A Speaker's Perspective

I am a crazy person this week. Well, maybe this whole month. For parents of school-aged children, May might be a busier month than December. We have soccer (with two players in the family – one doing travel soccer which requires driving an hour each way for some games) and softball season (one player – also traveling for games) both in full swing. On top of that there is the regular two dance classes and two piano lessons a week. There are end of the year dance recitals, piano recitals, and band concerts all coming up. AND, my three oldest children all have birthdays in the next month – which means three birthday parties. My husband, a college professor, is grading finals and calling in students who cheated (because of an error in the answer key, he determined that 25% of his class cheated on their homework) and attending graduation, and I am deeply involved in the busiest part of the year for genealogy speakers.

Which brings me to my topic at hand. (No, it’s not the woes of being a mother of four and living in the car – French fries are okay for toddlers to eat for dinner, right?) The topic is being a genealogy speaker. My topic was inspired by Thomas MacEntee who challenged bloggers to write about this – a couple of weeks ago. (I’m a little behind the times. What else is new?)

I gave my first genealogy lecture in the fall of 2006. Now I’m confessing personal information here. Maybe I shouldn’t….Oh well….here goes anyway. I had never attended a genealogy meeting of any sort until August of 2006 when I went to FGS in Boston for one day. I particularly remember listening to Craig Scott speak about…speaking. I was enthralled and instantly thought, “I can do this.” How’s that for arrogant? I had experience in genealogy. I had studied genealogy in college at Brigham Young University and had worked full time as a professional genealogist tracing other people’s families. I had also been writing for genealogy magazines since 2003. Until I started writing for magazines, I had remained unaware that there even were genealogy societies, meetings, or conferences. I had just moved from Valencia, Spain to Massachusetts a few weeks before FGS that year – and decided to see what it was all about.

I brought some speakers’ brochures home from FGS with me and went about designing my own brochure. Then, having never been to a genealogy society meeting in my life, I mailed them out to local genealogy societies I found in my area. I attended my first local society meeting in September of 2006, and gave my first lecture in November. I loved it and was instantly hooked.

My speaking has increased dramatically since my book launched last July. Since July, I have given nearly 80 lectures in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut, Utah, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, California, Maryland, and Virginia. I have spoken to large groups and small groups, to genealogy societies, state historical societies, libraries, senior centers, museums, book clubs, and other places.

Here are some of my thoughts on it:

1) The pay. Let’s be honest. The pay is not great. I once had a society offer me $75 for a one hour talk with this question: “Does $75 sound fair for one hour of your time?” Sure, but that’s not the exchange here. I’m giving WAY more than one hour of time. (And, except in very special circumstances I don’t speak for $75 a lecture either.) I use time to correspond with the society, to prepare the lecture, and to travel (more below). I’ve never known a genealogy speaker who feels like he or she can make a living from speaking.

2) The travel. I love to travel. By that I mean, I have tickets to Rio de Janiero in August and I can’t wait. I’m super excited for our family trip in June to Rocky Mountain National Park, Memphis, etc. Loving to travel doesn’t generally include three hour drives to little New England towns. I have done a lot of traveling in the last year – a lot for me and my family anyway. Tonight I will drive two hours each way to speak in WInchester, MA and on Saturday, I’ll drive almost three hours each way to speak to the Falmouth Genealogical Society. In March, I spoke in Virginia and Ohio and in February, I spent 11 days in Utah. That said though, I actually don’t mind the travel so much. I enjoy listening to a good book on CD or listening to NPR in the car (as a mom of little kids, “alone time” is pretty exciting!). And I also try really hard to combine speaking engagements with other travel. For example, I was invited to speak in Ottawa in October and we have decided to make a family trip out of it and stay five days in Montreal and Quebec City. And in June when we do our big trip, I’ll have three lectures along the way.

3) The prep. It’s A LOT of work to put together a new lecture. I always try to turn lectures into magazine articles to maximize the benefit. I have a dozen or so prepared lectures. I am usually not willing to put together a new lecture at the request of a society, although I am willing to tweak or adjust a lecture I already have. Every so often, I develop a new lecture. This past year, I’ve given my book talk MANY times. I know it so well that I don’t even glance at my notes ahead of time. I just hop in the car and head to the next venue.

