Relief Society Christmas Dinner 09

 

 

 

Christmas was in the air at another successful Relief Society Christmas dinner this year. The food was delicious and the Bishopric did a fabulous job on the speaking assignments. Libby Elliott made a sweet video of pictures with music about wisemen still seeking Christ, it really invited the spirit into the meeting. The decorating was very nice, special thanks to Cori and Louise. The table settings were done by several sisters and it was fun to see others style of decorations. Socializing with such good friends who seem like family is always the highlight. The Presidency made tiles for all the sisters who came, they said "Wisemen Still Seek Him" which was our theme for the evening. Thanks to Heidi Miller and her board for the planning of the meeting. Thanks to all who came and participated I know you went away feeling uplifted like I did.

Christmas Parade 2009

 

 

 

We got into the Christmas spirit by braving the cold at the Ashdown Christmas Parade. Cole and I just barely missed the Ashdown High School band where Victoria was twirlling her flag with the other color guards. We did see many creative floats go by and as you can see even horses and beauty queen's (didn't know there was such a thing as a Mrs. Senior beauty queen- there's still hope for me after all)even Santa came at the end on a fire truck. Santa was too shy for a picture maybe it was due to his cheap suit, or the amount of weight he's lost lately, anywho, he left the real suit and rain deer back at the North Pole. We survived the cold night and Cole came home with a beanie full of candy.

Thanksgiving Fun 2009

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year as usual. We had lots of people 26 to be exact, and tons of great food. This year we played a few fun games that got us more lively instead of wanting to roll over and take the afternoon nap. I found these games on family fun website and they were so funny. The first games was a orange race. Two or three people had a cut off pantyhose with a orange in the bottom of it and they tied it to their pants so it would hang down in the middle. Then an orange was set in front of them and they were to try to cross the line by hitting their orange with the one hanging from the middle of their pants.



The second game was really fun too. It was a tag game with a sock at the end of the pantyhose then you put the hose on your head and try to catch people by pulling off their hose. This game really loosened up people but unfortunately Brad fell and twisted his knee pretty bad. So then it was back into the house for a game of Apples to Apples game and watching football and of course pies. I didn't get a picture of all the desserts we had, it was probably like 12 or so. They were delicious too. Even though Brad got hurt & I woke up with a sore throat that morning it turned out to be a good day.

Addicted to fiction (and chocolate too)

I have to admit I am addicted to fictional novels and chocolate but that's a different story. I usually have a book I'm reading and listening to at the same time. The listen to type is light and easy to follow, for the most part, and the actual novel I'm reading is a little more in depth. Well, I decided I have been reading too much (napping too, comes with the teritory) and not getting as many things done around the house. The last book I finished reading I told myself that's it for awhile until I get some things done around here.(ie. clean out my cabinets, oil them, organize closets, etc.) Do you think it has worked? No, I just feel lonely and out of sorts without them.

The lesson I learned: books are big part of my life now and I would hate to be without them. I have a greater appreciation for my site and ability to read the written word. With that in mind how could I put myself on a diet from books especially fictional novels and be truely happy.

It's time to turn off the guilty feeling of house work and start reading. Any favorties that you could recommend?



These are my 2 latest picks.

My Sister "Kara" the geneologist & writer

Nathan's Poem

Along a quiet,red clay..Kentucky road, searching through trees for small grey stones of history and family past. A short steep hidden hill..tall thick brown grass, obscures my view..moving through the scared ground..I fall upon a weathered wooden fence, over grown with trees and shrubs, soft pale yellow light shines through to show me my treasure found. With tears of joy at the site, I kneel and pay my most humblest of respects. Surrounding me are three more stones..a wife whom he loved and lived and children who served with him in those years. My mind races with breathless remembrance of who, how and what this man was.

A seven year old drummer boy in a "Revolution", in the year of our God, 1778...A single red rose seems hardly enough. As a man he was the first to plant apples in this place. A thinker for many and a employer for more, he is smart and creative with all he bore. A grist mill, a planter, a justice too..how I wished to know you.

