Parenting: Touching the Hearts of Our Youth

I love this short video about parenting. It really hit home with me with "Are you in there?" saying. My mom used to say that to me, to get a reaction out of me. Sometimes I would be cranky about it and other times I would laugh and say the same thing back to her. :)

Ward & Young Women Conference

I have to admit how motivating it has been to attend Ward Conference and Young Women Conference with Jessica this past week. I have felt the spirit so strong and yet I wonder if I have been spiritually starving. Lately I have been wanting to learn so many things and yet not much time. Just thinking about these things, I have realized I have known these teachings for a long time and these conferences are just confirming to me the words mentioned are truth. There is so much for us to learn and I have learned you definitely can't go wrong to put the family first. My brother, Doug, and his wife, Colleen, send over two well worth watching video clips of Motherhood and Family. I was so touched by these little videos that I had to share them with you!

NPC Body Building Competition 03-19-11

Roy is in the middle.

Roy is 2nd to the left.


Roy during his evening routine. Spotlighting just him.

The Latspread

Coming out on stage for his routine

Trophy time!

Trophy Time :)

Roy is the second on the left in the red posing trunks.

Me and my Muscle Man backstage. :)

Well we have had quite the exciting month! Roy competed in his 4th body building competition this last Saturday, March 19, at Cottonwood High School. He has been preparing for this one for 19 weeks and has been very dedicated. I have to admit when I would first think of body building I didn't have that high of respects for it, but after seeing all the work put into just competing, I am definitely amazed and realize it takes a lot of self-discipline...which Roy definitely has.

The alarm clock goes off at 3:50 a.m. so he is at the gym by 4:30 a.m. to get in his workout and back home so we can have scripture study/family prayer. Then I leave for work. His food plan is down to a tee on what he can and can't eat. Lots of chicken, fish, broccoli, string beans, avacado, almond butter or peanut butter, yams, egg whites, spinach...etc. :) We definitely have to go to the grocery store quite a bit to keep up with it all. Plus the last week of the competition is even more hard core...to tappering down the water intake and carb loading.

Roy competed in three different divisions, Junior Masters, Ironman Natural, and Heavy Weight. We are pleased to announce (this month) he placed 1st in Junior Masters, 2nd place in the Ironman Natural and 3rd place in the Heavy Weight division. So exciting! In his past competitions he has received a trophy for 4th and 5th place in the Light Heavy Weight division.

Hats off to Roy for all your hardwork, plus being a good dad, husband, and all the other many responsibilities he has. You are truly amazing!

FULL Potential, Part One

FULL Potential, Part One

A friend of mine had posted this on her blog. She is so amazing and loved her input on what she has discovered and willing to share to everyone. I feel it is so important to know who we are and not have the world try to control how we should be. It is definitely one of Satan's tactics in distracting us to reach our full potential and accept who we are.

I thought I would share this link. Enjoy!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

We have had quite a bit of snow in January and in the middle of the month it was actually sunny, comfortable to be outside, and still snow outside. I figured it was a good time to attempt building a snowman. I found a cute little snowman kit in the store back in November and thought it would be fun to put one together as a family. So the weekend of Martin Luther King holiday, we did it! It was actually a lot of fun! Ammon found twig arms for the snowman, Jessica, Amanda and Kaitlyn helped with the accessories. A big thanks to Daddy & Ammon, with their big muscles, helped to get the big snowman body stacked and ready. Hopefully this will be a fun memory for the kids. :)

2011 Pictures

New Pictures have finally come! We finally were able to get some fun pictures of Amanda & Kaitlyn. I realized I hadn't had any nice photos taken of them since they have had their birthdays and figured I better get that completed. Kids change so much year to year that I try to keep this up until they are in school and then we will do the school pictures. :)

Here are a few pictures of Amanda and Kaitlyn. Amanda is 4 and Kaitlyn is 2 years old. Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

It is hard to believe another year has gone by and thankfully we can look back on it feeling blessed and full of gratitude in our hearts. It is always fun to look back and see what we have done or accomplished in the past 12 months.

Jessica - 12 years old. Her personality has blossomed so much especially over the summer and very happy. She had braces put on in July and isn't afraid to smile! :) She has been in choir at her school. I think she really enjoys it. She is always singing the songs they are learning and even brought the piano music for me to play for her. She had a choir performance in December and did a great job! She is a excellent student and quite the leader. She is a big helper to play with the younger kids and has matured quite a bit.

Ammon - 10 years old. Enjoys math and recess, likes to play with nerf guns, really wants a air soft gun...but still hasn't gotten one yet. :) He loves playing electronic games. He played flag football this year and was able to make some touchdowns. :) He is always wanting to do the cool stuff and definitely all boy!

