Richards' Dabble

So busy!!

2009-05-11T08:02:00.003-04:00

It has been quite busy around the Richards' household lately. I just finished TCC this past friday and will be graduating on the 15th!! I can't believe it has been 2 years already. Connor and Kara are wrapping up school with Mom and enrichment with only a few weeks left. Connor has been playing lacrosse, so that has kept us busy too. This week we are so excited to have our Memaw (my dad's mom) come and visit for a week! It will be great to spend time with her. Just wanted to give everyone a quick update. Hopefully I will have some more pictures later :)

He is Risen!

2009-04-12T16:44:00.003-04:00

Then Bursting forth in glorious day up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory,

sin's curse has lost its grip on me!

Bought with the precious love of Christ!

Valentines

2009-02-20T07:39:00.003-05:00

This past Valentine's Day, my good friend, Courtney, planned a Girl's Night Out. We all arrived at Reagent with no makeup, no hair done, and normal clothes. In the theatre dressing room all of us got ready together. I think we spent about 2 1/2 hours in there getting all fixed up!! After we were finished we went and enjoyed a picnic inside the beautiful lobby of the Reagent Theatre. While we ate our very yummy italian dinner, we also shared about how God has recently been showing His love to us. It was such an encouraging time. Back at home Dad, Mom, Kara, and Connor all played Chicken Foot with the Melones. They also enjoyed tasty chocolate fondu with strawberries and pound cake.

Happy Valentines Day!!

In the dressing room

Mrs. Coffey doing my eye makeup

Courtney and I

All of us girls

Snowshoe Mtn. 2009

2009-02-09T08:35:00.007-05:00

Connor all ready to hit the slopes!

Kara got to build a snowman on the last day when it snowed.
Out to dinner....we walked from out condo over the the restaurant. It was FREEZING and snowing pretty hard!

Our model shots for the front of a ski magazine....maybe?? :)
WhiStLEpuNk

Mom and Dad on the Ballhooter lift

Ski bunny :)
Playing a game of Scrabble, where the extent of our words was, "coy," "it," and "dog." haha

I think mom had the longest word; "peaches." Needless to say, Scrabble is not really our game :)

"When are you going to put pictures from Snowshoe on the blog?!?" That's what Kara has been asking me for a couple of weeks now, so I guess I should put some up :) We went to Snowshoe the first week in January and despite not having a snowfall until the last two days we were there, we still had a blast! Connor was the only one who did snowboarding while the rest of us stuck with skiing. We were so happy to be able to get our favorite ski in/out condo, Whistlepunk. It is decorated kind of rustic and feels so cozy. We all had a great time as a family!!

Where am I going???

2009-01-30T10:07:00.002-05:00

This is my last semester at TCC and then I will be transferring somewhere else! Right now there are three schools that I am looking in to; James Madison University (Harrisburg, VA), Old Dominion University (here in Norfolk), and University of Memphis (Memphis, TN). I think I will found out sometime in March. The Lord has really helped me to trust Him throughout this whole process of making a decision for next fall. I don't know where I will end up, but I do know the Lord does. He has my whole life planned out before me and that gives me great comfort. He may even have something totally different planned for next fall, that I have no idea about yet. It will be exciting to see where the Lord will open doors and lead me!

Days gone by

2009-01-15T22:57:00.002-05:00

I was looking through some pictures on my mom's camera and found these ones of Connor and Kara from this past summer :)

Connor and his LONG hair....he really looks like a surfer guy

Kara's Lenscrafters model shot :)

365 days without it....

2009-01-15T22:38:00.002-05:00

January 3rd marked the day of when I had gone an entire year without chocolate! My friend Jessi gave me this idea to start "no chocolate for an entire year." For those of you who don't know me that well, I must tell you I LOVE chocolate, so giving it up for 365 days was quite a challenge for me at times. There were two reasons why I did this; one reason was to be more healthy (I have a little sweet tooth:), and the second, more important reason, was to use this experience to show my dependence on the Lord in ALL areas of my life. I also used it to draw me closer to Him. Whenever I was tempted to give in and have a piece of chocolate, I prayed and asked the Lord to help me. Back in January of last year when I first started this chocolate fast a friend gave me a Bible verse that directly applied.

~2 Corinthians 12:9-10~

"But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

This helped to show me more clearly how I need to depend on the Lord in all areas of my life, whether they are small or big things. Also, as a side note, its funny I don't seem to crave chocolate as much as I used to haha :)

First piece of chocolate!

It was so good!! :)

The Richards' Annual

2009-01-01T08:34:00.005-05:00

Well, we had our yearly Richards' New Years eve party again this year. We all had a great time with the Adams, Ammon, and Glover families!

Happy New Year!!!!

~2009~

The dapper boys

The lovely moms

The sweet girlies

The macho dads

Enjoying a time of worship before 2009

"10...9....8....7....6......5............!!!"

All the kids

Warning: Watch out for Kara's freaky face :)

All the parents

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

2008-12-26T22:24:00.008-05:00

On Christmas eve both Dad and I had to work most of the day, so Connor and Kara stayed home helping mom prepare food for the evening at the Melone's house. We ate a wonderful dinner at the Melone's, along with the Murphy and Parson families. Around 7pm we all headed over to church for the Christmas Eve Candlelight service. That evening we stayed up late just talking, hanging out, and enjoying our new pajamas. Christmas morning started early as usual. The rule is no one can go down stairs until 7am, so of course at 7am both Connor and Kara are wide awake and ready to see what is waiting for them under the tree. After checking out what "Santa" left under the tree and in our stockings, we then enjoyed a very yummy egg casserole that Kara had made. Before the paper tearin' began, we had a devotion time to remind us of what we are celebrating at this time of year; the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Now came the opening of all the gifts! We each took turns opening one gift at a time, so we could see what each other receives. Playing with the new gadgets, napping, snacking, relaxing, and cleaning up (Dad:) made up the most of our Christmas afternoon. That evening we got to enjoy a great Christmas dinner at our good friends, the Adams' house. The night ended with a stop at the Barstow's house where many other church families had gathered to enjoy more yummy food, games, singing, and fellowship.

