Our Christmas

All ready for bed

Kendrick making "scary faces"

(pause the music to the right before playing the video) Unfortunately when I took videos of our Christmas I didn't think about keeping a few "small" enough to post on blogger. I also totally forgot to take pictures. Kendrick was so cute when he woke up he wanted to see his "surprises". When we gave his first gift to him (a stuffed horse named patches) he wasn't sure what to do with it. For Kendrick's third Christmas he received from Mommy and Daddy a stuffed horse, 2 sleepers, a Bob the Builder video and a Black & Decker Junior tool bench. Nana and Papa gave him a Mickey Mouse sleeper, a book, Don't Break the Ice, and a little farm animals set. GrandMom Richards sent a $25 gift card, and Grandma Mary gave him a deposit for his college fund. He is still waiting on his gift from Aunt Becky, she bought it a couple months ago just hasn't gotten around to either coming for a visit or mailing it (we still love you Beck). So since I didn't get Christmas pictures or videos that I could upload to blogger here is a video of Kendrick and Mark playing. Mark was running down the hall and "getting" Kendrick. I love Kendricks belly laughs I hope he never outgrows them.

Christmas Present Pillow

Kendrick with his pile of gifts

He thought this was pretty comfortable

He tried to pick this corner open while I took this picture.

These are ALL MINE!!

Christmas Pictures

With Mom's help I got some really cute pictures of Kendrick tonight. I have LOVED these Jammie's on Kendrick and he has actually worn them all year long, but since he has started to outgrow them and won't be wearing them much longer I decided to get some pictures of him in them.

This was actually the first picture we took of him!

Sweet Little Man!

He is as ornery as he looks!

Potato Candy

Mom decided to make potato candy. Kendrick had fun making it, but didn't really enjoy eating it. He basically just licked the peanut butter off a piece and gave the rest to either mom or me. I missed getting a pic or video of the rest of the process.

Grosvenor House

Today was the first day for the Grosvenor House Christmas! Such a beautiful place decorated by different schools/organizations each room unique and BEAUTIFUL!! The first picture is the Uncle's room when he was in the area this was where he stayed

These next two pictures are of an absolutely breathtaking Fontanini.

I LOVED the china!!

A unique (but modern) decoration.

This is probably one of my favorite pieces on display it is dated around 1580-1600

A cook stove not original to the house, but still beautiful

This room was my favorite the students at Bird Lake Bible School decorated this room (Christmas decorations that is). The paper chain on the tree was made by the kindergarten class. The snowflakes hanging from the ceiling were made from the other students and hung by none other than Mr. Miller. It turned out beautiful, a job VERY well done!

Thanks to "Grandma Mary" for the personal tour of the house, most of the furnishings are on loan to the museum from Mary.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the smells of pies baking, turkey roasting and the sounds of laughter and the closeness of family and friends. I am thankful for friends who stand beside us through thick and thin and loves us in spite of our faults. I am thankful for a healthy, happy 2 year old and so very thankful for the wonderful father that Mark is. I am thankful for a wonderful church to attend and a good Pastor who truly is the BEST! I am also thankful for the wonderful Pappaw that I had, it was 6 years ago on Thanksgiving Day that we all made the trip from my Aunt's house to the hospital to visit him. For many of us grandkids it was the last time we saw him. I could go on and on about things I am thankful for, but I won't. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!

Happy Birthday!!

It was 41 years ago today that James and Dorothy Richards welcomed anther baby boy into the family. Who would have ever guessed this little boy would one day be the father of my little boy. Happy Birthday Mark!! I love you!!
(sorry for the "grainy" look of the pic of Mark and Kendrick, it was nearly dark out so I had to do some "lightening" of the pic)

Mark and his Mom

UH-OH!!

What happens when you mix snow, ice, a tree and 35 MPH?? Well the tree doesn't look any worse for the wear. Actually it could have been a LOT worse than this. Thank the Lord for his protection. Kendrick looked at the tree and said "tree goes BOOM". Thankfully M99 was basically clear of traffic (which is unusual at 3:30 in the afternoon) so when we were sliding sideways in the other lane there was NO on coming traffic.

Dressed Up for Church!

I decided to dress Kendrick in this little suit that my Mom made for my brother Ken to wear in my Aunt and Uncles wedding. The suit has survived 40 years in a cedar chest and now Kendrick is wearing it. Today we woke up for the first time this year to a definite blanket of snow!! Kendrick was so excited he kept saying over and over again "It's snowing, it's snowing". The forecast says we are to get up to 3 inches by this time tomorrow night, so maybe it will last long enough to get a few new pics of my "boys" playing in the snow. On a personal note to Bethany "asksfjhwijkdjwiekdjdaiiejwjdkdiiojew" from Kendrick I am assuming it means "I missed you in Church today and hope to see you next weekend!"

