Family

  • JoAnn’s Kinfolk Website

    JoAnnsKinfolk.com was my website to honor and to bring my family together. It was also created to, hopefully, let someone who was doing research on my bio father, James York, find me. At the time, I didn’t know where my bio father was, and I was actively looking. Now, thanks to AncestryDNA, I was able to find him and to meet him for the first time. The website was old and I think that there was too much personal information on it. Therefore, I chose to take the website down and transfer much of the content here.

  • I Found My Biological Father

    I finally found my biological dad and met him in October 2019. There’s a lot of emotion tied up in this meeting and I plan on writing about it. Until then, I need to mull it over.

  • Searching For James York

    Hoping To Meet My Biological Father Update – I Found My Biological Father – Read More [The information below is what was on a website I had at searchingforjamesyork.com. After finding my biological dad, I took that website down.] When I was 13 years old I found out that my biological father was a man named James (Gaylord) York. The man I thought was my father was an abusive alcoholic that beat my mother. When I found out that he wasn’t my real father all I said was, “Thank God!” Mom had saved a couple of pictures of my father. The above picture was when he was around 22-23 years…

  • Never Host Your Own Party

    What a great day! Today is the 28th anniversary of my 30th birthday. When I was growing up I don’t recall ever having a birthday party. As a matter of fact, I only have one birthday memory of my childhood. I was about 10 or 11 and that was the year my mom said I could have a small birthday party. For my birthday, some of my friends were going to ride the school bus to my house after school. I was soooo exited I felt like an over-filled balloon that could burst at any moment. On the morning of my birthday, I jumped out of bed to get ready…

  • Be careful what you wish for and The Law of Attraction.

    Be Careful What You Wish For – You Just Might Get It

    I never truly understood the power of The Law of Attraction until I received what I was focused on. I just wasn’t prepared for the delivery of, or the answer to, my dreams. If you’ve heard of the Law of Attraction, you will understand the statement “Be Careful What You Wish For.” The Law of Attraction states that you will receive what you focus on. It plays no favorites and has no emotion. No negative, no positive, it just delivers. For years, I was focused on how to help my daughter and wishing I could do it all over again and make better choices in handling her drug and mental…

  • Mother’s Day Memories – 2011

    I’m taking a cue from Dr. Laura and remembering that Mother’s Day is more than getting praises for being a mom, it’s also about sharing sweet memories of your children. It was Christmas 1987. We had been back in the United States after living in Germany for just a few months. We had a small Christmas tree and as Christmas grew nearer, gifts started to accumulate. One day, Jennifer, then 3 ½ years old, asked for some wrapping paper, bows, and tape. She went in her room and was secretly busy. After awhile, she came out with two little presents and put them under the tree. She told me those…