4) The nerves. Actually, I generally don’t get nervous. When I first started speaking, I got nervous for the question and answer period. I was afraid I wouldn’t know the answer to something someone asked me. I have gotten over that. Not because I always know the answers. I don’t. But I’m okay with that now. Setting up my equipment can make me jittery if something isn’t working well. This is why I ALWAYS bring my own projector and laptop – even when the group is providing it. I leave it in the car…just in case. There have been several times when I have needed to get it. Sometimes nobody in the society knows how to work the library’s equipment or something similar. I KNOW that I know how to work my own equipment. I also bring an extension cord with me.

5) The benefits. Of course, practically the main reason I have spoken so much lately is to get the word out about my book. Besides, as I mentioned before, I love to speak. Why? I really enjoy the dynamic of interacting with a group of people – and of sharing information that I’m excited about. I love to feel like something I’ve said is useful to others. I have especially enjoyed talking about my book. It is extremely rewarding to have people tell me that they have read my book and that they related to it, or that it emotionally impacted them, or that it inspired them to want to write their family story.

Conferences, Lectures, and Book Signings. Oh My!

I just returned last night from my whirlwind eleven days in Utah. It was fun to arrive in the airport last night and see my kids. I missed them so much!

But I had a great trip. Here’s a run down of the last few days of my trip:

On Wednesday, the Cache Valley Historical Society hosted a book lecture. It was in the beautiful historic county courthouse in Logan. It was well attended and lots of fun. I was born in Logan, but moved when I was a baby, so although I don’t know many people in Logan, it still has a “home” feeling to it.

Thursday I had two book signings – at the Logan Seagull Bookstore and then at the Harrisville store (near Ogden). Although this seems to surprise people, I get more nervous for book signings than for lectures. I really enjoy speaking to groups of people – I find it energizing. I love to talk to people who come up to talk to me at book signings. But, authors are also encouraged to greet people who come in the store – hand them a postcard and tell them about your book. This is what I find a bit uncomfortable. These are people who did not come to the store to talk to me. Some are excited about my book and end up buying it. That’s great, of course. But some of them don’t even stop walking and make it clear that they want me to go away. I try not to take it personally.

Thursday night, I spoke at the Ogden Regional Family History Center. When I visit Utah, it’s hard not to feel jealous of these family history centers. In addition to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah also has these large regional family history centers that are open long hours, have lots of wonderful resources, and are staffed with people available to answer questions for those starting out.

I headed from Logan down to West Jordan for a book signing on Friday afternoon. This was my favorite book signing up until then. I had barely arrived when I met a woman who told me some fun family stories and bought my book. I noticed another woman standing in the background waiting to talk to me. It turned out that this woman, Kathy, was a distant relative who had seen my book in the Seagull catalogue and recognized the pictures on the front as being her relatives! It was wonderful to talk to her about the family and the book. Because she comes through a different side of the family, Kathy has stories and memories that I haven’t heard before. We arranged to talk later so I can record some of these. Here’s a picture of Kathy, Kathy’s granddaughter, and me at my signing.



Towards the end of the signing, a friend I hadn’t seen since high school and an old college roommate (if you’ve read the book, this is the friend whose wedding I went to in Salt Lake City in the Swedish section) arrived at the signing too. It was fun to catch up a little.

Friday night, the Utah Genealogical Association hosted a talk at the Bountiful Arts Center. They told me they had expected about 25-30 people, but 110 showed up. That was a fun surprise due partially to the fact that Kathy Palmer, the organizer of the South Davis Regional Family History Fair, sent out an email notification of the event to all those registered for the conference, and partially due to an article that ran in the Davis County Clipper (click on the link to read the article) about my book and the talk (thanks to my husband’s aunt who contacted the paper!). It was a lively audience and I very much enjoyed the presentation.