Fall

We have enjoyed some of the "colder" days of fall lately complete with rain/snow showers. I am ready for winter and the snow and the beauty that comes with it. I wanted to share some really cute pics my mom took of Kendrick today while he was watching Papa wash the car.

My favorite time of day is that quiet stillness right before darkness covers the earth. Mark and Kendrick were out raking leaves (or should I say playing in the leaves) one evening and I couldn't resist taking a couple pictures and a video of them.

LOL

Tonight was a very special night for Alpha Omega. It was our Second Annual Laugh out Loud Benefit!! We had an AWESOME turn out with I am guessing around 250-300 people in attendance. Not only was it a night of laughter, but it was also a night of hearing a very moving story about a young woman who became pregnant with her first child at the age of 14. At the age of 16 she became pregnant with her second child. While her second child was fighting for his life (at a few months of age later he died) she became pregnant with their third child. At the shocking news that she was pregnant she and her husband decided that they could not afford another child and what if this one would be sick also. They made the decision to have an abortion. BUT when she looked in the yellow pages under abortion, the only listing in Hillsdale phone book was Alpha Omega Women's Care Center. Thinking that she had found the "answer" they were looking for, she walked through the doors of a building that would change her life forever. The counselor administered the pregnancy test and after the positive result she started telling the counselor why she "had to have an abortion". The counselor was able to talk with her, showed her pictures of what an abortion really was and how it can devastate a woman's life. At the end of the counseling session, she chose LIFE!! Not only did she choose life for her child, but she found the true meaning of LIFE and the Giver of Life. There was also another story given from a boyfriends perspective. I have been privileged to know Steve for a few years now and I have worked with him at Alpha Omega for several months. He gave his story of a girlfriend becoming pregnant and he as the boyfriend forced her into an abortion. I have heard his story many times and it NEVER ceases to make me cry. The Lord helped him tonight to once again share from his heart. After the stories were given we laughed till our sides ached at the comedy of Donna East. She is a hilarious lady who also could have been a victim of abortion her mother became pregnant out of wedlock at the age of 20. Donna herself has just come through a pregnancy that her Dr. tried to get her to terminate. It was a great evening, and fun was had by all who attended, the best part was it helped raise money for Alpha Omega. Thanks to Pastor Dan Johnson and the people at St Paul's Lutheran Church for the use of their beautiful gym. The benefit committee from AO did an awesome job at decorating and pulling tonight off without a hitch.

Saturday with the Crowls

Yesterday was indeed a FUN DAY!!!! We were able to spend the day with Tim and Kristy and their family. I had made the mistake of telling Kendrick earlier in the week that we were going to Brandon, Bradley and Bethany's house on Saturday. So every morning I was greeted with this from Kendrick "Today go to Brandon's?" Finally when he woke up yesterday he was THRILLED to hear that yes today was the day we were going to play at Brandon's. I unfortunately forgot to take my camera with me. It was WAY TOO CUTE to watch Kendrick play with Bethany's dolls and carry her cute little purple princess purse around (that is what the first pic is)!! Thanks for sharing the pics so I could post them. Mark is always saying that Kendrick breaks out in a "Pink Rash" after playing with Bethany. It was a lot of fun to watch the kids play and wear themselves out. It was also nice and relaxing to be able to spend some time with good friends. Thanks Tim and Kristy (especially for the DELICIOUS peanut butter fudge!!!!!!!!)

Fair Week

Well this past week was the Hillsdale County Fair also known as "The Greatest Fair on Earth"!! Mark, Kendrick and I enjoyed Thursday and Friday nights at the Alpha Omega booth. At least I enjoyed it, Kendrick was ready to do more interesting things after about an hour. Tonight we went for some "Family Time" and Kendrick enjoyed his first ever pony ride. HE LOVED IT!!! He has really taken a liking to horses. Every night we were at the fair he had to go through the horse barns. I wasn't sure how he would actually do being ON a pony rather than just seeing it from a distance. At one point they stopped the pony's so they could clean up a "deposit" left by one of the pony's and Kendrick started waving his hand saying "Go, Go, Go". When the ride ended he started crying he didn't want to leave the pony's. After we walked around for a while and enjoyed "fair food" we let him have another ride. We also got our second annual photo key chains made tonight, I haven't figured out a good way to get a pic of the pic in the key chain, if I do I will post that pic as well. Here a couple pics and a video of Kendricks Pony Ride!

