Shellise Ann McCray

Shellise is my 14-year old, beautiful, photogenic, dimpled smiled, smart, talented and tall (5'9")daughter. She just started 9th Grade at Hunter Jr. High. She loves school and excels at most everything she does.

What is she up to these days? Shellise's favorite things to do besides hanging out with her friends and texting on her cell phone is Reading and Watching TV. Shellise is very talented in many things. She has played the Piano since she was about 5 years old. Although she no longer takes piano lessons, she still plays often. She also plays the Viola and is in the Hunter Jr. High Orchestra and during the summer tried out and made it on the Granite Youth Summer Symphony. She will be going to tryouts next week so that she can be part of the Granite Youth Symphony throughout the year.

Another talent and favorite thing for Shellise is Softball. She has played Girls Fastpitch Softball since she was 4 years old (starting out as T-Ball). She has really enjoyed this sport and looks forward to every spring/summer to play again.

Shellise is also a dancer. She has danced since she was 5 years for Shellie's School of Dance until we moved to Cedar City and then she danced for Onstage Dance where she competed in Hip Hop Dance Competititions. Since moving back to Salt Lake, we have not signed her up for dance yet as we have yet to find a dance company where she can compete in Hip Hop style dance.

Shellise has always been able to make friends easily which I consider a huge talent and for one I admire. She not only makes friends easily but she is a good friend to all. She has so many friends all over the State that she keeps in contact with on a regular basis. She is very blessed to have such good people in her life that she can call true friends.

From the time Shellise was 5 years old she knew that she wanted to be a Lawyer when she grew up and attend Harvard Law School. This goal has never changed. She is looking forward to getting into classes over the next few years that will get her closer to reaching that goal. I believe she would make a very good attorney someday and if she continues to do well in school and is able to get some scholarships, she just may make it to Harvard.

Shellise is such a wonderful daughter. She gladly helps around the house when asked and rarely complains. She is witty, and funny, and brings so much joy into our home and in our lives. I am so blessed by this beautiful gift I was given by GOD. I am so grateful and happy that I am her Mother.

Football

Jessie plays as the Fullback on the Cedar City 8th Grade team. On Saturday, he ran a 45-yard Touchdown. His team beat Hurricane 20-0. He was very happy and excited when he called to tell me about it. I am still so new at football terms that I had to look up what the duties of a fullback are. This is what the description is for those of you who, like me, have no idea:

In American football, a fullback (FB) is a position in the offensive backfield. Traditionally, the duties of a fullback are split between power running and blocking for the quarterback on passing plays, and running backs on running plays.

Good Job Jessie!

Family Togetherness

This past weekend was wonderful! Having Jessie home for a visit made our family feel complete. I think that Shellise and Jessie really missed each other. As you can tell by these pictures, they might even love each other! Jessie has grown up so much. I think he grew another 2-3 inches since we saw him last. He is almost as tall as Shellise now, at 5'8".

We had a wonderful time together. On Saturday the kids went back to their old stomping grounds in Kearns and watched a little league football game between Kearns and Hunter. They both had friends playing on both teams but they still routed for Kearns even though we now live in the Hunter area. After the football game we picked Bill up after his Paragliding class and went to lunch at Guadalahonky's Mexican Restaurant in Draper. The food was great the company was awesome! We picked up Jessie's best friend Ryan and had him over to our house for swimming and skateboarding. They always have such fun together and have been friends for many years. Thank goodness for good friends.



It was sure nice having Jessie attend church with us and seeing him pass the sacrament. It is very difficult seeing an empty spot every week where Jessie should be during sacrament meeting. We all miss him so very much every day and every week.

Swimming, sharing meals together, watching movies on the big screen at home, and visiting with extended family members made for some wonderful memories. The best memory is seeing both the kids having fun together and being happy. We will cherish these memories forever. What terrific and beautiful kids we have.

The weekend came to a close on Monday, when we had to drive Jessie down to meet his dad in Scipio. We don't know when we will get to see him next because he will be busy playing football in Cedar City every weekend from this point on for several weeks. Good Luck Jessie! We Love You.

Hike to Top of South Mountain

On Saturday, August 16th Billy and I set out to Paraglide off Point of Mountain. The winds were not blowing the right direction to fly off the South Side and the North Side was closed for construction. So at the spur of the moment we decided we would hike to the flag on top of the North Side of South Mountain. It was quite a steep hike and I did some complaining because I was not wearing my hiking boots, but making it to the top was worth it. This is a collage of some of the pictures I took looking out over the valley and of the flag. One of our favorite things to do is to go on hikes and we have been on a few this summer. We look forward to some time off when we can seek out a new hiking spot very soon. If you know of any good hikes please share with me.

Memories

Here is a fun little game that a friend inspired me to start on my blog. This is how it works:

Leave a comment on my blog of a memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a very short time, a long time, or just your first impression of me, any memory that you can think of. I have many friends that read my blog but don't comment, I would love to hear from you. Even if you don't have a blog you can comment, all you have to have is an email address.

Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses.

I will try to jog my memory and come up with a memory for you too.

My Grandmother

My Grandmother, Dorthella Glover Spencer, is my moms' mother. She is the mother of 5 children. My mom happens to be the oldest and that makes me the oldest of all the grandchildren, which I am very proud and happy to know that I had her as my grandma first before any of my cousins... :) Kind of stingy and selfish huh?

My Grandma is the strongest woman I know. I have always thought of her as someone who I would like to grow up to be like. She is an amazing woman and is the glue that holds everything together for our family. She will be 85 years old this September. She is alert and lively and full of life and always has been.

She recently, within the last 3 weeks, had knee replacement surgery and things have gone pretty well so far except that she hasn't regained her strength, lost 25 pounds, and has had trouble with her peripheral vision. She went to the eye doctor today and after running a bunch of tests, decided that she must have had a stroke shortly after her surgery. The stroke has effected the right side of her brain which controls her left peripheral vision. She now has to see a neurologist as soon as an appointment can be scheduled. I hope and pray that she will make a speedy and full recovery from this.

Grandma lost the love of her life, my Grandpa, Douglas Spencer in October 1996. And this past December 13th, she lost a 15 year old great grandson. She has also lost all three of her siblings in the recent past, as well as many many friends. She has always showed so much strength during these trials and in all the trials she has ever had to overcome. She has a great faith in the Lord. She stands firm in her belief that we will all be reunited again in the next life.

I have so many fond memories of grandma from the time I was a little girl until now. There is so much I could write about but it would take up pages and pages of this blog. She has always been there for me in all the good times and in the bad. She has supported me in everything I have ever done. She is my Rock, The person I look up to most, My Hero, My Friend, My GRANDMA. I love her so very much.

My Beautiful Boy!

My beautiful boy, Jessie, has decided that he wants to live with his Father in Cedar City and has been granted that wish by the courts. This was a very sudden and unexpected surprise to me and it has left me with a huge hole in my heart and like my heart has been ripped out of my chest. On July 5th I sent him down for a 3 week visit with his dad and then I learn a week or so ago that he is not coming back to me. He came back up here on Saturday to gather his things and left on Sunday. What a devastating day that was for me and for our family. I have been his mother for over 12 years and now I won't get the opportunity to mother him on a daily basis. My heart aches as I am mourning his absense. I am trying really hard to support his decision and really hope that for him it is the best decision, that he will truly be as happy there as he says he will be. I just want him to know how much I love him and how much I truly will miss him in my daily life, how much I will miss watching him play football and baseball, how much I will miss being there for him when he gets home from school, how much I will miss every single little thing that we all take for granted. Jessie I love you!