Fake An Injury Party

Sorry for the length between posts but things have been pretty busy around here. This should have been up on the blog in November! My church's Adult Sunday School class has a big meeting every quarter. The October meeting always falls around Halloween so we decided to have a fun theme. I found the idea for a "Fake An Injury" party on Pinterest and the rest was history! Now, I cannot take credit for this idea. I follow a GREAT blog, inviteanddelight.blogspot.com, that has creative ideas for parties and gatherings. I also got some other ideas on Pinterest. I'll share all the information below with the pictures I took at the party.

"Used Band-aids" These were made with graham crackers, cupcake icing in a can, and strawberry-apple sauce. They looked nasty! (Idea credit: katherinemaries.com)

"Dirty Q-Tips" Small marshmallows dipped in creamy peanut butter on both ends of a toothpick. (Idea credit: katherinemaries.com)

"Brain!" Strawberry Jell-O in a brain mold. I actually purchased this directly from the Jell-O store online. It came with directions for different mixes to put in it to make cool colors! Find it here.

"Leprous Hands" Microwave-popped popcorn covered in white cheddar seasoning, placed in a vinyl, powder-free glove. I'm embarrassed to say that I misspelled "leprous" in the pic. Oops! These were my idea!

"Bandaged Heads" My co-host, Caryn, brought these. I think she got them in the store with everything included, minus the actual cupcakes. They are so cute! They were meant to be "mummy cupcakes" but we renamed them for the party theme.

Now, here are a few of the guests who showed up with "injuries"...

There are lots of other things we did that I didn't get pictures of. Everyone had to sign in like they were entering an emergency room. The paper required their full legal name, symptoms, etc. We read them off later and some of them were pretty hilarious. The food was served on cafeteria-style trays. We had a photo booth with doctor props. The booth was set up like a hospital room. The punch was blood red. Like I said, great ideas but no pics. =+( It was a great time had by all. I'm sure we'll do something like it again in the future. It is my hope that you will glean some ideas from this post and use it for your next Halloween party!

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.

But It's Only a Car

Call me sentimental, but I have a hard time parting ways with cars I've owned. My first car was a 1988 Plymouth Grand Voyager. Drove it until the transmission started messing up on it. It had almost 200,000 miles on it at the time. By the time it died, I had gotten married, so my hubby bought me another Plymouth Grand Voyager - only this time it was a 2000 model. We wound up giving that car to some friends of ours because they had more kids than we did. With both vehicles, I had a crying party after driving away. So many memories.

But this week, my husband finally parted with his car. I didn't think I'd have that hard a time with it until I started doing some thinking. So, if you don't mind listening, I would like to tell you a story about the little car that meant so much to us.

Let's set the scene: summer 2002, beautiful day outside, and I was excited. Tim and I were supposed to be going on our second date that night. He wanted to take me to Outback Steakhouse and I'd never been there before. I was busy getting ready at my parents' house when the phone rang. No one recognized the number, so we let it go to the voice mail. The caller left a message so we checked it. It was Tim. He had been in an accident. From the sound of it, it wasn't too bad, but he was being taken to the hospital.

When I arrived at Riverside, Tim filled me in on all the details. His Rodeo had been hit by another driver under the influence of drugs. The SUV had flipped in the air and was totaled. (There was also a large gash in his arm that required surgery.) He was fine but this meant he would need a new car. He looked around and finally found a 1999 Chevy Cavalier with super-low miles and in his price range. It was a base model so there was nothing fancy about it. Just a car to get him from point A to B.

Tim made up for the date that he cancelled and more. But by the end of the year, things were getting weird. We were both immature and needed some time to grow up. I didn't realize this at the time, though. On New Year's Day 2003, we were having dinner at my grandparents' house with the family. Tim came but he was acting strange. After dinner, he took me out to that car. There, he told me we were done. He just wanted to be friends. Friends? Just friends? With the guy I thought I was going to marry one day? This was a hard pill to swallow.

Any time I saw his car after that, I dreaded it. It only meant more pain or drama. We were still going to the same church, so I saw that car at least 2-3 times a week for a few months. Then...I didn't. Didn't see him or the car, I mean. He went to visit his family in Kansas for a week or so. After that, he went on sea trials for the USS Ronald Reagan. Time had come and gone, and so had our immaturity. We grew up in the months we were apart. Now, it was July 4th. Tim called me and asked if I would like to spend some time with his family who had come to visit for the day. I jumped at the offer. That day, we started our relationship over again. But this time, we were ready.

What a year 2003 was! It started terribly but was getting better as the days went on. Yet, as New Year's Day 2004 came closer, it brought old feelings back. I had a fear in the back of my mind of that holiday because of the meeting we had in his car the previous year. Again, we were supposed to meet my family for dinner that night. This time, we were going out to Golden Corral. Tim picked me up in that dreadful car. The trip over was pretty quiet. When we got in the parking lot, he looked down at the shifter and said, "There's something I need to tell you." I'm thinking...Oh, great, here it comes... Then he said, "Will you marry me?" and pulled out a ring. I was shocked! It took me a minute but I said YES!

That car also helped me realize how great a husband Tim would really be. Tim had picked me up to hang out at his condo one night. He was working on something and asked if I would run with his car to get some pizza. It was just across the street so I volunteered. On my way back, the pizza box fell to the floor. I reached down to grab it when I felt a thud. I looked up to realize I had crashed the car into some hedges. I panicked and wasn't sure what to do. You'd think hitting the brakes would have been the first thing to come to mind...but no. I turned the wheel to avoid more damage, only causing more. I finally stopped the car and noticed the side mirror was laying on the ground. I picked it up while my heart raced. What would he say?! I got back to the condo carrying a pizza box and mirror in my hands while crying my eyes out. He looked at me and said, "Are you okay?" I told him the story and we went out to look at the car. He was so patient and understanding. Not once did he look angry or raise his voice at me. He said it was only a car and he was just glad I was okay. He popped the mirror back on and we never really spoke of it again. What a great guy I had!

That summer, July 31 to be exact, Tim and I got married in the back yard of a friend's house. The car that took us for the first time as a married couple? The little car. The car that parked alone in the driveway of our first house? The little car. The car I drove to go out by myself with my son for the first time - in the pouring rain? The little car. The car that holds so many stories and memories that I could not write them all here? That darling little car.

Tim was driving home from work early November 2011 when the car stopped running. He was close to home, so he got it to start a few more times to get him there. All the water had leaked out of the car, so he filled it again. But it wasn't in there long. Over the course of the month, he replaced the water pump, thermostat, and finally, the radiator. After they all failed to help the problem, we came to the conclusion the head was cracked. No more car. We decided to donate the vehicle to the Purple Heart program. The tax write-off would be better than any cash we could get for the car. So, we setup the appointment for them to pick up the car.

Here it is (above), as I left my driveway on December 9. When I got back, it was gone. But it will not be forgotten.

We currently own a 1993 GMC Suburban Truck and 2005 Jeep Liberty, both we've had for 2 years. And on December 7, we added a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan to our family that I will be driving. I look forward to making more memories in our vehicles in the years to come. Let's pray that they are all good ones!