Family Ties

On July 24th we took a trip out to Manilla, Utah, which is about 3 hours away from where we live, to visit the grave of my Grandpa Ken. He married my Grandma Erla when I was about 10 or 11. Though he was technically my step-grandpa I knew him better and loved him more than my biological grandpas.

Grandpa was among the last of a dying breed, in my opinion. It’s rare to find honor and integrity like that these days. He had enough love to "adopt" all of my Grandmothers kids and their kids, and make us all feel like we belonged to him all along. There is a lot I could say about him, among them that he was a well respected businessman and the sheriff of Daget County, Utah for many years, but suffice to say that he was a great man, loved and respected by many.

He died in 2004. Jacob was born in 2006, and when he was about 10 months old he and Allison happened across grandpa’s obituary. Jacob saw that small picture on the obituary, got very excited and said, “Pa!” over and over, before Allison told him who it was. Every time Allison tried to put it away, Jacob protested and insisted on having it out. He had the same reaction every time we showed him a picture of Grandpa Ken. We believe that he and Grandpa had a strong friendship before Jacob came to us. Proof to us that the special bonds we make in pre/post mortal existence carry on forever. Joseph’s middle name is Kenneth, and we hope that both our boys can look to him as a great example of what a man should be.

How grateful we are for our wonderful families, full of examples of Christ-like attributes. We are grateful for the legacies our progenitors have left us, and we hope to be able to be worthy of our heritage.