Our favorite missionary is still serving in Long Beach, Washington, and making sure that the folks in this part of the world know about the Church, about missionary service, and especially about the Savior and His love for them.  I know the work is not easy, but Elder Hopkins has that determination and a "never-give-up-attitude" that will help him find and teach those who are in search of a better and happier life.Last week, in his email he reported that he and his companion were judges at their Ward chili cookoff,and they got to handout candy to the kids who came to the Halloween party 🍬🍭🍬🍭 . He mentioned that there were only about 10 children in their Primary.  It reminded me of our adventure when we lived in Okinawa, and were called to attend Church at Camp Hansen where we probably had about the same number of children.  

 Paul reports that last week the "lowlights" were: "on Thursday, I went on an exchange and apparently dogs just don't like me, I got chased by this huge dog and had to jump a fence. The other elder scraped his arm on the fence and I scraped my leg.  I don't know why they hate me so much because non of the other elders have been bit or chased.  I think I'm going to start bringing dog treats with me." GOOD IDEA, Elder Hopkins! 😃

The highlights - "We also started our new gospel study class on Thursday nights. We thought this would be a very effective way to get our friends in the Church and also have them meet some of the other members in the Ward. We are hoping to get some more people next week so please pray for the class!"

The spiritual message that he left us with is that Christ's Atonement is for everyone. There are times in our lives when the Atonement becomes personal, when we realize that our Savior knows each one of us as individuals, what our strengths are, and the weaknesses we have that can be overwhelming.  However, we can take from the Atonement that power to make changes in our lives, to get a little better each day - not perfect - but better each day. ❤

We got to celebrate Eilis' 20th birthday on Monday with a family dinner.  We had such a nice time and I love it when the girls are together - they are so much fun!

Eilis requested bulgogi (which was delicious) and she asked me to make sugar cookies that they could decorate (so no birthday cake). I made about three dozen cookies and lots of frosting of different colors and they had a great time, designing, decorating, and eating their treats. 

Ben also talked his sisters into a game of "Sorry" before it was time to go home, and the winner was . . . Emma!  

Also, I know I said that last week would be the last of the Halloween photos, but I couldn't resist adding ones of Ben I received this week from Josh.  

Ben has always been obsessed with trains, so he was a train conductor this year with an engine that Josh put together for him. 

 Mike and Barbi have been on the move over the last couple of weeks with a trip to Florida, and then several days in Costa Rica.  Their very good friends, Steve and Sheryl Towers, live in Gainesville, and Sheryl recently had a stroke. Mike said they had a really nice visit, and he is planning to go back and stay for awhile longer to give them some help.  (Watch out Blythe, if he get near Tampa you may have a visitor 😀). Also, Mike called this week and shared this picture of Joseph's reunion with his family.  

 Mike said his new hobby is to put the scripture story in Chat, and then request a picture to go along with it.  Thanks Mike, this will work great for my Primary class! ❤

 It's that time of year again, and somehow Adam recruited Lily to go hunting with him. (I'm wondering if there was a bribe involved) Colorado has a lottery system so with their names in the mix, Lily drew a doe tag, and Adam got an Elk tag.  He took Lily out a couple of times before the hunting trip so she could practice with Dad's gun, and then yesterday, on their first day of hunting she got her doe. 

 

From a grandma's point of view, in this photo it looks like she and the doe are best friends and they are both smiling, but sadly . . . the doe is dead 😢.  You can probably tell that I would never be a very good hunter - if it came to that point, I would be the one collecting the berries and nuts. 🌿🌾🍓

Dad and I have kept busy this week with yard work, housework, and Dad's  Institute class.  We raked up a lot of leaves and pine needles, and we still have more to do, but hopefully we'll be able to finish it up in the next couple of days.  Our weather has been so beautiful, with lots of sun and warmer temperatures.  We went to dinner at the Bonefish Grill Thursday night and they have the best Salmon ever.  