I really can't believe Christmas is over. It always seems that once it gets here it goes way too fast! I am really thankful for this time though; not only because of the special times with friends and family, but also it's a time were we can remember how God sent his only Son, Jesus, to the earth to live the perfect life we couldn't live and then die for all our sins. I hope everyone had a wonderful christmas!

~Merry Christmas-2008~

Christmas family picture

Christmas Eve with our new Pjs

Can you tell Kara's excited to have a Wii?!

Connor's new guitar

My new Dooney and Bourke. You can tell that I had just gotten out of bed :)

Christmas morning breakfast

Playing Kara's new Wii

Merry CHRISTmas!!

2008-12-25T13:51:00.004-05:00

Merry Christmas!

"But the angel said unto them, Do not be afraid.

I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord!"

~Luke 2:10-11~

"Suddenly a great company of heavenly host appeared with the angel,

praising to God and saying,

Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

~Luke 2: 13-14~

Our December so far

2008-12-21T19:48:00.007-05:00

December has been busy, as usual. The highlights, so far, have been the 316 Parent-teen ministry Christmas Party, my 20th Birthday party, Access Singles Ministry Christmas Banquet, and spending time with friends. Each year the Seniors at our church plan the 316 christmas party. This year the theme was "Christmas in New York City." Connor dressed up as the "brothas' from da hood," complete with do-rags, baggy pants, and XXL t-shirts. Kara and one of her friends, Helena, dressed up as punks with purple hair and fish net stockings. For my 20th birthday we had live music from Connor and his band. This was their first show and they were SO awesome!! Dad set up a disco ball and a green spotlight for their stage, so it was really like a concert haha. They played, "Lovers in Japan" by Coldplay, "We are One" by Switchfoot, "Sleigh Ride" by Reliant K, and their own rendition of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." Thanks guys for playing!! Oh, and if anyone would like a signed copy of their new CD, I might be able to hook you up.......jk :) We also had ping-pong, foosball, basketball, and hang out time at my party. For my birthday with just our family we went out to Applebees' for lunch after church and then headed home to open presents. I was blessed with a new North Face Jacket (it's awesome...thanks Mom and Dad!!), a sweet Volcom purse from Connor and Kara, a new piece for my Christmas in the City village from Grandma and Grandpa, and some giftcards. Needless to say, it was GREAT 20th birthday!! Thank you everyone for making it so special! :) Saturday, the 20th, was the Access Christmas Party at church. All of us singles dressed up and enjoyed a very tasty dinner along with some wonderful musical performances.

We are all looking forward to Christmas day, when we will celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

My new North Face jacket!

Sugar and I :)

Access Christmas Party

Jess, Bec, Jenni, and I

My friends Matt and Eric from Enchanted Forest

Kara and her friends, Jessica and Katelyn

My sweet friend, Allie

The band, Jonathan, Connor, Aaron, and Nathan

This is how my gingerbread house ended up after it completely fell apart...haha

Laura, Natasha, and I attempting to make gingerbread houses

Mine didn't last long at all :(

The brothas' from the hood

Connor and some of his friends from church

Finished!!!

2008-12-11T10:26:00.003-05:00

I am finally finished with this school semester!! YAY!! God has be so faithful to guide and help me with all my studies. I know without Him I would not be able to accomplish anything. The Lord is truly my sustainer and strength in everything!! This semester really was a great one and I had some awesome professors, but it will still be nice to have a little break :)

Grand Illumination

2008-12-01T09:08:00.008-05:00

5....4....3....2...1........

The Christmas season has officially started!!

On Sunday we joined our good friends, the Adams, at the Founders Inn for their annual grand illumination. We enjoyed walking around looking at all of the beautiful decorations and lights. I love this season where we get to be with friends and family celebrating together the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

The girls

Kara and Rebekah

Rebekah, Kara, and.....George Washington

This way to the Carriage rides!

Laura and I

mmmmm......coffee!!

mmmmm......sprite!

oh yeah.....we're awesome :)

The parents

Connor doing a little dancin' on the wet bricks :)

Give Thanks!

2008-11-27T23:16:00.004-05:00

"Give thanks, unto the Lord, for He is good!"

Psalm 136:1

wE Shared THANKSGIVING thiS year wIth the DalmAs and WarNeCke familiEs. It StArted at the DalmaS' with tUrkey, stufFIng, swEet Potatoes, gReen bean Casserole, roLls, cRanberry sauce, and Mashed potaToes. Everything was so good and Mrs. Dalmas had all the tables decorated beautifully! After dinner we headed over to the Warneckes for dessert; pumpkin pie, apple pie, cheesecake bars, and chocolate chess pie. YUM!! We also had a time of sharing something specific that we are thankful to the Lord for. The guys enjoyed watching some football and the rest of us just hung out and talked. It was such a wonderful thanksgiving and we are very thankful for our friends the Dalmas' and Warneckes!

At CNU visiting Laura (this was actually last week:)

TAG!! :)

2008-11-24T20:59:00.004-05:00

My friend Teresa tagged me in a fun blog-tagging game!!

Here are the rules:

go to your pictures file

open the 5th folder

open the 5th picture and then post it on your blog

then, tag five friends

I wasn't sure what I would come up with, but here it is...

Dad enjoying a cigar in our backyard on a fall day last year :)

I Tag.......Laura, Natasha, Rachel B., Uncle Jon, and Jenni!! :)

2008-11-12T08:10:00.003-05:00

Happy 16th Birthday Connor!!! I'm so thankful to the Lord for you Connor!! You always make me laugh and I enjoy all the fun and crazy times we have together. It is neat to see you growing up as a godly young man and I can't wait to see what God has for you in the years to come. Thanks for being the best brother ever!!!

