We need a reunion!

I miss these handsome Hopkins boy cousins (minus Matt who was on his mission)

and these beautiful Hopkins Girl cousins.

We live too far apart and get together far too seldom. These pictures were taken at Grandpas funeral. I wish we all lived in the same neighborhood!

Prop 8 - a response

I have a friend who is gay - he is a such a good guy and I enjoy his friendship. He has sent me a few e-mails urging no on 8. He mentions that he knows I'm probably on the opposite side of the issue. I'm glad he feels he can express his feelings to me, so I took a deep breath and sent him why I'm voting Yes on 8. Thankfully he was respectful and still treats me with kindness as I do him. Here is what I sent, it sums up why I don't feel I can stay silent on this issue.

Dear ______,

I appreciate you sharing your views with me. This is such a tricky election in so many ways. The bottom line is that you know me and you know that I love and care for you and that has nothing to do with our sexual preferences. There are crazies on both sides of every issue and then there are good people who do the best they can to do what they think is right. Basic to my core beliefs are agency and love - in a very literal way I believe we are brothers and sisters and we are on the planet to care for each other.

Here's a peek into my beliefs - I believe in sexual abstinence outside the covenant of marriage. I believe marriage is ordained by God as being between a man and a woman. I believe God speaks to a prophet today as he did in the Bible, why would we be less blessed than those people. I believe happiness is most likely to be found in living as closely to God's commandments as we can based on our understanding through prayer and study.

The highest commandment is love so you will never find me using hate speech or knowingly offend those who don't agree with me. I do however expect that my voice will not be silenced by those who disagree - that's why I appreciate knowing you. We can disagree and still retain mutual respect and friendship. That's what God's people would do until He comes and sorts out all the "stuff" we've messed up. My life is richer because I know you and I count it a blessing that our paths have crossed. I wish you only the best.

Life as a Hopkins part 10 of 10 by Johnny

The Labor Daybor Offle Wamelette Extravaganza
Ever heard of it? No? The reason you haven’t is because it was created by my oldest Brother Jim. Every Labor Day we go over to his house for a “gram of sugar away from heaven” breakfast. This includes omelets and waffles. The omelets can be made with anything you could ever want: avocados, peppers, tomatoes, onions, cheese, and anything else. On your waffle you can have strawberries with whip cream all over or just syrup. It is an annual Hopkins holiday tradition. The best part of the breakfast is not just the food, but being with family and having good times!

Life as a Hopkins 9 of 10 by Johnny

Fainting
The first time I ever fainted was in Mr. Schneider’s fourth grade class. We were watching a movie from the Champs program. Champs is an anti-drug program for fourth graders. They showed a lot of disgusting stuff. Things like black lungs and people smoking. While we were watching a movie about smoking, one of the things they showed was a person who had to have throat surgery. He had to have oxygen all the time, and that’s when it hit me, The ground that is. I was out cold, until one of my friends who sat next to me woke me up. We didn’t tell the teacher.

(mom here - Johnny will not be choosing medicine as his profession - he has passed out a few times when just hearing about medical procedures.)

Visiting Teaching with Kathy

This is Kathy and I on our Visiting Teaching route. Her van is in the background. Kathy and I have been companions for years. She has been confined to a wheelchair for over 20 years and can only move from the neck up. We have had some fun and crazy adventures and some of the most sacred, spiritual experiences together.

I tell Kathy that someday the Lord will help her understand what a blessing she is to all of us who know and love her. She doesn't think she is able to serve, she's wrong. She has taught me more about living and enjoying life than anyone else I know. One of the things I'm most looking forward to in the next life is seeing Kathy enjoy her perfected body. That will be heaven!

Expecting week by week #7

Jim and Liz say the pictures are not so great from the last few weeks. So Jim attempted to make this one even more gross by grinning with a mouthful of french bread. The smiles are genuine!! Liz is glowing!

I must be equal with these babies starting now! It's so easy to find cute girl things... But I have promised I will switch back and forth so JD doesn't feel left out, which he won't because I love boys, I know how to do boys. It's just that I need some practice with the girl thing - in the love department it's overflowing for everyone!

Life as a Hopkins 8 of 10 by Johnny

My Brothers
I have four older brothers. My brothers can be my best friends, or my worst enemies. Sometimes I want to punch them in the face, and sometimes I want to give them huge hugs. They make me food when mom and dad aren’t around, then they slap me in the back of my head and call me dipwad. Its always fun to watch movies with them, because they make fun of the movies and make me laugh. Its not always fun when we wrestle, if you’ve ever tried to wrestle with someone five years older and 100 lbs heavier, its not very fun. Its like wrestling a grizzly bear who thinks you’re a salmon.

Through the good and bad we’ll always be best friends.