Our Family

missing my mom

Today marks 11 years since my mom has been gone. It was an okay day, but as the night draws to an end and not a mention of her name from anyone in my little family, it makes for a sad lonely night. Justin has no possible clue how losing a mom feels. He can't comprehend the aching in my hearrt and the yerning just to talk to her on the phone. How many times I just want to call her and ask her for advice, especially when it comes to my children. Nor can he comprehend how much I just want a hug from her. It doesn't matter how many years pass by you still ache for them to be with you. It doesn't matter how much faith you have nor how much you know they are better off you still miss them, you always will until the day you meet again at Jesus feet. With that being said "God be with you til we meet again  til we meet til we meet at Jesus feet." I love you mom mom and miss you very very much. Love, your chub

We arre truly Thankful!

Today here in our home town/valley we are having a blizzard with artic tempatures.  The kids were released from school early, before the storm was to hit. They were home safely as well as Liz, Beverly and myself.  Justin however was at work and scheduled to work until 5:00 pm; sometime around 4:15 I  got the urge to pray for Justin to make it home safely, I told the kids to stop what they were doing and get on their knees. All the kids who could got on their knees and  I told them why I wanted to pray( I wanted to pray for Justin that he would make it home safely.) We said a prayer and about  10-15 minutes later  Justin came pulling into our driveway. A few minutes later, We all with Justin this time got down on our knees and said a family prayer of Thanks that he was able to make it home safely.  Justin told me there was a strech where he could only see a foot in front of him.  Several minutes later I was by myself in the kitchen and the spirit told me he was on that strech when you were praying for him. When I told justin about that he said, he had planned to go a different way, but ended up turning around and going a different way.
We are truly THANKFUL that he was able to make it home safely. I am grateful for our Father in Heaven who watches out for us and protects us and who answers our prayers.

wow life comes at you fast!

Ok so I just had cancer removed from my thyriod, noe I find out I have early signs of osteoporis I keep wondering whats coming next and what should I be learning from all this, if nothing else I hope i atleast learn to have more compassion for others.

Justin , Erik and Angelica at Erik's baptisim! July 2, 2010

ok so its not so bad

I've been blessed ans the incision is healing nicely, the scar isn't so bad. Heavenly Father truly has blessed me and my little family!

the scar is ugly

soon I'm going to take a picture of my scar and post it on here. Some of my kids hate to look at it, but Emma she has been very sweet about it! I just love that girl!

Thomas Edison Charter School

My kids started school on wed. We are so blessed for them to be abe to go to such a great school, I am very nervous about what school they might be attending next year.  There is absoulutly no way another school can be as good as this one, at least not for my kids.

The house is quiet now and every day that goes by is another day closer to Justin finishing school; what an adventure this has been!  Whoever thought Richele Renner would leave home and move to Utah let alone for 10 years!  I suppose if my mom was still alive it probably would not have happened, but who knows. The possibility that we could move back to WA is exciting yet scary, we live in a completely different culture here in our tight knit society of mostly latter Day Saints. Moving back would be like another adventure, maybe thats what lifes all about ADVENTURE!

What a day... It was so rough

What a day... It was so rough.

YUMMY!

I am good at making myself messy... are you??

My Beverly

My girl is growing up!

Beverly is 1 now!

Erik and Justin July 2, 2010

Erik's Baptisim

Where does the time go??

Beverly is now 11 months old and in a week from friday Erik is turning 8 and will be getting baptized on his birthday! The time sure does go by fast, it seems as though it was just yesterday Erik was learning to walk (on our driveway of all places,) let alone us having 5 children and our 5th almost a year old!

Get me Out of here!!

Justin and Liz at the zoo!

at graduation

Kindergarten graduation

Angelica won unlimited snow cones and popcorn at field day for her crazy hair!

crazy Hair Day...

Crazy Hair Day...

flying kites

Liz had a birthday!

The kids helped  decorate the cake!

The cast hardened to fast and she started peeling it  back thus, the duck tape!

Liz got a buckle fracture on her thumb

I can ride a 2 wheel bike!!

Emma spent all day learning how to ride a bike!

The kids had fun at Preston and Sarah's, to bad Elle was sick

More happenings... our visit to Preston and sarah's house

still Tyler's party...

More Catching up...

catching up... wow a lot has gone on the last few months!

Teaching Relief Society sisters for the first time...

yesterday was my first time teaching.  It was on such an amazing topic. The two main talks my lesson was on was Tell Me the Stories of Jesus by Elder Anderson and He is Risen by pres. Monson. giving a lesson on the Saviour was such a blessing to me.

I think I did okay, the best thing about was I could feel all of the prayers in my behalf. I have never felt that so much any other time in my life. Thank you to all of you who were praying for me.

