Where's My Little Jonathan?!

My "baby" boy is no longer a baby!

Where's my little Jonathan?

He is all grown up!

\

Happy birthday to my baby boy! I am proud of the man you are becoming!

Blessed to have Someone Who Cares!

Luke and I have discovered the best place to eat!

The food is delicious- but what makes this place the best is the quiet... Soft music and many places away from others... Guess Luke and I look for quiet in going out these days.

On the way home, we drove past someone on the corner with a cardboard sign... Now it was getting dark and I was driving, so I didn't even really look at this person. However, Luke looked and really noticed. Three times in the next few minutes, as I continued to drive home, Luke mentioned the woman on the side of the road, asking me if I thought we should go back.

The first time, I thought about how 'late' it was given Luke's CFS, how if he didn't get to bed soon, he wouldn't be able to function the next day & then we wouldn't go out again for a long time (yeah, selfish, I know). 

The second time, I thought about how much this woman's situation must be bothering Luke for him to mention it again, but I was still worried about how 'late' it was for Luke. Then I considered how difficult it would be to turn around and fight Friday night traffic to get back to the corner where the woman was standing (again, a very selfish thought...).

The third time, I FINALLY listened to Luke. And I listened for the whisperings of the Holy Ghost confirming what Luke knew all along. We needed to go back. So I turned around, 

We had to park a bit away from the busy corner, so Luke asked me to come with him to talk with the woman. He was so very kind to this woman whom he did not know!

He offered to buy her some food, inquired about if she had a place to stay, and then gently proceeded to tell her how to get the help she needed. He explained how there is a priesthood holder called a bishop who is assigned to each neighborhood, how this man would listen to all the woman wanted to talk about, and how the bishop would work with this woman to help her in the very best way possible. Luke was also upfront with the woman about how he could not promise what the bishop would consider to be help, as that is something determined individually.

The woman sincerely thanked Luke, and we headed back home.

I do not know if Luke's talk with  this woman had any result at all in this woman's life. (I hope she took at least part of his advice.) But I do know that Luke's talk with this woman showed me once again how blessed I am to be married to him! He truly cares about people, and he truly cares about me!

And here are some Halloween shots of the Grands!

Adoring Ashtyn!

Luke and I are grandparents again! My baby girl now has this baby girl!

So adorable! As Luke said, "All babies are great, but a grandchild is... wow!"

Proud parents!

Favorite Uncle Jon!

We have the two most adorable granddaughters ever! We are so blessed!!! I mean, just look at these smiles!

My Family Addiction

Yes, I am an addict... I spent a good chunk of my summer doing family history research and loved every minute of it!

Then came the school year and my time spent doing family history came to a screeching halt.

:(

This week, I had a spare hour- or at least a non-scheduled hour. So, I decided to just look through a little family history...

I 'found' one of my dad's great uncles and a great aunt-in-law's 'missing' twin sister! Such a euphoric feeling!

And it turns out, for me, there is no longer such a thing as a little when it comes to family history.

I am officially an addict- just cannot get enough! (says the woman who has now spent over 5 hours of an extremely busy weekend researching the fam)

And there is so much to learn and so many family relationships to sort out, merge, add sources...

Perhaps one day I will be able to indulge this wonderful addiction of mine a couple of days each week.

But until then, I will have to be content to find those missing relatives a few minutes at a time. And I am so blessed to be able to do this!

Little Things are What Count

There is so much in life to make me smile!

And they are the little things that are truly the best!

Like these baby ghillies! They are the MOST adorable present for my second grand- daughter! Plus the love and thoughtfulness of Charly's friend  in making them = a most priceless gift!

Hard to wait to meet the little girl... but so grateful that Charly is doing well!

And spending time with some of my nieces is ALWAYS a treat!

Seeing this pic of my first grand-daughter- there are not adequate words to describe the wonder of that smile!

There are so many big challenges and hard things in this world of ours. I am so glad to be surrounded by so many little blessings that count so much!

My Forever 'Yes!'

Tomorrow will be 2 years since Luke took me here:

asked me THE question, to which I said 'yes!'... which meant this:

Marriage is so good! Now please do not think that all of my challenges magically disappeared on that day. Quite the contrary, in fact. Many things and circumstances became even harder... The Lord has told us that life is meant to be that way. We will always have challenges. We need them to help us grow and progress towards who we are to become. (and no, knowing this does not make it any easier.)

