Albuquerque Turkeys

From the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, NEWSROOM
Feature story — President Gordon B. Hinckley

“The President of the Church belongs to the entire Church. His life is not his own. His mission is to serve. … The Lord has permitted me to live; I do not know for how long. But whatever the time, I shall continue to give my best to the task at hand.” 

President Hinckley

What a great legacy our dear prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley, has left for us. He was a great example of service, hope, and optimism. He led by example, as he encouraged us to try to do our very best each day. I love him and will miss hearing his words and seeing him wave his cane to all of us. However, I am so glad that he is now reunited with his sweet wife. What a homecoming that must have been! I'm sure he was welcomed not only by his dear Marjorie, but also by the other prophets of this and ancient dispensations. I can't think of anybody who more deserved to hear the Father's words, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

Our sweet little Hayden is two months old today and weighed in at 10 lbs 12 oz, and 23.5 inches long. Tall and skinny. He's also smiling, which is one of my very favorite things about two months! It's funny how much time I'll spend bent over his little face trying to coax a smile, and then how cool I feel when I get one! I haven't been able to catch it on camera yet, but as soon as I do, I'll post it so you can all feel cool too. :)

On January 4th, 2008 my sister Julianne was sealed to Eric Anderson in the Oakland, California Temple. Grandpa Packard sealed them, and it was a beautiful experience.  They didn't get any great pictures outside the temple because of the gusty winds and rain.  It was unreal.  I've never seen anything like it.  However, despite the tropical storm that was raging through Northern California, it was a very fun day. You can see at the beginning of the montage that we had made an umbrella wall for Julianne and Eric. They came out of the temple and in a matter of seconds, the wind had blown her veil right out of her hair! There is an awesome picture of her catching it as it blew away.  Congratulations Julianne and Eric. We love you guys!

(photographs by Erin Schmutz)

Happy Birthday, Arthur.  It's great to be 28!  ;)  Well, close enough anyway. It's funny, but I couldn't find a good picture of Arthur by himself, so we could spotlight him.  (Not that he enjoys that, but you only have one birthday a year . . .)  So here's a picture of a little crew who are very glad you were born.  Thanks for all you do for us.  You are such a great husband, father, and friend.  Thanks for going to work every day to provide for us, for fixing all the things we break, for helping so much with the housework, and taking us camping.  :)  We love you soooo much!  Happy Birthday.

Here are some video clips from Grandpa's B-day. Fair warning: It's about 5 1/2 minutes long, so don't watch it if you don't care. Just thought it would be fun for the family to see some of the program and stuff. I have the great-grandkids, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, Improv by Uncle Dave and cousin Eric, and some of Grandpa jammin' on the saxophone. Fun times.

One highlight of our trip to California was Grandpa's 80th birthday party. Grammy had dinner catered, the grandkids put on a program for Grammy and Grandpa, and there was a jazz combo for dancing afterwards. It was super fun. We love you Grandpa! Thanks for the heritage you've given us!