Mom and Dad's Kids

Believe me, Mom and I undertake this challenge with fear and trembling, because there is always the possibility that someone will take offense at what your rather dogmatic Dad has to say, or will snicker and laugh out loud at what we have to say about you or your siblings. Be advised, Mom is sitting here beside me, and we are doing this as a collaborative effort:

Lori- Born on the day before our first wedding anniversary. No child has ever been more eagerly awaited than was she. She brought light into our life from the first moment. Lori has proven she can be very single minded, concentrating all her enviable talents toward whatever she truly wants in life. She (with Kristi) composed our family song. It will probably never make the hit parade, but we always enjoyed singing it and were openly proud of our girls for that effort. She is very musical, loves being the center of attention, and has a "take charge" attitude. She has raised some very personable and bright children. We love them.

Kristi- The girl who was a mother before she was a woman. She was always the caretaker. She struggled with a variety of childhood injuries that kept us always on our toes. Kristi has a talent for research. She seems to find answers to lots of questions that trouble the rest of us. She has been particularly lovable, as evidenced by her being Auntie Ray's favorite. She also seems to have inherited her grandmother's talent for "candid" evaluations. That ain't all bad. She has raised the most of our grandchildren and has done a wonderful job of evaluating their talents and potential, and has done a great job of encouraging them in the right things. Kristi is just bubbling over with creativity. But, she resents any of us getting together and laughing without her.

Jenylyn- A very practical and bright girl, always. She has two beautiful children, and would have loved to have more. That, however, was not in God's plan for her for whatever reason. She had the good sense to marry a particularly jocular man with whom all of us have a lot of fun. She is a very capable gardener and a no-nonsense supervisor at her place of employment. She is soft-hearted. Otherwise, she would have gotten rid of those two white cats a long time ago. And who else could tolerate a dragon in their sons room. To our knowledge, she is the only one who ever sneaked her boyfriend into her bedroom through the basement window. All our children are cheerful, but we think Jeny is our happiest.

Amy- Born with tons of black hair, Amy was a beautiful baby. As you all know, she has taken her vocal abilities to a much more active level than any of the rest of our children. We love seeing her CD for sale in the local LDS bookstore. Amy has truly undergone a change of heart in her life. She has gone from no domesticity at all to being a true domestic. She gardens, bakes, sews and does handiwork that are all the envy of those around her. And, she manages to keep Emma's hair under control every day and laughs with Joshua in his interesting reactions to life. She loves her family fiercely, both her children and her siblings.

David- Surprises us in many ways. Starting with being born on my birthday. Who would have ever thought he would become a chiropractor? Who would have thought he would become a golf addict? Who would have thought he would brainwash all of his nieces and nephews into believing that "Uncle Dave" is their favorite. And, where does this fascination with jiu jitsu come from? He is as deeply involved in his commitment to the church as any of us -- something for which we are very grateful. He is a man with remarkable integrity which is reflected in his business. And, he has lost a lot of his reluctance to sing. He is a member of a men's quartet that is very good. If only he enjoyed reading and writing more! And, who does he think he is that he can ride a motorbike after all the threats we made to all of you about those things.

Mindy- The gentle one. The peacemaker. What an accomplished seamstress she has become. Ladies with much more experience learn from her. And can you picture Mindy as the PTA president? She is a devoted mother with more patience than most people I know. But, she probably learned that patience from me. If anything needs to be done with an artistic touch, contact Mindy. She is equally at home with crafts and with drywall mud. And, I don't know if any of you can make a dollar stretch as far as Mindy does. She is a marvel at that. How courageous to undertake three years of law school for Jason with no income except what she may be able to make from sewing, and four kids to feed.

Heidi- Very determined to support her husband in his chosen field of career study. She keeps a remarkably clean house and finds time for those four girls of hers every day. She is a capable leader, having served as President of her ward Primary, and is a very competitive gamer. Don't ever let her draw you into playing "Settlers of Cataan" (I hope that's spelled right). If you do, you may not get to bed that night. She and Jason are also bloodthirsty pinochle players. But, the Gospel is the center of their lives. She also makes a great blueberry pie. Yum! Wish I could have some right now. She is right now experiencing great pleasure from fixing up her new home the way she wants it to be. I get a lot of "How To" calls. Don't always have the answers she wants.

Holly- We are excited to greet the new baby in November. Is it possible that Holly will be able to love that new little girl as much as she loves Shannon? We're sure she will. Potty training is commencing. Remember that? She loves to swim in their apartment complex pool. She has accomplished a lot in her life thus far. The tales of floating down the Snake River at night in the wintertime or rappelling over a cliff as she was pursuing her EMT certificate have often led me to wonder, "Who are you, and what did you do with Holly". She loves the Gospel and learned so much from her mission experience. She loves to read and try new things. She also loves orchids. What a varied set of interests she has.

Matthew- When young, Matt was always very lively. He and Holly loved baseball and tried to start their own team. He was also one of the members of the "Earth" club. Matt has had to cope with some very limiting medical problems for most of his life, and lately he seems to get better at that coping each day. He has a beautiful family, and finds time to study interesting things, like whatever is on the History Channel. He still sings whenever the opportunity arises. Musical skills and talents are being shared with his children, too. He appears to have finally realized the necessity for a college education, and is planning to start on that this fall with an emphasis on History with the objective of becoming a teacher. Matt has always been much more free to show his love by hugging than any of our other children. Thankfully, he seems to be rubbing off on some of you, at last.

Of course, all of our children are exceptionally intelligent, exceptionally musically talented, devoted, committed, and practically perfect in every way. We consider ourselves to be especially blessed to have been allowed to be the parents of these nine super heroes.