Silent Night

 We wish you a peaceful and calm "Silent Night" tonight on Christmas Eve, and a very  blessed and beautiful Christmas Day tomorrow.

I hope you will enjoy this rendition of a "Celtic Silent Night", sung by our church choir for our Christmas Eve service tonight.  

Silent night, holy night

All is calm, all is bright

'Round yon virgin Mother and Child

Holy infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night!

Shepherds quake at the sight!

Glories stream from heaven afar;

Heavenly hosts sing Al-le-lu-ia!

Christ the Savior is born!

Christ the Savior is born!

Christ the Savior is born!

Silent night, holy night

Son of God, oh, love's pure light

Radiant beams from Thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace

Jesus, Lord at Thy birth

Jesus, Lord at Thy birth

Jesus, Lord at Thy birth

Wednesday Treasures: Ready For Christmas? Well, Almost!

 It's the Wednesday before Christmas, December 23rd.  I should be ready...are you?  I know many of you will say a resounding "yes!", and then there will be those, like me, who are still trying to make up for lost time and procrastination, and these next couple of days will be a whirlwind of activity.

This, I am ashamed to say, is my guest room, a.k.a. the "wrapping room".  Yes, there is still MUCH to be done.

Some progress has been made, under the watchful eye of my paternal great grandmother, LOL. I wonder if she would approve of my methods? Probably not. Life was much different then...and sadder for this dear woman, Mary Vogt Mursch.  She died at the age of 35 from complications of childbirth. Her infant son had died a couple of months previous to her death. And another baby son had also previously died at a very young age. She left behind four young children (my paternal grandfather was about 12 years old then) and a grieving husband. I'm sure she would tell me to not worry so much about all of this "stuff" at Christmas, and focus on what's really important, like family relationships and Jesus.

Little by little, thanks to my hubby helping, some things are getting wrapped...

Hubby insisted on taking this picture of me working on Christmas cards...thankfully this was early last week and those that are going out are long gone. I didn't think I was sending out very many, but by the time I was done, I'd gone through three books of stamps...and with the high cost of postage these days, wow...but I still love giving and receiving Christmas cards from loved ones and friends that we don't get to see or hear from except maybe once a year.  However, I am noticing that many have not sent out cards this year, and so, like other traditions that are dying out because of either expense or because of social media taking its place, letter writing and card sending are fading into the sunset.

But some things are all ready and waiting for Christmas to happen:

"Baby Elva" has been patiently sitting in her carriage, all decked out in her pretty red Christmas dress and Santa hat, and wondering when will the celebration begin?

Our little family in Pamela's Victorian Cottage are all wrapped up in the new winter coats that Mama made for them on her new sewing machine that was a Christmas gift last year from her dear sister from the city, so they can go outside and play in the snow.  

Their house is all ready and waiting for Santa to arrive as well...

And they can even go back to the cabin for Christmas now if they want to, because they have warm coats.  (Don't laugh at the style and design...they were lovingly fashioned from some fleecy socks that had lost their mates and a little Yankee ingenuity. Nothing fancy, just warm!)

The people in the little train village are all ready and waiting for Christmas Eve

A few weeks ago when I originally showed you some of my treasured Christmas ornaments,

I showed you this picture of this little choir boy bell that was a gift to me many years ago from my grandmother.  I didn't realize until I looked at the picture just how dirty his face looked! Yes, he is about sixty or more years old, but still...

And so he got a nice face scrubbing with some silver polish. Why? well, I've discovered that many of my old painted items (probably lead paint!) were "tarnished" when we lived in our last house because we had sulfur water and a lot of sulfur in the air caused things to tarnish more severely than normal, like silverware, brass, anything metallic.   And so this little fella looked like he had a dirty face, but when I cleaned him with silver polish he looked like this:

Much better, wouldn't you agree?

Likewise, this beautiful brass bell was very dark and ugly.  I used some brass polish on it, and it is much happier now and ready to ring in the Christmas celebrations!

This beautiful angel used to sit atop our tree, but our ceilings are little lower in this house and she just doesn't quite fit. And she had also lost her halo...

So with the help of a Christmas elf and a hot glue gun, she has her halo back on and she is ready for Christmas:

These two little "elves" are sitting on the shelf, waiting for the fun to begin.  (A sweet friend from church gave us these for Christmas this year. I think they are darling!!)

