FAITH IN WHAT WE DON'T SEE

FAITH IN WHAT WE DON'T SEE

The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

Hebrews 11:1 (The Message Translation)



Monday, December 31, 2012

Goals for 2013
 
 
 
 
Here I sit again contemplating the year ahead. One thing I have learned about myself, the more goals I set the more I seem to procrastinate getting projects checked off. So I have been thinking about a new plan of action. Instead of coming up with several goals again this year I have decided on only 3 main goals.
 
 
1. Genealogy Database Clean-up- I used my Family Tree Maker program to print a birthday calendar of the ancestors in my database. Each day for that ancestor I will:
*Search for missing citations
*Be sure that all facts have sources
*Investigate what I have and search for new information 
*Research online databases and see what new resources are available
*Compare FTM with my Ancestry Tree online and see where the little green leaves lead me. I like to investigate the sources and see if they fit.
 
If all goes well by this time next year I will have gone thru almost everyone in my genealogy database. I am also hoping this will help me to improve my research skills and add sources to my research toolbox.
 
2. Keep a family history journal for my family- I have often wondered what everyday life was like for the ancestors I spend so much time researching. So for my kids, future grand kids and future great grand kids I want to journal our personal history to preserve it for the future genealogist in our family. I went to Ancestry.com and About.com  and printed a list of interview questions that I will use as writing prompts.
 
To give myself an added treat, I splurged a little and bought a pretty red and yellow flowered Vera Bradley hardcover journal just to make it more special.
 
3. Get all those photos organized- Since word has gotten thru the family that I have become the self appointed genealogist I have had several family members give me their old photos. I need to get these scanned, copied, labeled and returned to the rightful owner. Many of these I have had for almost 3 years, so I really have to get this goal finished.
 
I have a smaller project that will tie goals 2 and 3 together. I want to take pictures of the few family antiques I have and write what I know about each one. I plan to include the photos and stories into our family history journal, and if possible I want to somehow attach the story to the antique piece.