JANUARY 10, 2015 -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANIEL

HAPPY 13th BIRTHDAY DANIEL!        

JANUARY 10, 2015

Yesterday was Daniel’s 13^th birthday!  He joined the ranks of the Richardson Teenagers which now number 6 in this household in China! Richard is 18, Rebecca is 16 ¾, Benjamin is 16, Rachel is  15 ½, Bethany is 14, and Daniel is now 13.  Is it legal to have that many teenager at once at home??  It is a good thing they are such great kids and are so much fun!!!  We have a lot of laughs around here!

Daniel is a boy with many talents and has great potential!  Some of the things I love about Daniel are his great talent for organizing and finding things; his artistic talents; his neat handwriting; and especially that he loves and respects his role as a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood.  Daniel is always dressed neat and trim and fulfills his priesthood duties very reverently and respectfully.  I love you Daniel!

We have had a fun and busy week!  Dad spent the last half of the week in Kuala Lumpur at a conference where he presented 2 papers and was a superstar!  I am so proud of him!  He said that he was able to make some “re-connections” with people he knows from our time in Australia.  Dad is a great leader and has made many friends through his work all around the world!  I am so proud of him and I know that many people look up to him and admire him for his character.  Dad has learned a great skill that I admire – he has learned to balance his strength with kindness and compassion.  That is a tricky thing and I admire and love him so, so much for this talent that he possesses.  I love you Vernon!  Thanks for coming home safely to us last night!

Here is a rundown of our activities this week:

Monday morning we had a great start to our day because we had what has come to be called “Candy Oatmeal” for breakfast!  I made Oatmeal the way Grandma Beach does – with butter and sugar!  It tastes delicious!  We told Mason that it tastes like candy so that he would try it.  I told the family that I was following the “Chef Brad” philosophy of 80/20 for healthy food.  Bethany, my sweet and smart gal, responds: “Is that 20% healthy, Mom?”  She loves “Candy Oatmeal” by the way. J  The kids’ ticket out the door today was to have their lanyard around their neck and their planner checked with their daily plan in place.  The kids are doing great with their planners!  This evening, we had a big, delicious fruit salad for our FHE evening dessert – I helped Rachel a little with this one per her request! J

Tuesday, Dad called me and said he had received an email from Melissa where the subject read:  “Don’t Panic”  Uhhhhh….  That sort of jolts a parent’s heart!  Melissa had been in a car accident.  We were so grateful that to know that she was safe and was OK.  What a blessing.  Over the next few days, we said a lot of thank you prayers to Heavenly Father that she was protected.  We pray for Melissa daily as we do for all of our children and missionaries.  I know those prayers are answered.  I am so grateful that the car accident was not worse and that Melissa and her friends were protected.  I was also glad that I had called and talked with Melissa prior to the events and was glad I could call her back and talk to her again.  I love you Melissa!

This day, still Tuesday, Rebecca was home sick and David didn’t want to go to school.  David has been feeling picked on and that other kids are talking about him and laughing at him.  We have worked with him and talked with the school and he is doing better.  Most of it is cultural and the fact that he is out-numbered by pre-teen girls.  It is a tough spot to be in but he is learning and growing and doing better each day.

Wednesday, I was lazy and took it easy for the day.  I had a wonderful scripture study session and learned about an Old Testament person named Bezaleel.  I already share these thought with most of you so I won’t repeat them here.  Bezaleel is a great example of one who had an amazing and fulfilled life though the path was likely different that he predicted when he was a young man.  I think that is likely the case for most of us in life.

Tonight, we had our own work session at home with Duty to God and Personal Progress since there were not any scheduled activities.  Our planners are really helping the kids progress through their goals in these areas!

This evening as the kids were finishing up their goal work, Dad and I went out on a little outing and bought Daniel’s birthday present and also bought a cake for him at the bakery.  Daniel, as our other RAD kiddos, tend to have a lot of anxiety over birthdays and Christmas.  For some reason they trigger to a place where they are so afraid that they will be forgotten and that they won’t be loved.  They are sure that there won’t be presents, attentions or whatever.  So, Dad and I decided to go out and get his surprises and surprise him so that he wouldn’t have to stress and worry.  Daniel was quite excited!!!  It was fun for him and we sang Happy Birthday and the works!  Daniel really wanted a “brief case” to take to church each week with his scriptures so we found him a nice shoulder bag that you see men around here carry and he thought it was perfect.  We also gave him a new yoyo and a bag of “smoothie candy.”  It was a fun evening.