He's Home!

Well, it's true!  After two (that at times seemed like very long) years, our boy is home from his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

 

Sometimes you hear that a mission is the best two years OF a missionary's life, but others swear that a mission is the best two year FOR a missionary's life.  A boy serving a mission comes home a man; with a greater love for people, a strong work ethic, and most importantly a deeper love for our Savior Jesus Christ.
 

He has learned that obedience to the Lord and his restored gospel brings much happiness and joy.  He has seen what a difference it can make in people's lives, and has let it make a difference in his own life as well.  He now "gets it."  He knows that the path the Lord has laid out for us in His true gospel is the path to "peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come." (Book of Mormon introduction)
 

It has been wonderful to have him back.  In some ways those two years have completely melted away, and it seems like he was never gone.  But he did go, and it made him a better man than he otherwise could have been.
 

I'm so thankful for his sacrifice.  In the end, what we have gained is greater than anything we gave up.  Thanks for a great two years, Elder...Welcome Home!

Here he comes!  He flew in with 3 other Elders from his mission. There are a bunch of happy families waiting at the bottom of those stairs!

I'm trying to play it cool...don't want to seem like an over-anxious mom who really missed her boy (even though I was!)  My favorite part of this picture is his feet...they're blurry, because he's on the move to come hug me! :-)








One of the best hugs ever, hugging your boy after two years!  I'm pretty sure we were both crying here. Love him so much, and am so proud of him!











Craig, Bradley and Jacob--3 of my 4 handsome boys!  We miss that OTHER Elder now!

Home at last...NOW WHAT???

My mantra for the next couple of days...

Dear Libby

A little over a year ago I did a 30 day blog post challenge that started with the challenge to write a letter to yourself and answer it a year later. 

Here’s my answer to myself.

Dear Libby,

What a year it’s been! 

The new house is still wonderful.  There are only 2 things that I have discovered are not my favorites about the house, but other than that I still love it.  One is a misplaced light switch that makes it a bit inconvenient to turn the mudroom light on or off. The second is that the dishwasher, sink, and garbage can cabinet are all right next to each other in a corner of the kitchen, and it gets a bit piled up there at meal clean-up time.  I’d definitely rearrange that if I could.  But overall I love my home, and still think it’s beautiful!  We have had a lot of family fun at our house, it is definitely a party house.  I think one of the favorite parts of the house for partying is the gas fire pit out back.  Making s’mores together with friends and family is so fun.

As for what’s new with our family...well, I’ll have to repeat, what a year it’s been!  Mel and John are doing well.  They both graduated from college in May, and John was hired for a job he’s always wanted.  It took them off to the Midwest, which they have seemed to love and enjoy.  Mel was hired as a elementary school aide as well, so they will both be busy with their new jobs and many new adventures to come in a new state!

Are we excited for Bradley to come home?  YES!  It’s been such a good two years for him, but I am so looking forward to having him back home.  He’ll not be home long—off to BYU he’ll head with many new adventures to come for him too, I’m sure.

It is definitely weird to have a 3rd child graduated.  I don’t feel very old in general, but having 3 of my 4 children graduated makes me feel like people look at me as an old person--I'm nearly an empty nester!  This past year brought a major change which affected our family.  In October of 2012, President Thomas S. Monson announced a change in missionary age.  Young men, who could previously serve at age 19, would now be allowed to begin their missionary service at age 18, as long as they had graduated from high school. For Trevor that meant he could leave as early as June (as opposed to November) for his missionary service.  After putting in his papers he was called to serve starting in July.  Sadly, that means he and Bradley will miss each other.  Trevor flies out of the country the day before Bradley flies home.  But, I figure the Lord knew all that when he called Trevor, and so we’ll trust that it is part of his plan.  Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven.

As for Jacob, he seems to be doing pretty well as the only child left at home.  His first year of high school seemed good, and he was part of the school marching band that got to march in the Rose Parade.  However, as he didn’t love marching band overall he didn’t end up doing it this year.  That’s actually probably ok...it was a very busy summer and the thought of squeezing parades and practices into that sounds like more than we might have wanted to deal with!  He did get his driver’s license, and is hoping that he’ll be able to drive to school this year.  But first we need to get the car he’ll be driving fixed!  Trevor put in his plug before he left that Jacob should have to ride the bus to school instead, but Jacob didn’t really like that idea!

