Jazzy Brazil and California

Thismonth is truly going to be a sample of my finagling in order to showcase places our family members have been which don't begin with the same letters of the alphabet as the months of the year.  So, June is Jazzy Brazil and California.  Wait til you see what I do in July! :-D
Dad and Tony served their missions in Brazil, and of course,    
                                                                                Daynen is there right now, and Nathan has clients   in Brazil and has visited them there.

 I remember when we were dating and Dad would talk about his mission, I decided that I definitely wanted to go to Brazil.  That was the first time it occurred to me that I might marry this handsome, skinny missionary.  I still have never been to Brazil, but I haven't given up yet. The top picture on the left is one of Dad's from 1960 when he was there.  The one under it is of Nathan when he visited  Brazil earlier this year.  Rio de Janeiro is behind him with the mountain topped by the huge statue of Christ.  You can see it through the clouds. The middle picture is of Dad at Iguazu Falls.  In the upper right pictures you see Tony in the Brazilian jungle and Daynen in a Brazilian village. The bottom left pictures are of the San Bernadino area of California, where Joshua served.  He is standing in front of the Redlands Temple.  The pictures on the right are of Hmong people in the Fresno area where Shadrach will be serving and of Luke enjoying the California surf.  Rachel and her family have spent many summer vacations on the beach in California.

June has seen Biggs family members all over the world!  Joel and Jeremy were in France and England; Taylor was in Haiti; Stetson and Levi were in Spain, Africa and London; Rebecca and Scott's family went to Mexico; Dallin and Sara are in Ohio and DeWitt is in Georgia.  That's not even including our missionaries, of course, who are in Milwaukee, Brazil and Hawaii!  Look for pictures in their sections.  I'm definitely going to have to continue this theme of Biggses around the world next year in order to cover even most of the places we've spent time in.  It should be fun!
June weather has been so typical and so atypical.  The first of June we actually had rain!  We were in Mesa when it rained on June 5th, the first time it had rained in the Phoenix area on June 5th in recorded history! (According to Dad who saw it on line, so it must be true :-)  Then the middle to the end of June we saw it's more usual hot, dry weather, with some evening gusty winds (see Mary's section). June is actually the hottest, driest month in Arizona, so if we can keep our plants alive through June, we usually get some relief with July monsoons.  June is also swimming season!  Hooray!

And popsicle season.

Dad's birds have been frequent visitors to our tractor-feeder and to our flowers. It has been fun to watch the drama around the bird feeder.  We have several (5 or 6 at a time) little yellow-bellied finches who regularly come to feast, and sometimes a cardinal.  They fly all around, competing for a place to eat, until a huge dove or pigeon flies over and scares them all away.  They perch on the pool fence, or playground equipment, waiting for the big bird to finish eating, but sometimes he will just sit there, guarding the food and not even eat any...just selfishly keeping the smaller birds away.

One morning I checked the pool temperature before I swam and my heart fell to my feet when I read that it was 151 degrees!  I texted it to Dad, who came out and found that the pump was dry and not working, so that accounted for the incorrect temperature reading.  Still, I was a little trepidatious about getting in.  The water was not that hot, but still very warm.

June is also the month we celebrate the birthdays of some of our hottest yet coolest family members!

Hayden turned 13, a teenager, on the 4th.

Porter turned 19 on the 5th.

Stephanie's birthday was the 6th-DDay-when Joel always goes to France.

Grandpa Hiatt's 90th birthday was the 9th.

In 1945 and 2015...20 years old and 90 years old.  You can still see the handsome man in there, can't you? 

Nathan's birthday was the 17th.

Stetson's birthday was also the 17th.

And Joshua's birthday was the 18th.

We came home from our trip to Colorado, on June 1st, where we had gone to see Shadrach's graduation, mission call, and Albert's Eagle Court of Honor, all included in the May blog.  

On the 4th, we went to Mesa to see Grandma and Grandpa and visit with the Mesa kids. We had lunch with Jeremy's kids.  Jeremy was in France and Erika was working.  It was Hayden's birthday, so we were hoping to celebrate with him, but it turned out that he was gone to Scout camp!  We had fun with the other kids, though.  We went to Mi Amigos. Happy Birthday, Hayden.  We enjoyed your party!

The next day, we went to visit Grandma and Grandpa.  Esther met us there.

Then we went to El Charro for lunch, where Marlie and Shad joined us.

