Note: I left Quincy, IL today and arrived here in Logan, UT. I’ve completed my research on one particular line of my pedigree chart, and I’m now moving on to research another ancestor here in Logan. One word. . . er sound. . . Brrrrrrrrrr. Details to come. Stay tuned.

Today. . .

I’m simply not ready to talk about it. I’m too fearful that anything I might say could dilute the overwhelming significance of the experience. Until I’m ready to elaborate, I will leave you with this:

Today, for the first time in my life, I undoubtedly felt what The Bible refers to as “the spirit of Elisha.” There are no words to describe the significance of this day in the overall story that is my life here on Earth.

“And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.” Malachi 4:6

This power is real, it is important, and feeling it. . . is an honor (and a joy) I cannot yet find words to describe.

I left a part of my heart in Quincy, IL today . . . or perhaps I simply brought a piece of Quincy along with me . . . or maybe. . . it’s just a little bit of both. . .

Any way you slice it, I will never be the same.

Above family headstone reads: “Asleep in Jesus’ peaceful rest.”

You guys freaking better watch this thing because it took me 700 years to upload. And please, ignore the horrible color. Hotel lighting.

This is me in the Quincy Historical Library.
This is where I found mention of the birth of their 7th son and the subsequent bill of divorcement.

Adams County Court House Records Vault. Amazing right?!
This is where they keep all the oldest documents. . . As early as 1820!

More from the vault.

Bill of Divorcement. Hand written by my ggg grandfather, Elias Adams.
How amazing is that?! Completely remarkable, no?!
Um, the hand written part. . . not the divorce part.

See you tomorrow, beautiful Quincy.

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It’s so hard not to be disingenuous when you’ve got a camera in your face and an audience that consists of producer, director, sound tech, camera man and logistics coordinator.

So today, I’ve put on my magic necklace (thanks again and again Mike and Julie), squared my shoulders and decided to do whatever it takes. Honestly, this project isn’t worth it to me if I can’t really, genuinely give it my heart.

Little in life is.

Worth it. Not if you can’t completely offer up your whole soul.

In a perfect world, I’d live with heart. Every single day. In every single way.

No.matter.what.

In all actuality, I am not in Chicago, rather, I’m in a charming little town called Quincy. But I AM in fact in Illinois, so this is still at least SOMEWHAT accurate. . .

I’ll be honest, today was a little bit of a whirlwind! We started with a 6:45am call time (that’s Hollywood for the time you start filming. See how fancy I am?), and we really didn’t stop moving until about 10:30pm. . . at which time I went and ran up and down the hotel stair well for exercise, because that is such a NORMAL thing to do at 10:30 at night.

We started the day by filming an introduction for my episode. It was difficult for me to tap in and really get connected to the words that were coming out of my mouth, but thankfully, the director, Racquel, stayed with me, and I eventually dropped in. I think it ended up going really well. From there, we headed to the SLC Geneological Library where I did some research on my family history.

I’m not going to lie my face off and say that it was a total riot, BUT it was a FAR better experience than I had expected. Definitely enjoyable.

There’s something about seeing all those names in one place and knowing that you’re connected to each and every one of them. It pretty spectacular, really. Touching to say the least. Check out the best replica watches.

It made me feel connected to something bigger than myself.

UT Aspens.
Did you know aspens all share the same roots?
Technically, an aspen grove is all one organism.
Remarkably symbolic given my current circumstances, don’t you think?

From there, we raced to the airport and hopped a plane for St Louis, MO. I flew first class. The director gave up her seat for the talent. How Hollywood.

Beautiful view from above the clouds, en route to St Louis. I love clouds. So.much.

Once we landed in MO, we jumped in a car and drove 2.5 hours to Quincy.

Dinner.

Exercise.

Blog.

And I’m definitely counting down the minutes to bedtime.

But not before announcing the winner from the “say it on tv contest.” After such a long, draining day, it was SUCH a joy to read your entries. Totally lifted my spirits (and occasionally had me rolling with laughs. . . the belly kind).

Let’s start with honorable mention (no, you don’t win anything. . . other than my respect for being hilariously clever):

Natasha + Jessica: “Tomfoolery.” Enough said. Amazing.

And the winner is:

Amy: “Bubbles.” I laughed for a solid minute imagining myself trying to make this relevant in conversation. I specifically chose this word a) because of it’s obvious hilarity and b) because it’s going to pose a specific kind of challenge for me to incorporate it. My poor director. I don’t think she’ll quite know what to do with me. . .

My goal for tomorrow is to really connect to what’s happening here. I’ve been given this tremendous gift, and as of yet, I’m not totally connected. . .not heart and soul, the way I’d really like to be. Hopefully tomorrow I can find that total heart connection. Let’s just be honest, a good night’s sleep should really help. . .

xo!

N

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Enter below to win a $20 itunes gift card!

I’m here in frigid Salt Lake City, UT. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr. Good thing I have Cousin Nicole to keep me warm. Love her times a hundred for this cozy (and gorgeous) cold weather wardrobe. Nic, you are THE BEST.

I start filming The Generations Project tomorrow morning at 6:45am (did I say tomorrow? I meant today. . . bleh, it’s already after midnight). Let’s just talk about all this for a second, shalllllll we?

8 hour wedding yesterday (LOVE YOU KEL + SHAUN), home, pack, up at 5 to catch an early morning flight, then, a 10 hour travel day, then a 6:45 meeting time tomorrow am as the icing on this exhausted little cake. I keep trying to go to bed, but my brain thinks it’s only 9pm, so it’s still not ready to “settle down for a long winter’s nap” (I sincerely considered heating up the sheets with a hair drier by the way).

Over this coming week, I plan to chronicle my “Generations Journey” here on the blog. You’ll get inside information before the airing of the show in March!

BUt I want you to REALLY be a part of this! So . . . I had this silly idea (don’t tell the director). . .

Want to win a $20 itunes gift card?!

Comment below with some crazy word you want me to try to incorporate into my dialog tomorrow (Tuesday) during filming. Don’t be vulgar or profane. You know me better than that. Be clever, creative, silly, whatever, because If I pick YOUR word, you win. Easy as pie. Mmmmmm, pie. I’d die for some of Rachel’s apple pie about now. . .

To Enter:

1. All entries must be received by Monday, 11/7 at 11:59pm MST, I’ll announce the winner Tuesday morning.
2. Single words only. Phrases will not be considered as valid entries.
3. You may enter more than once. Please submit a separate comment for each entry.
4. Tell your friends so I have lots of words to choose from!

I’m SO excited to read these entries! I think this is going to be so fun! Ha ha ha! Either I’m hilarious, or it’s 12:22am. . . wait a minute. . .