This is kind of late.....but watch it anyway

2008-11-05T20:18:00.004-05:00

Ok just a little more about the election. HAHA :)

Check out this video!!!

It is awesome :)

New Hair do :)

2008-10-27T10:09:00.003-04:00

Ok I finally got a new haircut. It had been SO long since I had last gotten it cut....talk about split ends galore!! haha :) Don't you love how good your hair smells right after you get a new cut :)

2008-10-23T17:24:00.003-04:00

Today my mom surprised me with this new Chocolate cell phone!! Thank you so much mom!!

2008-10-10T20:35:00.005-04:00

I got this from Natasha's blog. These are some fun things that you may not know about me (Kaitlin:) You can put this on your blog too!

1) Favorite Season: I think I would have to choose fall...jeans...sweaters..apple cider..changing leaves....but I like summer too for the beach:)

2) How many classes are you taking this semester (or year if in High School)? : 4

3) Which is your favorite: Probably economics...it's a really good time to be in that class

4) Which is your least fav: Philosophy

5) Why: the professor is well, kind of interesting, if you know what I mean

6) What is your major: General Studies right now, but probably will be physical education and health when I transfer

7) Are the windows open at your house currently: just in my room

8) Where are you right now: At the computer desk in our rec room

9) What has taken up the majority of your day today: Work at Enchanted Forest

10) How many days are you at school: 3

11) How many at work: 3

12) Favorite Starbucks drink: Pumkin Spice Frappacinno, or Peppermint Mocha Frappacinno

13) Favorite (non-starbucks) drink: Water or diet Pepsi

14) Favorite Holiday: Christmas......and Thanksgiving

15) Favorite day of the week: Friday

16) Least favorite day: Probably Monday, but really my monday isn't so bad this semester

17) Favorite Type of shoe: flip-flops

18) Do you prefer salty or sweet snacks: sweet :)

19) at least one movie you really want to see: Pursuit of Happyness

20) How many poeple in your family: 5

No Autographs please!

2008-09-13T21:59:00.002-04:00

http://www.doumars.com/DDDoumars.htm

Watch this show about the local Doumars :)

TV Star!!

2008-09-13T21:39:00.003-04:00

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=42222449

Watch this commercial from Enchanted Forest Nursery and see if you recognize anyone :) haha

Back to school....

2008-08-29T08:53:00.002-04:00

Heres a little update......I started school last Thursday!! So far it has been great and I really enjoy my classes. My professors seem like they will be really good too. Here's what I'm taking this fall:

Philosophy 101

Biology 101

Economics 120

Statistics

I think economics is my favorite class right now. I have already learned so much! So, just this semester and the spring semester, and Lord willing I will then be finished with TCC and off to somewhere else. I'm still praying about where God would have me go after TCC. Connor and Kara are coming back home for school this year and will take some of their classes at the Enrichment program at our church.

Girls Williamsburg day trip

2008-08-07T17:48:00.002-04:00

On Monday, Natasha, Liz, Laura, and I headed up to Williamsburg for the day. It was so much fun and we really got to do a whole lot!! Our day started out at the huge antique mall. After that we went to the Prime Outlets. There are so many stores there!! We enjoyed our lunch at The Old Chickahominy House.....it was very tasty! The afternoon was spent walking around colonial Williamsburg and looking in all the shops. For the evening we drove to Yorktown and ate our picnic dinner on the beach alond the York River. After dinner we sat on a bench by the river and listened to some live music. It was such a great day to be with friends and have fun!

A little more Colorado....

2008-08-07T17:26:00.005-04:00

The swimming pool

Me with the cousins
My cousins Walt and West....cuties!!
Connor showing off his horse skills
Kara and Walt on the ropes course

Walt and I on the hiking trip where we got to do some sledding on a snow patch
Kara, Aunt Lisa, and Grandma
Connor catching his french toast at the Wrangler Breakfast

Trail West lodge
Feeding the chipmunks at the ghost town
The ghost town, St. Elmo
On the off-roading jeep ride....it was SO windy!!

2008-07-25T21:27:00.005-04:00

Our Colorado trip was a blast!! The Lord really blessed our time there. Some vacations you are ready to go home at the end of the week, but this one I think we would have loved to stay an entire extra week. It was SO GREAT!!! We stayed at a Young Life camp called Trail West. Young Life is an organization that reaches out to high school kids who are disinterested in God and shares with them about the Gospel. They have summer camps all over the country for the high schoolers and Trail West is the only Young Life family camp. In CO we met up with my moms side of the family. It was so much fun to be with all the aunts, uncles, cousins, and our grandparents. While at Trail West we went swimming, played frisbee golf, went on an off roading jeep ride to a ghost town St. Elmo, played ping pong, pool, and fooseball (sp?? :), went white water rafting, went hiking, climbed on the ropes course, rode horses, and hung out. There was so much to do there!! One of the high lights was the Wrangler Breakfast. We got on horses early in the morning, went on a little trail ride until we reached our destination. They cooked us breakfast outside. You even had to catch your french toast (they actually threw it to you :). I will post some pictures of that. These are just some of the many picture we took there. I will work on posting some more later.

Uncle Jeff and Dad pulling my little cousin Walt in the shovel pull race

Connor doing dizzy izzy.....it was hilarious to watch people try to run after that :)

The high school work crew at Trail West greeting us when we first got there

In the dining hall

Aunt Jen, Aunt Lisa, Aunt Charlene, and mom

Mom doing the relay race where you had to carry a bucket of water on top of your head and pour it into another bucket

Aunt Charlene in the egg race

Not a very good pic, but you can kind of see the big horn sheep

SNOWBALL FIGHT!!!