The nativity is set and ready to share the Good News that Jesus Christ is born!

And we have that "Christmas Star" in the western heavens, leading the way to the Baby Jesus...

Can you see it there?  Look real close:

This is how it looked through my camera last night:

"Oh, Star of wonder, star of night,

Star with royal beauty bright,

Westward leading, still proceeding,

Guide us to that perfect Light."

Jesus is that perfect Light...

Jesus said in 

John 8:12

12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

At this Christmas, let us 

"Come to the Light...'tis shining for thee...

sweetly the Light has dawned upon me...

Once I was blind, but now I can see...

The Light of the world is Jesus."

Do you remember this old hymn?

1. The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin,
   The Light of the world is Jesus!
   Like sunshine at noonday, His glory shone in;
   The Light of the world is Jesus!
   • Refrain:
     Come to the light, ’tis shining for thee;
     Sweetly the light has dawned upon me;
     Once I was blind, but now I can see:
     The Light of the world is Jesus!
2. No darkness have we who in Jesus abide;
   The Light of the world is Jesus!
   We walk in the light when we follow our Guide!
   The Light of the world is Jesus!
3. Ye dwellers in darkness with sin-blinded eyes,
   The Light of the world is Jesus!
   Go, wash at His bidding, and light will arise;
   The Light of the world is Jesus!
4. No need of the sunlight in Heaven we’re told;
   The Light of the world is Jesus!
   The Lamb is the Light in the city of gold,
   The Light of the world is Jesus!
5. (written by Philip P. Bliss in 1875. I believe was a blind man, but he was looking forward to seeing Jesus face to face.)

So my parting thoughts are, I may not be physically quite ready for Christmas, but in my heart I am very ready for "The Light of the World", Jesus, to shine in our hearts and lives and world once again.

Yes, I am ready for Christmas in the truest sense of the word,

Ready!

And now, if you will pardon me, I must get back to my wrapping, so that I have time for some baking tomorow...Have a blessed and very Merry Christmas!  

Tuesday 4: Merry Little Christmas

 A Merry Little Christmas

Thank you for joining in for Tuesday 4, begun by Toni Taddeo and kept in her memory.  

Christmas is fast approaching for millions of people...

1. Do you have a favorite Christmas carol and if so is there a particular version you especially like? 

It is hard for me to choose just one Christmas Carol that I like. I love them all. One tradition that my hubby and I like is to listen to Handel's Messiah (the first part) during the Christmas season. We try to save the second part for Easter, but we usually listen to the whole thing both holidays at some point. Hubby also loves to listen to some of Mozart's Christmas music. Of course we love ALL the traditional Christmas Carols. I honestly cannot narrow it down to one. We have CD's with music that we listen to during the week of Christmas in particular, and the Christian radio stations play Christmas music all month long, so I listen to that if I happen to be in the car by myself. (Which doesn't happen very often anymore since I retired...)

2.Do you have a special dinner for the holidays? What foods are included? 

We vary each year on what we have on Christmas day, but more often than not we have ham or my Grandma Mursch's ham loaf recipe. This year my daughter in love is baking the hamloaf for us, and a friend is coming to join us and is bringing a wonderful seafood casserole over rice. We will have a green salad and some other vegetables and of course pies for dessert. Probably a pumpkin and a chocolate cream pie, and maybe apple if I have time.  A couple of years ago we had lasagna for Christmas dinner, and that was a big hit too. When my mother in law was still living, we would always have a "fresh ham" for Christmas, which is a big pork roast. That was always delicious, but it isn't always easy to find.   

3.Holiday movies: which do you like to watch? 

I love to watch "Miracle on 34th Street", "The Bishop's Wife" (the old version with Cary Grant and Loretta Young and David Niven),

A Christmas Carol, (the 1938 version with Reginald Owen as Scrooge, and Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit) , and also the newer movies of "A Christmas Story" and "Christmas Vacation" for a good laugh.   

4. What traditions do you continue to keep year after year for the holidays?

As was true in my family growing up, we do not put any gifts out under the tree until late Christmas eve, when any of the "kids" who may still be home have gone to bed.  Our "kids" are all adults now, but that is still the tradition. No one sees any gifts until they get up Christmas morning, and that saves from having people shaking and rattling and peeking at gifts to try and determine what is in them. We also have stockings for every member of the family. They usually are filled with candy, fruit, nuts, and/or small gifts.

