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.

Merry Christmas!!!

This past month and a half just flew by. Ken and I have been so busy with interviews (from the weekend before Thanksgiving to the weekend before Christmas), that we feel we were not able to participate in all the holiday festivities. I will post much more on our adventures from the West coast to the East coast, as for now, I want to wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

We had a great Christmas this year. Ken and I decided to have our own little Christmas with the girls at home. This will be our last Christmas in Peoria, IL and we wanted to celebrate in our first home.

The night before Christmas, we made homemade pizza for dinner. After the dishes were done, we sat around the tree to open our Christmas Eve presents (the usual pajamas and the Christmas Eve movie). The girls absolutely loved their pajamas courtesy of Mimi and Papa.


We put our pajamas on, read the bible story of Jesus' birth, pulled out the goodies and sat to watch "Merry Madagascar". Before bed, we put out cookies, carrots and milk for Santa and his reindeer.

Ken had to work Christmas day; however, he was able to go in an hour and a half later than scheduled so he could watch the girls open their presents. Santa was very kind to them this year. They really enjoyed their gifts and goodies from Santa, family and friends.

Katelyn didn't care about the rest of her presents. The minute she saw her Wonder Pet figurines, she was in heaven.

Tressa really wanted a dog for Christmas. I didn't want to have a real one so we ended up getting her a fur real puppy. She absolutely loves it. She takes it everywhere with her and her newborn cat.

The rest of the day was spent sitting around in our pajamas playing with every new toy. We had a nice roast dinner and was able to talk with family through Skype. It was a joyous holiday season. We want to wish everyone a

HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON!!!!
From the Richards Family to You!!

Kindness begins with me!!!

Last Saturday night, Tressa wanted to go out to eat as a family at a sit down restaurant. Ken decided to try the Sterling Family Restaurant. I have to say the only thing good that came out of this was the kindness Tressa showed to an older lady.

During the meal, Tressa had found a penny on the floor. She held on to it for the rest of the meal, so excited to put in her penny jar. Next to us sat an older lady eating by herself, she kept commenting on how cute our kids were and was entertaining Katelyn (or was Katelyn entertaining her, it was a toss up). As we were waiting for the check, Tressa did and said something that I will never forget.

Tressa hands the older lady her penny. The lady asked her, "What is this for?" Tressa looked at me then her and said, "I want to pay for your dinner." The lady was very touched by this. What surprised me is that she kept the penny and on the way out, she (the lady) said to me, "I will cherish this penny forever."

I was really touched with the kindness Tressa had shown toward a complete stranger. True she doesn't quite understand the value of money, but I know that she is learning charity and the true love of Christ through her kindness and compassion towards others. Who would have thought, Tressa my little tornado.

Thank you Tressa for setting an example to me and our family.