I AM

I am: An old, bright, and beautiful “Child of God” inside and out.
I think: Le Vie Est Belle
I know: “I am loved”!
I want: The truth.
I dislike: Rude people
I fear: Death of a loved one.
I feel: As if my life has finally begun. :)
I hear: The sound of family
I smell: Fresh garden tomato's and cilantro.
I crave: Harry & David’s dark chocolate truffles
I cry: when I am happy and sad.
I usually: work more than I would like to.
I search: for “my” soul mate.
I wonder: Why? Why not?
I regret: not getting my Bachelor's degree in teaching.
I love: The feeling I have when I am with my family.(That includes all those who I love and they love me)
I always: love the beach, swimming and reading a book in the sun.
I worry: about money
I am not: built like Barbie
I remember: What real love is
I believe: That each of us has a purpose in this life and we are a son or daughter of God who LOVES us NO MATTER WHAT. Once we truly believe that, we treat people as we want to be treated.
I dance: In my bedroom with my crazy family!
I sing: Anytime, anywhere.
I don’t always: have to be right, just heard.
I argue: Just to push your buttons J/K. Really should you ever argue? I do believe in heated discussions!
I write: To my son on a Latter Day Saint church mission in Arcadia California.
I win: When I do not give up.
I lose: When I give up or quit trying.
I wish: All of my family lived close.
I listen: with my heart and ears.
I don't understand: How someone can be a perpetrator and abuse anyone especially a child.
I can usually be found: at work wishing I was on vacation.
I am scared: That when my kids put me in a rest home they will let my nose and chin hairs grow way to long!
I need: to learn Espanol.
I hope: I my life has made a difference to at least one person. Me.
I forget: Those who have broken my heart.
I am happy: Because I choose to be.
I tag: Any friends if I have any, who want to do this.

DANCING...like nobody is looking.

When was the last time you danced with your kids and Grandkids? For me is was yesterday. After a great time celebrating Steven's 4th birthday with the special birthday dinner(the special request of the birthday person(Corn on the cob, fried ham and homemade steak fries),on the Birthday Plate , with the Birthday boy wearing the Special BIRTHDAY HAT I brought back from from Walt Disney World-the new family tradition),dessert with blowing out the candles and presents. Jessica then decided to give the kids a bath before they went home. So...with the help of our family friend "Katelyn"(Craig's special friend too!) we worked together to start the bubble bath(My job), get the kids shampoo and towels. Katelyn held baby Ward while Jessica started bathing Rie and Steven and shampooing hair. I then turned on the radio in my bedroom and found an old rock and roll station. There is nothing more fun than singing and dancing to the AC/DC song "TNT(I'm Dy-no-mite) with partially dressed and naked grandkids. I cannot imagine how crazy we looked as we ALL sang as loud as we could, and created dance moves that I am sure would of gotten us gonged off the "Gong Show"!(a 70's prequel to American idol?) What a blast...there is something in just letting yourself go. To be free and unafraid, not thinking, just experiencing the joy of simple things. As my French friend "Renee" has taught me.."LA VIE EST BELLE" Life is beautiful! Start today and enjoy your beautiful life :)

"H-A-P-P-Y B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y STEVEN RICHEY

Well...it is a very special day for one of the angels in my life. Today, August 19th Steven Atkinson Richey will celebrate his 4th birthday(The Nascar Party is Saturday) but today I want to let this very special guy know how much I love him. Steven is one of the friendliest, loving, and smart kids I know. My favorite advice from Steven has always been "Don't ever give up, just try, try again Nana." I have found this to be the best advice and I promise I won't ever give up! Heavenly Father sent this angel to me at just the right time in my life and I am grateful for this blessing and the other blessings in my life called children, son-in-laws, and grandkids! Enjoy your day little man and remember...your 'Nana" will always love you! Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Hap-py, Hap-py Birthday to you!

"Where in the heck have you been?"

I know...I know...where have I been and what have I been doing, you would all like to know. Well I have been working 3 jobs, trying to keep up on laundry, teaching Young women, church, being with family. Lots has been going on lately. My youngest, Craig got his mission call for our church. He will serve 2 years in the California Arcadia Spanish speaking mission. So we have been getting him ready to go. I should say many wonderful people are helping to get Craig out on his mission, and to keep him on his mission. The generosity of family and non family members is amazing to me and it overwhelms me the love that is shown. We are truly blessed. Craig will go to the Ogden Temple for his endowments on Friday April 18th.
Sunday, May 18th he will speak in the Mt.Lewis 3rd(Church on the corner of Jackson and North Street) ward sacrament meeting @ 1:00 p.m. After church at 4:00 p.m. we will meet at our place to have a taco bar and enjoy each others company! Then on Wednesday, May 21st we will take Craig to the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Provo Utah. Dropping him off will be the last time I see him for 2 years. Craig will be at the MTC learning Spanish for 6 weeks then off to California. East LA here he comes. I am so happy and excited for my family. Amy will be with us from May 11th(a great Mothers day present) until May 24th. I will be happy to have the family all together again. Sadly Andy could not get leave so we will see him in July.

Were going to Austin

We took a duck tour which is amphibious vehicle which they used in WW2. We went to historic downtown Austin then to Austin Lake. Austin is known as the music capitol. There were lots of musicians, bums, bars and restaurants. Here are some pictures of the trip.

Texas Continued

H.E.B. ( Here Everythings Better)?

We made it to Texas. Its flat and not very friendly in Killen & Fort Hood. I laughed when I saw the store H.E.B. which stands for Here Everythings Better, thats the Texas motto. Beautiful blue skys, pretty sunsets, great thunderstorms, and very flat. I am lost without my Utah mountains. Here are some pictures to enjoy of our trip. Im sure proud of our solider Andy. Amy and Andy have a great place, I love they way Amy decorated. I also enjoyed spendig time with the grand dogs, and believe it or not Amy can cook!