As for where we are and if I feel settled...well, yes and no.  I must say I do NOT miss our old house area.  The people I may miss, but the area not at all.  I think it took Craig a little bit before he always remembered where we live now, but I would never forget.  And, driving over in the old area usually has me muttering to myself, “I am SO glad I don’t live over here anymore.”  It was a very good place for us for a time, but I definitely think it was time for a new place for us.  I have enjoyed the people here, they have all been very nice, and it’s very good that way.  But, at the same time, moving somewhere new after you’ve lived in one place for nearly 15 years is quite a change.  Where you previously knew everyone, you now know no one, and sometimes that’s hard for me to deal with.  I also think I struggle with it because it came at a time of a lot of life changes, and at times I feel like I am not sure who I am and how I fit in anymore.  I’m not sure that I wouldn’t somewhat feel the same way even where I was previously, but I think being the “new kid on the block” adds to my unsettled feeling. 

We've stayed busy with callings.  First we started out as team Primary teachers, but a few months later Craig was called to be High Priest Group Leader and I was moved to be team teachers with another lady for the Sunbeams.  I'm also serving on the Relief Society meeting committee as well.  I think that things have been good for us in our callings, and I’m thankful for the chance to serve.

So, what about the friends I've made? Well, I would say I feel like I have a lot of surface friends, but have not yet felt like I have totally made one of those deep friends that you would call at anytime for anything.  That’s probably what I’ve missed the most about living over here, feeling like I have many “deep level” friends.  Luckily for my sanity my current next door neighbor is a long-time friend who used to live in my old neighborhood, so I at least feel like I have one person I could call at any time for anything.

Overall I would have to say that the past year has been pretty good for us in general, definitely a year of changes and new things, but hopefully a year of good growth and learning.

Here’s hoping for even more good things to come in the next year as well!

Love, Me 

It's Easier the Second Time Around

Just two short weeks ago we dropped Missionary #2 off at the MTC.

Last time it about ripped my heart out.  This time it was much easier. 

First time: They descended on the car like locusts, grabbed the suitcase and the missionary.   "No, we can't take a picture for you," they said, and were gone practically before we knew what happened. Watching my boy walking away, I try to take a final picture and accidentally press the camera off button just as he disappears into the crowd.  I get in the car and start sobbing.

Second time: A single missionary host came to our car.  We got the suitcases out, hugged, and the missionary host asks, "Would you like me to take a picture?"  He takes one, lets us check it and offers to take another one if it's not any good.

 We stand awkwardly around, waiting for him to whisk our missionary off, but he seems content to just let us stand there all day if necessary.  We hug again, and then say, "Well...guess this is it." I might have hugged my missionary one last time.  Then the host missionary and our Elder amble off, and I have plenty of time to get a couple walking away shots.  Get in the car, have the sobbing feeling bubble up, but can't even squeeze a tear out before it calms down and I'm overcome with gratefulness for missionary boys.

Discussing it later, Craig and I decided that the way the drop offs went may have had a lot to do with the feelings we think our missionaries themselves were probably having before they left.  When Missionary #1 left the missionary age was still 19.  He was one of the oldest in his class and the first of his friends to leave.  The rest of the friends were off to start college (for a semester or a full year before leaving on their missions) and we felt he struggled with the idea of leaving when everyone else was still "moving on" with regular life.

Missionary #2 left the first summer after President Monson's announcement that missionaries could start serving at age 18 after they had graduated.  Not only was he NOT the first of his friends to leave (one left the Wednesday after graduation), but most of his friends would be leaving within a month or two.  Going on a mission was what they were ALL doing right then, so it was normal to him to go.

Regardless of the beginning feelings, Missionary #1 has had an awesome mission.  He'll come home in less than a month, and will jump right into regular life.  He says about his missionary service, "I've really loved being a missionary, and it has been something that has changed my life. I'm very grateful for this, every young man needs a mission. My testimony has grown. My confidence has grown. I've learned how to do things. I've learned what is most important in life. I've learned how to deal a lot more with conflicts. I will be sad when I have to come home."

We know Missionary #2 will feel the same.  There's just something about a mission that makes men out of these boys.  While there have been more times than I can count that I have said "I miss that boy!", I wouldn't really want them anywhere else but serving the Lord these two years.  What a blessing to their lives, to our family, and to those they serve so far away.

