The Latest

We've had two baptisms in the family in the past few months. Melissa's stepson, Brennan, was baptized in December and her son, Brandon, was baptized in February. The above photo is Brennan with his Dad, Kyle and the following photo is of Brandon on his baptism day.

Our family is getting big enough now that we celebrate birthdays one Sunday dinner a month. It's noisy and crazy when all 25 of us are crammed into our house, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Sam is our only January birthday, so she had her own celebration. We won't mention what the three candles stand for.

February's birthday celebration honored Danny, Joel, Brandon, and Kyle. What a handsome and great bunch of guys!

Jeremy was chosen as West Bountiful's employee of the month for January. Quoting an article from the Standard-Examiner (Ogden) on February 18th, "(Brown) feels a tremendous responsibility to always act from a place of integrity in his dealings with the public and other officers. He treats people as he'd like to be treated and administers his duties with fairness and a kind heart." The article calls him an exemplary employee with a great attitude and a pleasant demeanor and goes on to tell more about some of the things he has accomplished. Way to go Jeremy!

O Christmas Tree

One of the things we did this past holiday season was to take our camera when we went around to visit family and friends and here are some of the results:

My parents

Jenny, Jim, and I

Melissa, Kyle, and family

Joel and Emilee

Sam, Nate, and family

Jeremy and Valerie

Adam, Emily, and Ben

Danny and Stephanie

Peggy and Paul

Thanksgiving

It is a rare occasion that my siblings and I are all together with our parents and this past Thanksgiving was one of those times. What a wonderful day to have more than 50 of the Kirkhams crammed into my parents' home for dinner. The house was pretty warm (that's probably an understatement), but the food and company were exceptional. I am so grateful to have them all in my life. Thanks to Adam and Emily for taking care of our photo op.

Another Wedding

We have had the good fortune to have another wedding take place in our family. Melissa married Kyle Smith last Friday and in the process we have gained four more grandchildren. Welcome to the family to all of you Smiths! May you find much joy in your lives together.

Officer Brown aka Mr. Jeremy

Birthday greetings go out today to Jeremy--one of our favorite people--who also happens to be an important member of our family. He's passionate about Valerie, law enforcement, politics, hunting, his tent trailer, and the list could go on and on. I believe he's also vying for the title of "Favorite Uncle". We're glad he belongs to us. Happy birthday, Jeremy, and many more!

Celebrate!

Last night we held our annual birthday bonfire celebration for my dad. What a perfect autumn evening to get together and pay tribute to a great man in a place that means so much to him. It's always fun to be with family members that we don't get to see very often, too.

Gardner Village Here We Come!

Yesterday we made our traditional October jaunt to Gardner Village, getting us in the mood for Halloween. It was so crowded again this year, but we still made it to our favorite spots--I came home with some yummy fudge and some cute baby boy quilt kits. Almost the entire family got together for dinner at Archibald's restaurant (Adam was working and Jeremy was camping with the Boy Scouts) and this year we added Melissa's friend, Kyle and his four children. Altogether we made quite a group!