Saturday, I attended the South Davis Regional Family History Fair. This was my first experience with the fair and I was very impressed. It was HUGE! It was held at the Bountiful High School, with the various lectures taking place in the classrooms. I taught three classes: The Journey Takers: An Inside Look at Immigration Research, Eight Ways to Cross the Ocean, and Writing a Page-Turning (But True) Family History. The whole conference appeared to be packed. Each of my classes had every seat filled and some had people sitting on the floor. I heard people commenting that every class they went to was top-notch. I didn’t get to attend any other classes, because I taught three in a row, signed some books, then headed for my next event. The conference also had a large exhibit hall with all sorts of vendors. If you live in Utah and haven’t attended this event in the past, be sure to watch for it next year. With free registration, it’s the best deal around!

That evening I had a book signing at the Seagull bookstore in Centerville. Besides talking to people I’d never met and signing some books, I also had two relatives and one of my best friends from graduate school stop by. It was great. But by this time, I was so wiped out that I had a hard time standing, smiling and greeting every person that came in.

Sunday, I packed up and Christian and I headed back home. The plane trip was tiring, but we made it! I appreciated my parents who watched Christian while I was at all these events.



I have some thoughts and analysis from my Utah trip, but I will save that for the next blog post!

Hanging Out at the Exhibit Hall at the St. George Family History Expo

I am now sitting inside the exhibit hall at the St. George Family History Expo. It’s a little dead right now since most people are in a lecture. There’s a lot of wonderful lectures, but I also like hanging out in the exhibit hall.

After my lecture in Henderson last night, I hopped in the car and drove an hour and a half to stay with my old college roommate. We stayed up until 1 a.m. (which is 4 a.m. in Massachusetts) talking and catching up – and now I am feeling the consequences of it! I wish I could find a little corner and curl up to take a nap right now!

This morning, I drove the rest of the way to St. George and gave my first lecture at the conference “Beyond Names and Dates: Uncovering Your Ancestors’ Stories.” In this lecture, I read a section of my book at the end. This section tells the story of Edmond and Eliza Harris. I don’t want to steal my own thunder, but the basic premise is that Eliza and her two small children set sail in 1855 from Australia to California. On October 4, their ship crashed into a reef – with disastrous consequences. Although my ancestors didn’t leave behind any descriptions of the event (or anything at all actually), others described the wreck in detail. It really is a tragic, heartbreaking story.

I have read this story lots of times as part of a lecture. Yet, as pathetic as this may be, I still get emotional when I read it. It’s actually kind of embarrassing. It reminds me though of how deep the personal connection we feel to ancestors can be when we do the research to “get to know them” – when they cease to be just names and dates to us and become actual people.

But, back to the conference! Why do I like hanging out in the exhibit hall so much? I enjoy wandering around all the booths and seeing everything they have to offer. There’s someone here with a “black sheep” display. He is an expert on researching criminal ancestors. He sells a book, a T-shirt, and even stuffed black sheep that he collects from around the world. I enjoyed talking to a woman from the Daughters of Utah Pioneers (DUP) here in St. George and had a nice conversation with a woman from the UGA (Utah Genealogy Association) that it turns out is the sister-in-law of my husband’s uncle – whose house I will be sleeping at tomorrow night. What a small world! FamilySearch has a large booth here as do several genealogy software programs, where people can answer your questions and help you learn to use the product more effectively.

The point here is that, of course, the main reason most people go to genealogy conferences is to attend the lectures. But, don’t forget that another one of the best reasons to attend a conference is to wander around the exhibit hall – see the newest genealogy developments and talk to people who share your interest. Often, exhibit halls are open to the public. So even if you don’t register for the conference, you might consider stopping by to visit the exhibit hall!

Viva Las Vegas

I am typing this from the Paseo Verde Library in Henderson, Nevada – right outside Las Vegas. I have begun my whirlwind trip! And I am pleased to report that I survived the airplane ride with my sixteen-month-old. I do not consider myself a wimp when it comes to flying with children. Christian flew when he was one week old. By the time my third child turned one, she had flown to all corners of the United States, across the ocean on two different round trip tickets, as well as to London, Paris, and Rome. I even flew across the ocean alone with three children – ages 5, 3, and five months.

