HALLELUJAH!!!!!

After several months of waiting, Ken is now officially ready to start work. He got his temporary license last night. Now we can start paying the bills and our debt that accumulated while unemployed. It has been a hard couple of months. But I learned a great lesson. Trusting in the Lord and having faith in Him will help you get through any trial. I am grateful that I was able to go through this, it has made me grow in so many ways and not to take things for granted.

We have loved spending time as a family. We have kept each other busy. We made several (I mean several) trips to the aquarium (courtesy of our annual passes), the beach and local parks.


Tressa started preschool and she loves every minutes of being social with the classmates and learning. Katelyn also enjoys going to preschool once a week. I was asked by the director to be the Spanish teacher. So while I am teaching, she is able to go to the 2 year old class. I enjoy teaching Spanish. The kids love learning a new language. Teachers tell me that the kids have so much fun, they are bummed when it is not a day for Spanish class.


We have enjoyed Myrtle Beach and what we have experienced so far. I am excited to see what the future has in store for me. So far, so good.

One crazy summer!!

We have had one crazy summer. A lot has transpired since I blogged last. At the end of May, we closed on our house in Peoria. Ken lived in the call room for the month of June finishing up his residency, while the girls and I lived with his family in Cincinnati. We enjoyed a quick get-a-way to Amelia Island, FL in the middle of June for a conference. Ken's mom was nice enough to keep the girls while we celebrated our anniversary a month late. We also had Ken's graduation from residency at the beginning of June.

In July, we started off with a trip to Charlotte, NC for our niece's baptism. After spending the Fourth of July weekend with them, we made a road trip down to Myrtle Beach to look at housing. Luckily we were able to find one and had an offer accepted.

Mid-July, Ken, the girls and I took a road trip from Cincinnati to Salt Lake City with two stops. We were able to visit my Aunt Leslie and her family in Kansas City, KS and Ken's brother's family in Denver, CO. We had a great time visiting with everyone. We were able to see all my siblings but my oldest brother, Mike. (We missed you and your family.)

The first week in August, we had the Richards' family reunion. It had been 5 years since the entire family had been together. We were able to get some family photos taken in the backyard. We had such great times.






After a few trials, Ken and I were able to move in last week to our house here in Little River. We are still waiting on his license to practice. Until then, we are enjoying our time at the beach and visiting the aquarium. We have been getting our house in order and getting to know the area. We have met some really nice people and are excited to be starting this new adventure. We welcome any of you who want to to come and visit us.

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy
4th
Birthday,
Tressa!!!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!

I just wanted to wish my hubby a

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!

We have been married 8 short years. It just seemed like yesterday. Today, I sat down and was going through thinking of what we have done since we got married. Highlights:

• We have moved 4 times, and is about ready to move again this summer.
• We have lived in 3 different states (Utah, Kentucky and Illinois). Here this summer we will be starting an adventure in South Carolina.
• We have 2 beautiful little girls.
• We have both graduated from undergrad, medical school and here in a month residency.
• We have traveled and explored areas all across the U.S.

We have loved every minute of our life together. We have had our up and downs and our trials, but we still stand strong. We are looking forward for many more years of marital bliss.

ENCORE!!! ENCORE!!!

For those of you who missed out on Tressa's dance recital, I have posted her recital pieces on YouTube. Tressa is on the far right of the stage. Here is the link: (you will find 3 videos)

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=shellrichards&aq=f

Pull up a chair, have some popcorn and enjoy the show.

Time to Breath, at the moment....

We have had a pretty busy couple of months. Here is the low down of what we have done since the new year....

• Freshly painted the toy room, upstairs bathroom, both stairwells, the entire basement (walls and floors), kitchen nook, and touched up the crown molding. I learned a valuable lesson, in the 8 yrs Ken and I have been married, I finally realized that you never paint with Ken. He complains the whole time, he would rather get a root canal then paint. I, on the other hand, find it therapeutic (maybe because of the fumes).
  
• Packing up the clutter
  
• Reorganizing the furniture to make the house feel open and spacious.
• Cleaning all appliances, fixtures and floors.
• Outside we raked the leaves, worked on the landscaping, painted the door frames to the back door and door to garage.
  