This was the first time I have spoke in front of anyone and did not cry or start shaking for being so nervous. I actually didn't really get nervous. I have Heavenly Father to thank for that!

They are so special

A New Calling for Richele

I am now the 4th sunday Relief Society teacher in our ward. For those of you who don't know this means I teach the women 18 and older  and the material I teach them is from the general conference talks.

I feel very humbled by this, it is a great responsibility to help to edify these sisters, although I am sure I will get more out of my lessons then anyone else, I sure hope someone  else will also be uplifted by them!

Mothers Day

Today is mothers day and the house smells so good with the smell of turkey bacon and hashbrowns, Justin is so wonderful, making breakfest for me and having my favorite roses on the table too. Emma woke up and was looking for me she gave me a long hug and a kiss and said happy mothers day first thing! I love mothers Day!  Elizabeth woke up and sang happy Mothers day to me in the tune of happy birthday. It was so sweet.  I am so excited I got an MP3 player that I have downloaded the conference talks on to.  Emma made a plate for me and angelica made me a block with her picture on it and a note, it was all so sweet. I came over from church feeling like I was going to die my stomach hurt so bad, but it was still a good day! I had all my children with me and healthy what a blessing!

Soccer

Agelica played Keeper for the first time yesterday! She did so awesome, I was so proud, only wished I had my camera to take pictures!

ksl.com - Heads up on texting

ksl.com - Heads up on texting

Wow kids these days and all their technology can be so dumb!

Where does the time go?


Why does it seem as if life comes at you so fast? It seems as if it were a race car on the track trying to get to the end faster then anyone else. That is my life, I keep thinking it is going to slow down, but it will only get faster and crazier until the kids are grown, then it will switch to slow as a slug and I will have to just spend all my time spoiling my grandchildren. I will miss these times teribly when I am old.
Heavenly Father, please help me enjoy this time in my life and especially my sweet children!

I am about 70% better, still working on the voice thing though but better is good! :):)

Laryngitis

Laryngitis
Definition
Laryngitis is caused by inflammation of the larynx, resulting in hoarseness of the voice.
Description
When air is breathed in (inspired), it passes through the nose and the nasopharynx or through the mouth and the oropharynx. These are both connected to the larynx, a tube made of cartilage. The vocal cords, responsible for setting up the vibrations necessary for speech, are located within the larynx. The air continues down the larynx to the trachea. The trachea then splits into two branches, the left and right bronchi (bronchial tubes). These bronchi branch into smaller air tubes which run within the lungs, leading to the small air sacs of the lungs (alveoli).
Either food, liquid, or air may be taken in through the mouth. While air goes into the larynx and the respiratory system, food and liquid are directed into the tube leading to the stomach, the esophagus. Because food or liquid in the bronchial tubes or lungs could cause a blockage or lead to an infection, the airway must be protected. The epiglottis is a leaf-like piece of cartilage extending upwards from the larynx. The epiglottis can close down over the larynx when someone is eating or drinking, preventing these substances from entering the airway.
In laryngitis, the tissues below the level of the epiglottis are swollen and inflamed. This causes swelling around the area of the vocal cords, so that they cannot vibrate normally. A hoarse sound to the voice is very characteristic of laryngitis. Laryngitis is a very common problem, and often occurs during the course of an upper respiratory tract infection (cold).



I have this right now and it is such a learning experience, not being able to yell is great, now if when I get better I can take that with me! I will write more about this in a future post.

Soccer Soccer Soccer!!!

Angelica had her first soccer game of the season last night all the way in richmond. The game was tied 1-1 not bad for her team only having two practices before hand. Many of the girls Angelica included had no idea what they were doing, it was cute and fun. Her next game is Sturday @ 11:00 am @ Cedar ridge in Hyde Park! It is good for her to get out and get moving!

The last part is something Justin and I are trying to work on.

Parents Must Not Neglect Their Responsibility to Their Children

"Parents are responsible to provide for their children. . . ."We are to look after their physical, their spiritual, and their emotional needs. The Book of Mormon teaches, 'Ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the evil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness' (Mosiah 4:14)."
Boyd K. Packer, "Children," Ensign, May 2002, 8

Baby animal days

Yesterday we went to baby animal days, it was a lot of fun,the kids rode the pony's, unforunately we can not find our camera. We all went on the train, and the best part was the baby bears! The bears were so adorable. We watched a man hand sheer a sheep and while he was doing it, the sheep kicked the sheerers and started bleeding; the kids were done watching after that. The bunnies reminded me of the good ole days when my family would show rabbits and our barn was full of them! The bunnies were very cute too!

