HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY THIS WEEK TO JI-CHAN! 
  What a great life he created for us while serving so faithfully in the Air Force. We have so many memories of all of the adventures, the new places we lived, and so many friends we made around the world.  Thank you, Kevin!  You gave us the opportunities to learn, grow, and be strengthened as a family in so many ways❤

One of my favorite videos of Blythe when she was in an elementary school performance for Veterans' Day 😁. (She's in the second row)

 We have had the most wonderful Fall weather this week! I   think we had sun every day and temperatures warm enough that a light sweater was all that was needed.  It was perfect for walking Sendai, and getting the last of the leaves picked up.  Yesterday, when we were walking, I heard someone call Sendai's name, and she looked up and saw our mailman delivering mail across the street at the apartments.  She made a beeline for him and he got down and loved on her for a few minutes. (she does love the mailman)

However, as nice as it was for us, it was not so nice for the Elk hunters in the family. 

With our weather warmer than usual, the Elk were happy to stay hidden in the higher areas, so no one got to bring any meat home.  I think they still had a great time though, and I'm sure they will try again next year.

 AND, speaking of hunting 😁 . . . We got to have Jake on Friday because the teachers at his school had a workday, and he was telling us that for his birthday in January, he gets to take the hunter safety course.  AND then he was telling me about the gun he was going to get, so I asked him what kind of big game he was going hunting for.  AND then he said he was going to hunt for squirrels. I asked him what he planned to do with the squirrels once he shot one.  He said, "Grammie, you have to eat what you shoot".  So I asked if he had ever eaten squirrel before because it didn't sound too good to me.  He said that squirrel meat

Poor squirrel

tastes like chewy chicken . . . so just in case you were wondering . . .😂

LOVE OUR FAMILY!

 Chris and Grant got to visit the United Nations building while they were in Geneva.  Chris said they had a good trip, and it was so nice that Grant could go with him.  Glad they're home, safe and sound. 

 

Jonathan was in Colorado for a couple of days this week - at UNC (Greely) for work.  So close, but not close enough that we got to see him 😞. Kate was home, busy with her art show and keeping up with Sayre.   She said one of his favorite meals now is mini penne pasta with alfredo sauce and chicken.  I love when their palate starts to evolve from chicken nuggets 😄

Kim made a quick trip to Iowa this weekend to enlist Kate's expertise and know-how with Photoshop.  Yay!  Kate to the rescue!  I have used her for some of my school assignments also. 😊

I think they had some fun girl-time, but alas, no shopping 💕

 Our "soccer girl", Lily was in Las Vegas for a soccer tournament this weekend.  I haven't heard the results yet, but I am sure she was amazing. 

 

That reminds me . . . Did you know that BYU's girls soccer team came in 1st at the BIG 12 soccer tournament?  

Dad and I had a busy week.  We started on Monday with a visit to Shannon, who seemed to be in good spirits.  She ate well and even responded when someone waved to her while we were taking a walk. 

Dad's shoulder has really been bothering him, so he was able to get an appointment for him to see the PA who assisted in his surgery.  They took X-rays, and he said that the shoulder replacement looks great, but it's possible that the deltoid muscle has slipped and is out of place.  We're not sure what that quite means, but it may involve a minor surgery to put it back in place.  He has an appointment with his doctor next Monday, so hopefully we will find out what they can do for him.

On Wednesday, we had missionaries for dinner, and on Friday, we got Jake because he didn't have school.  The first thing he said when he came in the house was that he wanted to take us out to breakfast.  We went to Cracker Barrel and then drove up to Scheels so he could look for goalkeeper gloves.  They didn't have what he wanted there, so we came back home, dropped off Ji-Chan, and Jake and I went to Dicks, hoping to find something there.  He finally found some, and in the process, also found an RC car store that had several tracks - I think they call it crawling -

 The gentleman who helped us said they usually require the kids to be 12 years old, but they weren't busy, so he told Jake that if he could do the course without crashing, he could move around to some of the other courses.  Jake did great, and I had fun watching him.  

 When we got back to the house, we worked in the yard - Jake mowed up our remaining leaves and I raked up the pine needles.  Jake also trimmed and watered all of my plants - he is such a hard worker and so much fun to spend time with! 

Today was our Stake Conference.  We always love going and visiting with friends we don't get to see very often.  We had two visiting authorities, Elder Teixeira and his wife from Portugal, and Elder Magswatogotha from Botswana.  They were both wonderful speakers with faith-inspiring stories that certainly gave us something to come home and think about.  I think it is so meaningful to get a glimpse into the lives of others who come from different countries with different gospel experiences. 

  This week I have thought a lot about Elder Kearon's talk, Welcome to the Church of    Joy! 

  We are so blessed, shouldn't we feel joy every day?  Elder Kearon said, "Because of the loving plan of our Heavenly Father for each of His children, and because of the redeeming life and mission of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we can - and should - be the most joyful people on earth! Even as the storms of life in an often-troubled world pound upon us, we can cultivate a growing and abiding sense of joy and inner peace because of our hope in Christ and our understanding of our own place in the beautiful plan of happiness.  

PLEASE, PLEASE, HAVE A JOYFUL WEEK, AND REMEMBER HOW MUCH YOU ARE LOVED!!!
 Some of my favorite photos of JOY!