HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAKE!
 It's just hard to believe that Jake celebrated his 9th birthday yesterday.  

I remember the day he was born, and I think I left school (Liberty) around noon so I could get a peek at him. DadDad and Brama (?) were there as well as Sammi, Paul, and Lily. He has been a handsome heartbreaker from the start!

He celebrated the day ice skating with friends, milkshakes, and chocolate cake waffles made by his Dad.  

One of my favorite memories of Jake is the time Cory took him shopping at Sam's Club and suddenly he disappeared - only to be found in the 

refrigerated foods, with the cheese 😂
 

Our family would not be the same without him!!!

 Love you, Jake 💖

CONGRATULATIONS TO JONATHAN!

This week ended on a high note for Kate and Jonathan.  We all know that Jonathan has been teaching Trombone at the University of Iowa.  Last year the school decided to create a new tenure-track position and open it up to applicants nationwide.  So, in essence, Jonathan had to reapply, go through the interview process, perform, and a few other stress-causing requirements, and then wait to see if he still had a job next year.  Friday, they found out that Jonathan was hired for the position and they are so happy and very much relieved!  We are excited for them and know that Heavenly Father has helped them see this long process through to the end.  Ji-Chan and I are excited to see them next month as we will be going over for Sayre's 7th birthday, and of course, to get a new Hawkeye's hoodie. (and go to Aldi😀)

YOU JUST NEVER KNOW WHO YOU ARE GOING TO RUN INTO!

 Our favorite United guy was in Houston this week and just happened to run into our favorite, Elder Uchtdorf, who just happened to be on his way to South America. 

 I love that Elder Uchtdorf always seems to be happy, and he is always smiling and he always has a great story to share.  He is the epitome of the joy that comes from the Gospel.  Way to go, Chris!

This reminds me a little of the time Kate and I missed our flight to Korea ( because we were in line behind a bazillion missionaries).  We were staying with Kim and Chris in Salt Lake and we walked down to the neighborhood market across the street from the Temple to get some drinks for lunch and we ran into Elder Faust.  Kate told him we were on our way to Korea and he wanted to know why in the world we wanted to go there.  Then we were behind him in the check-out line and he didn't have his wallet so we were going to pay for him, but the clerk just told him she would put it on his tab.  

THIS WEEK JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER!

 We had a great start to our week as Adam and Cory both had work but the kids didn't have school until Wednesday, so we got Jake, Lily, Ben, and Hollie for two whole days!  We kept super busy, did some fun things, and the kids were so great! Kevin thought Jake needed a new hat so they went up to Scheels and found one that fit him perfectly.  Lily and I took Jake to Sky Zone, and he didn't stop jumping, sliding, and playing dodgeball and soccer for the whole 2 hours we were there.  We got home just as Hollie and Ben arrived so we fed Ben, and then we had a girls' trip to Barnes and Nobles.  Pizza for dinner and then everyone went to bed early!

 Tuesday, we went back to Sky Zone and this time Lily stayed home to read her new book, and Hollie went with me to help with Jake and Ben.  When their time was up we dropped them off at the house and had a girl's lunch out and we were just getting ready to head over to Goodwill when Adam called and said Paul had sprained his ankle and they needed to take him to urgent care - so Lily didn't make it to Goodwill with us and we were not able to get haircuts for Jake and Ben.  When we got home Hollie volunteered to cut Ben's hair so she set up a beauty salon in the kitchen and I provided the scissors.  She did a great job, though Ben was not 
happy about it.

WEDNESDAY, Spencer called us.  He is doing well, loves his job, and has a new friend, Sonia.  

  This photo is from one of their dates at Ulysses S. Grant Park in Chicago. Spencer has become interested in the arts, painting, etc.  I love it when the grandkids keep in touch and let us know how they are surviving this crazy world.

 

EARLIER in the week, Paul brought me 4 t-shirts he needed to have hemmed up.  I have never been very comfortable working on t-shirts so I called my friend Kathy has two sewing machines, an embroidery machine, a long-arm quilting machine, and a serger to see if she could give me a lesson.  I thought you needed a serger to make hems look good on t-shirts, but she showed me how to do it on my machine - I just needed a different type of needle.  Anyway, we pinned, cut, and hemmed all of the shirts in just a couple of hours, and I was so happy I learned something new.  

SUNDAY SELFIE

Kate, Jonathan, and Sayre win the Sunday Selfie award today 😁

 Kate said Sayre was grumpy this morning so they were trying to make him smile.

Also, has anyone else ever felt like this during Church?  You just want to snuggle up in your Dad's coat and take a little snooze. 😁

  Words can't describe how much we love each and every one of you.

I hope you have a wonderful week and know we are always here for you.

Last night when I crawled into bed I was looking for a talk by Elder Holland and came across this short video.  When you have a free minute it is a good reminder that Heavenly Father is always there for us too!

Elder Holland