Amanda - 4 years old, full of spunk, always smiling, doesn't walk just runs. She loves doing crafts! She is quite the singer when she wants to...yet if you sit by her...she is always humming. Not sure if she knows how to be quiet. :) She loves hearing stories and her favorite movie right now is "How to Train a Dragon". She will even try to act like Toothless at times. lol She is anxious to be in Kindergarten already. She asks me to pass by the school and always gets excited to see the playground. She will be going in August of this year. I definitely think she is ready. She is very smart!

Kaitlyn - 2 years old. Always saying "thank you", very gentle, when sees someone sad she is there to comfort them and share her blanket with them. Her vocabulary is growing. Some of the words she says is "Manna May" (Amanda May), "Essca" (Jessica), "Hi", "Bye", "Thank you", and just started potty training. So far she has gone potty 3 times! Hoping this year will be the year to have no one in diapers! :) She loves bubbles, "Caillou" & "Barney", playdough (still learning not to eat it), very busy getting into things and dragging it all over, she likes her snacks, and always has a big smile.

Roy has been working hard as ever trying to keep a income for our family. He is a consultant in Telecom. It has been rough at times, but we have been blessed. He has been partnering with a good friend from a previous employer, Angelo. They work great together and are seeing progress step-by-step. Roy is also Mr. Mom and always being dedicated to exercising. He is aiming for another body building show in March. This will be his 4th competition! He is always good at whatever he puts his mind to.

Linda, well I have to admit I had a fun year. I cut back on the shorter running races and aimed for a few bigger races. I ran the Utah Valley Half Marathon and the Spanish Fork Half. I was lucky to come in 3 place in my age division! I also had some fun doing a Mommy Model Shoot. It was around Mother's Day. It was a blast to get all dressed up and just have fun! Then the competition on voting for shoes was in September with the pictures. There were around 25 women in Utah County who ran and I came in 4th place. Not bad! Thanks to family and friends!

We are excited to start a new year! We hope this year brings happiness and many blessings to each of you! We are grateful for such wonderful family and friends!

Love, Roy, Linda, Jessica, Ammon, Amanda, and Kaitlyn Critchfield :)

Our First Gingerbread House :)

Gotta love the background. My kids like to build forts. lol

Our first gingerbread house! Yay!


Must be extra tasty. :)

"Kaitlyn! Kaitlyn! Where are you?" No sound....Caught Ya!

We we made our first gingerbread house. I figured not to bad for the first time. Although it was quite the work with two little ones. Yet the poor house didn't stay together very long. The roof didn't want to stay on. lol Yet Kaitlyn was very anxious to eat the house. As you can see, I found her on the counter chowing down on the candy the day after. lol

Kaitlyn's 2nd Birthday

Kaitlyn enjoying her birthday cake

Blowing the candles



Kaitlyn smiling while everyone sang happy birthday to her.

I have to say...I did not decorate this cake. It was my awesome husband, Roy. Some of you may not know, but he is really quite the domestic guy! This is his first time decorating a cake with decorating tips. I think he did a pretty good job! I got a bit jealous and told him the next time we make a cake, I get to use my cake decorating kit. Then I can try it out myself. lol We have "BK" on there. One of Kaitlyn's many nicknames is "BK" which stands for "Baby Kay"

not Burger King. ;)

This is my niece Janessa and my sister, Rebecca.

My Sweet Dad/Grandpa Richardson :)

Grandpa Critchfield :)

Brian (brother-in-law), Diana (sister) & Grandma Critchfield

Kaitlyn opening her presents. She wouldn't let go of the cow Grandpa Richardson gave her! It was so cute and sweet.

She received a stuffed cow from Grandpa Richardson. She loves it soo much!

Opening presents

Amanda & Kaitlyn before church on Kaitlyn's birthday. Happy Birthday Kaitlyn!

I have to say Kaitlyn is the sweetest little girl. She is always full of smiles. She likes to help out mom and dad all the time. If I start sweeping the floor, she will grab her little broom and hand me the dust pan. She is always saying, "Thank you" to people. She even tells me "Thank you" when I change her diaper! Even when we went to the doctor for her two year old check-up, the nurse gave her a shot and Kaitlyn still said, "Thank you!" When we tell her we are going to have ice cream she will pull out the ice cream from the freezer, grab a spoon, and the scooper. She definitely knows where everything is. lol

She loves tubby time and bubbles! She is always sensitive to others. If her big sister is crying she will grab her blanket and put it up to her face and wipe her tears away or give her a hug. Kaitlyn, we love you!

Decorating Grandma Richardson's Grave on her Birthday

Well, we made it over to Benjamin, Utah to decorate Grandma Richardson's (my mom) grave on her birthday! My little ones never had a chance to meet her on this earth, so hopefully this is something they will enjoy doing as a tradition and way to remember her.

I left early from work so we could decorate before it was dark outside. Last year we had to use the car headlights to shine on the grave so we could see. This year was perfect..and we had snow again. :) Love you Grandma Richardson/Mom! :)