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THANK YOU is the August 26, 2018 Subject for our Dear Family, First we want to thank Julie for her many hours of "blood, sweat, and tears" in planning our 2018 Family Reunion. Her figuring, re-figuring, sending numerous emails, adjusting several things to fit individual family needs, taking charge at Maddox, where she introduced a new wording for our family motto.  It is every bit the same meaning as the original so we are changing our Family Motto to read:             "I LIFT THEE & THEE LIFT ME AND TOGETHER WE WILL ASCEND" Thank you Julie for all the other things you did which are so many, and done with such a sweet understanding spirit. Next we want to thank Matt for being the pilot of the famous DRONE that took our family group pictures.  Julie sent me several shots that are really fun to see.  You may have received them also.  That day when we were watching the Drone come closer and closer I kept having the feeling that ...

*Be Happy,  Let discouragement be a challenge not a defeat. Thee lift me and I'll lift thee and we will ascend together. Dear Family, The pictures I am sending were taken Sunday when I went to church with Wendell.  Archy came into our room as Wendell was getting into the wheelchair to go to church.  He is one of the Residents who loves to help, but couldn't find his room.  When he learned it was time for church he wanted to wheel Wendell to the meeting.  So he did.  After that he disappeared until dinner time when he came to sit with us at the dinner table, still confused, but wanting to help everyone. Wendell was excited to get all dressed up nice to go to church.  He was all ready when I got there except for his tie and tie tack.  I found those  and put them on for him and even got kisses for my                                        ...

Wednesday 15 August Dear Family, We are looking at a very few pictures from our reunion day on the 11th  of August.  They are mostly the ones I took.  But the important ones are the Family Group pictures that Mat took from his Drone and the picture of the sign that Julie brought to me with her sweet adaptation of our family motto. You can see it here.  It was standing on one of the tables at Maddox.  She made it with her letters that she had on hand, so she had to improvise a bit, but it definitely carries the same message.  These two shots from Matt's Drone are wonderful.   Can you find yourself in them?  It was fun to watch and wave at the Drone as it flew over us.  It felt to me like Matt was actually up in that tiny Drone that took pictures when the red lights came on.  Maybe someone of you can name everyone and email the list to me.  I can name all the adults (including our grandchildren and some of the "gre...

Progress this week for our family is the bringing together the final plans for our family reunion.  We are still following our Family Motto.  "Thee Lift Me & I'll Lift Thee....." and as Julie says, "It won't be long until we will all be together." In Elder Dale G. Renlund's conference talk, Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing, he said, "When we gather our family histories and go to the temple on behalf of our ancestors, God fulfills promised blessings simultaneously on both sides of the veil."  This is going to be an important part of our reunion this year.  We are really excited for this to happen and can hardly wait for that moment when we will be able to gather together in the Logan temple to do the work for many of our very own ancestors.  Just think, we will be doing baptisms, confirmations, sealings spouses to each other and children to their parents.  Imagine the happiness that will be taking place on the other sid...

Fall Seven Rise Eight = Another wise saying that wraps around our Family Motto, Thee lift me and I'll lift thee and we will ascend together.  It also encompasses our addition: Be happy.  Let disappointments be a challenge, not a defeat. Dear Family, On this, the 30th day of July, I will tell you how I came about this great discovery.  It was in church yesterday when this very learned new Brother in our ward and his wife gave their first ever talks in our ward.  He explained in length the meaning of three keys to successful lives.  I will share a brief summary:       "Fall Seven Rise Eight."  We all make mistakes which we think of as disobeying the Lord's commandments or disappointing family, friends, or employer.  This causes us a great sense of being bad, stupid, or unkind.  These can be the seeds of all kinds of unwanted behaviors.  Sooo we need to find a way to avoid or change that from happening.  We must dete...

 "Peace I leave with you.  My peace I give unto you."  "Thee lift me & I'll lift thee and we will ascend together."  These two quotations touch my heart as I think of the many different challenges are present in our family.  We all have our own "cross" to bear; so in that way way we are all different.  But we are all alike in being able to receive help from the Lord and each other.  And that is where we are all different in how we accept that challenge.  These two roses are blooming at the same time on the same plant.  They are not the same color.  The little one is yellow and the big one is pink.  It is called The Peace Rose.  It starts out yellow and then, as it matures, slowly changes to a delicate pink, side by side of it's sister blossom - like it is following the example to become pink. On the other hand these lilies are content to be all the same color as they bloom together on the same plant....

July 16th 2018 Dear Family,  This morning my Conference Talk to watch was "Prepare to Meet God" by Quentin L. Cook.  As I listened to his thoughtful, inspirational, teachings of how to do this the thought came to me, "That is exactly what our Family Motto stands for:  Thee lift me and I'll lift thee and we will ascend together."   Our Family Reunion on Saturday August 11th is a model stepping stone to this goal.  We will be meeting together in a spirit of love for each other; some,both young and old, will be doing Temple ordinances (Baptisms & Sealings), we will all be enjoying the activities we choose to do as we mingle and share wonderful things together- whether it be in words or physical types of activities.  We will have the opportunity to "minister" to the Joint Founder of this fast growing family, Grandpa Christensen.  This is my hope: that we all come with love and joyful feelings to be part of this SPECIAL DAY WHICH WILL TAKE PLA...