Here I am with my sister and two brothers. I am the littlest one on the left. This was our first Christmas in our new house that my Daddy built in 1957. Our stockings weren't very big...I'm not sure if "Santa" brought us bigger ones filled with goodies that year or not. 

And this is me on Christmas morning. I got what I wanted...a Doctor kit! Can you tell I was happy? Again, this was our first Christmas in this house, and we didn't have any rugs on the cold concrete floor yet. The concrete block "brick" walls were still unpainted . That fireplace in the previous picture was our main source of heat, except for a small propane wall heater back in the hallway near the bedrooms, and it was COLD, even in Florida! That little chair behind me made of pine logs was part of a set my mother bought from some Seminole Indians who were out peddling their wares from the back of a truck.  We didn't have much furniture in the house yet and she wanted something to sit on and this was cheap I guess so she bought it and a little settee for two.  It wasn't very comfortable and kind of ugly, and it seems like I remember my father not being very pleased with her purchase, but it eventually became porch furniture outside. Our tree was one someone brought us from out in the woods, and I guess my Daddy didn't have time to put up the train under the tree that year.  But even though things were a bit cold and bare, we had a wonderful Christmas and this little girl was very happy.

A few years later, when I was 13, I wrote this acrostic poem for the "Christmas Holidays".  I hope you can read my writing and excuse my scratching out of words. I don't think this was the final version that was graded... Poetry has never been my strong suit. LOL.

And just to finish this off, were you able to see the "Christmas Star" in the skies last night? (Monday night).  I tried to get some pictures, but my camera can't zoom in on the night skies very well. Here's a few examples of what I was able to capture on my cell phone and then on my regular camera:

First attempts before it was really dark. See the little bright dot in the sky over the trees?

I thought these were kind of interesting. I had to fill with light when I edited the photo from my regular camera, and this is how it turned out:

(these first two were the result of my camera moving I think. Not sure exactly what caused this)

But this is what happened when I edited my photos by filling with light:

I put this on Facebook last night and someone said it looked like the "Covid 19". I said I hoped that meant it was all gone to Jupiter!!!

I thought those were very unique. I am sure there will be those who will post pictures through their telescopic lens, and I can't wait to see them. I wish I had some more sophisticated telephoto equipment, but that is something that is a bit beyond my budget at this time, so will just enjoy whatever anyone else shares. I do hope there will be some!

This reminds me of several Christmas songs about the Star of Bethlehem that I do love:

Beautiful Star of Bethlehem

And "We Three Kings of Orient Are"

And another good one, "When They Saw the Star They Rejoiced with Great Joy"

I hope that you will have a very "Merry Little Christmas"...and that you will rejoice with great joy at the Birth of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, "God with us", Wonderful Counselor, The Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace...

Jesus said in Revelation 22:12-13, 16

"And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, 

to give to every one according to his work.

13.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."

16 "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star."

Have a wonderful Christmas week!   Now please go visit over at Tuesday Four and see what others are sharing about their Christmas traditions.  Thank you to Annie from Cottage by the Sea for keeping this going each week.

Sharing also today with Rose Chintz Cottage "No Place Like Home" party.  Please go visit Sandi and our other friends when you have time!! It's wonderful to make new friends at Christmas!

To Be More Like Jesus

 It's the Fourth Sunday of Advent...We are getting closer and closer to Christmas and celebrating the birth of our Savior.  Today we lit the fourth candle on the Advent Wreath at church. Obviously, this picture doesn't have anything to do with an Advent Wreath, but it was such a lovely evening and it gave me such peace and joy and comfort as we enter this last week prior to Christmas, that I just thought I'd share it with you.

What you couldn't see in the above picture was that there was a whole flock of geese who had landed just before sunset on Still Waters Pond.

They were swimming around the island in the pond, checking things out. Some even went up on the island and walked around.  

And then they all slipped back into the pond and swam away into the sunset...

And this gave me such "Joy in this Place"...

It helped me to focus more fully on the true meaning of Christmas...putting things in perspective as we "wrap things up" (literally)  in preparation for our celebration.  I've been a little stressed as usual at this time of the year in getting everything done, tending to overthink what I think needs to be done...and I need to just stop and "rest beside the still waters" for a little while and let the Lord restore my soul from the hectic pace of the world.