And to the cemetery to check out our "future home," as Dad calls it.  We also visited his parents' graves and saw the resting places of other Biggses and Lambs. Maybe next time we can find out where the Driggses and Brintons are buried.

That evening, the day before Stephanie's birthday, we took her and Docker to Black Angus (one of Dad's new favorites).  Joel had asked us to get her a birthday cake.  He was in France and felt sad that he wasn't able to be with her on her birthday.  He figured chocolate makes up for a lot.  He's right.  The next day, her birthday, Esther took her to get a pedicure.  That makes up for a lot too.

On the 6th, Dad took my phone to the geniuses at San Tan Village. I think they have missed us.  We haven't been there for a couple of months!  My phone had started screeching in my ear and had a lot of static at the best times.  They said I could have another phone but didn't have one in the store, so Dad went all the way to the store in Chandler for a new iPhone.  So far, it's working.  We'll see.  Maybe it's the lime green color that's the jinx.

When we got home we got a surprise message on our land line.  It was the secretary of Elder Robbins, a member of the presidency of the Seventy, asking us to give him a call when we got home.  We called him, and then he called us and got us on a conference call to ask Dad to serve as 1st councilor to President Herrington in the Gila Valley Temple Presidency, and me to serve as assistant matron to Nona Herrington.  We feel excited, of course, and a little worried about missing children's and grandchildren's activities, a lot worried about how we are going to visit Grandpa and Grandma as much as we should, (I'm really hoping all of you will take up the slack for us) and very very humble. The 2nd councilor, Calvin Allred from Wilcox,  has been a stake president, a mission president and other things.  It should be interesting and I know we will learn a lot from the people with whom we will serve.  One thing I need to learn is how to use Family Search to find names.  That seems a basic thing for us to know if we are going to serve in the Temple presidency.   Harrison has been trying to teach me, but I need a lot more instruction and practice.

June 9th was Grandpa's 90th birthday.  All the kids in town went to Nancy's house to visit with him, mainly with Grandma, for the occasion.  Dad and I had gone the week before because we knew we wouldn't be able to be there on his birthday; it was a Saturday night and we had Sunday responsibilities.  But he is glad to see us whenever we come...at least Mother is glad to see us.

That day, in Safford, we had an impromptu haircutting party.  Rachel, Kirtlyn, Jenn and Dad wanted Mary to cut their hair.  I admit, I had a hard time with Jenn's getting her gorgeous long, thick hair chopped off, but she looks really cute.  She donated her hair to cancer patients.

Henry and Alex had to be entertained while Mary and Jenn were occupied with hair.  Luke really pitched in...of course, he didn't have much choice as Henry totally adopted him and clung to him and made Luke play with him.  Luke was a good sport though.

Esther and Shad and their family came for a few days' summer vacation on the 11th.  As usual, we partied the whole time!  We had a swimming/pizza party at Rebecca's,

A cookout/swimming party the next night (notice Shad and Tyson's fire:-} )

And some stargazing with Grandpa.

One time he got the grandkids to help him plant flowers and veggies in his square foot garden, and, of course, Jared, who is crazy about Soren and Brody, got them to watch cartoons with him.

We also had a tractor pull on Grandpa's little tractor.  I think the kids enjoyed it almost as much as Dad did :-)  In fact, Jared woke up crying, several mornings later.  "Mom I need you," he said.  "What's wrong?" she asked.  "I just want to go to Grandma's house and ride on Grandpa's tractor!"

On Saturday, before Esther left, we got together to grate cheese.  Thomas lets us know when the cheese is a good price and everyone who is interested buys it from him.  Our family is the cheesiest family I've ever known!

That next Sunday, Rebecca invited us to dinner, along with Grandma Sherry, Savannah and her husband and Lexie, DeWitt's girlfriend.

June 19th, our 51st anniversary, found us at El Charro where we were treated like royalty.  Fifty-one years! Rebecca posted a wedding picture of us when we were young and cute, and we got so many loving, flattering comments.  It really made my month! 

On Fathers' Day, Thomas and Jenn's family joined us for a Fathers' Day meatball dinner. 

That evening, everyone came over to show love and appreciation to their wonderful dad.  We had fresh peach ice cream...I'm sure they would have come anyway :-)

The girls played a rhythm clapping game that the little girls started.  It was so much fun, in spite of making me feel spastic and uncoordinated.

