WOW...a lot going on

Well, Kaira graduated. She is officially no longer in high school and on her way to college. She loved her necklace that we got her for her birthday and the camera. Yes, we purchased a Nikon D40 for her graduation. She is really into photography.
Elysa liked her necklace too. That was for her birthday too. She is actually, spending the week with us in San Antonio and I don't think I've seen her without it on.
She is planning on staying in band and marching. I think she will have a good time doing that.
We also got a new puppy...this is Morgan's puppy. So, now...we are +1 in the family. He is adorable. I don't even mind getting up at 1:00 am to take him potty every morning.
Well...that's pretty much it in a nut shell.

Necklaces made by Faith Creations, LLC

I had these necklaces made for my step daughters. THANK YOU HEATHER!!! These are awesome! They are going to love them.

Working in the Yard

We spent all day Wednesday and most of the day Thursday finishing up the front yard. There are a couple of more things I plan on doing...but they are minor.
We took the giant bushes down...because they were a pain and planted some Nandinas and some Gulf Stream Nandinas. I also planted some hydrangas and some camillas. Those are next to the window. Then I planted under the trees a whole load of stuff. I can't wait for them to grow and get gigantic. Our grass is doing really well this year too. We've worked really hard...and I'm very proud of the way it is turning out. The back yard is a work in progress. The grass is having some issues...but now that I'm able to focus more on that and not the front...I can get it up and growing by next summer. I have a ton of flower beds in the back. Filling those seem to be the task at hand. Hope you enjoy the pictures.
Morgan also likes to help!! She is my little dirt girl.

Almost Summer...feels like Summer...It's Summer

We are having fun in the Sun. It got up to 100 today! Yippee! It felt so good to be outside in the water. This is my front yard...if I did this in my back yard we would be having a mud slip and slide down the hill. YUCK! I can't wait for the grass to grow back there.

Family Research

Well...I've been so busy doing research on my ancestors.
Yep...let me tell you people...when you catch the geneology bug...it's hard to get rid of it.
I love this so much.
My mother was doing the Griffis and Green side of our family.
So...I decided to do the Clem side of my family. Which is my maiden name for those who remember me before I got married.
Oh, I'm doing Barton too. In my spare time.
Kirtus's family is so much harder than mine. Maybe because I don't know the people and places as well as my own.
Okay...I have found out so much.
Well...my grandfather.
Fred Clarence Clem....well...what can I say about him. He was something else. He loved to tell big tall tales. He was quite an interesting man...but afflicted with alcoholism. So, he was born in Limestone County, AL. His family were migrant farm hands...which means they moved from place to place depending on the work that needed to be done. In 1942 he joined the Army and they put him in the military band. My grandfather was extremely talented. He could play pretty much any instrumet by ear. Which means...he couldn't read music but could listen and then play it back. Very Very talented to be able to do this. I am able to do the same thing. I guess that is where I got my good ear from. ;) I believe he was much more talented than I.
So...he traveled all over the US with this band. He never fought in the war. Which I guess is a good thing. While he was traveling he must have ended up over in North Carolina which is where he met my Grandmother. They came back to AL where they married on 2.13.1943.
Now...they had a child...my aunt Libby and then from what I understand he left to fin a job or play in a band. I remember hearing from my mom that he went to play ina band...but I've always thought that meant...like at a honkey tonk...but now I know it was the Military band.
Eventually, he came back and they moved all over the South. My dad who was born in 1948 was born in TN. Finally they ended up in Lone Oak, Texas.
My grandfathers dad was Joseph Edward Clem. He had about 7 kids or so...they were farmers so they never stayed in one place long. They never actually owned their own land...they rented and farmed other people's land.
Joseph's dad was Thomas David...who people called David. David married a woman named Indiana. Pretty cool huh? They too were farmers...but David died in 1859. He was very young. He left Indiana with 7 kids at home from the ages of 6 months to 12 years old. The two oldest were boys and were sent to the field to help make a living for their family. None of the boys were school except Joseph and one other...most of the children could not read or write and never learned. (So sad)
David's dad was Thomas David the 1st. I don't know much about him yet...but I do know his dad's name was Adam Clem and his mother's name was Jemima Crockett. yes...she is related to Davy Crockett. No shit!!! I'm so excited. My dad and his family are so excited to be related to Davy Crockett. Okay...so...here is where we stop.
yep...Adam has no proof of parents. I mean...he had to come from some where right?
You just don't appear out of thin air!
So, I have a theory...There is a group that came from Germany...Johann Conrad Klemm in 1747. He had a son name Johann Valentine Klemm...who was lost and then found when he died in 1791 in Georgia...St. Paul Parish, Georgia...the same location that Adam was born. In his will he lists his wifes but not his childen. He does leave things to his children...but to "all my children."
Okay, so his wife's information doesn't show having a son named Adam...but Valentine's marriage to her was late in his life. So, we think there might have been another woman he was married to and she passed early.
We think Adam is some how linked to this family; Johann Conrad Klemm, through Johann Valentine Klemm. When Valentine left PA he was a KLEMM. When he passed he was CLEM. People changed their names all the time back then. Adam named a son Valentine. That is a very odd name for a boy...so...well...that is what we think...just no proof yet.
Also, my dad's cousin said he remembers hearing from his family that the Clem's use to be spelled with a K!!!
I told Dad we will probably never know, unless someone has a family bible. Many places were burned in the South by the Yankees when they marched through...many documents were lost then. Many documents...like bibles may have been buried with their owners.
Also, alot of poor people back in that day..poor like my family was...didn't keep records. They had their children at the house and documents of birth or death was not written down or collected.
Also, in 1765...Georgia was a British colony.
Well...as you can see...tis is my passion for the moment. So, my blogs may be limited at the moment.
I found out that we have a relative that fought under the command of Nathan Bedford Forest. My father's grandfather's father in-law. Hiram Wright. He was a decorated confederate solider and actually earn the prestiagous confedeate cross.
Recently the Sons of the Confederacy replaced his tombstone with a decorated tombstone of the confederacy.

What a Blessed Life

I was looking back at some old blogs today and I realized how blessed I truely am. I still sometimes can't believe that I am a "Mother" With "mother's day" coming up this Sunday I find myself forgeting that I'm a part of that day now.
I've always done things for my mother or grandmother. In my eyes...they are "mom's."
I'm not a MOM! But, I am! I am someone's mother!
What does that mean?
What does that mean to my children? Do they see me the same way I see my mother or my grandmother?
I've always thought highly of my mother...but never thought I could live up to her expectations. I try! I always seem to fail. Do my kids view me the same way? I hope not. I don't want them going through life trying to always think of me first and not themselves.
I have to say that it is an amazing feeling to actually be someone's mother.
This is one thing that a MAN will never understand. The love that a mother has for her child. It is different. I'm not saying that our love is better...or that his love is less than ours. It's different.
I love being a mom....even when my kids paint themselves and the walls and the table and all their toys. Even when they have screaming matches and call each other stupid. I love being a mom even when my kids aren't the perfect kids that society expects them to be. I love being a mom, seeing my kids grow and become happy, loving people; both with their own ideals and characteristics that make them special.
You moms out there...remember the first time you actually got to see your baby. The first time you actually held your baby. The first time you actually fed your baby. The first times!!!
I treasure those first times!
Being a mother is not easy! Sometimes it is not fun at all!
But, every night when I put the kids down to sleep and they each get their own 'Mommy time' I smile and Thank God for givng me such a Blessed Life.

I love Being Mom!!! It's the best job on earth!
I posted a bunch of pictures of our life together!
These two are the reasons I love being a mom!