Cowboy Baby Shower

I must say...I love Pinterest! I found so many great ideas for this shower from there. I will do my best to share all the links for those that would like to have a similar party.

The idea of the cowboy shower came from the mommy-to-be. As you can see, they have three beautiful girls already. But this is their first boy! We sat down at lunch one day and talked about what she did and didn't want at the shower. From there, I did my research and came up with a game plan.

We used a large piece of jean material as our table cloth. We placed a few clean root beer bottles filled with sunflowers on the table. Overhead, my "partner-in-crime," Caryn, made the sunflower pomanders for a feminine touch. To make the plain white plates not so plain, we used Caryn's straw plate holders. She also found the bandanna napkins. Our menu was all Southwest-style:

Southwest Cornbread Salad
Red Beans & Rice (from a box)
7-Layer Dip w/Tortilla Chips
Fiesta Bites
Taco Bake
White Chicken Enchiladas
Fruit Trifle

Caryn made the cake and did an excellent job. I also found this design on Pinterest. But Caryn thought putting the flowers on top would be best. She was right! Not pictured is our drink station. We did a Root Beer Float punch with a sign that said, "Waterin' Hole." Wish I had gotten a pic of it!

The table cover for the favor table was made by a lady in our church. I believe it was originally designed to be a picnic blanket but it worked perfectly for our theme. The favors is a homemade trail mix (Chex, raisins, peanuts, and M&Ms) placed inside a small mason jar. We printed labels on brown kraft paper saying, "Happy Trails," and tied a piece of twine around the lid. Caryn did a great job placing the favors in the crates.

The gift table had the same jean material that was on the food table. I had some country garland in our puppet room that I used as decoration. And Caryn had some cow-spotted balloons put in the back.

At our Wishing Tree table, guests were invited to write a wish for the baby. The wishes were hung with twine on a small lighted tree. The wishing tree idea came from someone else. Although, I put my own spin on the tree itself. I found this lighted tree at A.C. Moore. I looked online for a link to it, but couldn't find one. The mommy-to-be is going to use it as a nightlight!

Now comes the fun part! We did "Wanted" photos! As you can see we had props for the guests to use. It may be hard to see but we used mustaches on the sticks. Every outlaw needs a good handlebar mustache! I found the mustaches (which were sticky on the backside) at the dollar store. But here is a link for some printable ones. Here are just a few pics from the guests...

I took ALL of the pics above on my phone, the Samsung Galaxy S III. I used my all-time favorite app, Pixlr-o-matic, to make the pics look more authentic. My only regret is that I'd had more room to take these pics directly in front of the panel board! They would've come out a lot better. But we had a great time and my main goal is that Mommy is happy with it.

Now, here are links to help you get some ideas!
Blog with the original cowboy/western shower idea
The invites we used
All the signs you saw in the pictures

If you have any other questions, feel free to post them here! Signing out...

Rebecca

Close To The Beginning

Not too long from now, our journey through my paternal line's ancestry will begin. I just noticed today that the state of Massachusetts will be in the next group of states released in the indexed 1940 U.S. Census. Once I have reviewed it, I hope to get more answers about where my grandfather stayed after his parents died. When I connect all the dots, we can finally get started!

A side note: I found my Grandma Rose Coburn (Lashua) in the census, living in New Hampshire with her parents and brother. She was 17 at the time. I think they may have written down the wrong middle name for her. I would have to see her birth or death certificate to be certain if it was Marie or Amy. I want to research her side of the family as well, but it will take more time. Her parents have a background of French Canadian which eventually winds up in France. Since I know nothing about that language, it will take patience and lesson in French before that branch of the family tree is filled!

Where To Start?

I've heard people say they are intimidated to start looking into their family history. They think it will be time-consuming, expensive, or just too difficult. Well, if you know what you are looking for and can devote a couple hours a day for 2 weeks, you can accomplish a lot. That's what I did. I'll admit, you must have a little bit of knowledge of the computer and internet. Without that, it will probably take you longer, which will cost more. So, let's get started!

Step 1: Talk to your family members

Set up a lunch, tea time, or a quick meeting. The older the family member, the better. They have knowledge of family history that will vanish with them when they leave this world. What should you talk about? First, ask them about their childhood. Ask about their parents, grandparents, and others they remember. You will get some really neat stories to share. But the most important information you can gather is names, birth dates, death dates, and locations. With those things, you will have an easier time finding these relatives online and in census records.

Step 2: Pick a family line

"Huh?" Okay. My father's surname is Coburn. I always wanted to know if I was related to James Coburn, the actor, as a cousin or something. But I knew I would have to research the Coburn family line to make the connection. So, the family line I chose was the paternal Coburn line. (Lesson of the day - paternal: fatherly line) I kept looking for the father, his father, and his father, and his father...get it? Once you make your decision, stick with it. It can get confusing if you start swerving in and out of paternal and maternal lines. As I said above, I looked through the Coburn line. Once I reached the end of my search, and I could go no further in the line, I picked one woman with an interesting last name and searched her paternal line. TIP: Paternal lines are easier to research because their surname usually never changes!