With Charity, his wife he begot so much..a hard worker till death in 1829. A grateful people erect a stone to remember him, while Charity goes threw a long life alone. My treasure is secure with pictures and writing.. a small flag next to his head, I know he's watching. I quietly thank him for all his sacrifice, so that I can live a much better life. I'm so proud the tears keep flowing..I promise, I will do all I can to share what I know. In loving memory of my 5th Generation Grandfather Nathan Futrell.



I didn't ask permission but once you post stuff on facebook it's free for the taking!! Just thought Kara deserved some credit for doing the family genealogy and being talented at writing about it. Thanks Sis.

Directional Change

I've totally neglected my personal blog due to busy lives, boredom, thoughts of who really reads this blog anyway. So I am starting a new attitude about blogging and a fresh new approach too. I have been doing lots of different things lately but one in-particular is contributing to a new website that 7 women have put together with the vision of my friend Destri who is the brain child of the whole thing. The name of the website is The Mother Huddle (cute name huh) I am contributing to the weekly feature "Make it Monday". So for some strange reason(desperation) Destri thought I could be the craft and the DIY girl. I am sometimes crafty but "DIY inept" when is comes to big projects. If it is copying of an idea about home decorating then I guess you could say I do some of that. In short "Make it Monday" has been stressing me out and making me get out of my comfort zone which is good, we all need some of that.

Now about the boredom thing- I was getting tired of posting just about my family life thinking who wants to read this stuff any way. But then I was reading in the magazine family fun about how blogging has helped her kids to journal. I thought that could be interesting to see what my kids and Brad might want to say and then it wouldn't be just me. In the future I plan to have them do a post once a week so
look out.

Since getting involved with The Mother Huddle I have been able to visit many different blogs and websites out there. I've come to the conclusion that there are a ton of very talented people out there and I'm glad they are sharing their talents with the ciber world. I plan to feature some of peoples' talents on my blog too so you can see what gets people inspired about life.

For the few who read my blog your probably thinking "this is the longest post ever, she never writes that much" but mostly because I think who wants to read this much stuff...not me.

Surprise!!

Brad and Victoria surprised me for my 40th birthday! Victoria gathered some friends & family of mine to get video about me. Then with the help of a good friend Mark Shirley he put it all together in this fun video. When I figure how to get his video to be on here I'll put it on. But for now this was some pictures that Victoria shot of the party. They told me we were going to pick up my cake the the college where some culinary student had made me a cake...Lies! I wasn't going to get out of the car because I thought we were meeting the family at "On the Border" Mexican restaurant and we were running late. But Brad insisted that I get out and help him with the cake. So I did and when I we got to the place and opened the door there was the family and the Shirley's saying "surprise"! I was surprised for sure. We ate Mexican food there and had yummy ice cream cake from the Marble Slab (my favorite place). Then they played the fun video and we all got a good laugh. What a fun birthday it was, and it made 40 fabulous!! Thanks, Brad & Victoria and everyone else who were a part of it.

Family Reunion with Richey's & Platt's

First stop Carlsbad Caverns



Kevin where were you born?

Feeling a little"green"
Roswell, New Mexico



There's enough for everyone





Nick and Ryleigh soooo cute!

Hot chile suckers...only in AZ.


Bout' to eat some crawfish...yuck!




July 24 is Pioneer Day for our church which means it is the day the pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley and President & Prophet Brigham Young declared "this is the place". Many more companies of people traveled to get to Salt Lake after that first trip and many tragedies happened along the way. So we celebrate our great heritage and commemorate that special day every year on July 24th. There is nothing quite like going to St. Johns AZ. and spending the 24th celebrating with family and friends. St. Johns was an early Mormon settlement, the town puts forth a lot of effort to commemorate the 24th by having a week filled with fun activities for families and towns people to get together. It has been a great time for family reunions in the town, ours included.

We really enjoy seeing family and getting to know family we haven't met yet. This year we had a motor home so we were able to park in the back of Uncle Milford's home and enjoy the festivities. Some of the fun Richey activities we participated in was: eating together(of course), picture scavenger hunt of different important places, the campfire circle, and movie night.

