"Back in the saddle again..."

Wow! Time sure flies when you're having lots of fun, living lots of life, doesn't it?

So...it's been almost 2 years to the day that I last posted something on my blog. I felt it was time.

Not that I have more time, mind you. Quite the contrary.

Since the last post, and the last move, I've been teaching piano in ernest (26 students) and have been called to be the Relief Society President of our Ward. (Nope, didn't see that one coming...at...all!)

A quick recap of the past two years, in no certain order:

Joseph married the sweetest, most wonderful young woman, Margaret Li, who we've been SO excited to have as a Daughter-in-law and sister-in-law! Oh, yeah, he returned home from his mission first. :) Then he went back to BYU with Sara for the Winter Semester and he met his sweetheart and they were married this past December. Ahhhhhhh.........

Justus returned home from serving an honorable mission to Concepcion, Chile on March 28. Yeah, Justus! We were SO happy to see him again and love to hear him speak Spanish. And yes, he spoke English with a Spanish accent when he first got home.

Recently, and also, a wonderful "first", drumroll please..........

Alexis announced that she would be having TWINS!!! this December! YEAH! Babies for Lexi and Trevor!!! Our first Grandbabies!!! Yeah!!! We've just been fervently praying all goes well since they've been wanting these babies for quite some time...She's due December 7th.

On a more serious note...my Grandfather, Ray Riley, passed away the day after Joseph and Margaret were married. His funeral was the week after Christmas. It was a sweet occasion. He lived a good life and he was more than ready to go. Regardless, I think I shed enough tears for the whole Riley clan! He was the best grandpa ever. I'll be so excited to see him again someday...

Well, these were just the "biggies" so far...lots of other happenings have been going on which I hope to keep up to date on this here family blog. :) So here's to a fresh start!

Moving 2010

So here we are...moving to our next great adventure.

When we moved a year and a half ago from St. George to Kuna it was hard. In so many ways.

I don't know if it was what (and who) we left behind or just the moving itself that was harder. For me it was definitely emotional, for Rich I think it was the physical moving (including about 5,6,7...? times back to Utah to collect stuff.) 11 years in southern Utah and we were returning to Idaho once more. Land of Rich's roots. Birthplace of 3 (soon to be 4) of our children.

Now we are moving again.

This time we are staying in Kuna and have found a house with potential (ie. needing work) which will keep Rich busy for quite awhile.

We might even stay here for a long while. That would be nice. :)

So...a new house, new neighborhood, new ward. A new era.

You know they say time doesn't stand still but these days it's been traveling at the speed of light!

We've already received Joseph's travel home itinerary - November 10!!!
Two years almost gone by!

Justus is already four months into his mission adventure - that's almost a quarter of the way through!



Sara is a Senior and getting ready for college and not home much as it is.

Pretty soon we'll be down to only six kids.

Wow, that's almost an empty nest for us!

Happy Sweet "13", Beth!!!

To our sweet new teenager:

Hard to believe only 13 short years ago you came into the world. We were sure excited for you to come. You had quite the audience, grandmas, aunts...

We were so excited to have another girl in the family, a sister for Sara!

We love how you've always been your own person, with your own unique personality, and talents.

Oh, and lots of style!

ummmm...at least we think so...















Of course, secretly,we know you have been hoping for this day for quite some time now. Right?

And let's face it, people having been mistaking you for a teenager for awhile, haven't they?

 So...this day was bound to come and now here it is! So enjoy it! :)

We want you to know that we're so glad you are in our family and we think you're a beautiful young woman with lots of great things ahead of you!

Love,
your family

"I hope they call me on a mission, when I have grown a foot or two."

Since Justus left I've been doing a lot of reminiscing...I have been anxious to write this post for some time.

When we had our first two children and they were boys, only 16 months apart, we knew the day would come when they would both be serving missions at the same time.

At first, it was just one of those trivial observations that might just pop into your head and then is quickly forgotten.

When Justus came along, I remembered thinking, "How could I love another little boy as much as I love Joseph?". Of course, the moment he was born I had my answer: a mother's love grows exponentially with each child!

Of course, everyone thought they were twins. (Actually, that's just because I liked to dress them that way!)

Partners in Crime!

They were quite different in temperaments and personalities but they had enough in common to enjoy each other's company!

They were always each other's best bud and support in all they did.

Of course, as they entered the teen years, time really started to fly by but they still shared a few more fun experiences together.

Pink Tie Sunday , looking good.