• I painted the front porch.
• We organized and swept the garage.
• While doing all these projects, we still functioned as regular parents with jobs and responsibilities.

It may have been rough these past couple of months, but it sure paid off. Within 25 days and 5 showings, we SOLD our house!!! Just under the asking price. Things just could not have gone better for us. We truly are blessed.

Now the next step for us is to get the moving all arranged and flying out to Loris, SC to look for housing and take a walk along the beach. We are closing at the end of May and Ken doesn't finish residency until June 30th. I am going to take time to breath the next couple of weeks to enjoy my family and friends, then I can worry about moving arrangements.

Any Takers?

Well, it is OFFICIAL!!! As of last Wednesday, our house is on the market. We have spent the past couple of months painting, decluttering and staging the house. I hope it will all be worth it in the end.

If you know anyone looking for a home, spread the word. Check it out on:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/3007-N-Sheridan_Peoria_IL_61604_1116392175

Dancing with the Stars!!!

Last fall, Tressa started her first dance class. She absolutely LOVES it!!! The minute we get home from class, she has to show me what they learned. This year she is able to participate in the April dance recital titled, "Dancing with the Stars". She came home last night and told Ken that she would get to wear a COSTUME and gets to dance on a STAGE!!!!

Yesterday was her first day back into dancing after having a holiday break. I was not able to take pictures of her yesterday, but here are some pictures from last semester.

Tressa with her dance instructor, Heather.

Before Christmas break her class had a mini recital for parents and siblings. Ken was able to make it. Tressa loved showing off her new dance moves in front of everyone. I don't know where she got all of her confidence. It definitely didn't come from me, I get stage fright. At the end, her dance instructor presented her a trophy with her name on it and some goodies.

Our Adventures have come to an end....

The past month and a half, Ken and I traveled to 4 different states for 5 job interviews. I was able to go on all but the one to Myrtle Beach, SC. It felt like we were going on honeymoon after honeymoon, leaving the kids home with family or friends. Thank you for those who helped us out. We really appreciated it.

Our first 2 interviews were in Wilson and Jacksonville, NC. We enjoyed exploring the towns and looking at housing. On Saturday morning, Ken and I took advantage of our free time and headed to the coast to visit the Emerald Isles. It was just beautiful. We were able to walk along the beach and collect seashells for Tressa.


Out of the 2 interviews, we really liked Wilson and would compare all the other interviews to this one.

After a visit to Ken's parents for Thanksgiving, Ken and I had a few days to get ready for the next interview in Greeley, CO. I don't believe this interview was meant for Ken, I think it was meant for me. It just so happens that my Mom was born in Greeley and her mom's side of the family had a lot of history in Greeley. I was able to reconnect my Mom with her cousins after 30 years. I visited with one of her cousins and his wife.


My great grandfather was a well-respected rancher just outside of Greeley, Jim (my mom's cousin) took us on a drive of the land my great grandfather used to own and the land that still runs in the family. I was given some aerial pictures of the ranch.

I found the burial sites of my great grandparents, the sister my grandma lost when she was just a girl and my grandma's 3 oldest brothers and their wives. I have a lot of dates for my mom for our genealogy work.
I believe the Lord took a part in giving me the courage I needed to come out of my comfort zone and get this done for my Mom. What a great experience it was for me.

We were also able to visit with Ken' s brother and family. They had moved to Colorado just weeks before our interview.
The following week, Ken and I went to Riverton, WY leaving 2 sick kids behind at a friend's house. Thank you, Amy. I don't think Riverton was for me. It was the location and the housing that didn't work for me. However, it was great to see the mountains. We hadn't seen that in a long time, living in the Midwest.

The weekend before Christmas, we received news that Wilson was pulling out of recruiting. We were really disappointed, it was the job that Ken and I had decided to take. With help from our NC recruiter, we were able to rig up an interview for Ken in North Myrtle Beach, SC. After Ken visiting the area and talking with me, we prayed about it and received an answer on where to go. We have accepted and are moving in July to.................

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC

We are very excited and don't know what is in store for us there. I am eager to find out. Wish us luck. Now the next 2 months, my project is to get this house ready to put on the market by the end of February.