Star Wars!

Come follow me on Pinterest for tons more great ideas on family history and genealogy.

The most inspiring keynote I've ever heard

Wow Wow Wow Wow Wow.
Congratulations to Bret Peterson and Ginny Ackerson and their team at the UGA Spring Conference.  I have never seen a conference planning committee nail a keynote speaker like these people did. Paul McCarty was honestly the best keynote speaker I've ever heard. I couldn't take notes fast enough. 

Paul is a Psychology professor at BYU.  He volunteers at the Family History Center at the Utah State Prison.  I don't know if they have Family History Centers at other prisons but from what he talked about it sounds like they should.  (I'll have to look into that.)  Paul talked about the amazing rehabilitation that he sees in his work at the prison.  I had heard about this program but the stories he told were fantastic.

One of the examples he gave was a young prisoner who had been incarcerated for some serious gang activities.  Paul said he was angry all the time.  When he started doing family history research, he found out that he was descended from a Spanish prince and from some of the conquistadors.  You can imagine what that did to his self image and he reported feeling the presence of his ancestors.  Paul said he did a 180% turn in just a few weeks and was quickly involved in leadership and mentoring positions in the center. 

Like I've talked about many times here, apparently family history is helping to heal the prisoners' relationships with their mothers, their children and other members of the current families too.  No surprise there. 

Another prisoner he talked about was in prison for life without parole.  He was angry all the time and quite violent with the other prisoners.  He actually found out that his great great grandfather had been a security guard for a frontier bank and his great grand uncle had arrested Black Bart.  He was so enthralled that he actually ended up writing to some of the people back home and with permission started researching the family history of some of his victims.  He sent the information that he had found to these victims families and there was alot of healing and forgiveness that came from it. 

He said that indexing and researching family history gave the prisoners a chance to "escape from prison" and do something good in the world.   They are able to feel good for a bit and leave that guilt at the door.  It has also become a key part of the rehabilitation when these prisoners are released from prison as well.  After they are out of prison, they are encouraged to volunteer once a week at the FHC near them and they do much better when they do.  Paul said that Family History is the "key to changing an attitude of failure to a person of worth." 

That's what it is all about isn't it?  Wow wow wow wow wow. 

My Danish Ancestor Activity Book

I am so excited to announce our brand new My Danish Ancestor Activity Book.  This 52-page activity book encourages youth to ask questions and delve into the Danish history of their family in a fun way. The “My Ancestors” hands-on workbooks create bonds between generations with hours of activities, puzzles, games, recipes, stories and crafts that can involve the entire family. Timelines, paper dolls, coloring pages, maps, music, dot-to-dots and crossword puzzles combine to give youth ownership of their own genealogy and the send them on a quest to bring their family history to life.

As I've said before, studies have shown that greater knowledge about family history strengthens and empowers youth by creating self-esteem, resilience and a greater sense of control over their lives. Learning about the family's past also strengthens the relationships between living family members by creating a shared experience and core identity that no one else in the world can duplicate.  This new children’s workbook is designed to help kids gain the benefits of family history and start asking their family members about their shared past. 

I have a particularly inspiring Danish ancestor and I'm excited to share this book with my children and someday with my grandchildren.  But beyond that, this was our most requested book.  These are activities, games, and questions that will help you discover the exciting lives of your Danish Ancestors. You can: 

• Make some Danish rye bread and learn about Danish sandwiches 
• Sing a Danish Folk Song 
• Find some Danish family words  
• Complete a dot-to-dot of a famous Danish castle 
• Document what you know about your favorite Danish ancestor 
• Learn about Danish royalty and Danish crests 
• Solve puzzles about famous Danish people 
• Make a special Julehjerte to honor your Danish ancestor 
• Simple projects, recipes, and worksheets make it easy for your busy family to celebrate their Danish heritage. 

No matter what your age, you can help your family accomplish these activities together. As you learn, you can record your family history here to create a new family keepsake and pass your great Danish heritage down to future generations.

You can purchase this book now, through our website.  We'll also have plenty of copies on hand  at Rootstech.  Either way, you cannot go wrong when you use these books to introduce your children and grandchildren to your Danish heritage.

Up the Game for Your Next Family Reunion

We do family reunions like no one else.  You want the "WOW" factor at the next one you're in charge of?  Contact us, we've got you covered.  With all manner of custom printed charts, we are your go-to resource for working charts (great for gathering information and editing incorrect data) or center piece custom designed display charts.  We have also gathered plenty of tried and tested family reunion ideas for you over the years that you can take a look at here and here.  And now, to top all of that, we at Family ChartMasters have created a brand new game for you to play with family members anytime you want to create moments for making family connections!

We are very pleased to introduce you to our Family ChartMasters Pedigree Challenge Card Game.  A full deck of professionally crafted cards that will have conversations buzzing and family chart hunting happening within seconds.  Here are a few examples of some of the narrative builders included in this fun deck of cards:

• Find someone who knows your uncle and have them tell you a story about him.
• Find a relative whose name starts with the same letter as yours. Where and when were they born?
• Do you have an aunt? When and where was she born?
• Find two people who are first cousins.
• Find a relative who was born while one of their great-grandparents was still alive.
• What is the most popular month to be born in your family?
• Do you have any relatives born on their parents' anniversary?

