HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JAKE!  This handsome guy turns 10 today and is so happy he is in the "2 digits" now.  

 He is such a gift to our family - he is a hard worker, and there isn't a rock, stump, hedge, flower bed, ditch, tree, or fence he hasn't jumped over or climbed. He says the best prayers and gives the best hugs. He cares about others. He always makes us smile and has brightened our lives over the last 10 years. We love you, Jake!

Chicago News:

Kim and Chris had a fun houseful this weekend with Max and Amelia coming for a visit.  Kim said it had been a long time since their whole family was able to arrange work schedules so they could have dinner together. They also made time to go to the Temple, and Max took Amelia downtown to show - with Blythe and Cora as their tour guides 😃 

Iowa City Happenings ~

 Kate is back at work, Jonathan doesn't have to go back for another week, but he is doing "work stuff" from home, and Sayre is back to school and just started another season of soccer.  His baptism will be on Sunday, February 8th.  He is growing so quickly - it won't be too long before Kate will be asking him to help her get things from the top shelf.

double-fisting his yogurt after practice.

 We are looking forward to seeing them next month and being there to celebrate Sayre's birthday and baptism. 

Monument Madness!!

Adam and Cory were back to work this week, and in between work schedules, Adam has been repairing cars . . .🚙  Samantha is enjoying her work at the dental office, and school, and she finally quit working at Lifetime - which was a huge stress reliever for her.

Paul stopped by yesterday afternoon.  He is still trying to get all of his paperwork turned in for his mission. His dental paperwork had been misplaced (not by him), and he needed extra blood work done, so he had to go back to the doctor for that.  I think yesterday, he finally had it all done, and then was told that because his availability date wasn't until July, he would need to wait until February before he could turn it in.  Anyway, it's all done, so now all we can do is practice patience 😁

With all of the kids back at school and work this week, and Adam and Cory back to work, we were so lucky to get to spend Tuesday with Jake (his school hadn't started yet).  I hadn't taken down our Christmas decorations yet, so I put him to work helping me take the ornaments off the tree.  He eventually told me I wasn't fast enough, so he pretty much took over that job and got all the ornaments off the tree, while I packed them in their boxes.  He then helped me get the tree in its box (which was no easy feat), and he managed to get it downstairs by himself (it was sooo heavy).  I tried to help, but he basically told me I was in the way. 😁

The Rest of Colorado Springs -

Dad had jury duty on Monday, which, after about three hours, they sent him home.  We spent Wednesday running errands - returning Amazon boxes to Whole Foods and Kohl's, a visit to Costco, and quick stop at Trader Joe's.  Yesterday, I got some housecleaning done, we picked up some peanut butter from Sam's Club for Sendai, and then went to visit Shannon.  She seemed happy, and not too much has changed with her. 

I know Angella has been busy this week preparing the house and the kids for her surgery on Thursday. She made arrangements with the Mother of one of Ben's friends from school, who will bring him home each day. 

I have a lot of reading and writing assignments for my American Government class, taking dinner to a friend on Wednesday, and giving Angella a hand when she has surgery on Thursday. Adam and Cory are headed to Las Vegas early Friday morning for Lily's soccer tournament. Paul is babysitting Samantha while Adam and Cory are gone, and I get Jake and Milo for the weekend. Yay!!!

AND finally, from Sunny California ~

Mike went down to Modesto and spent several days with Francie while Jenny took some time away for her birthday.  Mike said Francie struggles with her speech and there are good moments and not-so-good moments.  I talked to her for a few minutes this week, and I could tell she had declined even from just one month ago. It makes me so sad, and anxious to see her.  Mike took her over to check the progress on the Modesto Temple.

Finally - 

This is only my first week of my American Government class, but I loved what I learned.  Our reading focused on the Articles of Confederation and how the writing of the Constitution evolved.  When James Madison proposed his plan for how our government should be formed, it sparked a major disagreement between the smaller states and the larger states.  The point was that neither side would compromise.  Benjamin Franklin became frustrated with the arguing and reminded the delegates that they only survived and won the Revolutionary War because of the power of prayer, and that possibly, they needed to seek the Lord's help again. 

This made me think of where we are in our country today. No one is willing to compromise, to work together, and I doubt that many of our politicians look for answers in prayer. 

The link below is for a movie we watched for class. It is an old, old movie, produced by BYU (you might recognize some of the faces) - but the content is credible and if you have an interest in U.S.  History, I think you might enjoy it.  I believe it was Benjamin Franklin (or maybe George Washington) who said that it is only through compromise that we can become united.  Still true today.

A More Perfect Union