Family

Family: a group of people related by ancestry or marriage; relatives.

Today I received my Family Reunion pack from Uncle Walter. I am soooo excited and can't wait to see folks I haven't seen in years.

I'm really looking forward to our visit to the Civil Rights Museum. When I first visited Birmingham as an adult-- Uncle Walter and his family treated me with the best southern hospitality and took me to visit the Civil Rights Museum. I wonder if he remembers that...

Immediately I fell in love with my Alabama family because of the love they gave me right then and there. They hadn't seen me since I was a girl, but they treated me like they'd known me all of my life.

That's the beauty of family. The saying is so true " Blood is thicker than water".

I look forward to seeing my blood this summer.

Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you...
Joshua 2:12

More about my family branch. I just can't get off those boys (William and Yashar). They always amaze me with thier adventurous spirits. Today I had to pull out the camera yet again because I caught them... Well you look and see.

Boys will be boys...

Wishing everyone a blessed and Happy Easter!

Blessings, Adriann

Unity

Unity: the quality of being one in spirit, sentiment, purpose, etc.; harmony, agreement, concord, uniformity.

How are the SMM's of one spirit? Do we have a family goal or mission? Do we have the same sentiment on family?

Let a sista know what' s going on. . . Do you hear me?

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Colossians 3:14

My love of family and genealogy has led me to scrapbooking. I have become quite an addict. Today I wanted
to share my latest layout. I hope you all enjoy looking at it.

I took this picture of William last summer. I just love his smile on this picture and had to do a layout. I'm embarrassed to say, but I have become an all out addict to scrapbooking.

It is relaxing and most importantly-- I am preserving memories for William for many years to come.

I plan to have a complete heritage album filled with pictures of the many branches of the SMM clan. So please support me in my efforts of preserving our family history.

Participate on this blog or email me personally with pictures or with stories
about family tradition. And don't forget to pass this along to other family members.


Blessings,
Adriann

Heritage

Heritage: something handed down from one's ancestors or the past, as a characteristic, a culture, tradition, etc.

The Sims/McDaniel/Morris family comes from a rich southern heritage. Most Sims/McDaniel/Morris' (SMM's) were born in Alabama. But did you know that William Henry Sims-- our grandfather was born in a small town in Georgia? Yes that's right, he was born in Richland, Georgia http://www.richlandgeorgia.com/ .

Richland is about a two and a half hour drive from Birmingham, Alabama. How he ended up in Birmingham and marrying our Grandmother I don't know. I wish I can make the connection somehow.

Any oral history someone can share? I heard that Granddaddy was running from the clan,which is why he left Georgia.

What have you heard?

Let's share and tie the threads together so that we can hand down our heritage to the next generation.

No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
Genesis 17: 5-7

This is a picture I took in Columbus, Mississippi. I love the greenery of the south. I wanted to share this picture because I feel like it's a good statement about where our family is right now. The light has a green arrow pointing to the left, but the road is green and paved straight ahead.

Which way will you go in preserving your heritage?

To the left or the right?

Update: William and Yashar's caterpillar didn't make it 24 hours. "My Pet" died a tragic death when a 4 year old neighbor who doesn't appreciate life as much as the boys, got ahold of the jar and smashed it on the ground.

They were so excited about their find yesterday that they woke up early, dressed and went outside to give "My Pet" some fresh food. They never imagined a 4 year old that has "issues" with caterpillars or any living creature would have a moment and kill "My Pet". I'll explain the "issues" in another post about raising our children. Our we raising them in a village or with wolves?

They were visibly upset-- but were soon over it getting into something else. Children are so resilient. They bounce right back without skipping a beat.

Branches

Branch: any part or extension of a main body or system; specif. b) a division of a family descending from a common ancestor.

My branch consist of a mother and father; a son, a sister and a brother, 3 nephews, 2 nieces, 8 uncles, 3 aunts, and a host of cousins. Cousins are important branches of a family tree. They provide strength and endurance to the family tree. They are the ones that continue the traditions and keep the tree growing. I pray that we nurture our branches to preserve our original roots for many years to come.

Today I had to take out the camera to capture this wonderful southern spring moment. For those of you in the big city who can''t appreciate this moment-- don't hate, appreciate! Maybe you need to move back to your roots?

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season. And its leaf does not wither; And whatever he does, he prospers.
Psalm 1:3

Here are a couple of my branches-- my son William, and nephew Yashar enjoying finding and capturing a caterpillar. I was cooking spaghetti at the time that Yashar walked into the house looking for a jar.

How perfect was that?

We decided to keep the caterpillar in the jar to see if we can watch it turn into a beautiful butterfly. Hopefully we will be successful and release a butterfly this spring. We've already gone online to do our research and we know what they eat.

We'll mostly do a little more research to build the perfect habitat for William's "Pet," as he calls it.

I'm not sure if William can keep his hands off of the caterpillar long enough to let it make a successful metamorphosis. But I guess we'll have to wait and see! That's a lot to ask of a 5 year old boy.

Roots

Root: the close ties one has with some place or people as through birth, upbringing, long and sympathetic association, ect.

This year is the Sims/McDaniel/Morris' 20th family reunion. I'm really excited because I plan to finally complete my heritage album. I've did my research and have found little nuggets about my ancestors, however, I don't have many pictures of them. In fact, I've don't even own a picture nor have I seen a picture of my paternal grandmother. Therein lies the problem-- how do one create a heritage album without pictures? This is where you all come in. I plan to rectify this problem through interviews, private journaling and gathering pictures and memorabilia from other family members.

Calling all family members to participate in this project! I need pictures, stories about family members and traditions, copies of obituaries, newspaper clippings or anything about our family that you think I can use. Aunt Minnie and Uncle Walter started the Sims/McDaniel/Morris family reunion 20 years ago and now is the time for our generation to do our part and continue the tradition.

Let's not cut off our root, lest we wither and die.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is, For brothers to dwell together in unity!
Psalm 133:1


This is a picture of Paul Sanders "Sandy" Thompson and myself when I was a baby-- I'm guessing sometime in winter 69 or spring 70. My maternal grandmother kept this picture all these years. When she died, the pictures went to my mother and I saw this for the first time.

It is so nice to have this piece of family history!

Sandy, Tony and Tracie ask Aunt Minnie if she remembers this. Tony and Tracie wasn't even born yet. Aunt Minnie was about 6 months pregnant with Tony at this time.

Finally, please leave a comment. Even if it is just to say hi.

Blessings,
Adriann