A Lot to Celebrate, July 28, 2012

To witness the birth of a child
is our best opportunity to experience
the meaning of the word miracle.
~Paul Carvel

Hello Family and Friends,

This just in... Congratulations to Nathan and Chenda Shepard on the birth of their 3rd child, William Quincy Shepard, born this morning just after 7 a.m. -- about 2 hours ago! See first picture of William at just a few minutes old at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. He is healthy as can be at 8 lbs, 14 oz and 21" long. Mom and baby are fine.

Others who are celebrating birthdays today are Jeff Clark and Barbara Shepard, two family members who live about as far apart from each other as any two members of our family.

Happy Birthday Jeff. Jeff is the first born among the two of them -- but only by one year. He and his wife Kim Boyd Clark live in Blue Springs, Missouri, the home of the famous Ortiz twins who were born back in April.

Kim: "It has been so hot here. Over 100 for weeks and the farmers crops are really dried up.  Jeff is such a good guy; he will be spending his birthday driving a U-haul back to Missouri. On his birthday we will be in Oklahoma City spending the weekend with Dane and Cindy. Jeff's birthday dinner will be with me, my mom and dad, and Dane and Cindy.  Jeff is really enjoying the new grandbabies. He is sure a big help with them." 

Thanks to Desiree Ortiz for sending me the recent picture of Jeff and one of her twins. She told me this twin is Isaac, but "I'm just not 100% sure, hehe!"

Missouri, by the way, is the new home of Kim's parents -- my aunt and uncle -- Thelma and Terry Boyd. As we speak, Terry and Thelma are in the process of moving to Independence, Missouri (next to Blue Springs), from Gallup, New Mexico, where they have lived for many years. Thelma: "This is so hard for me to do. I'm happy that we're going to be around family after 25 years of us being alone, but it is really hard to leave all my friends here. We will have our own apartment, 2.9 miles from Kim and Jeff, who have a house full with kids, grandkids and dogs."

Happy Birthday, Barbara. My sister Barbara, the other 50-something birthday person today in our family, lives in Anacortes, Washington. Born in San Diego, Barbara has lived in Anacortes most of her adult life. Her mother Maida Shepard and all her siblings, except me, also live in Western Washington.

Barbara: I know my birthday is just around the corner. I am happy with my life pretty much the way it is now. The last year as you know has not been an easy one for me but I feel it has made me stronger. Work is going well and it seems to get busier everyday. I have been with Safeway for over six years now. It is hard for me to believe that so much time has passed. I have made friends with a soldier who is fighting in Afghanistan. We correspond through email daily. I have made some new friends and have gone out on a couple of motorcycle rides and just done some sightseeing around the local area.

The third picture shows Barbara in a picture taken just last month at their church in Anacortes.

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Steve