HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREG!!!!

Christmas 2008

Grandma Mable with Jewel. Merry Christmas! Mable gave Patricia a cross stitched scripture to put in her ofiice. (the kitchen)
Patricia gave Mable an Alvin Ailey 50th anniversary scrapbook.
Theresa, Kevin, Christopher and Dakota waiting for Christmas dinner.

gratitude thought: For the birth of our Savior.

Another tough year for many families. Grateful that we all still have homes, food, and the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ to sustain and uplift us.

The Big Chill Race

December 2008, the East Brunswick ward members participated in The Big Chill race held at Rutgers U. The only requirement was a donated toy for a Christmas gift and you could run (or walk). All smiles before the race!


reflections of my day....as I walked alongside the 4000+ runners, I just took in the sights of the Rutgers campus. Things have a way of not turning out the way we expect or hope for. But on this day, I walked knowing that my son was given this opportunity to learn and be a part of this Rutgers community. What a happy walk/run for me. Nothing is better in life than seeing your child smiling and feeling like they belong.

Happy Birthday Doris!

November 29th, we celebrated the birthday of a very special and wonderful woman, Doris Killpack.

There are not enough words to describe how it feels to live with Doris' third child my husband Daniel, who has inherited all of her kind and generous spirit. Although miles away, we feel her influence and presence in our home at all times.


Doris with her family of 9

Greg & Daniel Killpack as little boys.

Daniel wearing the hat, with Greg.

gratitude thought: For Doris Killpack...her life, her heart, her tenacious spirit, her optimism, her love and support of our family, her gift to me (her son Daniel) and her legacy. Thank you Doris!!

The Prince & The Pauper

Jewel presented her book report on The Princess and The Pauper. She has read several versions and decided to do a comparison between the different books. Jewel is in the third grade at The Greater Brunswick Charter School.

It was fun to visit her classroom again and see the kids that I met in kindergarden. They grow up so fast.



gratitude thought: Dealing with this ecconomy and and stressing if we will have a job or not in January, has been so painful for me. But on this day, for ten minutes in this classroom...I was grateful to be a stay at home mom sharing this small moment and memory with my daughter. We don't know what the future will bring and if I will have these moments again. So for now I am grateful for my past opportunities to have shared special occasions with my children, and they knew 'mom was there for me'

Happy Birthday Kevin....

We celebrated Kevin's 40th birthday at 'The Enchanted' restaurant in Jersey City on November 29th, his actual birthdate. This event was planned and hosted by Theresa who made the BEST red devil cake for the occasion! A very lovely evening. Uncle Kevin with Jewel, helping him open gifts.
Sister Kathy, son Chris and his friend with Kevin and his friend Theresa.
Kevin's friend from the job, Hugh.
The 'Dingle' children. Kevin, Kathy, Diane and Patricia

gratitude thought: I can't imagine life without you my dear brother. You are the best and kindest in men.I am honored to be your sister. I watched you take your first baby steps and have watched the paths you've taken in your life. Well done!

Rutgers University Choir, November 22nd, 2008

Dakota had his very first performance with the Rutgers University choir Saturday night. He performed pieces from the Baroque period including "Xicochi' which is an Aztec piece and 'The Foundling Hospital Anthem' by Handel.

Singing bass, the performance was really great and the Kirkpatrick church on the Rutgers campus was just beautiful. Patricia, Daniel, Jewel, Amy R. and her friend Daniel came to the show!

Happy 9th Birthday to my dear little Jewel

Has it been 9 years that you have blessed our home with your sweet spirit? Your mommy and daddy remember the first time we laid eyes on you. November 10th 1999, 7:10 pm at the Good Samaritan hospital in Los Angeles. You are as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside. Birthday party at McDonals's playland in South Brunswick. Jewel with Kate. Jewel and her classmates meet Ronald McDonald.
Opening gifts...fun, fun, fun at any age.
A good time had by all on a rainy, cold Saturday evening in NJ.