Our friend and former Bishop, Mark Tregaskes, is retiring as superintendent of schools in the Safford school district.  It was actually he who unwittingly encouraged us to settle in Safford rather than Thatcher with his comment that "There are good people in both communities.  You'll be happy wherever you live."  Everyone we had talked to from Thatcher had warned us in no uncertain terms not to live in Safford. 

Phil and Roma Lee had their 45th anniversary celebration and Phil's retirement party this month.

Aubrey, Karl's daughter, posted this picture on Instagram.  I copied it because it had a picture of my father on Fathers' Day.

On the 22nd, Jeremy, Erika and Ellie came to town.  Erika began her emergency room rotation at the Mt. Graham hospital and they stayed here.  I saw her when they first got here, but she worked from noon to midnight every day, so the next time I saw her was when they were leaving!  It was fun to have Jeremy and Ellie here, though.  We had a nacho/penny-up party at Mary's.

The girls all had fun together, swimming and playing, for three nights, and...

...Jeremy even took them to see Inside Out at the theater.

Mary and Tyson hosted a cookout on Saturday, the 27th, to thank Rachel and Thomas and their families for all the help at the Edward Jones community appreciation event.  We had already made plans to eat at El Charro with Joyce and Scott Alder, but we there there to take a few pictures.

Just before we left for dinner, Henry had a terrible accident on the trampoline and broke his leg! Clear through both the fibula and the tibia.  I felt so agonizingly sad for him.  I remember how much the tiny fracture in my wrist hurt, so I could only imagine how he felt.  Dad and Thomas gave him a blessing before they took him to the emergency room where they wrapped his leg to stabilize it until the swelling goes down, then they will cast it in a few days.  He got the little bear in the ER.  Too bad Erika had already gone back to Mesa.  She has already had her orthopedics rotation, so she would have known just what to do.

The next day, Sunday, we stayed with him after our church, so his family could go to their church.  He was in such good spirits and happy to have us there.  He told me all about his "ouchy" and that he hurt it on the trampoline.  We have been incredibly fortunate that we have had so few injuries in the 36 years or so that we have had that trampoline; it's just too bad that Henry had to be one of them.

He has been so patient and good natured about his incapacity, though.  Kirtlyn said he is happier now than before he broke his leg because he gets to choose all the shows and gets to have all the devices and everyone carries him around wherever he wants to go!

Rachel and Mary brought their kids and Jenn's kids over to swim on the 29th.  It turned into swimming lessons.  Jared was just determined to learn to swim and Mary patiently helped him until she was exhausted, but he wouldn't quit, so Rachel took over.  Maya was so impressed with Jared's efforts that she decided to try it too.  And it was Alex's first time in the pool.  He splashed and laughed and loved it!

Astronomical event on June 30...Jupiter collides (or seems to) with Venus...courtesy of Mary.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE FAMILY

~NATHAN AND SHAUNA~

"Hang loose, Sister Biggs."

Three baptisms!! What a happy day!

Josh the Preservationist buildings.

Nathan and Shauna attended the College World Series.  It is held in Omaha every year.

He attended a concert of one of his favorite bands, Copeland, and got a picture with the lead singer.

Sister Missionaries in the Hawaiian Temple Visitors' Center.

Hannah in Hawaii...she has set the precedent for the girls in our family who may want to consider serving a mission.  Lillian has decided that she wants to serve, and her papers have already gone to Salt Lake for assignment.  We are excited for her and hope to know where she will serve by the first week in July.  Camille, too, at her young age is already talking about going on a mission.  She was impressed with Hannah and Lillian and she asked her mom if the Lord tells you to go on a mission.  "You choose if you want to go, and the Lord sends you where you're needed the most," answered Rachel.  "Why, where would you want to go?"  "I'd like to go to Paris, but the Lord is going to send me to China," Camille said.  "Why do you think that?" wondered Rachel, knowing they had never discussed the issue with her before, especially not regarding China.  "Because the people in China need me the most, " she explained.

I probably should have put this in the "smile" section.  Don't those gorgeous, happy smiles make you want to smile back at them?

Shauna's parents, John and Margaret Fincher, celebrated their 50th anniversary.  

Nathan and Shauna bought them 50 red roses, just as they did for ours. 

Obviously this absolutely beautiful picture was taken before Hannah's mission, but I saw it on Facebook in June, so it's getting posted for June.  I love this picture.