But, I was really nervous for this flight with Christian. He is a pleasant, vibrant, charming toddler – but he is BUSY. He does not sit still for two minutes. Fortunately, we had a very patient person sitting next to us on the first flight (who didn’t seem at all phased when Christian latched hold of his shirt or threw his fruit snacks at him) and even lucked out with an empty seat next to us on the second flight. Christian hardly cried (which wasn’t what I was worried about). He climbed all over me during the first flight and slept through the second one. I was absolutely exhausted when we landed in Salt Lake City, but it was not nearly as bad as I had feared. (Of course, I still have to fly home with him….) Now, he is in Logan hanging out with my parents while I am enjoying the sunshine and 60 degree weather here!

My other three children are having a “daddy party,” as they call it, at home. I cried when I went through security because I felt so sad to leave them! I talked to them on the phone this afternoon and they seem to be surviving without too many emotional scars so far.

In a couple of hours, I will speak here at the Paseo Verde Library. Then when the lecture is finished, I will drive an hour and a half to sleep at my old college roommate’s house. Doesn’t that sound fun? I hadn’t seen her in years – I’d never met her husband or any of her four children – until this past summer. While on our marathon summer trip, we drove near her house on our way to Bakersfield, CA and stopped for a couple of hours. Now, I’ll get to see her again after just seven months.

Then, tomorrow I will join the St. George Family History Expo. I am excited! They have a wonderful program lined up. I will be blogging from there as they have internet access just for that purpose. You can check out their program here. Hopefully, I’ll be back again tomorrow with a report on the conference.

My Marketing Philosophy

Many of my blog posts are prompted by interactions I have with other people – and this is one of them. I got an email recently complimenting me on my energy and efforts in promoting my book. As I told this person, her comment made me smile a little. I love writing and I love doing research, but – believe it or not - I do not love marketing.

Before my book was published, I had done basically zero marketing in my life. I mostly wrote for magazines. When I would finish a magazine assignment, I would send it to the editor and be done with it. I never gave a second thought to how many people were buying that magazine or how many people might read the article. That was not my responsibility.

In case you didn’t already know this, the same is not true for a book. In most cases, the author is very concerned about who is buying the book and who is reading it. And many authors feel a great deal of responsibility for it. For those of us lacking marketing experience, it can feel like a steep learning curve.

However, I think the most difficult part of marketing is not about knowing what to do – it’s about actually doing it. Most people find promotion to be uncomfortable. It was easy enough to read books with advice on how to promote a new book. It wasn’t always too easy to follow the advice though. But, as with anything else, the more I did it, the easier it got.

Let’s take lecturing for example. I speak at various events and conferences quite regularly. When I first started speaking, I would get nervous. I really don’t get nervous now – unless it’s a particularly large or intimidating (for one reason or another) crowd – or sometimes if it’s a new lecture. I just really enjoy speaking. When my book came out though, speaking took a different turn and I felt myself becoming nervous again.

The great majority of the lectures I gave before my book would come about because a society or library or other organization would contact me and indicate that they would like to invite me to speak. With my book coming out though, I needed a different approach. In order to get the information out there, I needed to speak at more places and I needed specifically to speak about my book. My book was new so nobody would know that the book existed to even consider inviting me to speak about it – unless I told them about it.

Instead of waiting for invitations to come to me, I began choosing places I wanted to speak at. I contacted societies I had spoken at in the past to let them know about my new topic, but I also needed to reach outside my comfort zone. I chose some places that I would drive through on our marathon summer trip or other trips. Then I contacted them. Of course, the least threatening way to contact people is by email. But this doesn’t always work – especially when it’s not really clear who you should contact. Emails fall between the cracks. Phone calls sometimes work better. But they can be scary. I remember calling a major library to pitch my idea for a talk soon after my book came out. I was so nervous that I had a hard time catching my breath while I was talking to the woman. I must have sounded like I had paused my exercise video in the middle to call her!

As I have thought about my marketing efforts the last few months, I have come to the conclusion that I have developed three main marketing philosophies that have helped me.

1) (This philosophy was inspired by words of advice from another genealogist.) I began to think of my pitches etc. not as attempts to sell my book, but as simple efforts to disseminate information. Although really just a shift in my thoughts, it helped me feel less pressure. I also could feel like I was doing something useful (often offering to share my knowledge) instead of something semi-obnoxious - trying to convince people to buy something.