Cousins

Colorado...the first day

2008-07-13T11:04:00.004-04:00

So we're here, finally in Colorado! It has already been so fun to be with all our family. Our first night here we stayed at the Hermitage Inn in Idaho Springs, CO. It's such a cute little town that reminds me of an old mining town from a movie. We've also already struck gold!! Well, not real gold, but our cousin, Colton found a nice piece of fool's gold. So later today we are going to head up to the ranch, Trail West, in Buena Vista, CO. Outside our hotel balcony we just saw a herd of Big Horn Sheep! I will try to post more about the adventures we have on our trip.

Memphis trip Con't.

2008-06-15T23:04:00.009-04:00

We had a wonderful time in Memphis visiting some of our extended family. I will share with you some of the highlights of our trip. On Friday and Saturday we visited with Daddy's side of the family. His mom, Memaw, had planned a family reunion. All her three siblings and one of Daddy's cousins came up for the reunion. Us Richards' kids got to be with some of our Great Aunts and Uncles, and our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cousins. Memaw cooked some very tasty meals for us, both on Friday, and Saturday, complete with fresh squash from Gramps huge garden. When we ate our meals, Memaw had each of the generations sit a different tables. So all of us cousins, the 3rd generation, got to sit together. It was so fun listening to the 1st generation :) tell stories of days in the past. Some of the stories about our past extended family were hilarious!! Connor enjoyed riding four-wheelers all day on Memaw and Gramps property. It was great to be out in the quiet country.

On Saturday night all of us cousins (Cade, Cole, Connor, Kara, and I) went out to get ice cream. We had all been planning to go out together by ourselves once I got my driver's license:) Well that day had finallly come!! Anytime we do something together it always turns out to be a great adventure, and this night sure was an adventure. We first stopped at Sonic and got ice cream. Cade and Connor tried to play fetch with their tennis ball with the Sonic lady...........well, let's just say she wasn't really in the mood to play fetch:) When we were leaving Sonic, Cade, Connor, and Cole were all waving at her and wanted me to take a picture of them with the Sonic lady. I got all those silly boys into the car as fast as I could:) After Sonic, the first plan (the "normal/ordinary" plan :) was to go home, but that would definately not be very exciting. Someone thought of the idea to have a handshaking contest in the Kroger grocery store accross the street. I was hesitant, but before I could say "no" or lock the doors of the car they all hopped out the car and ran into the Kroger. Connor and Cade were on one team, and Cole and Kara on another. They got a hand shake from the meat packing man (gross!!) and almost from the not-too-nice Manager. I walked into the store after all the kids, and got them out of there before they got in too much trouble.....ha ha:) Our next stop was McDonalds...........to order a pepperoni pizza. The response to my order was, "uhhhhh, I'm sorry ma'am we don't have no pizza here.?.?." I thanked him and then drove off. We were all cracking up in the car, and saw the poor drive-thru guy just standing at the window staring at us:) Finally, we then made our trip home, complete with the all the windows down, the sunroof wide open, and "Life is a Highway" blaring out of the speakers and our mouths!! Needless to say, it was quite an exciting night with the cousins!

On Sunday we went to church with our Uncle Joel (my mom's brother) and then hung out all day by the pool at Uncle Joel's house, along with Grandma and Grandpa (Mom's parents). Connor got pretty good at his flips off the diving board and Kara perfected her cannon balls. We grilled out that day and Uncle Joel made homemade chocolate and vanilla ice cream...........yum!!

On Monday we got to go visit the Corky's BBQ plant were my Uncle Joel is the manager. We all had to where white jackets and hair nets (so cute!!:) as we got our very special personal tour by my uncle. It was very interesting to see where they cook the meat, package it, take orders, and ship it off. If anyone wants some Memphis style BBQ...........Corky's is truly the very best!!

http://www.corkysbbq.com/

After the tour of the plant we met up with Grandma and Grandpa at an authentic mexican restaurant. This was really "authentic"............none of the tex-mex stuff you get everywhere that says it's "authentic." http://www.delimexicana.com/ At the restaurant they made all their food fresh every day. We got to sample the prickly pear juice..........very different, but good!

On Tuesday we made our way back home in a 16 hour car ride to good ol' Chesapeake. It was so fun to be with all of our extended family!

Memphis trip

2008-06-15T23:03:00.001-04:00

New Attitude 2008

2008-06-13T10:54:00.001-04:00

Havin' Fun with the Mac

2008-06-06T10:17:00.001-04:00

We finally met Connor's twin!! They had so much fun together....he he!!

Update

2008-06-06T01:03:00.004-04:00

Hello everyone!! I know it has been quite a while since I have put a new post up on our blog:) I have been so busy lately with work at Enchanted Forest Nursery. We are all in Tennessee now (we just got here about 20min ago after a 17 hour drive). Hopefully I will have some time to relax out by my aunt and uncle's pool while putting up some new posts.........ahhhhh that sounds nice. I'll try to post about NA.....even though that was a while ago..oh well......and also post some pics of the extended fam out here in Memphis, TN........and maybe change up some other things on the ol' blog so you don't get tired of seeing the same thing over and over again....he he:) I guess I will also let you know that I got a Macboook:).........so that is how I'm writing this memo. I was so excited to finally get my Mac and I'm certainly having tons of fun figuring it out:) Well, I guess I better get some sleep now!

Kara's Birthday Party and Girls' Night Out

2008-05-10T20:38:00.005-04:00

Kara's 12th birthday isn't until the 20th of May, but she got to celebrate early with a party with all her friends. She had 16 friends over from our church, Sovereign Grace, and her school, Veritas. When everyone got to our house, we ate PB&J sandwhiches, pimento cheese sandwhiches, chicken salad sandwhiches, and Kara's favorite.....Cheetoes! They the whole crew walked over to the "big field" in our neighborhood and played a game of kickball. It started raining, so we all ran back home. Kara then opened presents and we had ice cream sudaes:) The party ended with some really competitive 4-square tournaments. Happy Early Birthday Kara!!!!!!