Joseph got his Eagle first, then Justus got his Eagle. Way to go boys!

Going on a double date. 

Then the emotional farewell when Joseph was set apart as a fulltime missionary and left for the MTC, later to serve in the Korea Busan mission.

A lot happened since that time.

We moved and Justus stayed behind in St. George and had some growing up experiences. He worked hard, a long ways from his family, and got his money for his mission and then came home a month before he was to report.

Then, once again, we were having a mission farewell, and another Seeley was set apart as a fulltime missionary and saying goodbye.

Yes, all those wise older ladies in church were right. "Enjoy them while they're young because before you know it they will be all grown up and gone."

We thank the Lord for this wonderful opportunity that Joseph and Justus are having. We knew this time would come. We're grateful and not (too) sad to see them leave and have to wait two years for their return.

Go get'em boys! You guys are awesome! We're so proud of you and love you so much!

In Justus' words, after arriving in Concepcion Chile:

In conclusion, I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! It´s tough taking a bucket shower in the morning. and it´s tough when people don´t want to listen to us, and it´s tough when you can´t speak Spanish that well, but everything else is awesome!!!! I love eating almuerzo (lunch) with members every day and I love sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with people. It´s the only thing that really matters in life. And I get to share it for two years. I´m so stoked. 

And then, his words after a couple of weeks in the mission field:

Wow. Missionary work. Missionary work is work! It´s definitely different from what I expected it to be. I always thought I was a pretty spiritual kid and a good teacher and I was going to rip it up in Chile, but I´ve definitely had a slice of humble pie handed to me. It´s hard to find people to teach sometimes. I´ve heard a lot of different excuses. ¨I just got home from work and I´m really tired, come back next month.¨ ¨I already have a church I go to.¨ ¨I´m super busy right now.¨ And the list goes on and on. I really feel for these people though. I can imagine being in each of their places. And they´re not giving us lame excuses. It´s just that I know how important this message is and how it could benefit their lives. I´ve spent a lot of time on my knees asking Heavenly Father to help me find a way to connect with these good people and get the gospel inside their hearts. I havn´t had a lot of success yet, but I know with God all things are possible and if I try my best I´ll be able to become a good missionary.

I like the way Joseph said it:

So, here we have it...... after all that time and waiting and nervous preparation here we are with two of us Seeley boys on two completely different sides of the globe preaching the same message and representing the same Lord with His name pinned to our chests- it really is something isn't it? Who would have ever thought that all those Family Home Evenings that ended up devolving from spiritual lesson to a raucous round of "Guess the Animal" to the family scripture study where everyone had to be reminded of exactly where we were reading would actually result in the beginning of a long line of Seeley elders and sisters "bringing the world His truth?" I guess the Lord knew it all along though, right? Grateful that's He's behind everything and not me.....:)

And so...yes, little boys do grow up to become men and you only have a short time to really influence them for good so make the most of it!!!

Happy (belated) Birthday, ALEXIS!!!

Once upon a time, a long time ago (27 years to be exact), a darling precious baby girl was born.

She was a special one alright. She was born with many gifts and talents.

Little did she know that one of these talents would include being a big sister to many younger brothers and sisters.

       (Love this picture - notice Alexis's hand holding Joseph's?)

From the beginning, she was a very loving and helpful older sister, another "mother". :)

Then all of a sudden she was growing up, graduating from high school...

becoming a lovely young woman...

And then suddenly the day was here when the sweet precious baby girl was getting married. 

(That was a happy/sad day for Dad!)

Dear Alexis - We love you and are very proud of all you do! You have been a loving daughter and sister and we're SO grateful God gave you to us. Please remember this always! 

We wish we could see you more often. 

Please don't forget us when you're famous. :)

Love,

Your family

To Laura...

Can you believe these May birthdays?!!!



To the sweet "caboose" of our family,

When you were little you, were my "little buddy".



When I got married I didn't think you would forgive me.

That is, until you became an aunt.

You've always loved being an aunt!




Finally, you had your own turn at marriage and motherhood.

And you've done wonderfully!

You've always been a beautiful, fun mom!



You and your "men" make quite the team. :)



With all the time that has passed, I love how we're still "buddies", eventhough we're so busy with our own lives.





You have so many talents, not the least of which is knowing know how to make "the good times roll!"



One thing that kind of bothers me is how you're always going to be so much prettier and younger than I am! Dang! :)



So... please know that I love you and wish you the happiest...