Kathleen Redman:
CLASS OF 1977
Moon Valley High SchoolClass of 1977
Phoenix, AZ
Kathleen's Story
Hello Everyone,
For those of you who knew me, you knew I loved to study the Bible and attend the prayer meetings, and enjoyed gospel music. All of those things are still present in my life. I lived in Colorado Springs for about 6 years, where I was able to attend a number of wonderful churches and spent some time volunteering at Focus on the Family. I also volunteered at the Colorado Springs Therapeutic Riding Center where I worked with the horses, gathering them from their stalls, grooming and saddling and preparing them for their classes with the children, mostly disabled children, and then returned them to their stalls afterwards. I really enjoyed working with the horses and felt I had really found something I could love doing for a lifetime.
During high school I also enjoyed drama, and I still do, but these many years of responsibility, and now health issues have limited my ability to give the kind of time and energy it takes for preparing for a musical or drama production.
As the years go by I am so thankful for the many people and experiences. I married in 1981 in Phoenix, and it was not long until we had 5 little ones, all daughters, including a set of twins. They were all born in a time-frame of 4 years and 10 days. (That's 4 in diapers at once.) The girls grew up very close to one another and love music and drama just as I do. They often entertained with their beautiful singing capability and blended their voice both with worship music and dramatic renditions and choreography of Disney movie songs. When they were small we wanted to get out of the heat and the city lifestyle. The mountains and small town atmosphere were calling. During the winter of 1989 we moved to the small town of Payson, AZ. Our youngest was only about a year and a half old.
With all these girls, we actually spent a few months during living in a pickup camper while waiting for a larger place to be prepared for us. Yes, it was tight, but we were smack-dab in the middle of the pines and the children played in the forest freely. I tell people that Payson is the gateway to either heaven or hell, depending on which direction your car is headed.
By 1991 we had bought a home where I raised five daughters, many of those years as a single mom. I love the smell of a wood stove which we used for heat. The fire is so warming and inviting. I truly enjoyed decorating my home, sewing curtains and doing crafts such as wall hangings and home decor. After some time I tackled the yard. I started with one corner that was the greenest with foliage and I made it even more beautiful. I then went around the yard and built it up piece by piece. In the end I had dug water lines and planted at least a dozen trees, flowering bushes and groundcovers. I had built raised garden areas with retaining walls made of flagstone, Windsor stone and/or timbers. When I started the yard was a hill full of weeds. I leveled out the an upper portion by building a large flagstone retaining wall. We placed on top a nice grass area, shad...Expand for more
e trees and flagstone patio. Most of the flagstone for the project came off of the Mogollon Rim. Though most of the work in my yard I did myself I hired the patio and large retaining wall to be built and dirt brought in and prepared for the grass.
Going back a ways, my parents are Oklahomans. My mom was a farm girl and my dad a city boy, so as my dad followed the jobs I was raised in the suburbs of Chicago and then in Phoenix as a teen, but I'm a country girl at heart, with a longing for lots of green and 4 lovely seasons of the year. My parents took us camping a lot while growing up. We did lots of exploring on the weekends. I especially loved the vacations to the upper peninsula in Michigan to the Porcupine Mountains, where we camped, hiked, played in the creeks and caught the frogs. We enjoyed watching the black bear in the evenings. So my desire and longing for the wilderness was set at a young age.
In Payson we had the beautiful Mogollon Rim, an escarpment reaching across middle of the state of Arizona which rises from 7000 to 8000 feet above sea level. We had elk, skunk, squirrels, raccoons, javelina, and eagle, and up on the Rim we often saw black bear and antelope. I love the mountains and deep forests. I tell folks I have to get my "mountain fix" every day. The majesty of creation lifts my spirits greatly.
I spent nearly 22 years in Payson before making an adventurous move to Colorado, where I have two daughters and their families, including 7 grandchildren. I also have two in Arizona with 3 of my grandchildren there, and one who has been living in Niagara Falls for several years and will soon be moving back to Arizona. Her husband has never seen a Rodeo, which we will soon remedy. I have now moved back to my "hometown" of Payson, AZ.
Though my Mother is now with the Lord, my dad, sister and brother are also still in Arizona. Even though the miles divide us, our family has always been very close. The girls have their own families I now have grandchildren. If I should count the grandchild that is on the way, that makes 14 thus far.
As a graphic artist I design Military Award Certificates and Appreciation Certificates for special occasions for our Veterans. We also have certificates honoring Military Wives. I was especially busy with this last Veteran's Day. I have orders coming in from all over the nation, and sometimes beyond. We have several very high ranking officers among our customers, as well as one Medal of Honor Recipient. There is a lot of customization with these certificates. As far as I know, we are the only ones who do this kind of personal detailed work. We display a veteran's experience, awards, badges, patches and pertinent service info. on our certificates. Some have completely filled theirs up with 18 medals and up to 28 ribbons. If you want to see the website check out "CJMMilitaryCertificates.com."
To all of you who served in our Military, Thank You So Much for Your Service! I really appreciate your sacrifice.
Take Care,
Blessings to All,
Kathleen
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