Richardson Report

Ahhhh, it's been a crazy week. Jam-making - I won't tell you how cheap my strawberries were, as I'm sure everyone else in the world can get them cheaper.  But it was a good price for HERE and so I bought 8 pounds and the kids helped me make a ton of freezer jam and strawberry syrup.  Yum. Hannah's Band Concert - maybe I can get one of the songs off Josh's tablet and post it here.  It was fun. I know - she's so far away.  She looks adorable.  Like Minnie Mouse. Missionaries for dinner (four of them!) - Breakfast for dinner is always a huge favorite and it's easy to make a ton. Flying solo in the YW for three weeks.  I had to have a chat with the girls about some attitude/behavioral issues, but they seem to have taken our discussion to heart and things are going better. Finished several projects in the yard with Josh last Saturday and this past Saturday.  It's the first time in a LONG time we've actually had him home on a Saturday - much ...

Wow!  I cannot believe that we have a 15 year old in our family now.  One more year till the BIG birthday that kind of defines your teen years, right?  What a fun kid Hannah has been to have in our family.  I love to hear her play the piano and sing along. She fills our home with music with piano, singing, radio, whatever!  One of the things I appreciate about Hannah is that she is always willing to help where needed, whether putting little kids to bed, cleaning the kitchen, doing a quick vacuuming, or running (literally, as she can't drive) to Rite Aid for something, Hannah is a person I know I can count on to help me out with a smile. A couple fun Hannah facts:  *Little kids love her. She volunteers at the local elementary school and the kids adore her, as does the teacher who supervises her.  *She has her first church calling as chorister in Sacrament meeting. *She actually likes things like math and economics, but hates grammar. *Hannah can...

I finally had a chance to get photos uploaded from our camera.  So I'm going to dump a bunch in here for fun - it's basically all from the end of April, up through this past week. We had a week of absolutely gorgeous weather - warm and sunny, then it left and the fog has been thick, with pockets and peeks of sun periodically.  Right now, as I look out my window, the fog is misting by and it seriously looks like November.  I sometimes forget that it is NOT November, and in fact most of the world is enjoying a warm, sunny day!  It's so bizarre sometimes. We went for a walk after dinner one night and had a race.  I definitely didn't win. The favorite climbing tree Side note: the other day I stepped outside and found Brynne had constructed her own swing about 20 feet off the ground in this really tall tree that she likes to climb.  Just about gave me heart failure when I suddenly saw her go soaring through the branches way above my head....

It has been SUCH a long week.  I'm so glad that it's over. In general I'm feeling much better.  I usually feel fantastic in the mornings and then sort of peter out in the afternoons, but my nausea is so much less and I'm grateful for that.  I'm technically just past my three month mark, too, so I'm 1/3 of the way through! Natalie prays for me on a daily basis that "mommy can get better".  I'm hoping soon those prayers will be answered and we can do our regular fun activities on a more regular basis.  Here is a lovely picture she drew.   Many of you heard the story of Hannah's high school dance/dress.  This is the finished creation.  All I basically did was modify a shirt to make a jacket thing, and fix some hems and stitching in the dress.  If I'd had time, and access to a real fabric store, I could have made actual sleeves.  Anyway, she looked lovely and very grown-up and had a great time. If you can see these, you don't...