Jewel, your mom, dad and brother wish you a wonderful 9th year, enjoy and savor each minute.

Where were you on November 4th 2008?

Where were you in 1969 when Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F Kennedy were killed?

Where were you when Jackie Robinson and Henry Aaron broke into professional sports previously denied to people of color setting records?

Where were you when Halle Berry and Denzel Washington ended the drought in Hollywood of acknowledging the excellent work of actors of color by receiving 'Best Actress and Best Actor' awards?

Where were you when Americans voted for the very first African American President?

gratitude thought: For possibilities, for hope....for change
Thank you to the many Americans who went before me, giving their lives and suffering unjust acts of cruelty to make November 4th a possibility.

Halloween 2008

Jewel as a dog....she called herself 'Diva Dog' the name that is on the sweatsuit jacket. A busy Halloween for her as she got to wear her costume 4 different times. Once for her activity days night, one for a party (school friend), one time for the ward Trunk or Treat party and for Halloween night. 15 year old Dakota as ???? He went to the home of his math professor (who lives in Highland Park) asking for candy...wonder what the look on his teacher's face was??



gratitude thought: Grateful for Daniel for his wisdom, insight and love of his children. He worked from home on Friday to be there for the kids on Halloween. Dakota decided at the last minute to go out and trick or treat around the neighborhood. Daniel went to the attic, got some fabric paint and helped Dakota paint his shirt...the painting lasted only 10 minutes...but the memories of daddy helping his 15 year old son prepare to enjoy his Halloween will last all of us a lifetime.

Happy Birthday and thank you to my son!

Dakota Lovell Killpack, 6 lbs. 15 oz., 19 in. Dakota, you were born at 2:13 pm on 10-27-93 and we could feel our world shift in that minute. As your dad and I held and looked at you, we knew we would give you all of ourselves. Life with you has been an adventure as you have taught us both how to view the world with the speed, depth and curiousity that you were blessed with. Laughter is what you give to others. You are a light in our lives and have made these past 15 years with you an absolute joy. My dearest son...thank you for the ride! You hold our hearts.

gratitude thought: For Dakota........

It's over!!

Patricia is breathing easy again as she just finished two talks back to back. One in the ward and the other in Stake Conference. It was her first time EVER speaking in front so many people. There has been no dance piece or ballet class that has ever made her legs as numb as the walk today to the podium. She couldn't feel her legs until she sat back down.

Daniel went back to the airport today as he traveled to Montreal for the week. He is still ill (something he ate) from his trip to India. Hopefully he can get some needed rest in the hotel.

Dakota had a tough, tough Biomath midterm and a crazy hard Natural Hazards exam. His studying has increased where he takes the laptop to bed and studies right up until time to sleep. He's loving school!

Jewel, continues to enjoy her gymnastics class and all the new tricks there are to learn...she has her first parent/teacher conference this week.

gratitude thought: The talks are OVER!

Jewel's activity day at the farm

Sitting in a wheelbarrow with her dear friend Jonathan. These two love to spend time together and they play so well. Daniel and Patricia have given his parents permission to marry Jewel :-)
East Brunswick Activity Day girls and Primary children.


'Mirror, Mirror on the wall...the hay on my head must not fall'

Happy Birthday Opa!!!

A walk down memory lane with you Opa...
Happy birthday 'sing a long' from our house to yours.

Food , glorious, food..."

A lovely cookbook on preparing wheat recipies from Oma. Opa and Uncle Greg.

It will be fun to see which will become family favorites, and we are excited to see how the dishes will turn out.

Thanks so much for the book! We are so grateful to have it!

Service Project and Dinner with the Missionaries

Daniel and Patricia selling tickets & Jewel bunji jumping








A gorgeous day in NJ. A day when EVERYTHING was scheduled. Jewel had a Primary program which was followed by the Heritage Day fair in North Brunswick park. Our ward members help out by working the games, selling tickets and cleaning up all day. This was followed by dinner with the Missionaries at a buffet place... (Home Town Buffet) perfect for young men to eat many plates of food. Dakota and Daniel went to the Stake youth dance in Princeton and Patricia stayed home with Jewel who had a fever.

