Proud of my kids

Russ and I feel really blessed to have been born of "goodly parents" who taught us to be responsible, honest, trustworthy, kind contributors to society. We have done our best to pass on the admirable legacy to our children. We have just spent 17 days traveling with James's family in the western US. In California Russ and I stayed with my sister Gloria while James's family stayed with James's brother-in-law who happens to live nearby. We all got together at Gloria's on July 4th for a barbeque. Here is James cooking the traditional American barbeque fare. He helps prepare and clean-up wherever he goes.
He and Angela did the cooking the last time we were at Victoria's for a barbeque.
They don't have to be asked to help. They are just very willing to lend a hand and will try even things they may not have done before. When they come to my house, if they're not busy taking care of their own children, they can be found washing dishes, serving food, sweeping or mopping the floor or just about anything to help. I have posted pictures previously of the work my kids have done in our yard. I don't have pictures of Ammon or Lisa working in our yard but they both did plenty to help beautify this property. Lisa lives too far away to be able to help regularly but Ammon painted, tore apart rooms to re-do them, along
with lots of yard work. They also take good care of children- whether their own or others. Here is Angela leading the music at Nicholas's baptism while holding Brooklyn, her youngest niece. They will cuddle, change diapers, intervene during toy sharing battles, and anything necessary to make all of the children feel safe and loved. As a matter of fact, a person barely acquainted with Ammon described him as "such a good father he was like a mother". My children work hard, laugh together, and are honest and dependable. I know there are other people in the world like them but I feel content that I did allright in teaching them. I know they are each individuals on their own and not everything about them is a result of being in our home, but they turned out pretty well. I'm glad we can share this legacy with those who have married into our family as well as John terHorst that we informally adopted into our family. Now if we could only change the world to be the same way.
This last picture was taken awhile ago because, like I said, Lisa isn't close enough to get pictures enough to choose from. Here she is playing with her nephew, James's oldest son, Jarom. She also doted on Angela's boys and continues to be loving and helpful toward all of her nieces and nephews. She is currently working hard to exercise and has lost a considerable amount of excess weight put on over the years of having a couple of kids. GO LISA!