Fourth of July--Arkansas Style

I'm a little behind on my blog. We seem to get busier as the weeks go by. The Little Rock Ward has a tradition each year on the fourth of July. They go to Pinnacle Mountain State Park for breakfast together. Some of the ward members hike to the top of the mountain (actually it is big hill, but the closest thing to a mountain they have in Little Rock) which is about a mile hike. It was a beautiful day, not too hot and we enjoyed visiting with the ward members. We had to have a picture of Jen's baby, she was the picture of the 4th of July Spirit. And Matt McWilliams plays the bagpipes and came to breakfast after playing in a parade. We had to include a picture of him in his kilt. I'm visiting with Jessica and Robin, new members who are awesome!

We even had the opportunity to do some missionary work with a part member family in our ward, Doug and Serena Franklin. Serena is from China and had lots of questions. We talked with her for quite some time. She doesn't trust young people and isn't sure about having the young missionaries teach her. We connected with her and so we will be involved in her teaching. It was exciting and we look forward to meeting with her and teaching her the gospel. We are grateful for this country that we live in and for the freedom which we enjoy. We know that it comes at a great price. We appreciate our heritage and the men and women today who protect the freedoms which we have. We hope you all had a Great Fourth of July!