Who am I?

I must have been standing nearby when the genealogy bug bit my dad. Cause it's in my bloodstream too.
Who am I?
 I'm Michele Frey. I was born a Newswanger. I come from Sauders, Zimmermans, Weavers, and Shirks. (The kind that couldn't come up with names other than Joseph & Peter.) In that line, I can trace back, way back. Me, Aaron, George, Esther, Peter, Joseph, Peter, Joseph, Peter and on back thru to when Peter & Maria came across the ocean to America.
 Should I choose to go back thru the Sauders, or Weavers. I could do that. And tell me, who in Lancaster Co. doesn't know of the existence of the Zimmerman Book. I come from a long line of talented people. Entrepreneurs, Iinventors, Singers, Engineers. (drill a tunnel thru a Swiss mountain from both ends and meet in the middle kind of engineers.) People who helped out others in need. People I've never met, but their stories I have heard many times over.
  I'm related to so many people, & alot of them, I know that I'm related to them.
  Not so in my husbands family.
  A recent genealogy book re sparked my interest into his family. When following his family back, it stops at his Grandfather. He was a foster child. His last name at birth was Frey, or Fry. We don't know for sure which one. He has 2 brothers. At least that's what we think. The book that I read recently said at 17 he went back to live with his birth parents for a brief time, but left because it wasn't a nice situation. That was new information for us. He died in 2006.
  For someone like me who can run into someone at Walmart and possibly be related, and possibly know how we are related, I find this situation frustrating and somewhat sad.
  When I run across someone on facebook with the same last name-spelled either way. I search their faces for familial resemblance. I search county websites for news of people with the same last name. I've spent hours searching obituaries for women who would have been born the same year Grandpa's mom was born. I attempt to find places that give free information like birth records. I have news for you. Even free birth records online are not free. I hope that someday. Hopefully sooner rather than later, that I can get some answers. I'm not looking for a big Frey/Fry family hug, or even a reunion. I just want to know where he comes from.
  The odds of me even knowing my husband are very slim, had it not been for grandpa's mom giving him up. It's a startling idea. How one choice can absolutely change many lives. Grandpa Frey was raised in a Christian family. Because of that choice, I have a husband with a Christian heritage that cannot be replaced, no matter what the genealogy search uncovers.

my dad....my hero

There is this unexplainable bond between a dad and his daughters....

at least there is with my dad and this particular daughter.

My dad has always been one of the strongest men I know.

He was my first knight in shining armor.

He held the hose and sprayed cold water on my foot when i dropped a brick on it. He asked me if I could wiggle my toes. I could, so he told me it's probably not broken and if I lay on the sofa a little bit, it will feel better soon.

He had the heaviest baseball bat I ever used. He used to hit balls out to my sisters in the evenings, and my goal was to one day be able to hit as far as he did. When I hit my first home run way out into center field, he was the first one I thought of.

He tried to tell me what x-rays are like the first time we thought I broke my ankle. (yes there were several times x-rays were needed.)

He grabbed me from the table and sat me in the sink of cold water, when hot gravy got spilled on me.

He took me to the ER when a dizzy spell and a conk on the head made me forget what I had done the last 2 days.

He taught me to parallel park, and apparently he taught me well. I passed my drivers test.

He went with me when I bought my car.

He has been there through sprains & strains & knee surgeries & heart issues. He taught me to explore, to figure things out, and to think for myself.

Yesterday my dad went for a stress test. They discovered that sometime in the recent past, my dad had a heart attack, and the left ventricle is only functioning at 17%.

So he is scheduled for a heart catherization, and more tests and doctor visits.

I wish I could rescue him like he has rescued me so many times.

I wish I could tell him to wiggle his toes and lie down a little and it will be OK.

But it doesn't work that way.

So, I'm putting my hero in the the capable hands of The Hero.

and it's all gonna be OK

We're Related - Barack Obama said so...

I just got done chewing my Dad out. Ancestry has always facinated me. I've wished so often as I read through great great (however many it is) grandparents diary's that I could have just an hour to sit down with them and drink in all I can about what their lives were like. And now I just found out I could have. I received an email from Barack Obama on facebook through the "We're Related" application. Apparently we are fourth cousins once removed... And apparently, I could have had one of those sit down chats with my great grandmother. She apparently died when I was thirteen. Her married name was Pearl Marie Smith. It makes we want to delve into research about her life. Was she in the witness protection program? Is that why her last name was smith? Because none of my grandparents grew up as smith's. And how lucky am I? Everyone I know has 4 great grandparents, mine are: Jake & Esther Newswanger, Aaron & Mary Weaver, David & Elizabeth Weaver, Christian & Rebecca Sauder - now I also have Charles & Pearl Smith! - Cant wait to learn about them! & meet all my 4.5 cousins in person, maybe have slumber parties with my 5th cousins at the White House! __________ In other news, since April 1rst came around, so far I've talked to only a handful of people who actually failed to mention April Fools, or tell me a joke. I can only pray that none of my kids have to share a birthday with me! It can be a real pain! __________ Things I love about today: ~ It's not snowing - a majority of my birthdays include snow ~Early this morning my husband was talking in his semi-conscious state, till I absolutely laughed him wide awake at 2am ~It looks like it could rain - I love rain (except for what it does to my arthritis) ~No matter how old I get, I still love birthdays - I just try to ignore that fact that the age I am makes me sound old, & simply enjoy the day ~ My husband is taking me out for supper tonight ~I keep getting birthday texts, emails & comments - which means I have friends who love me, or love the fact that I am getting older ~I have yummy leftovers in my lunch ~I awoke in a relatively healthy state this morning ~The work week is halfway over