As you can see, these cards will work in large groups (great for mingling at those large extended family reunions) or in smaller gatherings (use with your custom made Family ChartMasters family chart and utilize the beautifully displayed information to create stronger bonds).  These cards can come out any time of year.  For grand holidays (can you imagine the stories that will fly over the carved turkey?) or for quick visits from grandchildren, nieces, or nephews (what a fun way to pass time while arming young ones with family history power).  The cards have so many applications and uses, you'll be glad you have them on hand.

You can purchase this deck of cards now, through our website, for just $10.  It's a real bargain for all of the bonding and sharing that will result from it.  Or, if you will be at Rootstech next week, stop by Booth 1240 to say "hello" and pick up a fresh deck for you or another family reunion planning friend you may know.  That will also give you a great chance to check out some of the games we'll be playing at our booth (1240), as well as another family history centered board game geared more towards smaller gatherings.  You can take a look at the cards yourself and give them a try with any of our displayed charts, to see how fun and addictive the chart treasure hunting can become.  Trust us on this one, we know family reunions and you will want this game at your next one!

He Knew Where He Came From

James Herschel Taylor and his parents.
Photo provided by and used with express permission of PBS Communications.

And that is just one of the many reasons genealogists across the board absolutely adore James Herschel Taylor.  James was recently featured on the PBS show Genealogy Roadshow (The St. Louis Central Library episode which aired Monday, January 19th, 2015) and he captured everyone's attention and hearts.  Josh Taylor and the producers reached out to us, at Family ChartMasters, to create a chart for this young man and you can read about that here.  What I'd like to focus on in this post, however, is more about how James knew where he was descended from before the research and DNA testing was done to show him a more complete view of his ancestry.

If you take a look at his story on the Genealogy Roadshow website (you can find his segment roughly between the 33:17 and 42:43 minute markers), James talks about where many African Americans have roots and ancestry.  He talks about how much he hopes his ancestry leads him to West Africa with Nigerian ties, and how much he wants to be from the Mali Empire (because they were an educated and highly organized empire... seriously,  this kid!).  He goes on to say some profound statements.  He says on the show segment about why he wants to know where he comes from and it's along the lines of it being because it would "Bring me honor and bring my family honor."  He then goes on to say how he wants to know where his ancestors and history are because "It would give me better self-esteem and self-standing."  Honestly, if you have not watched the show, go watch it.  He's so amazing!  He said, in just a sentence, what I have been saying and teaching for years to people much older and with much more life experience than him.  And he gets it!  How incredible.

One thing that really jumped out to me was that his DNA findings revealed his family ancestry derives from exactly where he hoped it would.  All I could think of was that he wanted to be from the Mali Empire in West Africa *because* that is where he is actually from.  He felt that connection in himself and he was drawn to that region and had a need to learn and discover what he could about that Empire because it was his.  We talk about feeling pulled or "just knowing" something within us about our ancestry and James is the perfect example of it.  He even said, after Josh Taylor presented the findings to him, "My brain just wants to jump out of my head and say 'That's what I told you! I knew where you were from!'"  And that's the whole point.  He knew because that ancestry was in him, pulling him to discover more about his roots and his foundation.  James is the perfect example of heeding that call and pull we all feel when we think of our histories.

Working on a chart for him and his family, and then being able to see it presented to him on the show is just the icing on the cake to this story.  The real joy is that James had a desire to find his ancestry and to know exactly where he came from.  He that pull felt within him and then the research proved he was right.  And if you look at that sweet boy's face on the video, there is no doubt that his self-esteem and self-standing just shot through the roof when he discovered his feelings were right all along.  Talk about a successful perspective story right there!  What a great kid and what a great story!

Who Doesn't Love Free Food?

In case you missed it, we are having a giveaway over on The Chart Chick for a free lunch for two.  It's easy to enter for a chance to win.  All you have to do is leave us a sentence or two in the comments of this blog post and tell us something inspiring you've discovered in your ancestry.  That's it!  The winner will get lunch for two from Jdawgs.  The contest is open to everyone, including other bloggers.  It's just our way of saying "Thanks" for being such loyal readers and great genealogists.  Head on over right now to leave us a comment!

Come and Visit The Chart Chick

With the holiday rush and the new year ringing in, you may think I am on vacation over here.  Some days I wish that were the case.  In fact, not so much at the moment.  I'm busy getting things ready for Rootstech, along with a couple of other conferences.  I've been pretty active and vocal on my other blog though, so come on over to The Chart Chick and catch up with me.  I've got a customer satisfaction survey that Family ChartMasters will donate $1 to The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for every completed response we receive, a newly updated and completely free Salt Lake City Travel Guide available for download, and an upcoming introduction to my Rootstech Outside the Box partnership sessions with Maureen Taylor and Lisa Louise Cooke.  Things are jumping over on my other blog, so stop by and say "hello!"