Step 3: Look to the internet

Once you have the information from your family member and an idea which line you'd like to research, you can start filling in the blanks online. You shouldn't be discouraged if you don't have someone from whom you can glean the historical family facts. You can probably find the information yourself, but it may take a little longer. I recommend Ancestry.com as a good place to start. TIP: Don't sign up for your free trial membership until you are ready to devote the time to look for your ancestors. Once that time expires, it costs $ to look at most of the records on the site. I made sure when I started my search that I could spend most of those two weeks on the site, gathering as much information as I could FOR FREE. I was able to finish the entire Coburn line in the two week trial.

Step 4: Start with a census

Census records are released to the public 72 years after the census has been taken. April 1, 2012, we saw the release of the 1940 Census. This means, most of our parents or grandparents (depending on your age, of course) would be listed on this census. Unfortunately, it takes time to index the records to make them easily searchable and only 4 states are indexed. But you can start with the 1930 Census and work back from there. The United States took a census every decade. Taking into account that the further back in time you go, the younger these people got (duh!), you will probably run into their parents. Go further, you'll find their parents! Simple, I know. But for those that are not as smart as you, I had to state that. Now, as a warning, a fire destroyed the 1890 Census. This means there is a 20-year gap in finding your ancestors. It did not stop me in my search. I don't even think it affected me at all. But you may have trouble there.

Step 5: Be prepared for good...and bad

Anything can happen in your search for family history. And it is wise to be prepared for whatever you may stumble across. You may come to a dead-end sooner than expected. It's okay! Try to google that person and see if any information pops up. I was looking for a Chester Coburn in the census records and I hit a wall. So, I put his name in an internet search engine just to see what I'd find. I'm glad I did! From Chester, I was able to get the rest of the Coburn line in a book that had been written about the Coburn lineage. If you are African-American, some census records will not state your ancestors names because of slavery and such. And for others, you must prepare yourself for ancestors that may have owned slaves. It breaks my heart when I hear of these occurrences. I have not found any in my line at this time because most of my lineage is in Yankee territory. But hearing of other's findings makes me glad to live in a time where we truly  follow "all men are created equal." Some of you may find an ancestor who was famous, or involved in something thrilling. Chester, who I mentioned above, helped found the state of Idaho. I found some of my ancestors on Wikipedia, in books, or their signatures on important documents. Military records can give a glimpse into the patriot you may have in your line (In addition to Ancestry.com, you might try Fold3.com for a large collection of military records and pictures). All of these findings, good or bad, help shape your family tree.

Step 6: Write it all down

After this exciting search, you will want to share your findings with others. Print off everything you can. Write all the stories and facts down in a journal. Or you can do as I am and start a blog! Whatever you decide, get all the information together so you can tell your family's story. Some people honestly don't care, and others will be wagging their tails in excitement over your findings. Just make sure you keep it all in a safe place for future generations to find.

I hope my little guide will help you in some way. There are other places and websites with good information as well. The greatest thing I have gotten from my search is a better understanding and thankfulness of my loving, merciful, over-seeing God. So many times, my family line could have been wiped out because of tragedy. But God knew the future and what would need to happen in my past to make my life come to fruition. One last thing...I want you to watch a "celebrity" find their ancestry. Understand that these people have money to hire genealogists to help them in their search. But what I want you to take from these episodes are the stories and findings that can help you understand where your family comes from in doing an ancestral search. My favorite from season 3 of "Who Do You Think You Are?" was Helen Hunt. A good African-American story is Blair Underwood. But you can find all episodes from this season on Hulu.

May you be blessed on your search through your family tree!

My Family Tree

I have been doing research on the Coburn family line for a little while now. This weekend, I came across some even more exciting things. And since it is so difficult to share everything with you, my friends, on the phone or in person, I thought I could write little bits of my family's history here on the blog. Of course, my request in return is that you read these stories, comment on them, and do some genealogical digging of your own! I have been so surprised and thrilled to find out about these people that I never would have known about had I not looked for them. I even found a distant (very distant) cousin online and we are now friends on Facebook. As I told her, we can now share our pasts and our futures together.

These people I have researched are in me. They are a part of me. And I want to not only share them and their stories with my family but also with you. So, little by little, I will share their stories of triumph and tragedy. My plan is to release a new story at least once a week. It may take a while to tell them all, but I hope it is a journey you will walk with me.

Dusting the Keys Off

I have taken up a new activity recently. Piano lessons! I am not taking them...I am giving them. I currently have 4 students and will gain 2-3 more in the summer. (One of those will be my husband!)

It has been an adventure, to say the least. I have come to the knowledge of just how much I really can do with my time. More importantly, I realize that "judging a book by its cover" is soooo wrong. I have 4 girls between the ages of 7 and 13. I assumed, from my friendships with these girls at church, how this process would go for them. But they have all proved me wrong. Ones that I thought would progress quickly have not, and others that I thought would go at a slower pace have speedily learned their material. At first, I was surprised! But the longer I have worked with them, I have gotten to know their goals, work ethic, and God-given abilities.

You see, some people have a natural talent. While others have to work for it. But the thing that makes my students retain the most is this: DESIRE. Isn't that with everything in life? We must desire to do, or the doing won't be worth the time and effort put forth. God asks us to live our life seperated from the world. But He doesn't ask us to do it begrudgingly. He wants us to want it. Live your life for Him with a desire to do so.