Sunday, December 28, 2008

RICHARDS' REPORTER
Volume 9, Issue 1 December 2008
Conductor Extrordinaire
Meridith has enjoyed volunteering in both Mariah and Jayden's
classrooms at school. She had fun seeing Mama Mia!, The
Phantom of the Opera, and Spamalot while vacationing in Las
Vegas to celebrate their 10th Anniversary. The Richards family
became members of the newly created Cortina 3rd Ward when
their ward was divided just before Thanksgiving. A few weeks
prior to the split she had been called to be the ward chorister and
she was doing such a good job they asked her to continue on in
the same capacity. Many of you have seen movies where time
slows down and events proceed in slow motion. It turns out that
like some movies this "effect" is based on a true life story and
those who wish to view this time dilation phenomenon just need
to sit with Judd when he's alone with the kids for the 20 minutes
prior to the sacrament when Meridith stays up on the stand to
conduct.
Editors' Comments
If you have any comments, questions or an updated email address
you would like us to use, please let us know.
Judd, Meridith, Mariah, Jayden and Marshall Richards
18870 E Swan Drive
Queen Creek, AZ 85242
480-988-2007
juddrichards@cox.net or meridithrichards@cox.net
Use the Force
Marshall turned two in February and has done a lot of growing
this year. He is quite the little talker and thanks to Diego he can
even throw a little Spanish in there to keep us on our toes. One
time he was calling for help and it's a good thing he threw a
"Help, me!" in there with his "Ayudame" or he might have been
in some real trouble (one day someone will explain to him why
his father was sent on an English speaking mission). Marshall also
set a record for being the fastest Richards child to graduate from
diapers. He was powerfully motivated to develop this skill so he
could have a Star Wars toy gun of his own and not just have to
settle for playing with his brother's while he was in school. He is
an avid Star Wars fan and is rarely seen around the house with
anything less than three Star Wars DVD cases under his arm. He
continues to enjoy nursery and loves it when we sing "I am a
Child of God" for FHE. He is a very energetic and joyful child.
Page 1
Eleven Again
Judd is another year closer to retirement (only 30 more to go).
Things are going well at work and there are several projects
underway that are keeping him plenty busy. He enjoyed
celebrating his 10th Anniversary with Meridith this year and
going to the Las Vegas temple while they were there. With the
recent change in ward boundaries he received a new calling as
well. He looks forward to serving in the Primary with the 11-12
year old boys. His main concern at this point is that he feels there
needs to be more voices to drown him out during singing time.
He looks forward to being involved with their EYO Scouting
activities as well. He continues to enjoy playing basketball several
mornings each week.
Living for the Weekend
Jayden also has grown by leaps and bounds this year. He started
kindergarten in the fall and enjoys going to school with Mariah.
They started doing full day kindergarten this year. It was a bit of
adjustment for Jayden who when asked what he thought of
school after his first week promptly said it was "So long!" He has
learned quite a bit so far and is on his way to becoming a great
reader. He already has an increased appreciation for the weekend
and often asks if it's a "Day off from school?" He too is sporting
new eyewear this year, although at this point it is to counteract a
lazy eye and doesn't have a prescription. After paying a little extra
for the more durable/bendable frames which ended up breaking
anyway we have learned that with kids glasses quantity is better
than quality. Ironically his second cheaper pair have lasted longer
than his originals. Jayden too enjoys watching Star Wars. He also
enjoys playing XBox with his Dad and wrestling with his little
brother.
Great to be Eight
Mariah has had an eventful year. In April she turned eight and
was baptized. That was a great experience for everyone. She has
enjoyed being a 3rd Grader and done very well in school. She
does very well at spelling and if her Dad didn't have the spell
checker on the computer he'd be hard pressed to keep up. She
also has enjoyed some extracurricular art and cooking classes.
The near sighted gene that she was destined to have manifested
itself this year and she has now added a very nice pair of purple
glasses to her fashion accessories. Mariah is an avid reader and
enjoys playing with her friends at the nearby park.
Page 2

Judd

Judd
My handsome hubby

Mariah and Jayden playing with play-doh

Mariah and Jayden playing with play-doh
Hi, so this is our new house that we just moved into, back in May, and we have no toys unpacked and no TV to watch so we are playing playdoh today...

Meridith

Meridith
At the Tree of Life WaltDisneyWorld, FL