What a turn of events

For the past year and a half I have been volunteering at our local pregnancy care center. A couple of weeks ago the CEO of Alpha Omega asked another volunteer and myself to meet with her one Friday morning. Thinking nothing of it and certainly not expecting to be moved even further from my "comfort zone", which for all intents and purposes was demolished the moment I stepped into Alpha Omega. We had our meeting. In the end Kathy asked my fellow volunteer and I to pray and consider a change in our roles at AO. At the end of the two weeks she gave us to pray and consider we had yet another meeting. At the end of the most recent meeting Linda was named Executive Director of Client Services and I was named Executive Director of Office Operations. I am scared out of my mind with this new responsibility, but I know God has led me to AO and He will continue to guide and lead. Please pray for all the staff as we go through some MAJOR changes. On to a much more thrilling turn of events. Our own Gloria Vear, co-founder of AO current board member and true legend in the Right to Life movement will be honored this coming week in Washington DC when she receives an award from President Bush for her years of sacrificial giving of time, money and energy in defense of innocent human lives. Congratulations Mrs. Vear!! We are proud to call you OURS!!

THE MOUSE MURDERER HAS STRUCK AGAIN!!!!

This is an urgent demand from the MMPD(Morgantown Mouse Police Department). All mice MUST stay in their own homes for the remainder of their lives!!! An unsuspecting juvenile was discovered last evening in the home of none other but Miss Becky Junod in Morgantown WV. Once again, Miss Junod went on a destruction spree within her home. Last evening around 10pm Miss Junod's partner in crime Ms. Gretchen Gordon, called Miss Junod to see how she was feeling. Miss Junod had been sick with the flu this week which really wasn't good considering how Monday was Miss Junod's 32 birthday. While on the phone Ms. Gordon was talking but not being heard, Miss Junod was chasing a poor unsuspecting, juvenile mouse around her house. Once again Miss Junod was armed with a glue trap, some peanut butter and RAID. When the juvenile (we are suspecting that it was indeed a child of Minnie and the Late Mickey Mouse) would venture out from behind the refrigerator Miss Junod would spray the poor thing with RAID (now we all know that RAID is ant, roach..... killer, but Miss Junod was using it as mouse killer last night). The RAID did nothing but make Miss Junods floor EXTREMELY slippery. The poor mouse was unaffected by the whole RAID incidence. Even the glue trap was ineffective as the mouse was so little and light that it could steal the peanut butter off the trap but not get "stuck". When Miss Junod saw that she was going to have to take drastic measures, she started throwing YES THROWING, traps at the mouse. Finally when Miss Junod was getting to the VERY END of her patience for the poor little thing, she heard a noise and sure enough the mouse had "stuck" to a trap. Now the only problem is only the TAIL was on the glue trap. Now we all know that Miss Junod DETESTS mice of any shape or form. When she saw the mouse stuck only by its tail, she used a weapon to flip the rest of the mouse on the trap. Once securely on the trap, Miss Junod used a gruesome form of execution. She picked up her nearest bottle of FANTASTIC cleaner and finished off poor Jr. Mouse. After the chasing, the panting, the ranting, the raving, and the near insanity, Miss Junod is once again mouse free. Hopefully this time after using TONS of duct tape and aluminum foil (go figure DUCT TAPE??? she really has turned into a hillbilly) she is and will remain mouse free. For 2 hours Jr. Mouse was hunted, stalked and ultimately killed by Miss Junod. Once again all mice in the Morgantown WV area PLEASE be warned there is a ruthless mouse killer on the loose. Please stay as far away from Miss Junod's residence as possible. Once again reporting from Osseo MI, this is Miss Junod's partner in crime Gretchen Gordon.

NEWS FLASH!!!

Minnie Mouse is a widow. Early this morning in Morgantown WV, Mickey Mouse was caught unawares by a glue trap in Miss Becky Junods home. Mickey Mouse had been breaking and entering for several weeks and had pillaged and ruined food items that Miss Junod had stored up for the first few days of fall semester. Miss Junod reported the suicide/murder around 10 am this morning. The details of the suicide/murder were ghastly to hear. Mickey Mouse was trying to support his family and once inside Miss Junods home he came across a glue trap. After much flopping around at 3am, Miss Junod carefully approached the intruder armed with nothing but a plastic bag and a toilet brush. After scooping poor Mickey Mouse up with the toilet brush (which then got stuck on the glue trap) she put it all into the plastic bag thinking that Mickey Mouse would suffocate. When Miss Junod awoke later that morning she discovered that Mickey was indeed NOT DEAD but had chewed the bag to shreds. It was at that point that she reported the findings. It was then agreed upon by her partner in crime Ms. Gretchen Gordon that the best way to dispose of poor Mickey was drowning. So Miss Junod found a bucket put Mickey (and toilet brush) in the bucket then poured water in the bucket. So that was the end of Mickey Mouse of Morgantown WV. There will be no funeral services or visitation as the remains have already been deposited in a trash bag ready for garbage day. Miss Junod may now go back to a peaceful life without worries of intruders. RIP Mr. Mickey Mouse.

