We celebrated Christmas with our friends the Graves, including their two daughters and brand new grandson! His name is Porter. Kathy and Eric are uncommonly proud of their new offspring. He is a bright, handsome lad with thick, black hair and a pleasant disposition. (bottom picture)

We also had a visit from the Meyers--Shelly, Dave and Charlie(top picture). They live in California, Maryland (that's right). Some of you know this and some don't--Shelly is John's sister's daughter. We had a nice, relaxing week-end, starting with a dinner on Friday night with the mission president, his wife and some of their family.

Charlie Meyers will be 2 next month but already he is talking in full sentences and engaging in mind exercises like deductive logic.

It looks like things are quieting down, at least for a couple of weeks. The travel season is over after last week-end's trips to Orlando (mission presidents seminar)and Washington, D.C. (quorum meeting( and a mid-week visit to a zone leaders council in Statesville. It is rainy and bleak here, but not nearly what people are experiencing elsewhere. Jack's return flight from Provo was delayed several hours by weather in Salt Lake and across the country. He finally caught a non-stop that landed at 3 a.m. Marilyn and I took a nap on the floor, under the Christmas tree, before getting up to drive to the airport to pick him up. Yesterday, we got up late, straighten things up around the house, went to the mall to fight the crowds, then went to a matinee movie --Bolt. I am now officially in the Christmas spirit.

We were in Utah last week for Melyn's wedding and for Thanksgiving. We drove up and down the Wasatch Front, from Salt Lake to Ogden to Logan to Draper to West Jordan to Provo to Springville to . . . . We saw almost everybody. Above are a few pictures of the festivities. From the top: Melyn & Kyler outside the temple; at Mary Fielding Smith's home in the Pioneer Village; Melyn and Meredith; Jack and Joanna; Nathan, Joanna, Jack & Marilyn outside the temple; part of the wedding party (Whitehead/Gines/Jackson faction) on the temple steps.