Happy Birthday Chrissy

Christine Naomi (Freeman) Oliverson
Born March 6, 1983




I'm not going to say she was spoiled

but my mom gave us this comic

when Chrissy was young:



kinda says it all.



It's not her fault . . .
she was the baby of the family for 14 years

1983 - Six months--------------------------------- Age 2



Chrissy has huge eyes that captivate,

and a personality to match.

As an infant, she drew a crowd wherever we went.

1984 First Birthday-------------------------------------First Swimsuit




1987 - Age 4

1989 - Age 6 ----------------------------------- Age 9

1989 Modeling - Back to School Fashion Show at Bayfair Mall

8th Grade Graduation --------------------------First Prom

Accomplished Pianist ------------------------------------and Dancer

Track

Tennis

Golf ---------------------------------------------------------Running



2001

2006 BYU Grad / 2009 UTSA Masters Degree Grad


Professor Oliverson




Chrissy is sunshine, personified.

Her laugh is contagious.

She is a dear daughter and friend.

If I could figure out how to bottle Chrissy, I'd be rich.


A year and a half ago,
Chrissy was feeling a little tired of dating
and she was on the tough home stretch of her Masters Degree.
She had dated a lot and knew she would marry,
but felt pragmatic about it.
She expected to meet and marry her best friend
and it would be a practical union . . . .
because she was past being
"swept off her feet".


Then she met a tall Texan named

Zachary F. Oliverson.

. . . . and he had a broom.

They were wed June 6, 2009

Headed for the San Antonio Rodeo - February 6, 2009

Happy Birthday Chrissy

I Love You !


******

To Steve

The Notebook Script




Excuse me.


Come on, honey,

let's get you ready for bed.



I am no one special,

just a common man

with common thoughts.


I've led a common life.


There are no monuments

dedicated to me.


And my name

will soon be forgotten.


But in one respect,


I've succeeded as gloriously

as anyone who ever lived.


I've loved another

with all my heart and soul


and for me

that has always been enough.


******


Happy anniversary number thirty three, Tige

I love you, Doo


******

Twelve.......and counting

It all started 33 years ago......


Our Wedding Day - March 5, 1977
Oakland Temple - Overlooking San Francisco







......and then there were 3


1978 - Michael age 5 months



......then there were 5


1985 - Brittany 5, Chrissy 2, Michael 7




1986




1994



.......then there were 6


2000 - Chloe age 3







......then there were 7


Michael and Marci were married June 1, 2002




. . . . then there were 9


Addie and Ella 2008




......then there were 10


Brittany married Ili Yuan May 24, 2008




. . . . . then there were 11


Preston Michael Freeman was born May 13, 2009




......then there were 12


Chrissy married Zachary Oliverson June 6, 2009



Brittany, Ili, Addie, Diane, Chloe, Steve, Chrissy, Zach, Mike, Ella, Preston, Marci





. . . . . baby boy Yuan will arrive in May


. . . and then there will be 13 !

Today I sat through 3 hours of mandatory Mid Season Tax Training

I sat in the back row, next to Ruth (named changed to protect the innocent)

Ruth is a tooth sucker

You know, they wrap their tongue around the top teeth and make a sucking sound

like they are trying to get pepper out from between

only there's no pepper

just a sucking / slurping sound



the class went something like this:



teacher says something

Ruth turns to me and mumbles something related to teacher's comment

then kicks back on two chair legs, folds her arms, and sucks her teeth


suck suck suck


try sitting next to that for 3 hours


46 days to go



******

******

When I started this blog, back in July 2009, I was apprehensive about what I had taken on. To ease the pressure, I told myself it didn't matter how interesting or frequent my posts were because I was doing this to please no one, but myself. But, come on, who was I kidding? The hardest person to fool is yourself. No matter how much I tried to convince myself that this blog was just for me, my personality wasn't having any of it. My inner achiever wanted to be a premier blogger . . . which I'm not . . . . . but I wanted to be. I wanted my posts to be frequent and brimming with interest, making readers anxious for the next post, you know, like a magazine columnist or something.

Let's face it, if I really wanted this blog just for myself, I wouldn't have made it public. There is a school of thought that bloggers are a little star struck with themselves, feeling like mini celebrities when others care enough to follow our musings. I have to admit, when you take the time to put something out there, it is nice when it gets some attention. I was quite surprised when I got some followers and soon after, I became intoxicated with the quest for more hits and more comments.

Oh the comments . . . . bloggers love the comments; they are the supreme affirmation that our efforts are not in vain. Though my blog has a small following, compared to some, I was still surprised to see 50, 100, or more hits per day! The pressure started. I wanted to please the readers who had so kindly taken time out of their day to click onto my blog; impress them, and never disappoint. I tried not to let it get to me, keeping my focus and enthusiasm pointed in the direction of my original goal.

My goal has specific terms to keep me within parameters. I don't like to fail at things and I knew if I had an open ended, "once a blogger, eternally a blogger" attitude, my blog would join many other goals I've made . . . . . in a ditch on the side of the road.

