Catching up, Sept. 17-October 7, 2018

I'm back in Utah after a two week stay in Colorado Springs.  I have a little catching up to do.  Before I went to Colorado, we had to say goodbye to some special friends that we have made on our mission, Elder and Sister Bob and Becky Lathen.  They live in Denver and returned home recently after completing their mission on our floor.  We had some fun times with them on the International Floor and also playing games at their apartment and ours.  They taught us how to play up and down the river (or Mormon Bridge).  We also said goodbye to President and Sister Thornock from the mission presidency.  They are amazing people and were always very kind and thoughtful of us.  They will be missed.  It's hard to say goodbye.  We are grateful however that we have made these special friendships that we will always treasure.

Our young Elders singing "Called to Serve" at our Hail and Farewell Dinner!  Always very touching.

Elder Lathen teased our zone leaders that we would all like prayer meetings a lot more if they brought donuts, so for one of their last prayer meetings, the zone leaders, Elder and Sister Koberstein, brought fresh, warm donuts for Porter's Donuts in Bountiful.  They were seriously some of the best donuts ever!

We've gone to a few concerts on Temple Square and one night after listening to a trumpet concert, we came out and the temple looked extra special through the trees.

We had a fun dinner out with some of our Colorado friends one night when Paula Vidales and her husband Orlando came to Utah for a visit.

Becky and Ron Wheelwright, Janice and Cal Simmons, Margot and Lee Rosenhan, Paula, Orlando and us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I always love to include a picture or two showing Violets growth.  She is such a doll and I missed her so much when I was in Colorado. 

I got to take Sophie in for her ortho appointment to get her braces off.  She was brave and beautiful! It was kind of funny but she didn't want to get them off.  She likes wearing braces!

I told Sophie I wanted to get her something special since she had been so brave and gracious through Tucker's ordeal and he had been getting so many gifts and she chose to go to Walmart and she picked the game of Twister as her gift!!  We played it together one night before I came home.  I'm sure not very flexible!  We sent this picture to Tucker from Walmart.  He loves Ninja Turtles and got a nice laugh out of it.

I also wanted to take Sophie out for a special lunch and she wanted to go to Texas Roadhouse for a steak but they were closed.  As we were leaving Walmart, she said, "Let's eat at Subway!"  So we did!  Not exactly what I had in mind, but it was still fun. 

While at Walmart, we picked out some pumpkins and mums for the front porch!  Always a fun, Fall tradition.

These cute girls were fun to hang out with.  Ryan even set up their bouncy castle in the living room!  They loved it!

Sunday, September 30, was the Primary program and Sophie had a special solo part in a beautiful song called, "I Believe What I Believe."  Jaimee's mom was there too and when I came into the chapel and Austin saw me, he said, "Two Yamma's!"  He calls us both Yamma and he is adorable.  It was a wonderful program.

Our Colorado Rockies are in the Playoffs!  We are pretty excited about that!

Austin wasn't too happy about getting his haircut.  It was actually pretty stressful but he sure looked cute afterwards.  He's a little dynamo and brings a lot of smiles and stress relief to the mix!

Ryan, Ali, and their little family got a dog!  It's a darling little Cavapoo (King Charles Cavalier and Poodle mix).  They picked him up on Friday and stopped by to show us him on their way back from getting him near Greeley.  They named him Rockie and he seems like he's going to be a wonderful little pet for them.  The girls are thrilled to pieces and have been begging for forever for a dog.

It has been a challenging couple of weeks.  My mission has been literally taking care of our family and it has been exhausting as well as completely fulfilling for me.  Mike has kept our mission in the Library going and did a great job of being here by himself.  I appreciate him so much for his unselfish support of my helping our family out in times of need. 

Tucker started getting a fever today and if it didn't go away, they would have had to admit him to the hospital again.  We all prayed very hard and so far so good.  These next three years are going to be up and down and it will be so crucial to all pull together as a family to support Tyler and Jaimee and their family as needed.  We continue to be amazed at how much love and support they have received already and I know they will continue to receive it as the months go by.  It was a very hard thing leaving them yesterday, but I know that they will be okay with the help of the Lord and a lot of wonderful, loving people who surround them.

This is just what we have to do!  Life is hard and we have to Trust the Lord always and in all things.