When someone we love departs this life, we are reminded again of the blessing and importance of every member of our family.

When our dear grandpa Glenn Chapman died at age 92, it brought us together for a few precious moments.

We can give thanks for the great blessing of our family ties, which, if we remain faithful to our covenants, will bind us to one another for eternity. We love our family!

We took this picture during our visit to the jail in Carthage, Illinois in October. Here is where the Prophet Joseph Smith and his devoted brother Hyrum were slain by an angry mob on June 27, 1844.

We can give thanks for the restoration of the Church and Kingdom of God once more to the earth and that we are privilaged to live during this last and greatest of all dispensations of time in the earth's history.

Sunday, Nov 23, during our priesthood meeting at the Vineyard Ward in Mesa, Jeff Ward, 1st Counselor in the Ward Bishopric, extended a challenge to all of us, beginning Thanksgiving Day, to write down something we are sincerely thankful for on that day and continue making daily entries in our personal journals, writing down one or more things we are thankful for throughout the Month of December.

I remember attending a football game at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado and watching as the cadets unfurled this huge American flag, before the playing of the National Anthem and a fly-over of 3 F-16s. This is a great country!