News from RU: Dakota stayed home to study (he has a slight cold) and to work on a research assignment for BioMath. He's modeling a 'budworm' and looking at the DNA of a cancer strand. He's not been afraid to seek the professor out, to ask questions and get clarification on concepts. He thinks it's so funny that he's in a 300 math class and the work is so abstract that he hasn't used a calculator yet. He loves abstract math and hates computations. BioMath so far uses discrete math, linear algebra, differential equations, calculus 1, 2, and 3, some Chemistry, Physics and Biology all in one study. Really fascinating!! Dakota says the work is VERY hard and VERY challenging, but we're happy that he's up to the challenge and is facing it head on, giving it everything he's got. He's happy to be on the University choir and he's singing 'bass' at age 14. He's got his daddy's deep voice...

gratitude thought: grateful for restaurants and the joy and ease they bring to one's life. After a day of running around and working in the park, it was a blessing not to have to cook and clean up.

Mable, visiting from South Carolina for a week. She's staying in NJ for a few days...

(Mable & Patricia), Jewel being picked up from her school bus by mommy and grandma. It's always fun having grandma around. We all watched the reruns of the Olympics this week with Mable being the biggest cheerleader of all.

Mable has been the inspiration for many years of homeschooling. Her love of learning, saving tons of materials and creative ideas were passed on to her daughter and grandchildren. Dakota was very blessed to be able to sit in on Mable's classrooms at good old Intermediate School 149.

Mid life crisis or good sense?

Patricia woke up to a vivid dream... the need to move faster with food storage. So she went out and bought water and many, many cans of vegetables on sale at PathMark. She will try to buy more items each time she makes a purchase at the store. The family has lots of wheat and potato flakes but need MANY more things. Learning how to prepare the wheat into something edible would be a good start too!!

Feeling inspired after the Ailey reunion, Patricia decided to take her first ballet class again after almost two decades. Wondering if this is a mid life crisis or feeling the need to finally drop all the extra pounds over the decades?? The money could also be used for life insurance for Patricia in the event something happened to her?? What to do?

One day at a time, and it's time to soak the very tired, stiff muscles... it's probably better to sort out one's life choices when we're not in pain.

gratitude thought: grateful for hot water and a bed!!

grateful that my dyed ballet slippers came out a decent color brown

grateful that leotards come in large and extra large sizes

grateful that Daniel's flight to San Fransisco went well, that Dakota loves being on campus at Rutgers (he even asked if he could live on campus next year as a senior, and mom and dad replied NO).

grateful that Jewel is happy going to school just loving life!

Opening Socials for East Brunswick Youth

Jewel is with her lovely teacher Mandy, (who just had her 6th baby) who is in charge of the Activity Day girls. Jewel LOVES going to this activity and looks forward to her Wednesdays. Dakota is here with the 'Teachers'. All will turn 15 by the end of the year. The youth played glow in the dark volleyball. The church was filled with many, many happy kids.

gratitude thoughts:

laughter of children

teen aged boys talking and joking

School bus for Jewel

Wednesday September 3rd, was Jewel's first day of school. A long fight with many phone calls finally resulted in a schoolbus for children in Highland Park to attend their out of district school.

Today was also the first day of her new gymnastics class off route 18. The traffic on this major road is close to a nightmare but Patricia will try to learn some tricks to avoid as much of it as possible. Dakota had a Natural Hazards class, and it will be a few weeks (Dakota is learning the Rutgers bus system) before the commuting is ironed out.

