Favorite Weekend Moments

Great Moment #1 - I saw Mama Mia (pictures to follow) with friends Luz and Janie. It was so fun. I really liked the show and can't wait to get the soundtrack. One of my favorite moments was during intermission when I said "I just love ABBA's music" and Luz said "Who's ABBA?" She had never heard of them! I originally wanted to go to the show with Andrew. I invited him several times and each time he refused. The last time I asked if he wanted to go, he sweetly said "No, but you can keep asking me if you want."

Great Moment #2 - I'm the chair of the Family History committee at church and this weekend we were in charge of the joint Priesthood/Relief Society 5th Sunday meeting. I was SO happy with how it turned out. My amazing committee members volunteered to speak with only one week notice which was such a relief because I dread public speaking. My job was to conduct and make some handouts. My favorite was a list of the various ways people can become involved in family history work (I think most people are already doing one of these):

1. Write a personal history
2. Keep a personal journal (whether private or public, such as a blog)
3. Compile and maintain current family or personal photo albums or scrapbooks
4. Compile scrapbooks on ancestors
5. Gather additional details on known ancestors (appearance, occupation, siblings names, military service information, migration history, & so on)
6. Write life stories or short biological sketches of ancestors
7. Interview living family members to preserve their stories
8. Collect and maintain information on living generations (such as marriages, births, missionary & military service information & so on)
9. Organize family reunions to maintain family relationships
10. Maintain family newsletters, websites, or blogs to share information & maintain relationships
11. Compile family videos (most formats can be digitized allowing for sharing amongst family members)
12. Travel to your family's historical sites
13. Work to protect family heirlooms
14. Volunteer at local Family History Centers
15. Help others with their genealogical efforts (help them learn the computer programs, assist in research, translate documents, provide childcare)
16. Indexing – help extract family history information from digital images of historical documents to create searchable indexes, all from the comfort of your own home
17. Share the information you have with other family members (through blogs, chatrooms, genealogical societies, the church website, or providing specific individuals with copies of your information)
18. Check your genealogical records for accuracy
19. Find original records to ensure accurate documentation
20. Genealogy is never really complete—expand whatever research has already been completed (take the research back another generation, gather information on your direct ancestor’s siblings, do descendancy research & so on)

Great Moment #3 - Watching Drew and Liz play together. Andrew is a very hands-on dad and Lizzie has developed into quite a daddy's girl so it's really fun to see them interact. They have lots of special things that they do just the two of them: wrestle, see who can give the biggest hug or kiss, sing bedtime songs, and so on. Thanks for being so great Drew!