Flight

 

I got up early early this morning and made my way across the country to Utah. Hannah picked me up from the airport and we went to Jenna’s. I’m excited to have a couple of days here watching Ruby and Cora, and hanging out with the girls. 

Mom and dad are still in Florida being MTC companions to Ethan. It was great to visit with them. I am glad they were willing to come all that way and that we had such a nice visit. 

Saturday

I made a funny hat for my trip. I’m going to chilly Utah tomorrow to babysit Cora and Ruby. Jenna and Clayton are going to Costa Rica for a week. I am looking forward to playing with those two little girls for a few days!

Mom and Dad will still be here holding down the home MTC fort. MTC has been going well, p-days are the challenge because he has lots of time without something to do. Yesterday he was kind of bored a lot of the day. He took a nap, played chess, played games with the family and then finally in the evening was able to go play basketball with some friends. Starting this week he will go from 9 hours of scheduled zoom to 6. Hopefully it will continue to go well. This is a hard thing. It’s great,  and for me it definitely has its perks as we get to spend a bit more time with Ethan and see what his daily life is like. For the missionaries who are beginning their service it is a challenge and so different than they have pictured this whole lives. I have to think that Heavenly Father is a little extra pleased with their sacrifice to still go, even though it is different and difficult.

Ethan’s MTC district. 

Boathouse

 

Friday evening we went to Disney Springs. We had dinner at Boathouse. It’s been great having mom and dad here and spending a lot of time together. 

Thanksgiving

 

We had a good and somewhat typical thanksgiving day. We cooked all day. 

Ethan played football with other missionaries and some of his friends. 

Laurie and her kids came over. Jack is stuck in UT with Covid:(

We ate too much and oh so delicious food. Played some games. Ate dessert. Talked. Took some pictures and then watched Monsters University. 

SLC W

 

Mom’s back has been hurting so we changed our beach plans for stay home plans. It was a very lovely day just the same. Dad and I went for a swamp walk at the Tibet Butler Preserve.  We played a super long game of phase 10. In the evening we went to Gators for dinner.

This morning Abba called to say Nana had gone to the ER by ambulance. That is the second time in a month for those who are counting. She’s had some health challenges recently, that makes me sad. Mom and Dad are also old now, which is to be expected in your 70’s and 80’s. It’s still strange to see and not so fun I am sure to live thru. Older parents is something you know is inevitable, if all goes well, but somehow still surprises you.

Ethan got his mission reassignment. He’s going to Salt Lake City West. He’s not unhappy about it and I am sure it’ll be amazing!

We did some cleaning and talked to the kids. 

Epcot

 Monday I went to the dentist for my semi annual cleaning. I ended up staying 3 hours and getting a crown made. It went smoothly and I was happy I didn’t have to anticipate. One unpleasant morning minus the leading up dread was something to be grateful for. 

Mom and I went thanksgiving grocery shopping in the afternoon.

Rob also spent a pleasant day putting in a new garbage disposal. Ours leaked:(. I am grateful he is handy and fixes most of the problems in our home with his own two hands. 

Tuesday mom and dad and I went to Epcot. Rob and Grace went shooting in the morning.

Epcot was a lot of fun. It was Christmasy and we traveled the lands. 

Home MTC goes well. Ethan is happy and engaged. I love having him here just a little longer and being close to the action. There is a peaceful spirit in our home.

Sunday

 

The Junkers came over and had dinner and played games with us. I think we will be inviting someone over each Sunday to entertain us:) 

We played Scattergories and ate Bub’s favorite huli huli chicken. 

Right after church we took a drive to see the temple. When we got back Papa and Ethan and Spencer FaceTimed in Spanish. They had a great chat!

Me and Papa long ago:)

After dinner we had a youth fireside. Our awesome bishop spoke and he had invited Ethan to come and share about at home MTC. They both did great. 

It was a long full day. 

Gideon

You will see why the title of the post later.  But first Friday the prophet spoke to the world. Does that sentence seem incredible? Miraculous? Significant? It does to me. And it was. Last week there was an announcement on fb and Instagram saying that this Friday President Nelson would

deliver a message of hope and healing. I counted down the days. 

Friday came and we were having our work “Friendsgiving” (which was super fun) when the time finally came. I left and went to my desk. A couple of my friends came too. We listened together. 

