Lisa Nicole Dickson

CSN Student: August 2017-May 2020

EDU 280 Artifact #1 Personal Cultural Project
 I was born in the United States
of America. Home of the free
because of the brave. I was
born in Loma Linda, California.
The second daughter to a
single mother. I have a total of
two brothers and two sisters.
We are very close in age and
when their were just four of
us my mom had four kids
under five. Crazy. She never
got married and raised us
all alone. We never had a dad,
but we never had a bad dad
either.

ME!
The Virgo family (my mom’s last name) has grown and grown over the years. My mom has 8 grandsons and 9
granddaughters. I have a special place on the wall in my home were I put up pictures of my children’s cousins. I
want them to know who they are even if they don’t live close. We try to visit mine our my husbands family
every year. When I was growing up I did not really know my mom’s brothers and sisters and I don’t know my
cousins. I don’t know who my dad is so I don’t know that side of the family either. I believe this is why I have a
cousin wall and why I want my kids to have cousin experiences.

Family is very important….

My older sister Rebecca was a little selfish
growing up.(I say that in the nicest way) If we
only had a 3 bedroom house she refused to
share with her sisters and made her own room
in the living room. This made me and my
younger sister Pollyanna very close. We are 14
months apart and always shared everything.
My mom worked a lot she almost always had
more then 1 job and so we were in charge of
the cooking and cleaning. Rebecca refused to
help. One thanksgiving my mom had to work.
The last time she worked on Thanksgiving it
was so late because she fixed it after work. Me
and Pollyanna decided to make the whole
dinner. We were 9 and 10 years old. We never
lived in a home with a dishwasher, we were
the dishwashers. My younger brothers were
kind of spoiled for a poor family. They were
the boys and they were the babies. This put a
lot of responsibility on me and Pollyanna.
 EASTER BASKETS Christmas
Morning

Matching Christmas PJ’s

Halloween
Graduation Party

Liberty’s
Birthday
I love all holidays and any reason to celebrate. I
Cake
think this fosters from coming from a poor family. I
don’t remember ever having a birthday party. My
mom used to give us IOU’s in our Easter basket, at
Christmas, for our birthday’s. I finally threw away
the stack I had before my last move. On times
when my mom would throw a party or get
something that was not a requirement then one of
our utilities would shut off because we did not
have any extra. I love to celebrate with my kids and
celebrate them. On sale but still they get a party. 4th of July
I was born in southern California. My
mom had two boyfriends when I was
growing up (both of them were married
not to my mom). When she got along
with one we lived in northern
California, when she was getting along
with the other we moved to southern
California. Then one day she said we
were moving to Corinne, Utah. It is the
littlest town ever. I was in the 5th grade,
10 years old. Boyfriend number 2 had
moved to Utah and away we went.
Corinne was to little to have jobs so my mom always
worked in Brigham City. The life in Corinne was different
then my kids will ever know. The was a stream that ran
through the city and we would always be playing there.
You came home when the street lights came on and
there was no way of finding us until we came home. We
did not stay in shouting distance and the whole town
was our playground with only one stop light(busy
street) to worry about. Brigham City was about 15
minutes away. We finally moved to the big city of
Brigham after living in Corinne for 2 years. We lived in
Brigham City from 7th grade until my Jr. year of High
School. We lived in a house, an apartment upstairs and
an apartment down stairs. We never lived close enough
to take the bus to school and so we walked 1.75 miles,
both ways, every day. My mom was long gone before
we had to be at school and so we were in charge of
making it there ourselves. The summer before my
senior year we found ourselves without a home. We
had been renting a home but they had not been paying
the payment and the home was foreclosed on. My
mom asked us to find a friend to live with for the
summer until she found us a place to live. All five kids
and mom went our separate ways for the summer. We
barley talked and did not see each other. Mom found a
place in Syracuse, Utah right before senior year.
Another little town and away we went.
I only lived in Syracuse for 1 year, but it
was a very eventfull one. Syracuse was
not big enough to have a high school so
we took the bus to school everyday to
Clearfield. I got my first job in Layton,
next to Clearfield, at Crown Burger, and
then a second job at Arby’s also. I
worked both for awhile but finally gave
up Crown Burger and went down to only
forty hours a week. I was tired of
utilities getting shut off so I helped pay
some bills. I also got engaged for
Steve & Lisa Engagement Picture
Christmas my senior year of High school.
December 1994
I got married in Brigham City Utah on August 11, 1995. We choose to live in a little trail park in Layton. I
worked at Arby’s and my husband Steve worked at Big O Tires. We were close to my family but most of his
had moved to Las Vegas. Steve’s brother in law offered him a job working for his company in Las Vegas. We
had only been married a year but we were tired of the snow. I did not think it would be a permeant move but
we still live in Las Vegas today after 23 years. I love living here. I love the community. I love the parks and
recreation centers. I love the people. I love the libraries. I love no snow.