This morning our church choir sang our Christmas Cantata, "Joy In This Place".  It is a relief to have that over with after weeks of practice, but it is also a joy to have shared the "Good News" of Jesus Christ coming to earth..."God with us",  to save us from our sins and give us hope, joy and peace for a better life here on earth and the hope and assurance of eternal life in heaven.  I have already shared this video on Facebook, but if you aren't able to see it there, then here it is again for you if you would like to listen to this joyful message:

As you can see, our choir was "socially distanced", and we are few in number since there are still several who are not able to attend church because of their health concerns. But we who were able to participate sang for the joy and glory of the Lord.  I hope you will enjoy this.

So what special things are you doing to celebrate Christmas this year? I know many are not able to be with loved ones or friends, but perhaps there are special programs you are watching or participating in...or any particular charities that you or your church or club or group supports during the holidays?  One thing I really love about our little church is that we give toys and gifts to the children of our local elementary school. There is one woman in particular in our church who takes it upon herself to start collecting new toys early in the year.  People donate funds to help, but she does much of it on her own, and by Christmas time she has collected enough toys to make sure that every single child in our school will receive some special gifts at Christmas.  (I believe there are more than 500 students now). Some of the ladies help her wrap the gifts and distribute them. It is a wonderful ministry as we are a poor rural community and many children would not have anything for Christmas if people did not help. I am amazed at the love and big heart of this particular woman who has taken on this ministry. She is truly an example to all of us.  I am sharing her picture here because I want you to see her exuberant spirit. I don't think she will read my blog, and she would be very humbled and probably embarrassed if she saw it, but this dear saint of God deserves some special accolades.  I know God already knows, and He takes good care of her...but to me she is a super hero. Her name is Norma.

Norma exemplifies the true Spirit of Christmas to me.

She also baked cookies and gave tins of them to many families in the church for Christmas.

I think what I want for Christmas is to be more like Norma in the New Year.

To be more giving, loving and do so with a humble spirit.

In other words, to be more like Jesus.

Yes, that is what I really want for Christmas. 

To be more like Jesus.

How about you?

Have a blessed and wonderful Christmas my friends.

 

When Things Start to Fall Apart...Just Get Back Up and Shine!! Repeat Performance...

Original post written a few years ago...but it seems like I relive this "repeat performance" every year about this time...How about you? Is the pre-Christmas stress starting to get to you? Are things feeling more like they are falling apart than put together?...Read on and maybe we can get through this season together...

12/20/2017:

This morning was the day for our home Bible Study, and we have been lighting the candles on the Advent Wreath each week.  Because our wreath is made of real pine boughs attached to wet florist's blocks, I keep it outside on the back porch during the week in between our gatherings so it won't dry out so much in the warm, dry house.

This morning after replacing some of the pine boughs that were starting to die with fresh ones, I brought the wreath into the house to get it ready for our service.  As soon as I set it down around the candles on the little table in our living room, it literally fell apart...some of the foam blocks fell to the floor, with the pine needles falling all over the place...and it was a MESS!!  I quickly gathered the pieces back up and stuck them all back together as good as I could since I didn't have time to start over.

So here is the poor lopsided Advent Wreath, looking rather disheveled and worn...Kind of the way I feel about this time every year as we get closer to Christmas and I am not really ready...

I woke up this morning and said out loud (while still lying upon my bed) "I hate myself!"  My husband was just barely awake and didn't quite understand what I said, so he asked me to repeat it. So I did...and he was quite perplexed, surprised and concerned. This is not a normal state of affairs for me, especially to say out loud before I even get out of bed! Actually, I don't think I've ever said that in my head or out loud.  That's just not me.  But I went to sleep last night thinking about all the things that I still need to do in the next few days before Christmas (too numerous to list here and I don't want you to know exactly how much I still need to do...)...and I woke up thinking about all these things and I just said out loud "I hate myself!"  Why? Because I do this every single year!  You would think I would have learned by now not to put off so much until the last week before Christmas and then end up in a panic having a meltdown in the middle of a department store because I can't find what I want and I don't even know what I want even if I could find it and when I do find it I know I really don't want that after all, but in desperation I have to get something!!!  And just like that Advent Wreath, I fall apart and look disheveled and worn and just wish I could crawl away somewhere and hide until Christmas is all over.