I love our prophet and I felt the power of his words. He asked us to do two things for the next 7 days. First to flood social meeting with gratitude and second to pray fervent prayers of gratitude. Prayers have power, that power brings miracles. I felt as if he was Moses holding up the staff with the serpent on it, and we were the children of Israel. It’s an easy thing to do but will we have the faith to do it and to have the miracle? 

Friday night Jess and Isaiah came over. We had dinner together with Nana and Abba and Mom and Dad. It was delicious and nice to have everyone over. Maverick is tiny and sweet and Mak is adorable and chatty. 

Today was Ethan’s first p-day. We had to go get some shots for him, something we haven’t gotten to yet in our preparations. Then Ethan went to help at the missionaries car wash. After that he and Jackson went to Jeff’s to meet up with a bunch of the boys (including Ty and Connor just home from BYU) to play basketball. After basketball (and a shower) we went to Bonefish and had another delicious dinner. I think Bonefish is one of my favorite chains. 

When we got home we sat around the table and Ethan read to us in Spanish from the BOM while we followed along in English. The spirit was strong. 

I can testify to the special spirit of the MTC. Even home

MTC. It is powerful and palpable. You can feel that this is the Lord’s work and that He loves and lifts his missionaries.

While we were driving home (I was behind the wheel) Rob read an email out-loud to the car that he got from Ethan’s mission President. He writes to all the parents (idk how often) It was long and it was amazing and again the spirit just filled the car and testified that this is God’s work. 

One thing he said was:

We continue to face issues getting new missionaries into the country and there is no apparent relief on the near-term horizon. We sent 16 missionaries back to the states and we received only one, who arrived today from Belgium. All of this is to say that our numbers will continue to drop for the foreseeable future. We will be down to 100 missionaries by year’s end and we can only hope that the borders open soon, and Spain start processing visas. This has led many of my missionaries to start speculating on which areas we will close next or if they will be pulled from their areas. 

 

So, what is a Mission President and companion to do? We see we really only have two options, hunker down, close areas and ride this one out. Unfortunately, it just isn’t in our nature to do that. So, the only other option is to figure out how to work differently. Sister Bussey and I have been feeling for some time that if we are to move the work dramatically in Spain, we have to do things very different from how we currently share the gospel. I feel very strongly that the Lord is telling me that He is going to allow this virus to remain in play until we listen, follow His lead and change things to the way he wants us to be conducting the work.

About a month ago we started working on what we are calling the “Gideon Project”. Gideon was a prophet in the Old Testament who was charged with running the Midianites and Amalekites out of their lands. He started with an army of 32,000 but the Lord told him that was too many. So, Gideon told all those who were fearful and afraid to retreat. 22,000 fell back. With an army of 10,000 the Lord still said his army was too big, so now he put them to a test. I won’t go into the details of the selection process, but his army was reduced to a mere 300 soldiers (See where this is going?). This could be an issue considering the opposition’s army “lay along the valley like grasshoppers for multitude and their camels were without number.” 

 

The Lord then changed their battle plan. Instead of spears, swords and catapults, he armed the 300 with torches, trumpets and empty pitchers. They were given explicit instructions on how and when to use these tools and the result was their battle cry, breaking of the pitchers, blowing the trumpets and flaming their torches, created confusion and fear in the camp of their enemies and they retreated out of their land, giving Gideon the victory. The takeaways from this story that apply to our situation are:          1) It isn’t the size of the army that matters. What matters is the faith and commitment of the soldiers.   2) The Lord’s “Battle Plan” is different from man’s. To succeed we must follow His plan – not ours.                  3) Fear and Doubt are not ingredients of success.                                                                                                           4) God will magnify and multiply our efforts. The miracles will come, and the victory will be ours!

These missionaries, all these young men and young women who are courageously going out into an uncertain world, to an unexpected mission, they are this small army of hand picked soldiers. 

Wow, just wow! 

81 years. On the dot.

 Today is dad’s birthday! Sure glad he was born!

After work we went to Magic Kingdom for some birthday magic!

We rode some rides,  and caught a few shows, and looked at shops. It was a really nice day.

On our way home we picked up Grace from band, stopped and picked up some Chinese food for dinner, and then ate at home. We also stayed up way too late!

I sure love my dad, he’s the best💕

18 years 5 months later...