2) I would remind myself that I believe in my book (or for you, it could be another product – your lecturing skills, your research skills etc.). I think my book has something positive to contribute. In my case, I never wrote it with sales goals in mind anyway. I wrote it because I had a story to tell that I believed mattered.

3) Rejection is part of life. Now this was not a new philosophy. This is a necessary lesson to learn if you want to be a writer at all. I would sometimes give myself a little pep talk and say, “The worst this person can do is say no. And then I will be no worse off than I am now.” I wasn’t going to risk missing out on an opportunity just because I was afraid of what someone I would never see again (in most cases) might think of me or my idea.

So there you have it. My marketing wisdom. I am still learning as I go, but I have found that having these basic philosophies in place helps make the path a little less bumpy.

My Upcoming Utah Schedule!

So, my Utah schedule is finally in place! I am excited! I will be arriving in Utah late on February 23rd and leaving early on March 6th. In those eleven days, I have eleven lectures and six book signings. It's going to be a whirldwind.

If you live in Utah - or near Las Vegas, I hope you can mark one of these down on your calendar so you can attend a lecture or stop by and say hi at a book signing. If you have friends or family in Utah, please help me spread the word by sending them a link to this blog page. If you contact me (lahuber@understandingyourancestors.com), I would be happy to send you a flyer or anything else that might be helpful about any of the events.

Please note that all the lectures (and of course the book signings) are free and open to the public. In other words, you do NOT have to be a member of the Cache County Historical Society to attend the lecture in Logan. They are sponsoring it, but they welcome anyone to attend.

The two conferences (in St. George and Bountiful) require registration. They will both be HUGE conferences with tons of speakers, vendors, and other genealogists - and fabulous opportunities for you to improve your research skills. The St. George conference costs only $65 if you pre-register and the Bountiful conference is free. You can register at the door for either conference.

You may notice that the only lecture with incomplete information is the Salt Lake City lecture on Friday, March 4. The location of the lecture is not yet known. If you are interested in this one, check back here as I will update this blog post when the location is known. You can check my website here also (note that it is in the process of being updated at the moment).

24 Feb Book Presentation, Paseo Verde Public Library, Thurs 6:30 p.m., 280 South Green Valley Parkway, Henderson, NV, lecture free and open to the public
lecture and book signing: The Journey Takers

25-26 Feb St. George Family History Expo, St. George Convention Center, 1835, Convention Center Drive, St. George, UT
Conference registration required for attendance
lectures: 11:30 a.m., Fri: Beyond Names and Dates: Uncovering Your Ancestors’ Stories
8 a.m., Sat: Crossing the Ocean with the Internet,
2:30 p.m., Sat: The Journey Takers: An Inside Look at Immigration Research
Book signing: 3:40 p.m. at the Family Roots Publishing booth

26 Feb Seagull Bookstore, Sat, 5-7 p.m., 967 West Red Cliff Drive, Washington, UT
book signing: The Journey Takers

1 Mar Seagull Bookstore, Tues 4-6 p.m., Provo, UT, 2250 North University Pkwy #C56
book signing: The Journey Takers

1 Mar Book Presentation, Provo City Library at Academy Square, in the Bullock Room on the 3rd floor of the Academy Building, Tues, 7 p.m., 550 North University Parkway, Provo, UT
The lecture free and open to the public.
lecture and book signing: The Journey Takers: An Inside Look at the LDS Immigration Experience

2 Mar Monthly Meeting, Cache County Historical Society, Wed, 7 p.m., Historic County Courthouse, 179 North Main Street, Logan, UT
The lecture is free and open to the public.
lecture and book signing: The Journey Takers: An Inside Look at the LDS Immigration Experience

3 Mar Seagull Bookstore, Thurs, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., 1114 North Main Street, Logan, UT
book signing: The Journey Takers

3 Mar Seagull Bookstore, Thurs, 4-6 p.m., 514 N 325 East, Harrisville, UT
book signing: The Journey Takers

3 Mar Ogden Family History Center, Thurs 7 p.m., 539 24th Street, Ogden, UT The lecture is free and open to the public.
lecture: The Journey Takers: An Inside Look at the LDS Immigration Experience

