Today in Primary, we talked about the miracles performed by Elisha, the miracles of the Savior, and miracles we see everyday in our lives.  One of my favorite stories has always been one shared by the survivors of the Willie-Martin Handcart Company who felt the presence of angels helping them push their carts during the harshest of conditions. 

President Russell M. Nelson has taught that our God is a God of miracles. "The Lord will bless you with miracles if you believe in Him, doubting nothing. Do the spiritual work to seek miracles. Prayerfully ask God to help you exercise that kind of faith."  Many of you have witnessed miracles, more than you realize. They may seem small in comparison to Jesus raising the dead. But the magnitude does not distinguish a miracle, only that it came from God. 

 I have always said that Sayre is our "miracle baby", because Kate and Jonathan didn't think they would be able to children, and then 10 years after they were married they were blessed with this beautiful little guy.  But then today, I was thinking really all of you are miracles in our lives - you were wanted and prayed for, you have beautiful bodies and spirits, and we consider. you to be special gifts from Heavenly Father.  

You each have a special place in our hearts.

You are special to our Heavenly Father and to our Savior.  You are all at places in your lives where the choices you make will determine your future.  Remember how much you are loved, stay busy with good things, recognize your parents for the many sacrifices they have made for you, be happy, and above all, find joy each day ❤

  

FAMILY NEWS ~

I think EVERYONE has had a busy week!  

Angella and girls have been busy with work. Emma is moving tomorrow to a home in Fountain.  Even though we don't get to see her too often, I will miss not having her closer. 

Eilis stopped by for a short visit this week - She brought Jacob along and we had a fun lunch at Mod Pizza.  We also got to see Ben for a few minutes this week.  He has grown so much over the last couple of months, and is so much fun to have around.

 We are excited that he and Sayre will have some time to spend together when Kate comes later this month.  We are hoping for a trip to Santa's Workshop and time they can spend on their devices together. 

Blythe, Grant, and Spencer are all busy working this summer.  Max is still working at the MTC, however, he spent this past weekend in Atlanta with Amelia and her parents. 

Kim and Chris are busy getting ready for Max and Amelia's wedding (and finding a pink dress for Kim).  

We are excited, and know it will be a wonderful day❤

Sayer finished soccer this week by scoring four goals!  He is hoping that he might bet to kick the ball around with Jake when he is here. 

He talked Kate into helping him fish in the canal that runs behind their house this week.  They got the corn on the hook, and Kate said it took less than 3 minutes and he caught a fish, and then had the trauma of getting the fish unhooked.  Jonathan wasn't home, so a neighbor offered to help.  They put the fish in the water while they were waiting for the neighbor to bring some pliers, and when they pulled the fish out it had swallowed the hook. They cut the line, and gave the poor fish an honorable farewell 😢

Fishing is just not as easy as Jake makes it sound . . . 😂

 Adam, Cory, Paul, Lily, and Jake left with their trailer Thursday afternoon for a few days in the mountains.  Once school starts Adam and Cory are always so busy, I'm glad they get this chance to enjoy some family time before Paul leaves on his mission. And it looks like they are having a wonderful time -

Adam said that one day they went on a hike and Milo was so tired, he had to lay down in the stream to cool off.  ❤  AND watch out world Jake is driving 😳 👇

FINALLY - this has always been a favorite video of Lily, which Kim calls the "birth of an influencer"

Well, today, Lily decided to give us a 2026 version 😂. Love you Lily!

It is getting late, and I haven't had my Sunday ice cream yet 😁 (it really doesn't look like this) 

JiChan and I love hearing from you - your adventures, your challenges, things that make you happy, or things that frustrate, lessons learned (good or bad), or just what's going on in your life. Please keep us up to date, and send photos, after all, we are making history here.

Love you! ❤

 It looks like everyone found a fun way to celebrate the 4th of July -Thanks so much  for all of the photos!!

 

 

It looks like Spencer started the day watching Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.  I checked it out, and just in case you were curious, it looks like the winner ate 60 hotdogs 😖 

 Eilis went camping with some friends, and thankfully the weather cooperated - We had sunny days with just a little bit of breeze for the last couple of days.