On Tues. I got to go out with my friend Chara and a bunch of her friends. We all got dressed up and did out makeup and hair together at Chara's house. Chara had made reservations at a nice Indian restaurant called Nawab, so we all piled into her friend's car and drove over there. After the very yummy dinner we headed down to the beach, grabbed some DQ, and walked on the boardwalk. It was such fun time!
Chara is in the pink dress.

Our yard

2008-05-05T17:49:00.006-04:00

This past saturday we were all at home working in the yard. It was such a nice day to be outside too! I love spring time when all the plants start to come out and everything turns green. Our God is such an amazing Creator!! I hope you enjoy the pictures.......in a few more weeks some of the annuals will have filled out more, so I will have to take more pictures then.

Sugar enjoying the azaleas
Our front yard

the backyard with Mom's little girl statue
For the very first time, we have a vegetable garden. It has lettuce, eggplant, peppers, cilantro, tomatoes, and cucumbers.......yum!!
Our backyard and patio

The Japanese maple tree

Lacrosse Game

2008-04-30T20:20:00.005-04:00

Tonight we all went as a family to watch Connor's lacrosse game. Connor plays for Hickory High school (they are white) and they were playing Kellum High (black...of course:). This was a particularly exciting game........Connor scored his FIRST GOAL !!!!! (and scoring a goal in Lacrosse is a pretty hard thing to do:) Lacrosse is a really fun and fast paced game to watch. It is kind of like a mix of hockey, soccer, and football.......if you can picture that:) Connor also wants to let everyone know that he knocked a bunch of people to the ground!! Oh ya baby!! Connor is number 13 in all these pics. Let us know if you would like to come and watch a game sometime.....we will let you know when and where Connor is playing next.

Almost finished with school!!!!!!

2008-04-23T21:35:00.006-04:00

I am almost done with school at TCC for this semester!!

What I have left:

1. History final due April 28th (take home and open book:).....working on that right now, just thought I would take a quick break to blog...he he:)

2. English quiz on April 28th

3. Psychology final due April 30th (take home and open book too:)

I thought this was a pretty good excited face:) I think it was taken like 4 years ago, so I was about 15 (you can see my gum too........I love to have gum all the time:)

This week so far.....

2008-04-23T19:51:00.004-04:00

I'm copying this idea of "normal life" from some other friends:)

I guess I'll start our week out on Sunday, the 20th. So here it goes:)

Sunday 20th- Dad, Kara, and me went to church

Kara watched Mr. Magoriums Wonder Emporium....she said it was a little weird, but still continues to watch it over and over:) She said, "you get used to it after a while."

I went out to lunch at Five Guys with friends after church

I also realized at 7pm that I had an English draft due on Mon. and I hadn't even started yet! I was up late getting that done....and it certainly was a ROUGH draft:)

Mom and Connor returned late from Memphis, TN

Monday 21st- DAD'S BIRTHDAY, but we didn't get to actually celebrate it

Mom was home sick all day:(

I had school until 2pm

Connor and Kara-school too

Tuesday 22nd- I worked til 3pm....went to the bank

Mom was feeling better today:)

When I got home from work we all headed to the mall to get Dad some presents....talk about last minute lol :)

We then met Dad at Tropical Smoothie for his birthday celebration....so yummy!!

Came home and opened presents

Wednesday 23rd- School for me til 2pm (I only have 1 week left of school yippee!!)......washed my car

Connor and Kara school too...of course

Mom and Dad headed to Leaders caregroup tonight

Jordan came over to study Spanish with Connor.....I wonder how much "studying" they are actually doing:)

Our Weekend

2008-04-14T19:43:00.004-04:00

On Friday Connor, Kara, and Mom woke up very early (4:30am to be exact:) and headed up to Veritas for the Washington D.C. fieldtrip. The Lord cleared out the rain that had been in the area for the past week and gave them a beautiful day for D.C. on Friday. Kara was on one bus and Connor and mom were on another. Connor's group went to the Holocost museum, National Archives, and Mount Vernon, and Kara's group went to the Air and Space and National History Museums. They all said they had a great time, but were very tired when finally arriving home at 11:30pm. On Saturday Kaitlin worked all day. Because the sun finally came out Enchanted Forest Nursery and Stone was a hoppin place. It seemed everyone was out to get plants, stone, or mulch on that day (I will try to post some pictures soon of my new job). The rest of the fam stayed home an worked around the house both inside and out. We all enjoyed a very tasty and relaxing meal at Chilis that night together as a family. On Sunday right after church we went to the induction ceremony for the Phi Theta Kappa Tidewater Community College honor society. Kaitlin is now a member of the honor society at TCC. Afterwards we went to a restaurant called Pirates Cove to celebrate. We ordered fried calamari, hushpuppies, apple booty (like apple pie:), turtle cheesecake, and a brownie sundae. We all shared everything and it was so yummy (not to mention loaded with carbs, but lets not think about that right now:)!!

Connor and his friends sitting on the lawn of Mount Vernon
Some girls from Veritas- Mary, Laura, Reagan, Alyssa, and Jessica
Connor and Lee
A very sweet picture of Jordan and his mom
Connor and classmates lounging by an old barn
Honor Society Ceremony

Spring has Sprung.......even on our blog!!

2008-04-03T16:51:00.006-04:00

With all the changing that can be seen outside on the trees and flowers, I decided to also change our blog a little with the colors. I hope you enjoy our new spring/summer colors!!

Change is good!!:)

Spring is like a perhaps hand

by E. E. Cummings

III
Spring is like a perhaps hand
(which comes carefully
out of Nowhere)arranging
a window,into which people look(while
people stare
arranging and changing placing
carefully there a strange
thing and a known thing here)and

changing everything carefully

spring is like a perhaps
Hand in a window
(carefully to
and fro moving New and
Old things,while
people stare carefully
moving a perhaps
fraction of flower here placing
an inch of air there)and

without breaking anything.