We also got to see and spend time with the Platt family too. We had great fun riding on the the float in the parade that Patrice and family put together. It won 1st prize for "best family float". We also had shirts made this year which was nice and I'm sure time consuming for Jesse to put together. (Thank You) We ate a great BBQ at Grandma Platt's house thanks to Patrice, Kat, and all those that put that together.

Plus we can't forget going out to the ranch in the evening to roast hot dogs and marshmallows. Brad and Jeremy's favorite thing to do is to go and look for petrified wood and remember the fun things they did on the ranch as a kids. There is something special about the ranch. We really just enjoy getting together now matter what we do, just hanging out is the best. Oh I forgot about the family swim night, I didn't go but Brad and Cole went and Cole loved it!

Five generations

Then and Now

Since it was Victoria's birthday last month I couldn't help but think of what a cute little baby she was. She probably always hears the bad stuff from me but she was and is one of the best things that has happen to me and Brad's life. So here are a few pictures of her in celebration of her 14th b-day.


Victoria in the hopsital with one happy Grandma.



Victoria 8 days old, her blessing day.

She's as goofy as ever and totally a teenager!

Playing Catch Up

You can click on the collage to see the pictures better.


For those of you who read this little blog or look at the pictures, sorry for not posting in 3 months, but life has been well...busy and so I am going to try to play catch up! Also sorry for the book to read here, if you don't want to read it then just check out the pictures.

May-was fun but busy due to dance rehearsals, recital and ball games, plus all the end of school activities that happen. Well we got through May and then came June.

On June 5th the kids and I left Brad for Utah and CA. First stop though was Vegas baby! We flew in to Vegas and my sister came to pick up Cole. Yes, we pawned him off on her for 10 days, while Victoria and I flew to Utah so she could attend EFY(Especially for Youth) at BYU. Cole was happy to hang out with his cousins and we were happy to let him, since his over excitement for trips and such can really wear on ya.

Victoria played at EFY while I played with my friend Michelle and her family in Orem, UT. It was really great to see the ole'stoppin grounds of my college days and show Victoria where we lived and where her Dad and I met. She absolutely loved her experience and all the neat people she met. She plans to go every year now and of course attend BYU (let's hope she gets in).

I enjoyed my un-interrupted sleep time and going to the temple in Provo which took 5 min. to get to, verses 3 1/2 hours. I also got to visit with some other friends but still missed seeing many more that I'll have to catch up with next time. Michelle and family were great hosts and it was such a nice relaxing week.

After Utah we flew to San Fransisco to hang out with my old friend Taressa and her family for a few days. They took us to the Golden Gate bridge which was so beautiful and the sky was perfect for pictures but the wind was a little cold. We went to church with Tares and her family and I ran into one of my best friends from Cypress, Kim Walker who moved when I was 15 years old. It was amazing that she happened to be visiting an old friend in Danville that same weekend. We had not seen each other for 19 years. We had a great time visiting with each other. Staying with Tares and her family was wonderful. Tares is an excellent cook and host too. My friends were really spoiling us.

After the fun in San Fran it was back to Cypress to be with Grandma & Grandpa, plus relieve Kara from her duty. Cole was great for her and she still likes us so that's good....phew! Visiting with my parents is always fun. We made several beach trips, shopping trips, and movie trips. We've pretty much given up on Disneyland since it's to dang packed, we only go in the winter now. We went to our neighbors wedding which was lots of fun because we saw all kinds of old friends. Because of Facebook I was able to reconnect with friends I had not seen since high school and so I had the opportunity to meet up with some of them too.

Well after a month of that we got home and 2 days later Victoria and I went to girls camp for 4 days. Victoria celebrated her 14th birthday while at camp. Camp was a lot of fun and many sleepless nights. The girls had a great time canoeing, going on a party barge, swimming, crafts and hanging out with friends. We went to Toledo Bend in Louisiana, like 4 hours from my house. The cabins are air conditioned so it wasn't really camping.

That's about it for now we are heading out to St. John's AZ. for a family reunion which is always great, can't wait to see all the family. We are taking the RV out for the first trip so I hope it makes it, I'll post later on that.