Max and Amelia enjoyed a BBQ, and then it looks like they made it to the Stadium of Fire! 🔥

Do you all remember when we were home one summer and went to the Stadium of Fire?  We saw the Flying Elvi (pronounced elv-eye) and Huey Lewis and the News. 😁 And you all know I don't do heights, and our seats were almost as high as they could go - so I left you all and a really nice stadium official let me sit on the stairs the went right on to the field.  Best seat in the house!😊

 Mike and Barbi headed down to Ramona for their 4th of July parade and festivities, and will be attending the San Diego Temple open house. 

 That is another thing I have on my want-to-do list.  When Dad retired and we spent a few days in LA with his friend Clyde, we made a day trip to San Diego, saw the Temple, sat in lounge chairs and had a Pepsi at the Hotel Del Coronado, on Coronado Island, and ate dinner in Old Town. 

 I need a few more days there to attend a Temple session, go back to the Hotel Del, tour the Midway, and visit the Mormon Battalion Historical site.  Sounds like fun, right???

 😂 Ok, Grant and Jordin (I am assuming that is Jordin) win 1st place for the eagle costume. Did she wear that for work? or a parade?  Super patriotic, I love it!!

Kate, Jonathan, and Sayre kept cool in their community swimming pool. 

 

And then we have our other sun worshipers, Adam and Paul. Adam, Cory, Samantha, Paul, and Jake drove to the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri for a family vacation with all of Cory's family, including Cory's sisters, husbands, and all of the kids (and Paul and Cheryl). They drove home today, and I'm guessing they are exhausted 😴. 

 Dad and I went with Melanie and Dave, and Cathy. to see Young Washington. It was so, so good! I have always loved American history, and fascinated with stories of our founding fathers, the Revolutionary War, and Civil War, their leaders, and strategies.  I may need to add another trip to my list - Virginia, Mount Vernon, Monticello, Independence Hall, Valley Forge, Gettysburg . . .😁. We finished our day with a visit to In-N-Out, and then came home and took the dogs for a walk. 

We are so blessed to live in a country where we enjoy the freedoms and liberties that many people in the world do not.  Despite all of the negative news, and the sad examples of so many of our politicians (on all sides), we do live in a place set aside by our Heavenly Father where the gospel could be restored and everyone is free to worship how they like.

   HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK!

 

Sorry for the l o n g  vacation from the family blog.  I felt so bad each Sunday when I didn't get it done, but June has been overwhelming, and I am so happy that we are heading into July, and one of my very favorite holidays . . . 

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! Always one of my favorite days! This is the month when peaches are the best and my mom always made peach cobbler. My dad was the fireworks director and was the only one allowed to light them.  

When we were stationed at Yokota we took the family to Tokyo Disneyland on the 4th.  It was a regular school day for the Japanese student so the park was fairly empty, which translated means, no long lines 😁

 Since no one is smiling in this photo, I would guess that I'm the only one who wanted to go on, "It's a Small World".

 My other favorite memory was visiting Kim and Chris when they lived in Centerville, VA and we went to the National Mall and watched fireworks over the Washington Monument.

 

 I love Washington D.C., even with all of the craziness now, it is so full of history, I would love a return trip.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR VERY

1ST GRANDCHILD!

 

Spencer taught us all about being a grandparent! 

We will always remember the curly fry covered in ketchup that he was swinging around in the Tucson food court, and swiped it across the BEhind of an old man who was wearing white pants 😀 or the saying, "I can't like it" (which we say often).  Spencer is so kind and thoughtful, and we love it when he calls to chat.  I think I still owe you lunch, Spencer!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THIS BEAUTIFUL

BABY TURNED BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMAN!

Samantha has made us smile from day 1.  It has been so fun to watch her grown in confidence and become a fabulous adult.  One of my favorite memories and one we talk about often, is the day she came over and labeled all of my jewelry with blue masking tape, making sure she would inherit it all. 😂

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YESTERDAY 

    to ANGELLA, AND CHRIS

 

So thankful for Angella and all that she has taught me about faith, perserverance, and optimism.  

And I have always loved Chris' sense of humor, the fun adventures we can laugh about, and his humility. 