This picture was taken by Connor on his digital camera.

New Attitude 2008

2008-03-26T20:20:00.004-04:00

Last year I attended the New Attitude singles' conference for the first time. I'm so excited that this year I can go again!! It is such a wonderful and refreshing time of teaching, fellowship, and worship. Here is a link to watch the promo video for NA 2008:)

NA 2008

May 24-27

http://youtube.com/watch?v=YN6g1ta2paU

Christ the Lord is risen today!!

2008-03-23T15:48:00.003-04:00

He is Risen!!

Luke 24:2-7 ~And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling apparel; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how he spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again."~

Isaiah 53:5

~But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.~

Romans 4:24-25

~as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.~

He is risen indeed!

I hope everyone has a very happy Easter celebrating our risen Lord!!

Beach Day

2008-03-15T09:26:00.000-04:00

Connor and Kara's had a day off from school on Friday, so we decided to do something fun. The weather has been so nice here(in the 60's and 70's) that we thought it would be fun to head down to the beach. It was beautiful there!! The sun came out later in the day and it wasn't too windy. We went with our friends the Adams(Susan, Laura, and Rebecca) and the Coffeys(Linda and Kyle). We first ate lunch at a Christian place called Daily Bread. Most of us got a yummy smoothie or milkshake there. After lunch we rented three bicycle surreys and rode along the boardwalk. It was such a wonderful day and I can't wait to go to the beach more!!

Spring Break Fun!!

2008-03-10T16:50:00.000-04:00

This week is my spring break, and I'm already enjoying it so much!! I was so happy to hear that two of my close friends both had their spring breaks the same time as mine. Laura goes to Christopher Newport and Natasha Old Dominion. Natasha and Laura came over after church on Sunday and we just ate lunch and hung out. Later that evening they came with me to watch while I played volleyball on our church league. After volleyball we went to Starbucks and then got some snacks to go with our movie later that night. We watched The Last Sin Eater which was very good. On Monday we slept in a little bit (it felt so good to do that!!:), then we headed out to play miniature golf. We played two rounds of putt-putt. After golf we went and grabbed some lunch at Three Amigos.......very yummy!! Lunch was followed by a little shopping at Target, Old Navy, and Dollar Tree. Before the girls left we got to take some funny pictures together which you will see below. It was so much fun to be with my friends for almost two entire days!! God has truly blessed me with godly, encouraging, and caring friends in my life.

Laura, me, and Natasha
This is what we did with our tip at the mexican restaurant.......I wonder if the waiter even noticed :)

I think Natasha and Laura look like models in this picture :)

Say what??.......these are our confused faces:)
........and our mad faces he he :)

Kaitlin's English Writing

2008-03-07T09:13:00.000-05:00

Traveling through the Dark William Stafford

Traveling through the dark

I found a deer dead on the edge of the Wilson River road.

It is usually best to roll them into the canyon:

that road is narrow; to swerve might make more dead.

By glow of the tail-light I stumbled back of the car

and stood by the heap, a doe, a recent killing;

she had stiffened already, almost cold.

I dragged her off; she was large in the belly.

My fingers touching her side brought me the reason—

her side was warm; her fawn lay there waiting,

alive, still, never to be born.

Beside that mountain road I hesitated.

The car aimed ahead its lowered parking lights;

under the hood purred the steady engine.

I stood in the glare of the warm exhaust turning red;

around our group I could hear the wilderness listen.

I thought hard for us all—my only swerving—,

then pushed her over the edge into the river.

In English this semester, I have to write journal entries about the poems or short stories that we read. In the Journal, the professor does not want a complete summary of what is about, but instead something deeper that the peom may be arguing. He wants us to try to apply it to something that we all can relate to even today. I love my english class and my professor is great!! Here is what I wrote after reading the poem above.

After reading William Stafford's poem, Traveling through the Dark, I started questioning what the meaning might be for me from this particular poem. Although the poem is about and animal, I think it can relate to one of today's hot topics of abortion, the killing of unborn children.

The poem begins with a traveler noticing a dead deer on the side of the road that was just recently hit by a car. Without hesitation the speaker decides the best thing to do would be to push the deer into the river below in order to clear the narrow road. A shocking discovery is made by feeling the warmth of the doe's belly; she is pregnant. There is life within the dead doe, but yet it will never live. The line, "her fawn lay there waiting, " struck me as the fawn knew nothing yet of the world and was totally dependent on the mother. Without the life of the mother the fawn can be nothing.

The defenselessness of the unborn fawn resembles that of unborn babies. Without their mother, they will never be. In the conclusion of the poem, the speaker says, "I thought hard for us all." "Us, " I believe represents all manking and the fawn for whom the speaker was making the decision. Do abortionists, I wonder, ever feel as if the world is watching them as they end a baby's life, or if they ever think about the life the baby will never life? When the abortion is complete, it is like the part of the poem when the speaker finally decides to push the doe into the river. The baby's life is gone forever and the mother's life more than likely will be a continual struggle. This poem reminds me of how precious life is.

Mom's Trip to Atlanta

2008-02-28T08:56:00.000-05:00

On Saturday the 23rd, Mom left early in the morning to fly down to Atlanta to attend her brother's (Jon) ordination ceremony. Even though it was a short trip (she came back Sunday night), Mom said she had a great time being with everyone!

Mom and her brothers, Jon, Jeff, and Joel (L-R)
Uncle Jeff and Mom
Uncle Jeff, Uncle Joel and his wife Aunt Charlene
The cousins, Bud, Colton, Caleb, Walt, and West.
The spread of hors d'oeuvres.

