National Cousin's Day

Today is National Cousin's Day, and just reading about this gives me a lot of warm and fuzzy feelings of some of the best times in my life. Most of those times were spent with my cousins. I am so fortunate to have cousins who I am not afraid to call my best friends. We are all very lucky to love one another very much.

In honor of celebrating cousins, here's some pictures of me with my cousins and also several generations past of cousins:

Cousins - Alice Roehm and Annette Roehm - 1944-45, Richmond, CA

Cousins - Donald Babitzke and Annette Roehm, circa 1974

Cousins - Babitzke daughters with Annette, and Annette's nieces and nephews, circa 1941

Cousins - Krissy and Jesse, circa 1994

Cousins - Krissy and Melissa, circa 1988

Cousins - Krissy and Melissa - Circa 1990

Cousins - Tiffany and Krissy, 1988

Cousins - Melissa, Jesse, Krissy and David, circa 1990

Cousins - Noelle and Tiffany, circa 1987

Cousins - David and Scott, circa 1981

Cousins - Scott and Jesse, circa 1988

Cousins - Scott and Tiffany, circa 1981

Cousins - Yvonne and Louise Babitzke with Annette Roehm in the middle, on the Babitzke farm, circa 1940-41

Introduction

Hello! My name is Kristen and I have designed a blog to help chronicle my family history findings as I research or learn new facts. I intend this blog to be rich with stories, photos and a "love of heritage."

I feel a deep connection to the family ties in which I was born into. I am not sure why I feel this connection unlike most others, but it is something I value very much. Family means a lot to me. Knowing the stories, the whereabouts and the ideas my ancestors had, gives me an intimate connection to them and maybe in some way, let's me feel a closeness to them as if I actually knew them.

I have been researching for over 16 years, but more heavily since about 2009.

I am excited to get this blog going as it's been a vision in my mind for years. I had a personal blog which I chronicled some of my family history, however, I decided to put that blog to rest about two years ago. It was a time in my life in which I needed a new start.

Please come along and join me on this fun ride of discovery of one's roots. I hope it can allow you to gain more perspective on your own and help you start researching and collecting facts!

All my best!

Kristen