4 Mar Seagull Bookstore, Fri, 2-4 p.m., 1625 West 9000 South, West Jordan, UT
book signing: The Journey Takers

4 Mar Utah Genealogical Association, Fri, 7 p.m., location to be determined, Salt Lake City, Utah
The lecture is free and open to the public.
lecture and book signing: The Journey Takers: An Inside Look at the Immigration Experience

5 Mar South Davis Regional Family History Fair, Sat, Bountiful High School, Bountiful, UT
The conference and lectures are free and open to public (onsite registration required).
lectures and book signing:
9:20: The Journey Takers
10:40: Eight Ways to Cross the Ocean
12:00: Writing a Page-Turning (But True) Family History
book signing: 1:10 p.m. at the Family Roots Publishing booth

5 Mar Seagull Bookstore, Sat, 5-7 p.m., 316 North Marketplace Dr. Suite C-100, Centerville, UT
book signing: The Journey Takers

Register Now for NERGC (New England Regional Genealogical Conference)

Have you noticed that genealogists are really into to acronyms? Most of the societies I belong to or speak to are known only by a series of letters. There’s MSOG (Massachusetts Society of Genealogists), NGS (National Genealogical Society), PalAm (Paltines to America), SARA (Swedish Ancestry Research Association), OGS (Ohio Genealogical Society or possibly the Ontario Genealogical Society), and many others. My favorite is ISFHWE (International Society of Family History Writers and Editors) – try pronouncing that one! Researchers search in the IGI (International Genealogical Index) or use records from NARA (National Archives and Records Administration.

But today, I want to write about NERGC (New England Regional Genealogical Society Conference). I will be there – and I hope you will too! If you are planning to be there, now is the time to sign up. You will save $25 on registration if you register by February 15.

If you are not familiar with NERGC, of if you are still on the fence about attending, let me apply some persuasion. There are lots of genealogical conferences that I enjoy, but NERGC is my favorite! Really. I’m not just saying that because I’m on the board. (I just have a little job so I can’t take any credit for how wonderful the conference is.) If I could only attend one genealogy conference during the year, it would be NERGC. Here are a few reasons why:

1)It’s convenient. If you live in New England or even near New England, this is a conference that’s within driving distance for you.

2)It’s relatively inexpensive. This is partly because it’s close, but partly because the price is reasonable.

3)It has top-notch speakers. You won’t find a conference with a better line-up of speakers. We have fabulous, nationally known speakers here in New England – and the conference brings in top speakers from across the country. The keynote speakers this year are John Philip Colletta and Paul Milner.

4)There’s a huge range of lecture topics. Even if your ancestors didn’t live in New England, there will still be plenty of lectures of interest to you. Other topics center on immigration research, methodology, DNA research, ethnic groups, and more.

5)Besides lectures, there’s all kind of other things to do at NERGC. You’ll want to spend some time wandering around at the Exhibit Hall. You can sign up for the Ancestors Road Show and ask an expert your genealogy questions. I’ll be helping people with German research problems on Saturday from 1:45 until 3 p.m. And you can attend the Special Interest Groups on Thursday evening (I’m the coordinator for these groups). These are informal groups where you can share ideas and sources with others who have similar interest. You can see the list of topics here.

6)It’s really fun to run across genealogy friends you haven’t seen in a while – and make some new friends.

Remember, NERGC only happens every other year – so you don’t want to miss it. This year, it’s practically in my backyard – in Springfield, MA. So, mark your calendars for April 6-10.

Also, you can join me for a lecture on the European immigration experience, including tips to uncovering your own immigrant ancestors’ stories on Thursday at 12:15 p.m. The lecture is called The Journey Takers: An Inside Look at the Immigration Experience. That evening, I will probably be at the Family Chronicle booth during the opening of the Exhibit Hall since they will be selling my book. Stop by and say hello!

For more information, check out the NERGC website and read the blog. There should be a post by me with more information about my lecture coming soon on the NERGC blog.