 

well, our boy is a missionary.  So amazing.  It looks very different than what we had imagined but he's in the Lord's hands.  I remember so well the day we found out we were having a little boy.  Although the odds are 50/50 we had had four girls and I was a "girl mom".  I completely expected to have a 5th girl and then a 6th or 7th.  I was unreasonably surprised then to hear "it's a boy".  It was daunting to me.  First of all cub scouts.  I had no idea, and didn't want to have any idea. Second I am not a man hater but it is no surprise to me to ever hear something awful or disappointing that a man has done.  They are just...Idk. This made me nervous. Thirdly I felt so responsible to raise a priesthood holder, a missionary, someone who would be the Lord's disciple.  (not that I didn't want those things for the girls, because I do and did- the task just seemed like it would be easier.)

And then we had this boy.  His birth was a sacred special experience.  Born on the road, in our suburban, on the way to the hospital, in what can only be described as an undeniable miracle he came into the world and changed our lives. He was the sweetest, cutest boy.  He was obedient and cuddly and smart.  We delighted in finding his guys set up around the house, laughed at his arsenal  of lightsabers, made room for his jumping around on the couch or bed, beamed as he learned to read, write and reason at a young young age.  

Cub scouts turned out to be so much fun, as did soccer practice, chess club, boy toys and games and all the boyish charms of childhood.  He is funny and talented and amazing.

 

He is athletic and has always had his own cheering section.  He's faced moves, disappointments, making new friends time and time again with cheerful grace. As we reached milestones, baptism, first time to the temple, priesthood advancement, etc, he has been ready and willing.  

We have been surprised time and time again at how much we love him, how obedient he is, how thoughtful and kind and mature.  We have seen the hand of the Lord lead him, and we have seen him seek that guidance.

So the mission.  We anticipated a marvelous MTC experience followed by a flight to somewhere to serve. Instead we have home MTC and some uncertainty about where he will start and if he will make it to the place he was called.  Again he is cheerful and ready.  

Last night he was set apart by our wonderful stake president.  He gave him a blessing that was powerful, comforting, and full of counsel and warnings and promises. It was a wonderful evening.

Then we went to the airport and picked up mom and dad.  They are here to visit for a couple of weeks. Nana and Abba are driving in today, and in typical Ethan fashion he will start a new adventure with his own cheering section!

Sunday night

First: good news! We bought tickets for this little bear and his momma bear and daddy bear to come spend Christmas with us!! Yay! Can't wait.  They will be here for 2 weeks!!

Ethan had his farewell talk today.  It was zoomed so all his family could log on and watch him, which is one teeny tiny silver lining to this whole covid mess.  He did an awesome job.  I love this picture of Marshall giving him a big thumbs up!  

Jenna is recovering from Covid.  She now has "cold like symptoms" and the very delightful symptom of no taste.  She said food feels like playdoh in her mouth, just texture, no taste.  That would be super weird.  I'm glad she's on the mend.  So far no one else has had any symptoms.  

We had a good weekend.  Rob got some stuff done in the garage, Grace had a clarinet lesson, Ethan played ball, we got all our Christmas decor up and have had the Christmas music going.  

 

MTC count down

A few more days and Ethan will be a full time missionary. I wish he was going to the MTC, that’s what I would have loved to do if I was a young missionary. Or an old one. I’m so proud of him for moving forward and getting ready to go despite the craziness of this year.

Happiest and most exciting news: President Nelson is giving a special message to the world next Friday. I can not wait!!

 Travis went home this morning . The boys had a good time. Jackson  is over tonight. Ethan’s been blessed with some great friends his whole life. 

Jenna has Covid:( She’s been sick a few days but she’s doing okay. Hopefully no one else gets it and hopefully she feels better quickly.

We had book club tonight. Which I led, and forgot about! I remembered all day then this evening I was helping Rob with a project, then we went and grabbed some dinner when we came home it was almost 9. I got in my pajamas and hopped in bed to watch TV. Luckily Tori texted me! I scrambled up, got dressed, raced downstairs to get the book...which I couldn’t find. Decided to go with out the book, ran back upstairs to log on. A few minutes later Ethan brought me the book (he and Jackson had kept searching after I gave up) and then we met. Whew:) Despite the rough start I love the book club and chatting with my friends. Also I love that boy. He is always so kind and sweet in small ways (like continuing to search for the book) I am going to miss him.