The Perfect Loaf of Bread

2008-02-26T12:37:00.001-05:00

The other day Mom made us bread to go with our dinner. The bread turned out SO good, I just had to take a picture of it. It was so yummy, fresh out of the bread machine with melted butter. Yum!! Mom makes the best bread!

Valentines Day!!

2008-02-15T08:52:00.000-05:00

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!!!!!!!

Guys Road Trip

2008-01-25T16:28:00.000-05:00

Dad and Connor left very early Friday morning (Jan. 18th) to drive to Memphis, TN. After a 15hour long drive, with a couple stops at Bass Pro Shop and the firework store, they finally made it there!! Most of their time there was spent at Memaw and Gramps (Daddy's parents) house in the country riding four wheelers or shooting off fireworks with cousins. After church, Connor, Cade, and Cole rode four-wheelers the enitre rest of the day!! Connor was loving it!! On Sunday evening Memaw made a very tasty, southern, homecooked meal for everyone. Complete with mac and cheese, candied yams, country ham, black eyed peas, and greens. Connor and Dad left Memphis at 4 in the morning on Monday and made it safely back to Chesapeake that night.

Connor and Cole.
Connor riding through the lake in Memaw and Gramps backyard.
Cade and Connor.
The yummy meal.
Memaw and Gramps with their grandsons.

Driving through the mountains.

A Weekend Without the Guys!

2008-01-21T10:05:00.000-05:00

This past weekend Dad and Connor drove out to Memphis,TN. So it was just the girls at home. On Friday night we went over to our good friends', the Adams, house (Mark, Susan, Laura, Andrew, Rebecca). Their kids are almost the exact ages as us Richards' kids so we get along with them real well and always love to be with them. There we played a crazy game of Apples to Apples and ate yummy ice cream. Saturday was a fun day for Kara with Basketball games in the morning and 5 of her friends over to play in the afternoon. On Sunday night Kaitlin went to her friend's, Chara, 20th birthday party. A bunch of girls first met at Chara's house were we got all dressed up to go out to dinner. We then carpooled down to the beach to go eat dinner at a pizza place where the guys patiently waited for us (we were about 45min late!!:). After pizza we headed to one of Chara's friends house who lives down at the beach and ate cake and ice cream. It was so much fun!! Another exciting thing that happened this weekend was SNOW!! It started Saturday night, but was a very wet snow. It did not stick in the streets, but there was a light dusting in the yard when we woke up Sunday morning. Mom also continued her tradition of making cinnamon rolls when it snows. They were so yummy, as always!!

At the pizza place.

My friend Kevin in the middle.
Gabe and Chara's facial expressions in this pic are so funny!!

Mrs. Adams and Mom playing Apples to Apples

Laura and Kaitlin
Rebecca and Kara

Happy New Year!!

2008-01-01T19:52:00.000-05:00

The party that almost got cancelled turned out to be a great time. We ended up having 26 friends at the Richards' house to help us celebrate New Years Eve. We first ate and played a couple of very fun group games such as, Catch a Phrase and one that we made up. Afterwards we had a time of worship, where Connor and his friend Paul played the guitar for us. Finally it was 12 o'clock and all of us kids walked through the neighborhood streets singing Auld Lang Syne. It was so fun to have all our friends with us to help us ring in 2008.

Christmas Day!!

2007-12-26T19:54:00.000-05:00

The Richards' Christmas Day was so great!! Our house rule is no one can go downstairs until 7am, so of course that is when Connor and Kara woke up Mom and Dad, and Kaitlin. Downstairs, under the tree, there was a sweatshirt and Dance Mania mat for Kara, a guitar case for Connor, and an iron and ironing board(??:) for Kaitlin. Mom got a sweet digital camera, Dad some athletic wear (for his coaching), Kaitlin an Ipod dock, Connor a guitar effects pedal, and Kara also got an Ipod dock. Mom made a very tasty breakfast- sausage, egg, and spinach casserole and homemade cinnomon rolls:) We first opened stockings, had a devotion to remind us of what we are celebrating on Christmas (the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ), ate our yummy breakfast, and then opened the gifts under the tree. It was a wonderful day to be together as a family. Merry Christmas to everyone!!!

And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which shall be to all people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:10-11

Christmas Eve

2007-12-25T12:14:00.000-05:00

The Richards' Christmas Eve was a very relaxing one. We all did some light household chores and cooking for our Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas morning breakfast, and also just hung around the house together. Connor, Dad, and Kaitlin had a ping pong tournament.....Kaitlin was one point away from beating Dad for the very first time. We had a very yummy dinner that night before church- Christmas Jello mold, roast beef Au Jus sandwhiches with dipping gravy (so good:), and clam chowder. After our very tasty dinner we headed to church for the candlelight service. Once we got home we all opened our one gift....Christmas pj's for everyone, and Connor and Kara set up their mattress in Kaitlin's room (they also brought up the TV, gamecube, and movies, thinking they were going to stay up all night:). Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!

The dinner table all decorated.
Our house all decorated for Christmas.

The ping pong games.

And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. "And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. "He will be great, and will be called the son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end."

Luke 1:30-33

Christmas Decorations

2007-12-21T12:52:00.001-05:00

Here are some pictures of the Christmas decorations around our house.

Our Charlie Brown Tree.
Kaitlin's Christmas in the City village- a toy store, church, conservatory, art museum, and a bus station.
Our Christmas tree.
Antique Santa-passed down from our great-great-aunt.

SGC Singles' Christmas Party

2007-12-18T14:46:00.000-05:00

Every year Sovereign Grace has a Singles' Christmas party. This year was my first time being able to go to one. I was so excited. The team (Peter, Lizzy, and Jonathan) that thought of all the details for the party did an awesome job. It kind of had a modern flair to it. There were sheets painted with black paint hung from the ceiling, a huge chandelier/sculpture made out of 500 hangers, and glass vases on all the dinner tables filled with goldfish. Everything looked beautiful. The food was also delicious too- baked chicken, "christmas corn", new potatoes, mixed vegetables, turtle cheesecake, and yummy peppermint cheesecake. It was a great night of fellowship, food, and entertainment (some of the singles sang and played guitar for us while we were eating). Our pastor, Eric, also gave a little message reminding us who this season is really about; our Savior and King, Jesus.