I know plenty of bloggers who captured my interest and just about the time I became an official follower , they stopped posting. I like to finish what I start. Actually, like isn't strong enough language; I am deeply compelled to finish what I start and become disappointed in myself when I don't. Self disappointment is never good, so, as a matter of self preservation, I created:

MY PERSONAL BLOGGER TERMS:

# 1 - Blog for One year

This allows me to cover everything that happens in a year . . . . holidays, birthdays, etc. Most importantly: it has an end, so I can complete the task. I am not very good at thinking I have to maintain a goal for the rest of my life, such as: yoga, read scriptures, eat only healthy foods, watch less TV, get to bed early, keep my fingernails polished etc. If I tell myself I am going keep a goal, from this day forward, every day, for the rest of my life, it is the kiss of death....I may as well never even start. By the way, I am not currently doing any of the aforementioned things, and they have all been goals at one time or another. Point made.

I knew I could do it for one year, so that was the goal. I told myself I could keep going after that if I really wanted to, but, I didn't have to. I used this same logic with my children when they were little; and, apparently, talking to myself like I'm 7 years old works for me too.

# 2

I would include memories, traditions, and stories of my life, so it would all be there, a memoir, should I decide to stop at the end of a year. ...which explains posts about our cars, homes, grade school etc.

# 3 Ultimate Goal

At year's end, print and bind the blog . . . . and therein would be my story.



******

I recently passed the mid point of my personal blogging commitment.

I have relaxed my please the readers attitude held early on

and am doing it more for myself.

I am feeling pretty good about the content

and I'm excited to see it bound in a book.

July 2010 is the end,

what will I do?

Anything posted past a year would be a goal bonus

so, that would be good.

No need for a decision yet.

Just thinking about it, that's all.



***

and if you read every word of this, bless your heart;

you are my favorite reader.

******

******

I'm half way through the tax season

. . . . it's hard to believe

. . . . seems like it just started.

I like doing taxes

but I have to admit,

I will be glad when it is over.

52 days to go

******

******

Remember that day

I was oil painting with my 2 girls?

As promised, here is what we all created . . .



Chloe's first original oil painting

is of her beloved dog, Rembrandt.

She did it entirely by herself

and I think it is remarkable.








For her first effort,

Chrissy took on every artist's challenge:

portraits

Her impressionistic paintings of her husband, Zach, and herself

turned out amazing







As for me,

For a long time, Chrissy has been asking me for a painting.

With her birthday coming up in March,

I decided it was the perfect time to paint something for that bare wall in her kitchen.

I painted three 12" x 12" still lifes of fruit

in vibrant complementary color schemes

with a palette knife.






I haven't worked with a palette knife since college

These paintings are very different from my usual style

and were lots of fun to do.

Since I have already given her the paintings,

it's OK to show you.

Happy Birthday, Miss Chrissy!


******

Our Homes

Here is a flashback of the homes we have owned

.......and a bit about our journey.

Steve and I were married in 1977. While engaged, we searched for a place to live in the only part of town we could afford, the bad part. Steve's father had just completed renovation on a tiny home and I asked to see it. Steve, who had worked with his dad on the home, thought it entirely unsuitable for us and didn’t want to show it to me. I coaxed him into giving me a tour, and it was love at first sight. The name of the street was Madison; my parents met in Madison, Wisconsin and it seemed like a perfect place for us to start out. How many newlyweds can say they started out on Madison Avenue?

First home – Madison Ave - Fresno, CA - $17,000 - 1977

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While pregnant with our first child, Michael, we began looking for a home at the north end of town. We found an old fixer upper on an acre of land in Clovis. It had beautiful wood floors and lots of light. We moved walls, painted, wallpapered and poured a patio. We cut our teeth on home remodeling at that house. The exterior wasn’t much to look at, but we often heard, “Wow, this is NICE”, when people came inside. I adored that house.

Our second home – Peach Avenue - Clovis, CA – $35,000 – 1978

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tough financial times forced us to move to the Bay Area in 1983. We packed up our belongings and 3 children, all under age 5. We started our own company in an up and coming new field: The Closet Organizers. We enjoyed immediate success that lasted for 10 years.

After renting 4 years, we managed to save up the 10% down payment and bought a home for $168,000. Our family in Fresno, where the same home would have cost $50,000, thought we were out of our minds!

We loved that home, we loved our ward, and we loved our friends in Fremont. We raised 3 children, had another, went back to Electrical Contracting, bought 3 rental homes, sent out a missionary, and had a wedding reception at that house. It will always be very special to our family. We lived in Fremont 20 years and still have dear friendships from that time.

Our third home – Morley Place - Fremont, CA – 1987

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

With Michael married and Brittany and Chrissy at BYU, we decided it was a good time to move back near our family in Fresno. Chloe was just starting school; she made good friends and loved being near her cousins.

Our fourth home – Woodmont Avenue - Fresno, CA - 2003

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

After just 2 years in Fresno, we realized that Electrical Contracting was not going to work out for us and so we decided to start a new adventure. Michael & Marci had been trying to sell us on the virtues of Texas, so we decided to pay it a visit. We loved it! Our stereotypes of tumbleweeds and cow skulls everywhere were quickly dispelled. We sold some rental homes and bought 4 Curves franchises in San Antonio. We loved the new adventure and for the first 2 years, we constantly explored the area, like tourists. We bought this home to live in until we could get into our current home.

Our fifth home – Eagle Peak - San Antonio, TX – 2005

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We moved to our current home in June of 2007 and we love it.

Front Yard


Back Yard

You get a lot more for your money in Texas. Believe it or not, our 40 year old Fremont house is worth more than this one.

We have lived in Texas 4 years. We sold the Curves, and at this writing, are in the process of regrouping. We still own 2 rentals in San Antonio and 2 in California……who knows where the next adventure will take us!

******