This year has been filled with excitement, wonder and a little bitter-sweet sentiment.
In January, we spent a week on the Diamond Princess going
down to Mexico from San Diego with Kathleen’s brothers, Michael and Leonard and
their wives and Eric Taylor and his wife Detsy. We went a day early so that we could
go to the San Diego Temple which was such a beautiful House of God. It was an
amazing treat. The next day we boarded the ship and started our adventure. Unfortunately,
we didn’t make it to Loreto, due to high winds, which was why we booked that
cruise.
Kathleen left for Dallas, Texas in early February, where she
was met by Jon, Jenna their 6 kids and Rebekah to continue the drive to
Galveston and board the Allure of the Seas for a trip to the Caribbean. The
ship was huge and had lots of entertainment/activities for the younger set. Stephen
stayed home so that he could fill his speaking assignments for Stake
Conference.
In March, Stephen and Kathleen flew to Utah to visit his
parents and our children living there. We caught the Front Runner with all of
our luggage and had a nice visit with each group of kids from Layton to Spanish
Fork. We also visited with a good family friend Cozette Keyes, in Bountiful,
who gave us memorabilia from Stephen’s time in Alaska, before his mission.
April, we were thrilled to have Samuel return from his mission to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All of his siblings came for his home coming and for his talk on the 16th which was also Kathleen’s birthday. That was an unforgettable treat for her, especially since she received a surprise for her birthday of a new chicken coop in the back. We drove Samuel back to BYU-I on the 19th so he could get back into the swing of school. We stopped into Idaho Falls to see Bruce and Annette for the night with two kittens from Liz, then we visited with Sarah, Michael and their kids in Caldwell. Stephen’s birthday on the 30th was blessed by Julie Wilson who had us over for a dinner and gave Stephen a ride in her Tesla Model S.
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| Mother's Day gift...lol |
The month of June was an early celebration of Stephen’s parents’ 70th wedding anniversary with a cruise to Alaska on the Discovery Princess. All six of their children and their spouses were able to come. It was a wonderful time and an exceptional reason to celebrate together. We are very blessed for their example of Christ-like living and loving. They are such a blessing to their entire family.
July 5-8th was TREK where Kathleen played nurse and Stephen was in charge. Afterwards we traveled to Utah to meet Rebekah’s boyfriend, Ben Evans, for the first time. We also dropped off a diaper castle for Jenna and her upcoming baby girl, perused Susan and Cory’s garden tower, went to the rodeo in Spanish Fork, met with two of Kathleen’s brothers and their wives in Layton and picked up Samuel from BYU-I. The end of the month we took care of eleven grandchildren while their parents took an Alaska cruise from Seattle.
In August we noticed the floor boards in the Kitchen were warping and water would come up from between the boards when you stepped on them. Stephen discovered and repaired a leak in the water pipe and called our insurance. After water mitigation and almost the total destruction of our kitchen, we set up an outdoor kitchen in the back under the patio cover. Kathleen flew to Utah August 29th to help Jenna and Jon during her delivery of Hannah Lindsay Ralph (their 7th child and our 26th grandchild) on September 8th. She flew back home on the 12th in time for Stake conference on September 17th where Stephen was released from his calling as a counselor in the Stake Presidency. We left immediately after his release to travel to Utah and prepare for the marriage of our oldest daughter, Rebekah, to Ben Evans of Layton, Utah on September 22. We were able to get a family picture of all our children, their spouses and grandchildren except Jarom who is on a mission in Minnesota. We had to hurry back to Kent for an open house the next weekend.
October 6th, Stephen and Kathleen flew to Fort
Lauderdale, Florida to board the Zaandam from Holland America for a cruise to
the Antarctica. Besides viewing the grandeur and beauty of God’s creations we
were able to go to Guayaquil, Ecuador, where Stephen served his mission, the
Lima Peru temple for a session and see other temples and churches on the way.
It was an amazing adventure not to be forgotten. We practiced our Spanish as
translators for Kathleen’s brothers, Michael and Leonard and their wives.
December has arrived and we are still without a kitchen and most of the downstairs is unusable. We are slowly but surely adding to the repairs that will make this home livable again. We were able to go to the Giving Machine in North Seattle area and then to a creche activity by the temple with the kids. It was a spiritual highlight. Stephen and Kathleen will leave for Utah again to spend Christmas with families in Utah. Jessica, Juan and their children will be spending Christmas here as Hadlie says, “celebrating a boring kitchen-less Christmas where grandma and grandpa will be in Utah (LAME) and the Salcedos will be watching a movie (Migration) at the theater. Pfft.” She has a way with words…LOL.
We truly wish we could be with ALL of our children and
grandchildren each and every day. They are our treasures. We feel the love of
our Savior Jesus Christ when we connect with family and loved ones. Our wish is
for all to feel the Love of our Father in Heaven and His Son, our Savior, Jesus
Christ this year and ALWAYS!
With Love,
Stephen and Kathleen Ralph