15 Years Ago

This post is especially for the bestest best friend anyone could ask for. Beck it's hard to believe that 15 years ago this month we were both nervous, scared and YOUNG freshmen at Penn View. Our friendship has survived a lot of "stuff" from teenage crushes on the same guy, to adult problems like divorces, deaths of family and friends, miscarriages and even the happy times like finding my true love and the birth of Kendrick. We have shared the good, the bad and the extremely UGLY of our lives these past 15 years. I can honestly say I don't know where I would be if it hadn't been for you a few times. Thanks for never holding my faults against me. Thanks for being there when the world (including my parents) turned its back. Thanks for telling me I could when I thought I couldn't. Thanks for the MILLIONS of hours spent talking on the phone, the visits that always seem to go way too fast, the many hours of watching the same movies OVER AND OVER again, the shoulder that you have provided to cry on, and most of all the happy times where we have laughed for hours on end over nothing. I am so proud of you for following your heart and making your dreams come true. You have accomplished more in 32 years than most people do in a lifetime. Thanks for being you and for accepting me for who I am. You are the BEST of the BEST!!!

This is for you, my best friend, the one person I can tell my soul too

Who can relate to me like no other

Who I can laugh with to no extents,

Who I can cry too when times are tough,

Who can help me with the problems of my life.
Never have you turned your back on me

Or told me I wasn't good enough

Or let me down
I don't think you know what that means to me

You have went through so much pain and you still have time For me.

And I love you for listening even when inside YOU are dying

And I look up too you because you are strong, and caring and beautiful.

Even though you don't think you are.
And I hope you know that I am always here

To listen to you laugh and cry and help

In all the ways that I can

And I will try to be at least half the friend you are To me.
I hope you know I would not be the person I am today, with out you.

My best friend.

Laundry Boy

These pictures say it all, Kendrick is always getting into something. Oh the joys of boys!

Finally an Update!!

Well it was "lovingly" brought to my attention from my most faithful readers (thanks Beck and Lisa) that it has been a few days give or take a week or two since I last updated my blog. Not much has happened around here lately. We did take Kendrick for his 2 yr checkup and it was proof that he is getting to be a "biggie boy". He weighed in at 30lbs and is 34in. tall. We are so blessed with a happy healthy toddler. He has also "amazed" us with his ability to climb and be a typical 2 year old. Hopefully it won't be as long before the next update! But unfortunately for the blog things have been pretty mundane around here lately. Oh and Jessica if you read this I will be getting the video on here soon of Kendrick saying your name! It was great seeing you again and I hope you enjoy your time with Michael in Cincinnati.

What a FUN week

What a week Kendrick has had. On Tuesday he officially turned 2!! Then on Saturday we had his birthday party. On the way to town it started raining. We had planned to have his party at Owens Park, but when we got there the pavilions were already occupied, so we made a quick change of plans and went to Lewis Emery Park. It continued to rain lightly all day, but we still had a good time. On Friday Mark and I bought Kendrick a little 4 wheeler or as he calls it a "beep beep". He has ridden it some, but with Saturday being so busy then Sunday he hasn't ridden it much. I decided to do baseball cupcakes instead of one big cake this year because of having so many kids at his party. He had a blast with Brandon, Bradley and Bethany Crowl, Justice, Dakota, Tyler, Zach and Tannen Mayle (well Tannen didn't actually get to get in on all the fun). Kendrick and Bethany got totally soaked and covered in dirt/mud. The only sad thing is poor Bethany wasn't in Church this morning due to a fever. Hope its nothing major and she is feeling better soon. We are so thankful for such good friends to share good times with. Russ, Lydia and their kids along with Grandma Mary weren't able to make it to the party yesterday. BUT they all came here for lunch today. We have had a good afternoon. We want to say a special thank you to Grandma Mary who has given Kendrick a gift that will NEVER be broken, wasted or unappreciated. Hopefully she will be able to see the fruits of her gift in the years to come.