Adios, Elder!  See you in two!  Love you bunches!

 

Recent Happenings--Graduation and Vacation

June has been pretty busy for us with Trev's graduation and the traditional post-graduation family vacation.

This year graduation seemed to be later than usual, but on June 7th Trevor graduated!  This year a new feature was showing the graduates on the jumbo screen as their names were called.

Afterwards we took the family (including Grammy and Grandad and Grandma) out to dinner at Chili's.  It was a fun evening, and we're proud of Trevor and his accomplishments! 

Our family tradition is the year we have a graduate that child gets to pick the place we go on our family vacation.  This year Trevor picked to go up to British Columbia.  We spent a week in Victoria, enjoying the getaway and time spent with each other.

It was BEAUTIFUL up there.  I loved all the trees and the coastal feel to Victoria.  I was surprised to hear that the weather is very mild there in the winter: I was told that it rarely gets below freezing.  (The negative I did hear to winter weather [at least for me] would be that it's dreary all winter.)

Some of our fun included:

Butchart Gardens--Probably the closest thing to what I imagine the Garden of Eden would be like.  The flowers were beautiful, and Craig decided that it would be great if his backyard looked like that!
 

Kayaking and Zip Lining--We had a busy day with both the kayaking trip and the zip line course.  Both were great fun, although we fought the wind the first half of the kayaking trip.  We saw starfish and a seal followed us for awhile.  The zip line course was great fun!  I have only zip lined one other time (at Girl's Camp) and loved the zip line itself, although the way they made us get to the zip line was scary (it was a trust course type thing...climb a telephone pole and then walk on another telephone pole out to the zip line.)  The way to get to these zip lines were much less scary, although I will admit I was a little worried about the heights.  But by the end (8 lines) I was feeling much braver with the heights part.  Another time on the course and I probably would have been pro, haha!

A 20 mile bike ride--We rode down an old rail trail that was flat and mostly paved.  It was really nice to casually wind from the Swartz Bay area down to Victoria.  It was a mix of coastal, farmland, and city riding.  We stopped along the way at a place called Mattick's Farm to have lunch at a cute little restaurant.  Victoria is very bike friendly, which was nice when you were riding in town!

A Ferry ride--We took a ferry one day from Victoria over to Vancouver.   We didn't do much in Vancouver except drive around, but we enjoyed the ferry ride over.  We did drop by the Vancouver Temple site just to add it to our list of Temples we've seen throughout the world.  It is a smaller temple, but still very beautiful and peaceful.  We love the House of the Lord!

Beach exploration--We took a day and drove all along the coast stopping at beachy areas and exploring the tidal pools.  The beaches are quite rocky often, and the different nooks and crannies in the rocks would fill with various sea life.

We slept in as late as we wanted, which was lovely.  I rarely get to sleep until I wake up on my own!  We enjoyed our trip a lot.  Trevor told us he might move up that way some day, and I can understand his thinking as it is very beautiful there.  It actually was almost depressing to come home because it's not quite as beautiful here! 

All in all it was a fun trip, with lots of fun things to do.  We had a great time!

Going Crazy

If I live to be ninety, I'm right about at midlife.  Seems like a good time to hit a midlife crisis, eh?

That's a little what I've been feeling like lately.  I am just a wee bit emotionally out of balance.  Ok, wee might be a bit understating things.  I am quite a bit emotionally out of balance.

Technically, I guess that I have the right to feel that way.  Over the past two years (and the very near future), this is what I've been dealing with:

• Sending a son off for two years
• Building a house (where I get to make all the decisions about how it comes together)
• Selling a house
• Moving from a place I've lived for 15 years
• Getting settled in a new place
• Having a huge extended family crisis resulting in numerous stresses, tears, uncertainty, pain, and then dealing with the new family "normal", which so far isn't really very normal to me at all
• Having a daughter get married (with a reception in the backyard of new house in a yard that a few weeks before the big event was a big pile of dirt!)
• Having daughter and new son-in-law move a few states over
• Get first son back, immediately send him off to college an hour away
• Send second son out for two years to foreign country full of scary news stories

I guess I would sum it all up to say that midlife so far seems very tough to me.  Sigh.

