I wrote this on July 4, 2002

A letter I wrote to my sister Beth on July 4, 2002

Things here are good. Our life continues to be crazy and hectic. As you may or may not know I started a summer internship at a company called Nutraceutical in May after coming home from Ireland. Well, while I was in Ireland I met the VP of a Sales and Marketing company that is Ogden and we connected after coming home and, well she offered me a full-time job. So, I accepted it, quit my internship and have been working there for a week now. It’s called MarketStar and it is a really nice company. They are growing, doing some good things, and I have a huge office. The downside is the commute—it’s 75 miles one way and takes me about 1 ½ hours to get there. That part is not the best, but we are probably moving in August so it won’t be so bad then.

Melanie and Abby have been in Boston for about a week now and are coming home Saturday. It has been so lonely here and I have missed them a ton. Melanie says Abby is getting huge—that makes me so sad. Honestly, you will find her so cute. She is an absolute dolly. Oh, and Melanie says she is teething. I can’t believe it—it seems like she was just born. It makes me sad to think of her growing up—I just want her to stay small forever. And teeth? Gosh, next thing I know I’ll be sending her off to college. Anyway, she is so excited to meet you when you get home.

HAPPY 4th of JULY!! Today has been quiet for me—with Mel and Abby not around it has been kind of sleepy for me. I slept in which was nice (it was the first time in 5 months I think) and went to see a movie called Minority Report with Tom Cruise. It was OK, not the best. The story was kind of confusing but was definitely cool looking. I’m skipping the fireworks tonight (they are about to start) for a quiet night at home.

Hey, if you see a cute baby dress that is TOTALLY Thai, can you pick it up for the cutey? Silk would be great if possible, but more than anything we would love anything that is pure THAI. If such a thing does not exist, don’t fret, but if it does that would be sweet.

Let’s see—what else is going on? Nate is excited about his wedding and so are we. I wish I could’ve met Lindsey before but Mom and Mary seem to really like her. It’ll be fun having someone new in the family and August will prove to be an important time foe this family.

Speaking of August, we sure wish you could be here for Abby’s sealing and blessing. We are so excited to be able to bless and seal Abby to us in August. Honestly, it is a dream come true to be able to have her in our family. She has brought such joy into our home and we love her so much. Honestly, I sometimes just stare at her picture and feel so blessed to have her as my daughter. She is just so perfect. I’m sure you will love her.

Anyway, that’s about it from our side. We hope you have a good last month or so and that you feel good about what you have done. I know the Thai people have loved having you there and will miss you so much.