~JOEL AND STEPHANIE~

Joel and Jeremy and their crew spent a week in France, during the D-Day memorial celebration.  They are always so well received, the French showing their appreciation to America for liberating them from Germany during WWII.  Bert, Joel, Jeremy, Chris and Earl were all there.

The city put out a poster advertising the event, using pictures from last year's parade. 

At the same time, Stetson and Levi were enjoying an ASU semester abroad in Spain.

Making azulejos.

They even attended a bull fight...bloody, they said.

Some of their fellow students.

 

And they got the chance to go to Morocco in Africa.  Reminds me of one of my favorite 1950's songs, Ahab the Arab, the sheik of the burning sands...He had emeralds and rubies just drippin' off of him and a ring on every finger of his hand.  He had a big old turban wrapped around his head and a scimitar by his side, and every evening about midnight, he'd jump on his camel named Clyde, and ride.  For $2, where did Ahab ride? 

Morocco at night.

Levi posted this picture on Stetson's birthday.

African monkeys...the furry ones...oops, I mean the furry ones without sunglasses.

On their way home, they went to London, where they met up with their cousin Cassidy Welker.  Here they are on the London Eye, overlooking the city.  In the next picture, Levi is in Covent Garden, lying on his back with a balloon between his legs, trusting a crazy man with a whip to pop the balloon without doing any collateral damage.

At Buckingham Palace and Westminster  Palace.  I texted them and said I thought they should knock on the door and tell them that they belong there.

 Joel got home from Europe just in time to go to girls' camp with 

Stephanie and his ward's young women.

One of the activities they did on "Bishops' Day" was to rubber band a watermelon.  I don't know if their ward won or not, but they sure put a lot of bands on their watermelon and it sure made a mess when it popped!  They loved it!

The boys stayed in Pine at the cabin while their parents were at Girls' Camp.  They were visited by a herd of elk...antelope?

~DANIEL AND CONNIE~

Albert's first official pay check!

 Shannyn got her braces off.  What a beauty!

I don't even know what the situation is here, except it looks as if Shadrach's stuck in the mud!

Emma broke her finger playing basketball.

Well, Porter did it!  He officially asked Alta Norviel to marry him.  She said yes!  They called Grandpa and asked him to perform the ceremony in the Winter Quarter's Temple on August 1st.

Very pretty hands, Alta, and a very pretty ring, Porter :-)

Shadrach and  Albert at their wilderness property.

At The Lion King Broadway show in Vancouver, Canada.

Devynne got a bike for an early birthday present.  Her birthday is the last of July.

Remember their baby pigs at Easter time?  Well, they've grown!

Alta asked some of her Young Women to be her bridesmaids.  

Porter with two of his groomsmen. That's Josh on the left in case you didn't recognize his serious face.

~REBECCA AND SCOTT~

Polly enjoyed summer basketball.  She posted that she "got her wings back."  I thought that was a poetic way for her to say that she feels as if she's flying when she plays basketball, but it really referred to the sides of her hair that curl out when she gets sweaty!

DeWitt and his friends in Georgia...even feeding the missionaries.

Dallin in Ohio.  Like Joshua, he appreciates beautiful architecture.

It looks like they are enjoying Ohio.

Taylor went to Haiti with his dad to check out the possibilities of hiring Haitians to work in the US. It looks as though he had a very interesting trip.

Those are turtle shells on the left!

In the meantime, back in the good old USA, Allison waited patiently.  When he got home, he brought her a souvenir from Haiti, and they chopped down a tree just to prove that they could.

Allison has played in some tennis tournaments.  Taylor and his sister's daughter are loyal fans.

Scott bought the house across the cul de sac from his house at an auction.  He has such a talent for wheeling and dealing...he paid off the only other bidder to leave, so he had a sure deal.

The YMYW went on a pioneer trek this month.  They go every three years, so Lillian had gone before.  Scott went as support staff, which means he was the hardworking, hired help (he was paid in blessings, not money...as were the pioneers). 

Rebecca, Rachel and Lillian went up the last two days and got to be carried over the "Sweetwater" by handsome rescuers.

Stick pull with Lillian and Polly, and the YW presidency below.

Rebecca and Scott, Lillian and Polly all went on their annual Rocky Point vacation in June.  I'm sure they are having a great time, but still missing all the ones who couldn't come.