Our family is blessed every day by both of you - your devotion to your families, and the love and kindness your share with everyone you meet. ❤

WHILE I WAS ON VACATION . . . 😁  

I think everyone stayed pretty busy -

Last Friday we got to go to the Temple with Paul.  It was so amazing to be there with him, and it was special to have Kim and Max there also.  He is going to be one, amazing, missionary!

He actually started his summer going to FSY in Ft. Collins, and not too many days after that he took a road trip to the Tetons with some friends.  He had a great time and took some amazing photos.  I've just added Yellowstone to the places-I've-never-been-but-want-to-visit list.  

   

He an his friend also met a couple of cute girls at FSY. (thankfully, they (Paul and his friend) are headed off on missions in the next few weeks!)

Eilis and Emma are busy with work and friends.  Emma will be moving to Fountain with some friends in July, until she can find a place of her own. 

Hollie is busy rolling around town in her "yellow bug", and mixing up the best ice cream ever at Dairy Queen.  She was at the mall the other day and stopped by for a quick visit before heading home.  

 This is my funny "Hollie story" that she said I could share -   She was telling us that she had missed some days of work the previous week, and when I asked why, she said she had a concussion.   So then, of course, my next question was how did she get a concussion, and then she said her hair got caught in the blender at work and it yanked her head back hard before they could get it stopped.  Ok, maybe that's not such a funny story, but I'm sorry, it did make me chuckle just a little. 😳  We are planning a lunch date for next week ~

Kate has been busy with her art show, girls camp, and keeping up with Jonathan and Sayre.  She went to Chicago for a couple of days to help Kim with a wedding shower for Max and Amelia, and their Chicago friends. Kate took some photos (which she will also be doing for the wedding). 

 

She was in charge of a craft project for Girl's Camp that went really well. What a trooper (unlike her mom), she stayed for the week, and fixed a cozy bed for herself in the back of her car.

Lily also went to Girls Camp this summer - another camper in the family - and she had fun, but said the food wasn't that good😋

And this is what I really think about camping 👇

Josh and Ben headed West to Utah for Cameron's wedding.

 Josh said they had a fun time and got to see lots of family.  

And thanks for sending this updated photo of Grandma and Grandpa's home, and Great Grandpa  -

I have so many fun memories of time spent in these homes ~

Adam's pride and joy this month was finally acquiring Helma's Explorer.  He and Chris towed over to our house, and Adam and Jake worked on it several days, and they finally got it started!

I don't know who was the happiest- Adam or Jake

While Kate was gone this month, Jonathan had Sayre and some adventures of their own.  

 Jonathan said they went troll hunting.  That's a new one for me, but anything with those two is always fun -

Sayre has also been busy with soccer practice and games. 

 AND, I think Sayre loves ice cream like I love ice cream - It must be in our DNA 😁

 

Adam, Cory, and Jake took a trip to Utah to help Samantha get settled in her new apartment, and shortly after they got home, Cory flew to Florida for a conference for school. I love that she is so dedicated to helping her young students.

 Tomorrow their family is off for a family reunion in Missouri, Lake of the Ozarks.  It will be their last family get-together before Paul leaves on his mission.

LAST LITTLE TID-BITS FROM JUNE ~

Jake is truly his Dad's shadow - He soaks up everything Adam does - 

 Whether it's working on a car or mountain biking  - He can tell you every tool to use, what needs to be done, and how to do it! I love his confidence and enthusiasm.  😂❤

Kim and Chris have been in Mallorca, Spain this week, to celebrate their anniversary and Chris' birthday.  

Safe Travels!

AND A HUGE THANK-YOU PAUL AND KIM FOR HELPING ME GET THROUGH THE LAST WEEK OF CLASS!!!  I couldn't have made it without you ❤❤

Kim made the cookies, recorded the video, added the music, and Paul did all of the editing required for the assignment, whew ...  If you are wondering what i did - I was the director, of course😂

DO YOU IMAGINE THERE IS A DAY OF THE WEEK WHEN WE DON'T THINK OF EACH ONE OF YOU?  

  

 That's what Grandparents do the best!!! We think of you, worry about you, pray for you, and look forward to your visits, text messages, and phone calls.   Just so you know . . . 😊  

 

ALSO, if you are having a hard time finding your smile this week, just watch this - It is one of my favorites -

LOVE YOU!   ❤