Mom's (and Dad's) Reward Time

Today we got a little "reward" from our missionary.  He wrote the following:

"Thanks for all you've done for me. I always am thinking how grateful I am for the lessons I was taught by my parents. I remember being so frustrated with little things such as being home at a certain time, or not watching a movie, etc. I look back and think 1) Elder, you were so silly. 2) My parents protected me, they knew what was important. More than anything y'all have taught me how to work, you've taught me the truth, and you've taught me where true happiness comes from. All from your example."

Sigh.  I love that boy.

In other news that I did a terrible job blogging about, Trevor DID receive his mission call.  He'll be serving in Monterrey Mexico.  I can't believe we're doing this all over again!  It's the greatest thing in the world though, to have your children be willing to spend two years of their lives 100% dedicated to serving the Lord. 

In more awesome news, Mel's hubby just received a call for a 3rd interview (this one on-site as opposed to over the phone) with a company that seems to fit what he's looking for in a job.  Exciting times!  We'll keep our fingers crossed that good things will fall into place for them!

I hope they call me on a mission!

We are waiting for Trevor's mission call to come this week. 

It didn't come on Tuesday.

Not on Wednesday either.

I hope on Thursday!

And not on Friday (too long to wait!).

It's been a missionary week around here so far.  On Monday we were invited to a ward member's home for Family Home Evening, where we were asked to talk about missionary stuff.  Once a month for FHE this family invites people over to talk about missions and missionary stuff in hopes that it will instill a love of missionary work in their kids.  Trevor talked about preparing for his mission, and we let them guess where he might go (they went with Chile, where their Dad had served).  I talked about something a missionary always has with him.  Not his name tag, not his scriptures, not his Preach My Gospel...but a companion.  Then I showed pictures of Bradley and some of his companions, and had a matching game based on missionary companionships found in section 52 of the Doctrine and Covenants.  Craig then talked about his mission and shared some experiences and trivia from that.  It was a really cool evening, and I would highly recommend that as a neat FHE to try.

On Tuesday we had the missionaries over for dinner.  Instead of the 5 PM time we thought they were coming, they asked us to let them come at 6:30 (after a leadership meeting they had.)  That was fine, except that Trevor was leaving at 6 for Young Mens, and Jacob was leaving at 7 for his Young Mens.  So, our boys didn't get as much time with the missionaries as we had hoped.

On Wednesday we got a box from our current missionary (Bradley) full of stuff he wanted to send home and not cart around anymore.

On Thursday we get a call?  Keeping our fingers crossed!!!

Wheat Bread--Take 1

Lately I've been interested in trying to eat a bit more healthily.  I have been reading stuff on a website called "100 Days of Real Food" about eating, among other things, food that has 5 or less ingredients, preferrably of ingredients you can pronounce the name of! 

I have been looking a lot more at my food labels because of this, and it is amazing to me how many things in the grocery story have HUGE ingedient lists, with many names I don't recognize. 

Take for instance the bread we have at our house.  Here are the ingredients:
Enriched bleached flour
Niacin
Iron
Thiamin Mononitrate
Cracked Whole Wheat
Water
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Gluten
Honey
Salt
Soybean Oil
Yeast
Butter
Raisin Juice Concentrate
Distilled Vinegar
Calcium Sulfate
Dough Conditioners (Ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides, asorbic acid, azodicarbonmide, enzymes)
Yeast Nurtrients (Monocalcium phosphate, Calcium Sulfate, Ammonium Sulfate and/or Calcium Carbonate)
Corn Starch
Soy Lecithin
Soy Flour

What a list! 

I like the idea of trying to get food that's more "real", and so I decided to try and make some wheat bread.  I found a recipe the other day that claimed "It's very soft and moist and if you didn't see the light tan color you would almost think it was white bread."

I bought the ingredients at the store.  I broke out Great Grandma's Bosch, and I made some bread today.

It was kind of a big flop.

I'm sure that I could do a little better next time.  For one, I could actually try making the bread on it's own, as opposed to making it in conjunction with dinner (fajitas, yum!).  I think we all KNOW we can multi-task well, but it doesn't always work as well as we think.  I could check on my ingredients (some of them have probably been in the back of the pantry for maybe more moons than might be good.  For example, I did note the powdered milk I used said best by 2009.  Or maybe it was 2008.)   Goldilocks-like I might have had water that was "too hot" or "too cold" as opposed to "just right" (warm!)

I'm not giving up.   I hear bread is tricky, and wheat bread even more so.  My goal is to have some wonderful wheat bread one of these days!  It may just take a little practice.