Family Home Evening was held on Tuesday (Monday, we were all wasted from the 5K race, beach day) We used a DVD from Dakota's EFY session and Daniel did personal interviews and gave blessings to start the new school year. We played 'Hands Down' (Patricia & Daniel played this game as kids) and 'Elfer raus'. Elfer raus is a Killpack tradition that we began playing years ago. This game comes from Germany where Oma Doris visits and it's also her place of birth. She was kind enough to give this to us.

gratitude thought: grateful that Daniel is home for a few weeks, for the beginning of the school year!

ru ready

First day of school for Dakota...Geology (Natural Hazards) Mathematical models in Biology, or Biomath, and Transitions to advanced Mathematics.
The driving wasn't too bad as the campus for the first class today (math) was close to the house. He hopes to learn the Rutgers bus system soon.

He had to audition for piano classes (if there are any teachers available to teach him) and also he auditioned for the University choir.

Daniel worked from home to watch Jewel (as Dakota and Patricia had a lot of running around to do) as school doesn't start until tomorrow for her. Patricia is still sore from the walk yesterday but feeling great. Daniel is sore too, and his knees held up great!!

The Killpacks run the Eatontown 5K Race

The Killpacks along with the Glad & Losito family, participated in the Eatontown 5K race on Labor Day. A great day early on, (75 degrees and sunny) we all arrived at 8:30 for our 9:00 am race. Everyone did the 5K run, except Patricia who did the 5K leisure walk. One of the gifts the Alvin Ailey company left her with, were partial injuries to the knees from the years of wear and tear from one too many plies and arebesque turns. She never knew knees could scream and yell STOP... SIT DOWN NOW!!, until she tried running. Dakota did his race in around 27 minutes, Daniel in 33 minutes, Jewel 37 minutes and Patricia did a 43 minute walk.
Jewel won a first place trophy for coming in 1st in the 12 years and under females. Our friend Jacob Glad came in first in males 13-19, running it under 25 minutes!!! Jewel getting her trophy from the Mayor of Eatontown, NJ.

After the race, the Lositos, Glads, Daniel and Jewel went to 7 Presidents Beach. A great afternoon with temps in the high 80's. Patricia drove Dakota home for lunch, picked up his friend from church Amy, and drove them to another church members' home for a movie. Patricia did grocery shopping (as school begins tomorrow), did some housework as she limped around the house feeling tired but very happy she finished the race. Daniel and Jewel had tons of extra energy as they spent most of their time in the ocean after running a 5K race. Wow!

gratitude thought: the gift of laughter...I love seeing my family happily engaged in activities that are good for them. Grateful that my heart still works while beating very, very fast, grateful for beautiful days. Grateful we can carry lovely memories of the summer 2008 into the fall and winter seasons to warm our hearts.

"Here's looking at you kid".....

Attending a quinceañera on Saturday night August 30th
(this is the Latin equivalent to a sweet 16 party, only held at age 15)

Dakota traveled to Toms River branch with a couple of youth to celebrate!!

gratitude thought: Good clean fun and having to be a teen only once in life (-:þ

Jewel's swim lessons!

The YMCA where Jewel takes swim lessons has 'Olympic fever' due to the great swimmer Michael Phelps. So for the last day of swim in the summer session, they had mini Olympics. Jewel did relay races and individual races in freestyle and the backstroke. She's holding her little 1st place ribbon...she's fast for a little thing. (age 8 1/2, 55 pounds, 4'3')

Our summer coming to a close...

Daniel returned from his second 2 week stay in San Fransisco to get ready for his first YW camp ever. Patricia went first staying three days, and Daniel went on Thursday for Bishopric races, evening program and testimony meeting. The YW dressed him up as a fairy and they won the best costume award along with a scripture mastery award.
For Stephanie and Christian Nielson...ward members met at a local school and launched ballons for you on Saturday August 23rd at 8:00 pm. (EST) The Nielsons lived in our ward three years ago and were in a plane crash last Saturday. They are recovering in Arizona while relatives care for their four children. http://cjanerun.com/ (website to follow their recovery)

Sending our prayers and get well wishes to the Nielsons.

A family afternoon bike ride on a gorgeous sunny 80 degree day in August!!

gratitude thought: The gift of life!