I wonder how Mary, the mother of Jesus, felt the week before Christmas.

There she was, technically a betrothed but still unmarried young woman, great with child...(not by her betrothed husband to be, but by the Holy Spirit, so you can imagine how difficult that had been to explain to everyone...) and wouldn't you know it was time to travel to Bethlehem to be counted in the census?  I'm not sure just how long that trip was, but you can only imagine, even five miles would be too far to travel on the back of a donkey when you are nine months pregnant.  And then, to finally arrive in Bethlehem only to discover that all the hotel rooms were taken, and there was no room for them in the Inn, so the only place they could stay was in a smelly, dirty animal stable, with the dirty, smelly animals standing by. Can you imagine how Mary must have felt?  Talk about being rather disheveled and worn and weary...and then to go into labor and actually give birth to your baby right there in that stable with the animals watching?  And there were no midwives or doctors or nurses available to help with the labor and delivery...no medicine to block the pain...no clean bed to lay upon...and only your betrothed there to attend to you...a man whom who truly have not known in that kind of intimate way...

Can you imagine how Mary must have felt...she had no clean, soft blanket or diapers to comfort her newborn babe?  But somehow she found some "swaddling cloths" to wrap around him, and she laid him in the hay in the manger.

If I had been Mary, I wonder if I could have been so cool, calm, and collected at the birth of my first child? Probably not, judging by the way I've been acting this week before Christmas...

But perhaps if the angels had come to tell me about the birth of my baby in the first place...and then if the angels had come to sing praises at His birth...and the shepherds had come to bow down and worship Him

...maybe I would have a different attitude...perhaps I wouldn't be so focused on the peripheral "stuff", but would be truly worshiping and adoring the Child sent to me by God...God's Gift to me...and to the whole world...and I would be singing with the angelic choir..."Gloria in excelsis Deo"...Glory to God in the Highest...and Peace, Goodwill to men...

So, after thinking about this, maybe I just need to pull myself together, get my self organized, and just get out there and "shine"...

Like this Advent Wreath, after  straightening up the candles, pulling the pine boughs back together as well as possible, we read the verses about the Angels announcing Jesus' birth to Mary, Joseph, and the Shepherds...and then we lit the candles and let it shine forth in the darkness.

Yes, that's what I need to do. There isn't much time left...but after giving myself this little "pep talk", I think I can go out with a new and brighter attitude...and a song of joy in my heart as I go about my activities of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, our Savior and Lord!!!

"Hark the Herald Angels sing, Glory to the Newborn King!"

Christmas on Elmwood Street, Part Three - Updated and Reposted

Christmas on Elmwood Street, Part Three!

Again, this is a repost of the story about my Dad, "Billy Mursch", written from his own words.  I am so thankful that I took the time to listen and write down these stories as he told them to me...they are priceless and precious.  Little did I know that  Christmas (2010) would be the last Christmas he would spend with us here on earth.  Now he is rejoicing with the angels in heaven and enjoying the REAL celebration of Christmas with my mother...and most of all, with Jesus.    I hope you will enjoy this last episode from the story of "Christmas on Elmwood Street", reposted in memory of my sweet Daddy. 

The Mursch House on Elmwood Street, Crafton, PA, 1929

Elva and Bill Mursch
(My Grandparents)

Billy Mursch

This is the third and last part of the mini-series of "A Chapter in the Life of Billy Mursch", Crafton, Pennsylvania, Circa 1929.  If you've missed the first two parts, please look back on my blog for the last few days to catch up with us!  (This story is written from his perspective).



Madame Schumann-Heink singing Silent Night
Click on the link above to hear her singing just
as it was back in 1929 on the radio.

On Christmas Eve our family gathered in the living room to listen to Madame Schumann-Heink sing Silent Night in German on the radio. This was a tradition for many families during those pre-WWII years, and one that was very special to my father especially as it reminded him of his German family heritage.

Then we would “hang up our stockings by the chimney with care”, and in the morning we would gleefully sing out "Merry Christmas!" to each other as we discovered the treasures of perhaps a new handkerchief, an apple, nuts and maybe some candy tucked inside! After opening our gifts ("The Boy Ranchers Among the Indians" YES!! A new pocket-knife? Wow, Gee Thanks, Santa! ) we would gather around the table for a delicious ham dinner with all the trimmings. My mother was a wonderful cook, and even when times were tough, she could create a meal that made our celebration a very joyous time together.