Yesterday we got to have Ben for an hour while Angella attended a Stake Primary meeting and a nearby restaurant.  She is the secretary in her Ward Primary.  Ben was so great - he helped me make banana bread - he read all of the directions for me and let me know when I wasn't doing it exactly like the recipe called for 😁

  Finally, sweet Kim was called and sustained as her Ward Relief Society President today.  She is so full of love for the sister's in her Ward she will be amazing ❤

 HAPPY NOVEMBER!

 I have always loved the month of November - the earth is hanging on to it's color, even if it is just for a few short weeks. Our lawns and streets are covered with leaves, my chrysanthemums are still blooming, and Fall wreaths are overtaking Halloween decorations. It is also Hot Chocolate Season, and no one could complain about that - Doesn't really need marshmallow's, or marshmallow cream, or cinnamon sticks, or whipped cream with colorful decorations, just a cup of warm/hot chocolate -mmmmmmmm

AND starting our first week in November . . .

 we get to celebrate Eilis' birthday which is tomorrow!  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Eilis!!!  

She has captured our hearts from the time she was little and it has been fun to watch her grow into a beautiful young woman.  She is artistically and musically talented, and such a hard worker. Best of all, she is kind and thoughtful, and fun to be around.  We are excited to see her for the birthday dinner tomorrow 😃

Sadly, Eilis has crossed over to the cat-loving side of the family - I think the dog-loving side is soon to be outnumbered 😳

We have some friends for our Ward, who moved back to Paradise, Utah (near Logan) several years ago, and this week she posted a video on Facebook of a bird that her cat brought into the house.  It reminded me of all of the critters, Adam has found in his house - thanks to the cats.  Anyway, it's a fun watch and thought it was appropriate to post in honor of Eilis ❤   just click on the link -

Look at what our kitten brought into the house! Yes, that’s a magpie that’s bigger than she is. And yes, our house is currently decorated as Hogwarts.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1115198104428387/

Last Wednesday, was actually my last day of work.  I am so happy that Courtney is feeling ready to come back.  She came in on Tuesday just to see where we were at and said she thought she might come in once or twice a week through November - but I had her take the desk, and I worked on the laptop, and together we got everything ready for our October Count audit, and she just took over from there.  I popped in Friday afternoon, and she was doing great, so turned in my keys and entry badge, and came home to celebrate.  (Dad thinks he's going to be happy that I'm home more, but he may have regrets when he sees all of the "house" things I want to get done 😃)

Over the last three or four months, I've noticed some changes in my eyesight, so I was so happy to finally get in to see my optometrist until she told me that new glasses wouldn't help because I have cataracts!  So Sad!  The doctor told me a few years ago that they were there, but didn't bother me until recently.  😟

Thursday, Dad and I had a "date-day", and went to see "Heart of the Beast" at the Icon.  It was so, so good, though we should have taken a box of tissues with us (Amelia warned me).  Brad Pitt did a great job, and of course, the dog, Oden, was amazing AND (the dog doesn't die).  Afterwards, we stopped at In-n-Out and then did a little shopping at Shops at Briargate.  We went into the new L.L Bean store that just opened up and this really cute girl came up to me and asked if I needed help.  I had my Utah State sweatshirt on and so she asked if I went there. She said it was on her list of schools she was considering for next year, so I asked her what high school she was going to.  She said she was a Senior at Ascend College Prep where Lily is, and she said she not only knew Lily and Paul, but that Adam was her counselor when she was at Timberview.  Oh, and her name is Annya.  It's a small, small, world!

LAST OF THE HALLOWEEN PICS -

 Kate did such a great job on Sayre's costume 

Emma is the perfect Bob Ross 😁

 And I couldn't pass up sharing some from past years

 Mike and Barbi never disappoint 😊

  Families are the best and I feel so blessed for the many fun adventures we've been able to share together -

 I hope you all have a wonderful week, take care of yourselves, learn something new, face your challenges straight on, and know that our Savior loves you and is cheering for your successes. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY THIS PAST WEEK TO JONATHAN!