~JEREMY AND ERIKA~

At Mi Amigos with the Biggs kids, minus Hayden who was at camp...and Daynen, of course.

Hayden changed his profile picture to this...I wonder why?

Jeremy with Joel and team in France and England.

Reygan had to grasp her steering wheel with napkins because it was just too darned hot!  

Then to add insult to injury, she ran out of gas on a hot hot day on the freeway.

A Brazilian drew this picture of Daynen and his companion.

This is Reygan's latest drawing.  I'm so amazed by her.

Daynen's house in Brazil.

More Brazil 

Tayte constructing his cardboard canoe for a Scout water derby.  I don't think it got very far :-]

Jeremy with his six dates to see Inside Out.

Erika appreciates him too.

~RACHEL AND TONY~

Life in the desert.

Rylie, helping Isabel with her summer school math homework.  I totally understand the first picture, Issy.  That's how I felt when Grandpa Hiatt used to try to help me with algebra.

The twins went to volleyball camp with Kirtlyn and Brianna.

Rachel and her Safford High School friends had a girls' weekend, complete with pedicures and a temple trip.  Sherry Lines, Rachel, Sherri Beals, Camille Smith.

The Alders also had an Alder family reunion at their mountain cabin before Jake, Tony's brother, left to go to DC to work for the FBI.

Rylie and Isabel on the trek, also with a nonmember friend that Isabel invited and with their Evans cousins.

Ok, here is Isabel (with her golden blonde hair dyed brown), Weston Wiltbank, Duane DeSpain, Nathan Estes, Rachel, Brent Wiltbank.

Rylie's pioneer family and Isabel's pioneer family.

Another stick pull and beautiful sisters...both pictures.

Summer jobs...Rylie at the carwash.  That will definitely increase business;-D

Rachel, Luke and the twins are cleaning apartments for Rebecca and Scott while they are in Mexico.

~ESTHER AND SHAD~

The progression of Brody's toothlessness.

Esther Ruth and Grandma Ruth

Marlie at Girls' camp and Bishops' Day at camp.

Brody's identity crisis?

As soon as she got home from Girls' Camp, Marlie had to get her tonsils and adenoids out! Poor girl. She really suffered.  I remember when Esther had hers out when she was 16 and how traumatic that was for her.   At least it prepared her to have sympathy for her daughter's pain.  We sent her some bright, colorful flowers, hoping it would cheer her up.  Mary is campaigning to get Carson's tonsils out now rather than wait until he is old enough to suffer more!

Here, she is receiving help and loving sympathy from her friends.

~THOMAS AND JENN~
Henry is right in the middle.  He feels comfortable with either Jared or Alex.

Hyrum likes to hold Bella, their little dog, 

And Kirtlyn likes to hold Alex.

Watching their brother play on the computer.

"Mommy, what happened to all the beautiful hair I liked to play with?"

So cute and stylish...shades of Audrey Hepburn.

Thomas Wyatt has been participating in swim team this summer.

Kirtlyn went to volleyball camp with Brianna and the twins, and science camp, and Maya went to dance class.

Jenn went to Girls' Camp.

And they all came swimming in Grandma's pool.  Thomas bought this cool jet ski to use in our pool.

And Kirtlyn went to the movie with Uncle Jeremy.

Poor Henry.  He played so hard (on his device) that he fell asleep, exhausted!

In the ER.  He was such a trooper, according to his parents.

Henry and Jenn after their ordeal at the emergency room.  He was so brave and his usual sweet-tempered self, but you could tell his leg hurt.  Jenn said he slept pretty well that night, with painkillers, and seemed to feel better in the morning.  He will have it casted after the swelling goes down in a few days.

The latest update on Henry as of June 30.  He's doing great.   Will visit the doctor July 1 to see about casting his leg.  In the meantime, according to Jenn, "he just flops around, using the cast as a tool!" 

~MARY AND TYSON~
They had Tyson's brother build them this wonderful window seat with hinged lids for storage...of kids, it looks like.

They are also sloping some steep steps so that I can enter without breaking my neck. 

New furniture that fills the whole room!

Right after they moved in, Rebecca and Rachel went over to help Mary get organized...and play in the 3-story laundry chute :-)

Beautiful blue-eyed baby Alex. 

A huge windstorm with a microburst that hit Mary's house, tore away their new trampoline and carried it down the road and across the field.  The kids brought it back in pieces.