Lectures This Week

This week I gave two really fun lectures about my book. First, on Wednesday I spoke to the Genealogy Club of Newtown (Connecticut). I drove up early and enjoyed a delicious dinner with Ray and Mary Maki, the founders, and Marian Wood, the program chair. Both Mary and Marian have blogs. You can read about the lecture on Mary’s blog or at Marian’s blog. The group meets at the Newtown library, which has a really interesting history. The money to build the library (and several other buildings in town) was left by a wealthy woman who lived in Newtown around the turn of the twentieth century. The library even has a genealogy room. The group was fabulous – so fun and interactive. As a speaker, it really makes a difference to have an audience that is responsive. (And it sure beats having someone snoring on the front row – which I have also had happen!)

Then on Friday, I went to my daughter’s fifth grade class at Chestnut Hill. I had a blast talking to those fifth graders. I got so many questions! On just one slide, there would be about six kids with their hands in the air. They wanted to know why our ancestors had so many children, what would have happened if my ancestors’ parents threw him overboard, if people gave their children Tylenol back then, if my ancestor got typhoid fever at the same time her mother died from it, and what would happen if a kid sneaked onto one of the covered wagons to ride when crossing the plains when he was supposed to be walking. Some of those are certainly questions I had never been asked before!

By the way, if you are thinking of ordering The Journey Takers as a Christmas present, you should consider ordering it from Deseret Book or Seagull Book (it’s cheapest here - $17.95). Amazon says they can’t guarantee it will arrive on time for Christmas. (Who knows why….)

My little Christian finally seems like himself today. He has been so sad and clingy all week. I could tell he felt better today because he spent his time roaming around the kitchen, opening all the cupboards and pulling everything out. As I was trying to help my other kids decorate Christmas cookies, Christian took several pot lids into the bathroom (I don’t know why) and of course dumped all the spaghetti noodles out again (I ought to smarten up and move those noodles, don’t you think?) That’s the Christian we know and love.

Two more days until we leave for Hawaii! Yesterday when my kids got on the bus to go to school, it was 3 degrees. On Tuesday, I will be sitting on the beach in flip flops and short sleeves. Amazing.

Maybe I should move to Hawaii.

Christmas crazies

It’s a new week – and not just any week – a week in December. I’m sure I am not the only person out there that feels that weeks in December are fundamentally different than weeks in any other part of the year. I LOVE December and I LOVE Christmas. But it also makes my life a little crazy. Here are some items on my list for the week:

-Two lectures. I will be speaking to the Newtown Genealogy Club in Connecticut this Wednesday at 7 p.m. about my book. I am looking forward to my lecture. Then, on Friday I am doing a very special lecture. I will be speaking to my daughter’s fifth grade class (and another class) about my book. I spoke to eight fourth grade classes in October and it was so fun! I loved the creative, thoughtful, unexpected questions and comments I got. I will be sure and write more about it after the presentation.

-Submitting an article for an upcoming issue of the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly entitled “Get Published in Magazines: Tips for Getting Your Words in Print.” This is based on a lecture I gave this past August in Knoxville, TN at the National APG Conference in conjunction with FGS (Federation of Genealogical Societies) Conference. You can watch the lecture online. You can also see most of the other presentations given at the conference at the APG website also on such useful topics as marketing, choosing continuing educational experiences, and your online presence. Check out the list here.

-Christmas cookies. We have a tradition of making Christmas cookies every year – LOTS of Christmas cookies. We have four kinds in the freezer already. We have three kinds left to go this week: gingerbread, Spritz, and a new one called “almond delights.” Over the weekend we will decorate and deliver all of them (hopefully…). I really enjoy making cookies with my kids, but every year it is an exercise in patience and in not micromanaging (snowmen can be green and it’s’ okay for the cookie to have five different kinds of sprinkles….)

-Christmas shopping. I am almost done…just a few hard ones left. And, there’s still one big gift left for my kids. It’s a surprise so I can’t tell you yet!

-Piano lessons, dance class, basketball practice, activity days (a church activity), Irish step. None of these activities are mine, of course, but they are still on my list for the week!

And an update: I took my little Christian to the doctor yesterday after he scared me by coughing until his lips turned blue. He has ear infections in both ears. So now he is on antibiotics – and hopefully on the mend. (And the doctor was unimpressed by my story of him coughing until his lips turned blue, which is, of course, unrelated to the ear infections.)