 So happy he was brave enough to join our crazy family😳 He is a wonderful husband to Kate, and an amazing Dad to Sayre - He is generous, kind, talented, and funny and we love him so much ❤ Happy Birthday, Jonathan 🎈🎂

And - Happy Heavenly Birthday to our sweet sister, Francie, whose birthday was yesterday.  We miss her! I am always so grateful for her example as I was growing up - She let me practice my babysitting skills on Matthew and Steven, and she was always so patient and kind.  I am so blessed to have such wonderful siblings ❤

OUR FAVORITE MISSIONARY is alive and doing well! 

His mission just posted some photos of a recent zone conference and I found this one of Elder Hopkins 😀

Last week, he sent a short letter that made me smile - 

"This week was kinda crazy, we got to have a fire on the beach which was super fun.  We also got to throw axes which I'm pretty sure isn't allowed but we can just say its a grey area.  Then I got bit by a dog so that was stupid👎 but me and my companion got to be in the primary program which was sick!! I honestly don't have a lot this week but it was still a great week! 

Spiritual thought: Elder Bendar has a devotional called "As Long as the World Shall Stand" if you get a chance please listen, it has changed my view on temples and made me realize how lucky we are to have temples so close to us. Please please go listen and then tell me what you think!

Also keep sending me emails I love to read them and hear about how everyone's doing!"

I loved this talk by Elder Bednar, who talked about the profound sacrifices made by the early Saints when trying to complete Temple ordinances while at the same time, being driven from their homes in Nauvoo. 

Elder Bednar compared that time in history to our time, when the world was hit with Covid-19, and temples within the United States stayed open for 3 days, 24 hours, before the required closing date of midnight on November 13th, 2020.   Many temple workers worked through the late hours of the night and through to the early morning hours of the next day, assisting patrons who had to change their temple appointments to meet the new deadline.  

One of my favorite quotes from this talk is by President Ballard, who said," Sometimes we are tempted to let our lives be governed more by convenience than by covenant. It is not always convenient to live gospel standards and stand up for truth and testify of the Restoration. It usually is not convenient to share the gospel with others. It isn't always convenient to respond to a calling in the Church, especially one that stretches our abilities. Opportunities to serve others in meaningful ways, as we have covenanted to do, rarely come at convenient times. But there is no spiritual power in living by convenience. The power comes as we keep our covenants. As we look at the lives of these early Saints, we see that their covenants were the primary force in their lives."

Thank you, Paul for sharing this talk with us!

FAMILY NEWS

Did you know our very own Chris Ellsworth played a huge part in the $2.6 Billion Terminal B transformation at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston TX?  Chris was there this past week to celebrate the opening of the new terminal which includes 22 new main gates, the largest United Club in the United States, and several new eateries.  

Congratulations Chris!!!  It looks beautiful 

United Airlines (this is just a short clip of one of the new restaurants)

These two cuties also scored big this week - 

Jonathan took Sayre to mini golf, where Kate said after 30 tries, he finally got a hole-in-one.  I love the determination to not give up!  Watch out, Uncle Ken!  Sayre might have your number 😎

 Jake is getting close to the end of his outdoor soccer season, and on Saturday he was excited because his team won and they remain undefeated for the last two seasons. AND he scored, which doesn't happen often as a defender!

 And if there is anyone who knows how to live - it's Ben.

He had his first pedicure this weekend, and learned how to make bread.

I think I'm coming to your house 😁

Blythe made it home for the weekend and had a sweet reunion with her puppy 

FINALLY - HAPPY HALLOWEEN WEEK!

Adam called earlier in the week and asked if I had any photos of him on Halloween when he was little.  I am so sad to say this was the only one I could find - 

 We had a good laugh at his "black face" (what was I thinking???) and Kim's pumpkin costume.  As I was looking through the photos I found some real treasures I thought you might enjoy - 

And one of my favorite videos of Sayre -

More to come next week . . .

Sunday Selfies - 

 

We love you all so, so much!  ❤

Include the Savior in your life everyday, and you will have a wonderful week,