Looooooong time!

There is just NO time! well, I shouldn't say no time since I did manage to buy some new shoes :D

Our "Precious" (daughter) is coming tonight. It will be fun to see her. Had our wonderful son last month. WOW!!!! It's been nice to spend time with our kids. I need to see the grandkids now!!!!

Work is CRAZY. Last night was the first really BIG event that i worked on. It turned out really nice. LOTS of work and a ton of stress!!! I have a kind of bizarre event next week pertaining to this picture purportedly the only actual photo of Joseph Smith. I will have to post about it later.

K well, enough of my boring life. I really will try to catch up when my job becomes more managable.
And the thought for the day:
Alma 17:13 And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led.
Have a great one!

happy anniversary Mike and Cyd

We went to the Park Cafe for breakfast since Mike had to go on a trip this afternoon. It was very yummy! When I got home from work Mike was gone but there was a beautiful bouquet of roses and the sweetest card ever! He is a wonderful man and I am honored to have him in my life. Happy Anniversary Mike. I love you!

I know...

I'm boring. Yes, I get that. Go to work, come home exhausted. Doesn't leave much to write about. I was reading obits yesterday (something we do as we get older) and found two disturbing ones. First is a man in our stake who was 35 years old. He had a massive stroke. He leaves behind his wife and 3 boys ages 3, 8 and 11. My son is a year older than Joe. Couple that with my daughter-in-law's brother who passed away in November at age 39 and it's a bit frightening. The second was the father of one of my students at Viewmont. He was 66. I am 59. You do the math.

Ok this is a bit dreary! let's cheer this up a notch. The other night I was flipping through channels and found U2 Rattle and Hum. That music reminds me of my son in high school. It brings a spring to my step and I love to sing along. My daughter's imitation of me singing U2 is hilarious. She insists I sing it opera style. NAW!

I was delighted to have my son ask me if I own Wrecking Ball by Emmy lou Harris. One of my favorite albums ever. It is full of thought provoking songs and very sing-along-able! It happens to be in my car CD player right now. Wow...a bridge over the generation gap!!!

I am excited for conference next week. It always lifts me. In preparation for it here is a thought taken from a talk Elder Faust had prepared prior to his death and which was included in the last conference issue: "Each new day that dawns can be a new day for us to begin to change. We can change our environment. We can change our lives by substituting new habits for old. We can mold our character and future by purer thoughts and nobler actions. As someone once said 'The possibility of change is always there, with its hidden promise of peace, happiness, and a better way of life.'"

With that in mind I am going to go walk!!!!!
Make it a great one.

Happy Easter....I think!

It's always awkard when someone asks me how a holiday was that i spent alone. I pause and wonder if I should just say "it was great, how about yours?" or if I should tell the truth. You know me, I opt for the truth every time. "Well", I say, "it was fine. I taught my primary class and then studied for my institute lesson." It's not that I feel sorry for myself because I really don't. I am used to it and it really doesn't bother me....until I hear about eveyone else being with family. I do miss the wonderful celebrations we had at mom and dad's for years. I miss my family. But mostly I just don't think about it. I am grateful everyone is having a great day and I make the most of mine. I took mom an Easter Lily and some of her favorite chicken salad and rolls from the Lion House. Times have changed!
I enjoyed thinking of our Savior and his amazing love and sacrifice for us. I pondered on his intimate, personal love for me and for each of you. That brings great joy and peace.
Thought for today:
"No repentant sinner or innocent sufferer will ever be alone in that suffering. We will not and cannot ever face a trial or sickness, transgression or trouble that He does not comprehend and understand. All these things He suffered vicariously; thus He became our advocate not only in repentance but also in trial." Vaughn Featherstone

today...

I walked! I saw pussy willows! I love pussy willows!

My Peach won the grand prize at the easter egg hunt. Good job little Peachy Pie!

I perched precariously on a ladder on my stairs to change the pictures hanging there. The McBride's gave us a wonderful picture for Christmas "He Is Not Here" which I needed to find a place for. Here is how it turned out:

Could have straightened up a bit before I took the pictures I suppose!

Been working on my lesson. Here is a thought from Elder Uchtdorf: "My dear brothers and sisters, there will be days and nights when you feel overwhelmed, when your hearts are heavy and your heads hang down. Then, please remember, Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, is the Head of this Church. It is His gospel. He wants you to succeed. He gave His life for just this purpose. He is the Son of the living God. He has promised:
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
“For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee” (3 Nephi 22:10).

HE LOVES YOU!!!! :D

The big reveal

Well, you know how those early ultra sounds are...not without the possibility of error. IMM is hoping it is wrong. He is clinging to that hope...he isn't terribly excited about another sister!!!!!! :)

Poor IMM and GSJ...both the first child, both hoping for a sibling the same gender as they are, neither getting it! Well, as Mandi says at least they will not ever have to share rooms with anyone!

