My Portfolio

June 6 1991 a preschooler was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up.   She turned to the camera and said "a mommy".  I was both proud and horrified.  Others congratulated me on being a great role model. I feared my child would be another teen pregnancy statistic. 16 years...

Janie Shellman (1994 Smart Family Honoree) On September 22, 1917 twins were born to William Joseph and Ursula Smart Stephens, a happy bouncing baby boy and girl.  These babies were named Janie & Johnnie.  Janie was reported to be the second born.  She became the oldest sister of the 8 surviving...

Aunt Janie is holding a quilt started by grandmother, completed by Aunt Janie, made possible by Uncle Johnny and given to me who have wonderful and horrible memories about it. Uncle Johnny drove trucks and ever so often he would get a load he  deamed useful to himself or the family. ...

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up? age 10           One day my mother asked me,What do you want to be?   Do you want to be a teacher,Or a singer full of glee? Are you meant to be a writer,Who day dreams all day long? Thinking...

Glasses (2009- age 16)         God works in mysterious ways; I've heard it all my life,But truly, I couldn't see it until I couldn't see , Until the nearest chalkboard was never near enough to read. In second grade my teacher knew there was something wrong with me,  When she...

A Child's Finger's (age 15)                 A child's fingers grasp my own,Pulling with an energy I know I've never known Slow down for me! I frown, and instantly he settles down, And once again I marvel at how much my brother's grown.                   I remember my first look at...

Patti’s Hot Pepper Salsa Recipe   5 lbs Peppers; hot and sweet r 2 lbs small tomatoes r 1 lb onions r 6 bulbs garlic r 2 shallots r ½ tsp all colors of Peppercorns, ground r 1 cup Vinegar r Pinch Sea salt r   7 1-pint canning jars with...

When C. Stephen Guyer's three children were growing up, he told themstories about how his grandfather, a banker, lost all in the 1930s, butdidn't lose sight of what he valued most. In one of the darkest times,Mr. Guyer says, when his grandfather was nearly broke, he loaded hisfamily into the car...

There is much to be admired in all of my seven sons and three daughters but I think James George is at the top of the list.     After being married for three months, my husband George and I were expecting our first child. Our apartment was in Waltham, Massachusetts....

How to Grow Old Gracefully March 9, 2009 It's a fact that we all grow old.  It's also a fact that we have little, if any, control regarding the overall aging process.  Yet, what is positive is the fact that we can control how we live while we age.  We control...

This was recorded during the 2008 Rice University Piano Camp.  During the course of this camp, we determined it was time to take Rachelle to the next level of Piano and soonafter switched her to a professional piano teacher, Khoren Ouzounian. Rachelle did a good job but her hands, arms and shoulders...

How many of you have ever encountered a child that seems to find himself in trouble without any trouble at all?  Lucky for her, my daughter was 2-years old when my son was born.  If he had been born first, I'm not sure I would have had any more.  "That sounds...

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The Jock River flows very lazily through Richmond, Ontario, my home town.  It did a poor job of living up to the nickname everyone gave it - "the mighty Jock".  Nevertheless, parents warned children not to stray too close for fear of them falling in. My mother told me never to...

"In the Living Years" Mike and the Mechanics Every generation Blames the one before And all of their frustrations Come beating on your door I know that Im a prisoner To all my father held so dear I know that Im a hostage To all his hopes and fears I just...

Home where Charlie Hyatt was born. Charlie Hyatt at left edge, in front of family home where he was born in Hyatt's Mills, taken in 1903.  Back row: Eva Saunders, Mary Saunders (John Saunder's sisters). Aunt Maud, Uncle Harry (Charlie's sister and brother).  Front row: Charlie, Aunt Annie (wife of John...

Charlie Hyatt was one of seven children born to Stephen Allan Hyatt and Amelia Caroline Sanders Hyatt who married on August 9th, 1865 in Huntingville Universalist and built their home in Hyatt'’s Mills.  Steven and Amelia's seven children were John W., born January 11, 1868; Allan S., born January 16, 1873;...

Mother's parents were Maria Brunton & John William Johnson Jr.  Maria’'s story begins in            northern England, in the tiny village of Staveley, county of Yorkshire.  She was the firstborn of seven children to parents Jane Farmery and John Brunton, a farmer, on Mary 21st, 1860 in Staveley, Yorkshire and named...

When someone you love becomes a memory That memory becomes a treasure!