Travis

Travis is visiting from CA. It’s super nice having him here. He’s happy and helpful and fun and he grew like 2 feet since we saw him 2 years ago!

Wendy and I went to Magic Kingdom and she got the boys in. Grace came with us too. We had a fun time. We went after school and all the Christmas stuff was out. We enjoyed the cavalcades and lights and the Christmas castle. It was very fun!

We ate dinner and it was delicious!

Travis brought his oculus and we have been playing with it. VR is amazing. I can not believe how real it looks and feels!

We also have played ticket to ride, a game we all enjoyed. 

 

The boys have been decorating for me! They hung lights and they’ve played with the missionaries. We are having hurricane weather, which this far inland means rain on and off so they’ve been stuck inside some of the time. I hope they’re having a good visit.

This little Ruby called today and we had a fun chat!

Some times the ride photos are so funny!

Weekend

I forgot to say I was nominated support person of the month a week or so ago. It was a surprise and very sweet. My job has evolved a lot the last year and I do a lot of stuff now that isn’t really clerk stuff. And a lot that is. My favorite part is still talking to the students. We have a lot less people on campus and there are no walk-ins right now but there are appointments, class meetings, and the occasional emergency.

I also answer the phone and answer lots of questions, which I like. 

I order transcripts and send transcripts to colleges. That is easy.

I recently got made the SSD coordinator. I didn’t know what that was when Dr P asked me to do it but it stands for services for students with disabilities, and I basically apply for testing accommodations. It took a week or so to learn what I needed to do, and it involves lots of hunting down of paperwork and information but it’s not bad now that I know how to do it.

So it was nice to be nominated and to “win”.

Hannah stopped in SF on the way to Rexburg and all the girls got together and had a fun visit.  

This morning Pfizer announced that they have a vaccine ready for the end of the year. True? I hope so!

 

Today

 

Today was like most Saturdays. I happily slept in. Rob went fishing and to the gun range.  Ethan went to work, for the last time.  Monday Travis is coming to hang out for a week and then the week after that is MTC at home.

Hannah and Sawyer and Ezra headed back to Idaho. They had a nice warm break and now it’s back to snow and work.

We elected a new president. Joe Biden won. I voted Trump but reluctantly. I am happy to see a woman VP and I will just continue to pray for the best for our country and our leaders . I have great friends who were squarely in the Biden camp, and I hope they were right. 

We cleaned the house today and bought some groceries. Ethan went to the Gooches for dinner. 

Exciting news Jess and Isaiah had their baby boy, Maverick James!! 

Last night was the last home football game, it was senior night and it was our first win of the year! I wanted to go but each student participant only gets two guest tickets and Grace’s friends really wanted to go so we let them have hers instead of us. I was a little sad & self sacrificing.

 

ETST

The hair is gone but the inspiration remains. Ethan has been enjoying doing some painting. And he’s pretty good at following along and making a nice picture!

Penny had her recital! They did scenes from the nutcracker and she was a dancing doll. 

 Ezra enjoys the swing. Hannah is sad to leave California and to go back to chilly Idaho, brrr!

We still don’t have a President. Which is crazy. Also crazy we had some wild events at work. A student tried to take their life, on campus, we had an active shooter drill (which I always find crazy and sad), two of my YW came to my office today upset because one has a friend who is self harming and she told and then she got attacked in the bathroom by some of that friends other friends. They wanted to leave campus, go get Chick-fil-A or something. I told them they couldn’t, of course, but I told them if their mom said okay they could come after school and wait for me to get done and instead of riding the bus I’d drive them home by way of Chick-fil-A. Which they did, so fun surprise for Grace.

Tonight was band practice, which the band loves. Grace is always the very last one done, which I don’t love. 

Grace and Ethan went to the dentist this morning. Grace also had some labs done for the dermatologist.

I talked with Ruby and Cora this afternoon, they were putting away their trampoline for winter because it’s going to snow this weekend. They were excited because they got pink cookies after the babysitters today. They are very funny and talkative!  They got cookies because they “didn’t run away” when Jenna picked them up. 

I also talked to Tatum, she just finished the most exciting book she’s ever read, which includes Fablehaven and Harry Potter! She’s a reader which is so fun! And I am the lucky one who gave her the book for her birthday so yay Mimi on a good pick!