Starting over...

I had GRAND aspirations with my blogspot! I had a great idea that I would start from the beginning of my life... and go through my childhood, my teen years, dating Keith, college, kids, military... and all the phases of my life.... LOL!!! Well...Little did i realize.. that was way more involved than I had expected. Looking for old photos, scanning, writing up information.. So.. I begin again.. And I begin TODAY.. in the Here and Now.. That is about all I can handle anyways! :) Now, on to blogging my life now... as it is...

Growing Up!

Ten years have passed.. I am growing up! I shared a room with my big sister Christy who was 16 years old. (6 years older than me) I love my big sister and I loved sharing a room with her. I felt so big and grown. In this picture I was 9 or 10 years old. We were at a church activity in the park. I won first place!! two times! One for catching the chicken that was let loose..we had to run around and try to catch this chicken that was freaking out!! I got it! and the other ribbon??? probably for running fast. :) My mom would put our hair up in these little pink foam curlers at night and we would have to sleep (barely!!) with them in our hair. I hated those things. They were so uncomfortable. But I must have liked my hair curly because I let her do it over and over again for church. Me..Katie and Carrie.. my younger sisters. Here I am in 5th grade! My school picture! I liked 5th grade. The boys called me "poochy".. because there was a toy (yes, it was a dog).. that had ears.. and when i would wear my hair in pony tails I guess they figured we looked alike. lol!! I enjoyed running. And i could run FAST! On our field day at school we had a race with boys and girls. I beat the biggest, tallest, fastest boy! yeah me!! My siblings... Cori , Katie, Me and Carrie I loved to play soccer. I started playing when I was around 10 years old. I played Forward and usually Center. I could run fast and kick that ball. I loved to make goals. I played for years... I LOVED playing a game after a big rain. It was so much fun kicking mud all over and slipping and sliding. I would be a mess afterwards!

Elementary School Days

School days... I lived out on Lee Road...wayyy out where, when you say "going to town".. you really meant... GOING TO TOWN! We lived in the country!! In 1st grade I won THE BEST COLORED PICTURE in my class :) ...which, by the way, I still have in my "babybox"..... This is a picture of me in 1st or 2nd grade. (6/7yr old) No front teeth, sporting my dragon shirt and red pants! "Country Living" was way too far from New Orleans where my dad worked. So we moved back to town! :) THIRD GRADE: LIFE LESSON::: Me and my all time favorite "Crayon purse"! Shaped like a crayon!! I felt so big having a purse of my own. And it was so cool. I could put all my little things in it. I took it to school with me in 3rd grade. I was in Mrs Washington's class, a strict teacher. I sat around a few boys who would sometimes tease and talk to me. I left the classroom to go to some kind of girls assembly and the boys were left in the room. When we came back my purse was gone! . . I looked all around my desk, in my desk, Where was my purse??? It had my stuff in it and that was MY purse! The boys were snickering. I wanted my purse back! Noone would confess to taking it. Noone said a word about it. ~I do not remember telling the teacher; however, if I had she did nothing about it because I never saw my little crayon purse ever again. I was so sad, hurt, upset and shocked that someone would take something that belonged to me. I can remember my feelings.. even today. I WAS 8!! My favorite Number even till this day! I love the number 8.. 8 was when i was baptised and there are 8 people in my immediate family. I LOVE MY FAMILY :) CHOOSE THE RIGHT! My class at church was called CTR. I was preparing to be baptised at church. I would then be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I was learning what it meant and what I would be promising my Heavenly Father when I get baptised. This is me in my class. WHY my mom had my hair cut like this I will NEVER know! I look like my little brother~ Cori! (Note: my socks!! lol) FOURTH GRADE picture!! more hair! yeah! Did I forget it was picture day??? 9 years old!! I was big! I started keeping a journal around this time. ~~And I still continue to write in journals. I have a box full from the time I was a little girl, all through school and teenage years and falling in love, to College and Marriage, on to Military Life and Moving around, being a new mom, trials and depression, Faith and testimonies...My life written down.. in journals!~~ yikes!! :) I was reading my journal from 4th grade.. I called a boy! HOLY! YOUNG!! I wrote about my friends.. liking them one day and not liking them the next. LOL! More pictures of me around this time. I loved wearing my moms "twist bead" necklace.. three bead necklaces twisted together!! AWESOME!! :) Are those gray shoes or really dirty white?

Little Girls, Little Girls!!

I was a very shy child... imagine that! I would hide behind, or under, my mother's dress so I would not be seen. I did not like people talking to me because I would turn all shades of red and purple! I spent a lot of time by myself..doing my own thing. I loved to cut out my own paper dolls and work on cut and paste books. I could spend hours with a bunch of catalogs.

Because I was so shy I guess I was not seen as much. My mother one day had a friend over visiting and her friend asked who I was... my mom said "that's keli"... the woman had no idea I existed! :)

I love my little house on the prairie dress!! :) Notice my hair...??? I cut it myself!

Little something about me....When I was around 3 years old I broke my nose!! I was hanging onto the edge of a table and pulled it down on top of my face.. hit me right in the nose. It broke and bled. That is why I now have a little bump on my nose. :)

As a babe....

My mom said... as a baby I seemed sad, like I wanted to go back home to my Heavenly Father.

Look at that wispy hair. Stood straight up.

This is an old picture.. has black marks on it. :(

My sister Christy was 6 years old and my brother Kevin was 4 years old when I was brought home from the hospital.

Shortly after I was born my parents took a trip to Salt Lake City and had us all sealed together in the LDS Salt Lake City Temple. My eternal family :)

June 28, 1974

It all began on June 28, 1974...well, actually 9 months before that... but we will start the day I was actually born! My mom drove herself to her regular Dr. appointment and was admitted because I was ready to move out of that dark little space! My dad came to the hospital from work to be there at my arrival! It was somewhere around 4 in the afternoon when my dad saw, for the first time, a little birthmark hiding in the small patch of wispy hair on the top of my head. And there my life began.... cold..naked...a helpless little baby girl ... with 10 fingers and 10 toes.. entering into a world... and a family! My Dad, Willie Willard Powell My Mom, Anita K McWhorter Powell Christy Michelle Powell Michael Kevin Powell... and.. ME :) These are "obviously" NOT pictures of me... however, I imagine it was quite like this in the 70's.

The Beginning...

I stare at the blank page before me and wonder where to begin. I can't start in the middle of the story And work my way to the end.. You will miss the parts that are exciting.. the parts that make me who i am.. So, i start 34 years ago... I start where it all began....