But having Luke in my life, caring about me, so often saying just the right thing at just the right time, thinking of me ahead of himself, blowing me a kiss as he leaves the room (like just now!)... all of that makes all of the other so very much worth it because I am sealed to this man for time and ALL ETERNITY as we both live up to the covenants we have made!

It was, still is and will always be a FOREVER kind of "yes!"

There Are Good People in this World!

Here is a letter from Richard Paul Evans that is well worth your time to read, think about, and maybe even act upon...

A Candid Letter to My Readers.

Dear Reader,

I'd like to speak candidly with you. Many of my readers have told me that the Michael Vey series isn't their "thing". I've even had readers ask why I would "waste" my time with a youth series. Indeed. I actually get paid much less to write this series than my adult novels. So why should you, or I, care about my Michael Vey series? Please give me just a moment of your precious time to tell you why, on a deeper level, this series matters.

Michael Vey is one of the best-selling Young Adult series in the world right now, one of the few series to hit #1 on the New York Times without a movie and multi-million dollar promotional budget behind it. Yet many of America's publishers didn't think Michael Vey would even sell one percent of what it already has and rejected it. Why? The answers to this question should concern you.

First, Michael Vey didn't look like the darkness the publishing world has been feeding our children–youth who hate or disregard their parents and disdain society, as if our youth needed more dysfunctional life scripts. Michael Vey is a "good" kid. What does that mean? Well, to begin with, he is loyal, kind and he loves his parents. He is humble. In today's world of swagger, he's an oddity. Second, The Michael Vey series is hopeful. It is not dystopian, it is not occult. It is scary sometimes and exciting, but Michael Vey believes in the best of humanity, that we can be good and that some things are worth fighting for, even if we don't personally profit from the results. In short, he's a hero. Third, Michael Vey appeals to youth with disabilities. (If you didn't know, Michael Vey has Tourette's syndrome.) Last week we had nearly 3,000 youth attend our Michael Vey launch party. One volunteer estimated that a fourth of those youth had disabilities. I personally spoke to six youth with autism. All of them expressed their gratitude for Michael Vey. Why? Because they see someone like them who is defined not by his "disabilities" but by his choices. By his heart. One woman told me that it was Michael Vey who got her child to go out in public again.

One more peculiar thing. I have personally come under attack for having a male hero. Imagine that. Think about it, the most recent major series have all been female protagonists: Hunger Games, Divergent, Twilight. Female heroes are important. It's important that our girls have strong role models and, as a father of four daughters, I understand this. Michael Vey has some very strong female heroes, especially Taylor, who Michael often goes to for counsel. But I also have a son and I know that we can't "overcorrect" and neglect our boys. Our boys, our grandsons, still need a hero and role model, even a literary one. Our boys are dropping out of school, and life, at an alarming rate. Many have stopped reading and the stereotype of the "reluctant male reader" has become a frightening and ubiquitous trend. We need to reach our boys. The most frequent comment we receive is this: "You got my boy to read again."

When the movie of my book, THE CHRISTMAS BOX, was about to be released, I was contacted by the publicity department of an international church seeking to help promote my book. When I asked why they would help, the man replied, "If a book this big fails in Hollywood, Hollywood will use it as a clear example to stop making inspirational movies and proof that only trash sells. I'm pleased to say that The Christmas Box went on to be the most watched television movie of the year in America with viewers in the tens of millions, prompting the production of many more inspirational films.

So even if you don't think Michael Vey is for you, the cause may be. I invite you to join the cause, because this is one where we can make a difference shaping culture. Introduce Michael Vey to your children, your grandchildren, to a neighbor. Purchase a copy or two and donate it to your school or church. Many schools have library waiting lists for Michael Vey numbering in the hundreds. (Trust me, if you're 300 on the waiting list, you're not going to get to read it.)

Michael Vey will be a seven book series. The Fourth book in the series, Hunt for Jade Dragon, comes out this Tuesday. The first book in the series is Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25. Here's a complete list of the books.

Michael Vey 1: The Prisoner of Cell 25
Michael Vey 2: Rise of the Elgen
Michael Vey 3: Battle of the Ampere
and, the new book, Michael Vey 4: Hunt for Jade Dragon (Jade Dragon is the name of an autistic Chinese girl)

Thank you and God Bless,

Richard

         Michael Vey 4: Hunt for Jade Dragon

I think I need to have some copies available to my students...

I am so grateful for good people in this world!