Let's Reflect On DNA ~ My DNA

My kids and I are the bear den ... 

I got Ancestry DNA Kits over 5 years ago, for my (then) husband and I.  It was our "anniversary" gift - for each other.  Basically I bought my own gift and called it ours - I mean - let's be real....  

The results, when they hit, I thought were so fucking amazing!  Mostly because it confirmed the fact that I'm Irish.  But I mean - the rest was cool too.....  called myself the "whitest white girl ever" ..... Total European blood going on here.... 

Through the years - the "results" have adjusted and changed based on newer tests and being able to test different things.  So it's been interesting ... over the years ....  watching it change.  I get more Irish and it makes me so happy and then bam ... it changes again!!   Then I am Scottish too and I'm thinking .... Oooooooooohhhhhhh .. yes please! 

So - the tests have changed percentages and added things here and there..... 

I also got my son's Calahan and Noah tested - their father my first ex husband ... hasn't done an Ancestry DNA test and likely won't...  so I felt it was important to get them tested first. 

Kaedyn has expressed wanting his done - so I have kept it in mind and for Mother's Day - while the kits were on sale (almost half off) ...  I got three more.  One for Nathan, one for Kaedyn, and one for Noah's girlfriend Melly who was "adopted" through the foster care system. 

Melly got put in the foster system around the age of 7, I won't say why.  She was then later adopted.  I won't get into the crap she went through - but needless to say, she has disowned her adoptive family.  She does know her birth mom and some of her family.  She'd like me to do her family tree.  However that's going to take her mom giving up information.  

Also - when I did Noah and Calahan's tests, I got a test for my boyfriend Larry.  

So this is what my results looked like when I got them in 2016

These are my results now.... 

Vastly different.  

They also added a new feature where you can from which parent you got what ...  

I figured out - based on what I know about my ancestry - and the others that I did - that Parent #1 is the Sperm Donor and that Parent #2 is the Egg Donor.  And it's going to be like that with everyone because if they did switch that shit up it'd be too fucking confusing ... 

So my Irish comes from my Dad - no shock there, my grandmother (his mother) is supposed to be full Irish.   I did get a sliver of Irish from my Mom's side.  

German is a split, I got 10% from my Dad and 17% from my mom.

Norwegian is not a shocker - my Great Grandmother - my Mom's Dad's Mom - was full Norwegian.  Her name was Olga - how much more Norwegian can you get? 

The English is a 5% (Dad) 9% (Mom) split ...  

I got all my Scottish from my Dad

And Sweden & Denmark is 1% my Dad and 3% my Mom .... 

And those are the ingredients that made me!!  

What EXACTLY are We?

Well, I got super curious ....... and I wanted to know exactly what percentage of what I was.  Of course, if I want to know what I am...... I want to know what my husband and kids are.   The only one I haven't figured out yet is my step-daughter ....   I am going to start her tree eventually - of course, I have half of it done with my husband, but the OTHER half is the problem.....  

Regardless ......... this excites me :)

German BARELY wins out over Irish!

My husband is.......

My kids are .......

My oldest two (with my ex husband)

And my younger two with my hubby ...

Notice - I am only 3% English (British) and my husband is 31% .....  he had a LONG LONG LONG line of Puritans in his blood, I have a little....  one branch....  my Great-Great Grandfather Jesse's branch is the only one that goes back to the Puritans and to England.  A lot of my ancestors were in Plymouth, Mass .... and a lot of them settled in Connecticut.     Dennis' have been all over the US - but most of them settled in Mass in Salem and Plymouth.  Early founders of cities ... some crazy stories mixed in there .......

But what I find funny is .   I am re-doing my ex-husband's English line and Dennis' because they were related to the same people (still are) and something didn't make sense.....   so I just deleted about 3000 years for both of them and started over, and now that I'm doing everything very carefully and making sure the dates and such make sense.... I'm not running into the actual ROYALTY for either of them that I originally did - of course, I'm not done yet.

However, my little tiny 3% ....... yep, we're totally Royal!!   I have English & Queens Kings, French Kings & Queens, Spanish (from Spain) Kings and Queens.... I can even trace my tree to King Henry the VIIIth who've I've always been interested in - HOWEVER - he is not DIRECTLY related to me, we share a Great (whatever x's) Grandfather......

So all those stories of the Royalty and Nobility on all sides will be shared!

On another note, the little "unknown" factor in mine (and my kids) comes from a line I can't trace back to anything right now.  I'm *assuming* it's going to be Puritan English again - but I can't get anywhere yet.  I haven't dug in yet - but I will!

** I want to add these were taken from what I could trace back to (like way back in the 1600's my ancestors came from England) ... or where the first several generations came from.  I didn't get methodical and  - for example - take into consideration all the French or Spanish Kings I have in my line ... the line - prior to coming to America - was in England.  Just wanted to make that clear since you don't see French and all that in our stuff as of yet ...... **

** Dennis also has an Indian in his line ....  his 6x Great Grandmother was a Narragansett Indian, I cannot trace her part of the line back as I don't even know her name as of yet.  This is all stuff I am going to continue to work on, one to figure out if it's true or not, and it would be super interesting.  Funny enough - the Indian Princess (that's what I call her for now) married a man named Ichabod who is the link back to the Salem Witch Trials on Dennis' side **