So I filled out my brackets. How about you? I usually take some long shots but didn't do that so much this time and I am already sorry as USC lost to Kansas ST. Worst news of the day BYU lost!

Here's how scientific I get. I always pick schools with the name Georgia or that are in states where my family lives. Had to go with UCLA since my boy graduated from there even though it meant not picking BYU. See, I am still putting my children ahead of all else! Believe it or not I have actully faired pretty well with this method in the past. I don't think so this time.

I only had to work 3 days this week. Well, not exactly as tomorrow I will go in for about an hour and will do a little work from home but I am getting to where I will mostly only work 3 days. YEAH!!!!! It's going ok. I am holding my own in catering.

Tomorrow I will work on my Institute lesson for next week. So many ideas, so little time! Here is a thought for the day:

"He knows of our anguish, and He is there for us. Like the good Samaritan in His parable, when He finds us wounded at the wayside, He binds up our wounds and cares for us (see Luke 10:34). Brothers and sisters, the healing power of His Atonement is for you, for us, for all....The healing power of the Lord Jesus Christ—whether it removes our burdens or strengthens us to endure and live with them like the Apostle Paul—is available for every affliction in mortality." Elder Oaks

Make it a great day!

ERRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!

OK...so it's been one of those days! I won't even go in to my day but to top it all off when Iget home at 10 pm there's a message from my son saying they found out the sex of their baby and they are happy to announce it's a "human baby."...Oh and "don't call us back because we are going to bed." Real nice!
So that's all for now....I am over the edge tonight...but not really upset at my boy, just really excited to find out! I hope it's a boy...you know how I like even numbers and since we will have an uneven number of grandkids and an uneven number of boys or girls (we have 3 of each right now) at least in that family there would be an even number of both! I know, I'm a freak!
:D
Sleep tight!

The day after 59!

I am still here! Just think....only 11 more years and I will be 70. HUH???
Mike and I went to Tuscany for dinner. Thanks to Dave and Kathie and the women I work with we had a delightful evening. The snow added to the majestic feeling of it all. It was a good day.

This morning I was trying to focus on preparing for my Primary lesson but I got distracted. I had fasted and prayed today for the ability to prepare and teach well and be inspired as to how I could help my little ones learn what Heavenly Father wanted them to learn. Then I got distracted and didn't focus until an hour before I needed to get ready for church. I was very frustrated with myself and I told Heavenly Father that under the circumstances He didn't need to honor my fasting. I went to church a bit despondent. When I opened the program I noticed that the Sacrament song was my very favorite..."In Remembrance of Thy Suffering." I have had the experience on more than one occassion of feeling down and upon arriving at church noticing the same Sacrament hymn. It is a tender mercy from Father letting me know He is mindful of and loves me. I felt humbled and realized that He is anxious to bless us and sometimes (often) we (I) are (am) too hard on ourselves. And guess what!!!! My class was amazing! Better than they have ever been. Now this doesn't mean that I can go on being distracted rather than focused on what should be a priority, but it isnpires me to want to be better; to continue to try to draw nearer to Father and to server Him well. Next week I will focus on what matters most....like getting to bed at a decent time so I can serve Him and those I love and care about better. So goodnight!!!!!!
Hugs!

Happy birthday to me!!!!

wow...hard to believe! 59 years! where did they go? I have much to show for them. 2 amazing, beautiful children; 7 (almost) outstanding, wonderful, precious grandchildren; 1 fantastic, loving husband; many loyal, awesome friends; 4 terrific, fun, talented siblings and their fabulous children and grandchildren; 2 great parents; a testimony of Father's love for me; a knowledge of our Savior's incomparable and unfailing love and companionship. What more could i ask for??? more sleep maybe :D
for my birthday i wish all of you a day of joy and love knowing you are loved by me and by Heavenly Father! We are all He does!
Make it a great one! I love you ALL!

It was 40 years ago today...

Mike and I had our first date. Yes, it's true. We were 18 years old and freshmen at BYU (GO COUGARS!!). Wanna know what we did? I know you do. I asked him out. I had a friend who lived in Ogden (I knew her when I was in Jr. high in Seattle) who was getting married. I asked Mike to go (and drive of course since I didn't have transportation) and we took my roomie and her boyfriend. After the reception we went to Aunt Hilda's and played pool. I didn't know a thing about how to play so Mike had to show me how to hold a cue...yep! He had to put his arms around me to do so :)
The 4 of us had to squeeze in to the front of his little Ford truck (it was dripping cold water on my feet but who cared!!!). All in all i would say it was a pretty great date. By the way, I asked him out on our second date but he broke his leg skiing that day and had to cancel :(

What a hottie, eh!!!!

what a week!

So I have been sick now for a week and 1 day. I sound terrible which is great for the sympathy vote but a little hard on the vocals. I return phone calls at work and get "...are you sick?" in that kind of incredulous tone. I suppose some wonder if I just have a gravely, deep voice all the time!