Tyson and his coworkers hosted an Edward Jones Community Appreciation event.  They rented Take 1 equipment from Joel.  After a rocky start getting it set up, it was very successful and they figured they had about 500 people there.  Thomas came and helped set up and stayed to the bitter end, helping to clean up as well.  Rachel and her kids also came and pitched right in, helping to make it a success.

Whether they're here for swimming, cutting hair or even just eating or visiting, Mary often has to find a place at our house for her kids to catch a nap.

Jared demonstrated The Wise Man and the Foolish Man.  So cute!

Mary and Tyson's whole family went on an Edward Jones luxury vacation at a resort in Tucson. They had games and activities for the kids as well as the parents, and swimming, dinners and fun.

 Even Carson, who got so sick, enjoyed it with his Shirley Temple. 

They closed off the weekend with a dinner and concert by the Railers (the same band that played at their Edward Jones picnic in Safford).

When Jeremy and Erika came, Ellie stayed at the Richins' house.  Their shower is big enough to party in!

At the movie with cousins and Uncle Jeremy.

Brianna hurt her arm about 3 weeks ago, but has been able to do almost everything she could before, except bump it or lean on it.  I was sure it was at least fractured but because she didn't seem to be hurting very much and because they have been out of town, they didn't get it x-rayed until today.  Sure enough, it is fractured and she has to wear a splint for about 3 weeks.  She can take it off to bathe...and swim?

LOVE IS IN THE AIR :->

Stetson and Lindsay Pugmire

Porter and  Alta Jo Norviel

Lillian and Josh Nolan

Lillian and Joshua Nolan (They are both leaving for missions and will be home almost exactly at the same time.)

SOMETHING TO MAKE YOU SMILE
Esther and Shad have taken it very seriously to talk to their kids about the dangers of pornography.  They had an FHE on the subject and felt good about how the kids accepted and understood it.  Days later, Soren saw this bag of lightly salted popcorn and shouted, "Oh no! Pornography popcorn!"

One day, Camille came running in to frantically tell her mother that she had jumped over a dead animal, a squirrel in the road.  "Why are you so worried?" asked Rachel.  "Did you step on it?" "No I jumped over it."   "Don't worry then, it's ok."  "But will I get diabetes???" "Who told you it would give you diabetes to jump over a dead squirrel?"  "Brynlie!"

          "Mom, why did you burn these cookies?  Did you make them for Grandma???"

              To commemorate the Supreme Court decision that Gay marriage is legal in the United States, Dad had a triple decker rainbow sherbet ice cream cone!  "I'll have a Gay cone," he said.

I'll admit that I have been so troubled by the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage.  Partly, of course, because it defies the laws of God, but also because the Supreme Court, whose main function is to protect the Constitution, has defied, maimed, chewed it up and spit it out for its own purposes.  It has usurped the rights the Constitution left to the states. It has usurped the responsibility of the legislative body of Congress in making a law.  It has opened the door to a governmental dictatorship whenever the court or the president (who names members of the court) favor or disfavor an issue. 

                           I am dismayed that people who live the laws of God are considered bigoted and narrow-minded and cannot in any way disagree with those who choose to flaunt morality or even civilized behavior, yet they seem to have every right to persecute and criticize us.  It's a double standard.  I saw this sign on Facebook and had to post it here.  It's so true.

We can so easily get lost in this world that seems to be turned upside down and inside out.  Especially our children.  The only way to avoid the land mines placed all around us by Satan is to carefully stay on the strait and narrow path.  We do that, of course, through prayer, scripture study, and following the counsel of the leaders of the Church, ordained by God to guide us in these troubled times.  We used to be able to go somewhat by civilized society and the laws of our land, but now they legalize things that used to be wrong, i.e. recreational drug use, homosexuality, defiling the American flag, etc., and things that used to be good, i.e. flying the American flag, saying aloud the name of Jesus, praying, are now jailable or fineable offenses!  We have to look even more faithfully to the leaders of Christ's church to show us the way.  You are raising your children in a far more dangerous environment than we did, even in the turbulent 60's and 70's.   May the Lord bless you in your valiant efforts to keep your children close and protect them from the influences of Satan.  Dad and I pray every day for you and for them.  We love you with all our hearts.

See you in July when we celebrate the birth of our nation and the courage and sacrifice of our pioneer forefathers.  How politically and societally incorrect!  Should be fun.  Take pictures!