Lisa Virgo becomes Lisa Dickson

No longer an I but a we…
 Some of my
favorite foods
are: Pizza,
Cheesecake,
Peanut Butter,
Salad, Shrimp
(though my
husband is
allergic), all
Chicken, and
every thing I
bake. We don’t
eat out often
because I cook
at home a lot
from scratch,
when we go
out my family
says lovingly,
Mom would
have made this
better.

I love to Cook & I love food!

 I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Being a
member is very important to me. We serve each other, we help each other, we
are family. I believe in Jesus Christ. I try every day to be more like him. My
husband and I were sealed in the St. George Temple on December 6, 1996. My
family is a forever family. This means everything to me.
There are many revelations that have been given to our church through our latter-day prophet. The Book of Mormon was
translated by a living prophet years ago. It is another testament of Jesus Christ and tells about what happened on the
American continent when Jesus was in Jerusalem. I personally have a goal to read my scriptures every day. This is very
important to me. I also try to have my family come together each day for scripture study. The Articles of Faith tell about
what our church believes. We don’t judge people, we try to love unconditionally, we believe that there is still revelations
given from God today and many other truths. The word of wisdom was given in 1833. It teaches us that we should eat all
good things with wisdom and not in abundance. It also says we should not smoke, drink, do drugs or anything harmful to
our bodies. I have never smoked or drank in my life. I know following this council helps me to stay healthy and strong.
Going to church every week, serving in our church, following the commandments and the teachings our latter-day prophet
teaches us is why I am the person I am today. Without my faith I am not sure who I would be, but I know that I don’t want
to find out. I am me because I am faithful!

I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ

of Latter-Day Saints
I love to bake… Every birthday my kids tell me what
theme of cake they want & I make it happen from
pizza cake to Marshmallow war. I have even made
a few wedding cakes.
I love to make crafts. To decorate my home, and to give as gifts. I really like to work with
vinyl because my husband bought me a vinyl machine. When I give gifts I don’t have a
lot of money to spend so normally I make them.
 I love to take pictures, from teams,
babies, families, wedding or individual. I
like to offer them at a great price also. I
think everyone should have a recent
family picture no matter how much they
make it should be affordable. Families
grow too fast not to get it on film!
 I have been a stay at home mom since May 2001 when my first daughter was born. I have enjoyed it so
much. When you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I would always say a mom. Now that my
youngest is 10 and they are starting to leave the nest I wondered what I was going to be when my kids
where all grown up. I decided that after all the years of helping in their class room I should just get my
associates degree so that I could substitute and get paid for what I was already doing for free. With my first
year down and planning on graduating in May of 2020 with my associates I have decided to go on and get
my Bachler's degree. I have a 4.0 GPA and I’m very proud of the accomplishments in school I have made so
far. I plan to graduate with a 4.0 GPA.