Later in the evening our family would take a walk around the neighborhood and see all the homes decked out in their glorious Christmas displays. It was truly a festive time on Elmwood Street! Such happy, happy memories.


Oh yes, one more little adventure to share with you:
Our family faithfully attended church at St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran in Crafton. My mother was quite involved in the Ladies’ Circle of our church, and this particular year she was to host their meeting at our home shortly after Christmas. Unfortunately, our Christmas tree had shed its needles rather prematurely, and the tree stood quite bare in our living room. She was embarrassed at its nakedness, but hadn’t had time to take it down prior to her meeting. While she was out doing her errands before the meeting, I happened to notice that one of our neighbors had already discarded their Christmas tree and had left it on the street for the trash men to pick up. That tree still had many more needles on its branches than ours, so I thought it would be a wonderful surprise for my mother if I switched the trees and redecorated it before she arrived home with her lady friends for the meeting! I quickly made the exchange and cleaned up the mess just in time for the ladies to arrive at our door. Much to my chagrin, my mother was mortified that I had taken this tree off the trash heap and brought it in to our home, but the other ladies all laughed and thought it was just wonderful of “little Billy” to be so ingenious and creative! So she recovered from her embarrassment and praised me for my thoughtfulness. (Whew! That was a close one!)

Our Christmas Tree (before the needles fell off)

 

Introducing my fiance' Dorothea Tedlie to my family.
l to r:  Ruth Mursch, Dorothea Tedlie, Marion Mursch, Mother Elva
Mursch, (back row, l to r): Dad William H. Mursch,
Me "Billy" William F. Mursch, and brother Paul Mursch, circa 1940
(click on pictures to enlarge view)

Yep, growing up during the depression in the outskirts of Pittsburgh had its difficult moments, but all in all, God had truly blessed our family with His peace and joy. Not too many years after that I introduced my beautiful fiancé, Dorothea Tedlie, to my family in that same house, and then a few years later brought our own four children home to visit their grandparents so that they could taste the Anise cookies and the Sand Tarts and experience Christmas the way I had growing up on Elmwood Street.

Looking back, I have to stop and thank the Lord for all His wondrous blessings to me for the past ninety-two years. I am so thankful to have had Godly parents who brought me up in a Christian home so that I could pass on that same heritage to my children and to their children and to all future generations.

It is my Christmas prayer that each and every one of you will cherish your family and treasure the gift of the “Prince of Peace”, Jesus Christ, that precious Baby in the Manger and our Savior today.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

"Billy Mursch"
(08/09/1918-4/19/2011)

The Mursch Family a few years later, circa 1952
in the dining room of the house on Elmwood Street.

 

The Mursch Family 1969

Paul, Grandpa, Marion, Grandma, "Billy", and Ruth.

Some of the Mursch Family, 1982



The "Billy Mursch" Family, 2005 (most of it)

The Very Distinguished "Billy Mursch"
2010, age 92.  What a guy!!!  (UPDATE: THIS
WAS TAKEN AS HE ENJOYED HIS
LAST THANKSGIVING WITH HIS FAMILY.  We all really miss his wit and charm...)

Link to "Christmas on Elmwood Street, Part One"

Link to "Christmas on Elmwood Street, part Two"

Back to the Present:    I hope you all enjoyed this little walk down memory lane with me as my Dad "Billy" told his stories from his childhood.  One thing I have learned this past year in particular as I have been researching my family genealogy, it is so important to take the time to talk to our elders while we have the opportunity.  So much history and knowledge is lost when we don't ask the questions and write down their stories.  For most of us our parents and grandparents are long gone.  So we need to tell our own kids and grandkids our stories while we can. I know...they probably don't want to sit down long enough to listen...so write your story...use your blog as a way to share the past...the traditions...the good memories and the sad ones too.  Because we do so much on social media we are losing the hand written letters and journals and photo albums that are real and not virtual.  When the technology changes much of what we have put in social media will be lost.  Share your story now while you can.  And if you still have your elder loved ones near you, ask them about their lives and record it somehow. Every life matters!

After Christmas I will be sharing what I learned in my genealogical research on Ancestry.com this past year. It is quite an interesting story and I know you will enjoy reading it. So stay tuned, and have a very Merry Christmas!!