The artist of the sheets, Jonathan, said he got inspired by watching the smoke rise from the insense burner in his room. I think that is exactly what it looks like too.
Rach and I. Natasha and I.
My friends Teresa and Preston.
My friend Kevin.
The hanger chandelier.

Gingerbread House Decorating

2007-12-14T09:32:00.000-05:00

Some very kind friends of ours from church gave us these gingerbread houses to decorate (along with all the candy and icing too). Connor, Kara, and I had so much fun putting the houses together. Connor's was, "A Thatched Cottage in the Woods", Kara's, "A North Pole Church"(see the cross), and mine, "The Red Roof Inn". There was so much candy, Kara and I had trouble deciding what to do with it all. Somehow we figured out a way to get most of it on the house (some ended up in our tummy too). We all ate a little too much icing and candy, but still had a delicious time. :)

The finished product.......yummy:)

November

2007-12-02T18:32:00.000-05:00

November was quite a very busy month for the Richards family. Here are the highlights from the month. I(Kaitlin) finished up my soccer coaching season, we celebrated Connor's 15th birthday, our good friends the Sewards(Aunt Karen, Uncle Dave, Nicole, and Sarah) came all the way from Florida to share Thanksgiving with us, and Connor and Kara had their colonial dance with their school Veritas. We all had so much fun with the Sewards and did a lot of activities with them-Williamsburg, ice skating, volleyball, Thanksgiving feast. Mom made a wonderful, tasty feast for Thanksgiving. Everything tasted sooo good(even the leftovers:) Thank you mom!! Here are the pictures from all of the events.....enjoy!!

The Thanksgiving table.

Our amazing mom made this beautiful dress for Kara in just a couple days.
Connor and his buddies.
All of the students from Veritas.

Colonial Williamsburg visit with the Sewards.

Dancing again in our 80's outfits.

Ice skating outdoors at Macarthur Center.

Our friends the Hunts came over to help celebrate Connor's birthday.

Kaitlin's soccer team, the Legends.

Commissary Day!!

2007-11-13T09:58:00.000-05:00

One Thursday each month we go to the commisary to get a months worth of groceries. With my Mon./Wed. school schedule I have been able to join my mom on this shopping spree. It has been really fun to be with my mom and we get the shopping done twice as fast with both of us working. I take half the list and my mom takes the other. This particular Thursday was quite a big grocery day. My mom wanted to stock up on Christmas stuff, baking goods, and Thanksgiving foods, so we would be prepared for the holidays. When we get home we all work together to put everything away. A months worth of groceries sure is a ton of groceries!!

Mom with the list and all the bags.
Sugar helping us out by keeping us company:)

Our crammed pantry.

Fall Baking

2007-10-23T09:12:00.001-04:00

I(Kaitlin) love to bake.......especially dessert stuff:) Just a couple of days ago I was home by myself, so I decided to make something. We just bought a new fall recipe book and I was surprised to see we had all the ingredients for these cookies. They actually turned out pretty good. I will post the recipe for anyone would like to make them. Note: It calls for lightly browned butter not burnt.....I think I burnt the butter the first time(boy did it stink)so I had to do the butter part twice......I'm certainly not a professinal butter browner:)

Pumpkin Cookies

with Browned Butter Frosting

Cookies

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup pumpkin(just plain ol' pumpkin not pie mix:)

2 eggs

2 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

Browned Butter Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3 to 4 tbls. milk

1/3 cup butter

1. Oven to 375. Beat sugars, butter and vanilla in a bowl with mixer on Med. speed. Beat in pumpkin and eggs until well mixed. On low speed beat in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

2. drop in heaping tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet

3. Bake 10-12 min. or unitl almost no indentioni remains when touched in the center. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack.

4. In a med. bowl place powdered sugar, 1tsp. of vanilla, and 3 tbls. milk. Then heat 1/3 cup butter over med. heat in a saucepan until lightly browned. Stir butter constantly to avoid burning.

5. Pour browned butter over powdered sugar mixture. Beat on low speed about 1 min. or until smooth. Gradually add just enough of the remaining 1 tbls. milk to make frosting creamy and spreadable. Generously frost completely cooled cookies.

ENJOY!!(oh and be sure to always lick the bowl and sample the batter while making.....of course, this is must every time you make cookies:)

The finished product

Garage Band

2007-10-19T15:10:00.000-04:00

Connor and Nathan doing the Switchfoot jump

Connor and some of his friends from church have a band together. Connor plays bass, Nathan plays electric guitar, and Johnathan plays the drums. A couple of weeks ago they all came over to our house to practice for a little while. They are actually very good and have even made up a few of their own songs. Our house was jammin' that day! If I can figure it out sometime......I might be able to post a recording of their song, so you can hear what they sound like.

Dance Fever!!

2007-10-03T19:55:00.000-04:00

You might not have guessed, but our family likes to dance. It is usually just me(Kaitlin) and Kara that will dance together in the family room while Daddy is washing the dishes from dinner(of course, we will come and help Daddy between songs:) This particular night we all got together and danced. Some of our favorite dancing tunes are "September" by Kirk Franklin and "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison. It was so much fun!! (and a very good workout:)

Mom and Dad dancing to "Brown Eyed Girl"

Connor pulling some fancy moves with mom.

It's the Start of Something New!

2007-09-28T12:12:00.000-04:00

Well, the Richards have started a blog. We thought this would be fun way for us to let our out-of town family know about the crazy, exciting, and random things that go on in our house. We hope you enjoy!