First day of College August 27, 2018

Being a mother to these four amazing children was my dream, but it was not always living the dream. When we moved to
Las Vegas to live with Steve's family we moved in with his mom and his brother. We stayed about six months until we found
a room to rent. Steve was working as a house framer and I got a job at Kiddie Kandid’s as a photographer. After we were
married 2 years we decided we were ready to start our family. Heavenly Father had a different plan for us. We worked, we
played, we bought a 2 bedroom condo down the street from Steve’s mom and grandparents, we had 2 cats and a fish and
we lived. Years past and we finally decided to go see a specialist to help us start our family. We had an appointment on
Monday but the Friday before we found out we were pregnant. Joy did not begin to describe our excitement but we were
also a little nervous. Would we be good parents? Seven months latter at 32 weeks pregnant I went to a regular doctor’s
appointment and came out on bed rest. My daughter was not growing and my body was not producing enough fluid
around her. We were not ready for this. Her room was not done, her clothes not washed and I could not do anything but
go to the bathroom and get something to eat and lay down. Steve’s family had all moved away and we had to rely on
church family to help us through. I was on bedrest for 2 weeks but things just kept getting worse. We went to the hospital
for another ultra sound on May 17, 2001 and didn’t leave the hospital. The doctors finally decided to start my labor and
get this baby out. Almost six years from the day we got married, the littlest baby girl weighing 5 lbs 9oz and 21 in. long
made us a real family. She was so tiny a friend went and got preemie clothes to bring her home in.
The norm for my life became story times at the
library, walks at the park and our condo had a
pool were we took Dakota at 6 weeks old for her
first swim. We decided that I would not go back
to work and we lived on a very tight budget. I
made everything from scratch and we did not
eat out. We canceled cable, the bug guy and the
water deliver man and got rid of our car
payment. I went to all the appointments and
woke up every night with Dakota. I felt like my
husband was letting me stay at home and so his
job was to work and my job was Dakota and our
home.
 At Christmas time when we put
our ornaments on the tree a hush
will fall on who ever get’s baby
Dickson’s ornament. After we had
Dakota then Hunter came 2 years
later just like I planed and was
born on his sister’s birthday. The
next time we got pregnant then
that little baby did not get to be
born and went to heaven. There is
a huge gap left in our hearts and in
age between Hunter and Liberty.
They are 4 years apart. Then just
like I planned but not to the day
Jericho and Liberty are 2 years
apart. Before Liberty was born
then we bought a four bedroom
house up the street from our
condo. We kept the condo to rent
out and we felt like we were living
the dream!
 2010
2010 was one of the worst years I have ever had. My youngest Jericho had
just turned one. Las Vegas had a crash in the economy. The company my
husband worked for laid off ¾ of their workers including Steve. We were
without a job for a few months. He finally got a carpentry job again working
for ½ the money he was making. We decided I still needed to stay at home
because daycare for four kids is too expensive but we went on a very tight
budget. We lost our home and filed bankruptcy. Filing bankruptcy was the
hardest thing I’ve ever done but we could not make enough to pay for
everything. We lost our home and our condo. Since we moved to Las Vegas
we had lived within ten minutes of every house we lived in. When we lost
our house the home we found to rent was 30 minutes across town. I was so
scared to leave my familiar neighbor hood. My sadness made my kids cry
too. The last horrible thing that happened that year was my husband
stopped going to church. He thought that I would ask him for a divorce if he
stopped going to church. I prayed about it and decided that his lack of faith
was not a reason to divorce. We just kept pushing through one day at a time.
Things are looking up. Like the
blossoms on a tree in spring bursting
with adventures too come. My
husband stayed at that job for 5 years.
It got us through when we needed it.
Steve took a chance on a new job. We
bought the house we were renting.
Two years later we sold the house we
bought. We moved to an amazing area
and bought a different home. Things
that I didn’t even know I needed I
received. My children can walk to
school and we walk to church. We are
closer to the freeway so therefore
closer to Steve’s work, doctor’s offices,
and the temple. My beautiful daughter
graduated this year with honors. We
are so blessed. The challenges that I
have lived through and the moves that I
have made strengthened my faith and
let me see the good in life, my
adventure is just beginning.
These last two slides are just a testament of the adventures that I have had so far in my life with my
children. Even though we lived on a fixed income I made it stretch. Not only did my kids never have
the utilities turned off they got to do things that I would never dream of doing. Our adventures will
never stop. I’m planning a cruise for Christmas…
CIRCUS CIRCUS

Family Bowling

Piloting a plane with their Uncle

Garden of
the Gods Playing Soccer

Drive in Movies
Community Egg Hunts Disney World

PTA SCHOOL EVENTS

Moab Arches

Camping, Camping Road Trip to NEW YORK

and More Camping sight seeing

Harry Potter Land Florida

Lego Land

Florida Beach
Lake Adventures