An Introduction Is In Order

OK, so who am I?  Over the years the answer to that question has changed.  First, I was a daughter and little sister.  Then I was a student learning the ins and outs, the ups and downs, of business.  Then I was a young adult learning how to navigate life independent from my parents.  Then, and this was a good one, I was young and in love, and on the brink of a new life with the love of my life. Then a few years down the road I was mommy, then mom, then "oh mom" (said with the appropriate whine).

I've worked in many different industries - addiction services, environmental enforcement, youth sports, preschool education, and construction.  I've volunteered in just about every organization my children have ever been involved with, from boy scouts to the PTA.  I have organized enough fund raisers to buy a Lamborghini.

In the 20 years we have been married, our family has lived in six states and seen the most beautiful country here in the United States and abroad.  I've finally come to realize that home really is where your heart is.  And where your heart is, your passion will live also.

A few years ago, a family member gave me a binder with some family tree information in it.  There wasn't any documentation to prove whether any of it was true or not, it was just a list of names, and a few birth and death dates here and there.  At some point, I packed it up with a lot of other stuff in preparation for one of our cross-country moves.  Then last year, I found the box and opened the binder.  At the time, those Ancestry commercials were on several times a day, so I gave it a try.  Now I'm hooked.

One other thing that has shaped me and made me who I am is something that, until recently, I never really considered all that important.  When I was just a baby, I was placed for adoption.  I have always known that I was adopted and it was never a negative thing.  As a young adult I thought I might like to try to find out who my biological mother and father were.  My parents were very supportive outwardly, but looking back I'm sure on the inside they worried about where this might lead.  As it turned out, at that time it led nowhere.

Fast forward to 2014, my dad calls to tell me that he just heard the adoption law in Ohio was being changed and I would most likely be able to learn the names of my biological family.  I had recently been bitten by the genealogy bug and it was all starting to come together for me.  On March 20, 2015 I sent in my application for a copy of my original birth certificate, and waited.  I didn't have to wait long because in only 2 weeks it arrived.  I could barely breathe, and, there was no one at home for me to tell!

Since then I have connected with a half-sister that lives all the way in Germany and other half-sisters here in the U.S.. Joe, my biological father, and Janet, my biological mother.

So that is why I call this blog, A Family Forest.  My family has grown exponentially in 2015.  When once it was just me, a tiny baby in a foster home, now I have one brother, seven half-sisters, a step-sister and step-brother, a mom, a dad, a step-mother, Joe and Janet, and innumerable aunts, uncles, and cousins that make up my family forest.

It is my goal to use this blog to share with you my journey as I learn about some of the trees in our forest, for our roots grow deep and wide.

Ciao for now!
Kim