LDS.org - Liahona Article - Seeking and Receiving Personal Revelation

LDS.org - Liahona Article - Seeking and Receiving Personal Revelation

Emma had a Birthday!

Emma is 6 years old! Wow I can't believe 6 years ago yesterday I was in the hospital in labour with a sinus infection, thinking I was going to die every time they told be to breath through a contraction. good thing Labour with her was only 2 1/2 hours! We love Emma Rose Mary Gudmunson so much, she is such a fun exuberant girl!

Emma loves school and is excited to go to first grade next year, she is looking forward to swim lessons this summer too!

He Lives

He Lives

General conference

It seems this morning the theme was to focus on and strengthen the family, to be better examples to our children and to help them build their faith and testimonies. I love being a member of the church!

Work as a Crossing guard

Thanks to a wonderful husband I was able to make it to my first day at work with the girls in toe it went very smoothly. It is weird to call that work, but I guess some body has got to do it!

J and R Gudmunson family doings: interview

J and R Gudmunson family doings: interview

Me Working??

I have now enter the ranks of a working Mom! I start this Friday, wow that was a lot sooner then I thought it would be.

interview

Today I am going for my first interview since 1997. I applied for the substitute crossing guard postion in North Logan. I am a little nervous about that but whatever happens will happen I suppose. will let you know what happens.

Quote for our nation

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I love this quote!

"Never give in , Never surrender, never allow despair to overcome your spirit." President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Happy Easter !! Here is a video to help celebrate the true meaning

Fun at Work

Yo, Y'all, I had some fun at work on a yonder week when the Muscle Wall Company came to test their flood retention wall. Y'all can see some of du fun I wer haven while i'as a worken, on that there YouTube thing. Type in these here words fer a search of the video (don't ferget yer cap-i-tile letters): MuscleWallFeb2010.

Time to laugh

This was an email I got I laughed so hard I had to share it, Happy laughing!








WHY WOMEN SHOULDN'T TAKE MEN SHOPPING

After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her
trips to Target. Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunate, my wife is like most women - she loves to browse. Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter from the local Target.

Dear Mrs. Samuel,

Over the past six months, your husband has caused quite a
commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against your husband, Mr. Samuel, are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.

1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in
other people's carts when they weren't looking.

2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at
5-minute intervals.

3. July 7: He made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading
to the women's restroom.

4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official
voice, 'Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away'. This caused the
employee to leave her assigned station and receive a reprimand from her supervisor that in turn resulted with a union grievance, causing
management to lose time and costing the company money.

5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of
M&Ms on layaway.

6. August 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told
the children shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows
and blankets from the bedding department to which twenty children
obliged.

8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began
crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?' EMTs were called.

9.. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used
it as a mirror while he picked his nose.

10. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department,
he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.

11.. October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly
humming the 'Mission Impossible' theme.

12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his 'Madonna
look' by using different sizes of funnels.

13. October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed
through, yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'

14. October 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!'

And last, but not least:

15. October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited
awhile, then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet paper in here.'
One of the clerks passed out.

My scripture search

I have decided to study one scripture at a time. This is a faith building experiment for me.

I have not yet decided if it will be weekly or daily, but have decided to start with Alma 32:21 it reads:

And now as I said concerning faith- faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things;therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.

the cross references to this scripture are: John 20:29, Heb. 11:1 and TG hope

John 20 :29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast ^aseen me, thou hast believed: ^bblessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Hebrews 11: 1 Now ^afaith is the ^bsubstance of things ^choped for, the ^devidence of things not seen.

Last night with our children we read these scriptures and wrote them in our scripture Journals along with what they meant to us. so far it has been a great experience.

What is our family doing?

Beverly will be 8 months old on Sunday. She has two teeth and a third coming in soon! She has been climbing like crazy and learning to stand while holding on to things. Her smile lights up even the darkest of days!

Elizabeth has become quite the chatter box, she is so much fun when she is happy!

Emma loves kindergarten and according to her her teacher says she is the smartest kid in her class. She is defiantly the tallest kid in her class, she is even taller then the little boy who was held back a year.

Erik is an avid reader, I think that is where he finds solitude and peace among all these girls when he is reading.

Angelica is doing very well in her piano lessons, next week she starts duets with her teacher! She will also be starting soccer in a few weeks, I am particularly excited for that, I can't wait to go to her games!

I am learning a lot about myself these days and am hoping for some continual spiritual growth, through scripture reading and church attendance. Really that is not to new, but it is important to me. Since I took my step mom's advice and got an exercise bike my two bum knees have improved so much that I rarely notice them hurting anymore, Thank you to Lynn for the great advice!

Justin as usual is stressed out with school, but continues to be a great dad and husband. He is a little nervous about being done with school next year, but excited to start his career in teaching!