My wonderful son has been in town for a conference all week. Unfortunately he is busy from before I arise until late at night but still just having him in our home again is very warm and comforting. He even got to meet a person who has been a source of inspiration to him...Lance Armstrong, but I will let him tell all about that.

I now have a web cam but when i turn it on and see myself I wonder if I will ever be able to use it! Oh, well...the grandkids don't care what I look like, right?

For Christmas my precious Peach created a note pad for me. She had her mother curl her hair, she put on her favorite princess costume then found her favorite spot in her room and had her picture taken. Then she designed the layout and wahla...my very own Princess Peach note pad.

Pretty cute, huh?

I am enjoying my new job. It is very detail oriented and that part can drive you to drink coke...although I have only succomed to caffeine free :)
It's amazing to work with people and see all the many types of personalities that exist. There are those who know exactly what they want and those who change their minds 1,000 times, but the hardest are the ones who don't have a clue and just kind of sit there after you go over all the options.

And the vast variety in tastes is stunning! I have learned not to state my bias because in the end it turns out they love what you hate. This would be hard for people who have a great sense of and taste for the most stylish! Fortunately I am not one of those.

A thought for the day: "Oh, it is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us—even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will." Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

Have a great one!

cutest faces ever!

little poser!

HMJ kept posing and saying "take it now." I would show him the picture and then he would do a new pose. It was really funny that he wanted one from the back. I suppose he has never really seen himself from that angle!

Baptism dress shared by two.

GSJ kept fluffing the sleves so they would puff out! I think she quite enjoyed the dress.

I should be fired!

Ok. so it's perfectly clear that Gramma Cyddie is a terrible blogger! I was really hoping this would turn out better than my attempt at journal keeping but, as you can clearly see, it has not!

What a busy month. I began working in the Catering department at JSMB. The knowledge of details required for this job is immense! It has been fun to learn new computer programs and to contemplate the possiblities that lie ahead! Still it's a bit frightening and overwhelming.

I continue to work in HR and to tell the truth it's a bit of a relief each week to go back to something I feel competent with. They did hire someone to work there but she will not be taking my responsibilities so I will continue to work as necessary there.

Mike and I spent most of last week in Tennessee caring for two precious little boys. I got very little sleep but was blessed with the ability to care for them anyway! And i had great help from Mike who succumbed to Henry's every whim! HMJ started out calling me gramma and by the time I left he was calling me graymma. He always said it in threes "graymma, graymma, graymma"! So cute.

Jones was sweet as can be and loved to be up and down off my lap and give great hugs. I missed my peach but she had a great time with her mom and dad in Chicago!

the highlight of the week was GSJ's baptism on Saturday. She was precious! She wore the dress Mandi wore when she was baptised. How can it have been that long ago?

Tomorrow night is my first Institute lesson. I am trying to remind myself that fear and faith cannot exist in a person at the same time. With God all things are possible! I will report!

come come ye saints

click on link then scroll down and play the video.
http://www.jkirkrichards.com/newsletter/2008_february_html.php#comeye

Tag I'm it!

K....here's my tag:
10 Years ago
Wow, let’s see. I had quit teaching school just 3 months prior to this time and had been called to serve in the Stake RS Presidency. I served in that capacity for 10 years until Oct 21 of 2007.

5 things on my to-do list today.
Look for the valentines dress I made Mandi when she was GSJ’s age
Go to lunch with my friends
Watch the new First Presidency announcement
Call mom’s insurance company about an unpaid claim
Spend some time with Mike who is NEVER home.

Things I would do if I was suddenly made a billionaire:
Pay tithing, and make a nice donation to the PEF in President Hinckley’s name
Pay off the few debts I have
Pay off my children’s homes
Fund my grandkids missions and college education
Go to Maui!

Three of My Bad Habits:
Over eating
Staying up too late
Wasting time

Five Places I have Lived:
Seattle
Belmont, Ca
Dallas, Texas
Provo, Utah (go cougs!!)
El Segundo, Ca
And many more!

FIVE Jobs I have had:
Millinery department at some cheesy store in Dallas
Making circuits at Develo Tronics (Dallas)
U of U Reference library
KD Craft
Teaching high school math
And several others

Things people don't know about me:
1) I talk to myself and I answer
2) I tried out to be a police woman in LA
3) I tried out for Young Ambassador’s at BYU
4) I interviewed to be a flight attendant
5) I have a degree in Sociology
6) I am crocheting my first blanket!
7) I am very uncomfortable around people
8) I like U2
9) I love hopscotch and jacks
10) I love Holly hocks because they remind me of summers with my grandmother

Sweet tribute: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjrDs_DaocA

Sad Sunday

We will miss President Hinckley!!!! But what a sweet reunion he is having with his wife, parents and so many others. I'm sad but i'm not going to cry! Wish me luck.

shoes

The great Franco Sarto boot!:

The stylish Franco Sarto:

The fun Jessica Simpson shoes that were modeled by lauren!

Thanks for your help katie! The quickest $250 sale ever!