Just a calm, relaxing day

Today was just about perfect.

7 am--ward council meeting

8 am--Tom made gluten free Swedish pancakes and orange juice for breakfast

8:30 am--Linda arrived

9 am--Church where we had wonderful talks, a great Sunday School lesson and I was able to attend YW with Hannah. Here's the gift Hannah gave me.

12:30 pm--PHONE CALL with Tim!

4 pm--Dinner with John and Laney, complete with the cheesecake I made for the occasion.

After hearing about struggles some of my friends are going through this was a perfect day. We are all safe, we were all together and enjoying each other's company. What more could a mom want?

Swoosh!

That was October. Where did it go? I don't know. Do you?

Since my last post my life has been filled with the typical things...Relief Society, work, Relief Society, kids, Relief Society, kids' homework...did I say Relief Society? Please understand! I'm not complaining. Although this job has been very busy and taken lots of time, I'm enjoying it. I just don't have enough hours in the day and wonder where all the time went.

One of the highlights from the last couple weeks was this excerpt from Tim's email...

don't worry about the naturopath thing it will eventualy pass and you will be okay. some things just take time and seem like they will never end, but it will and just as the song "if you could high to kolob" says "there is no end to glory; there is no end to love; there is no end to being; there is no death above." so if we focus on what we are aming for everything will be a lighter burden and we will beable to make it to our goals. then if we stick to verse 4, that will help us alot to because it is like the iron rod. if we follow the things that we have been taught then we will be able to make it with no worry. everything will be okay.

i love you mom. i hope you have a wonderful day!

bye

timothy

Great advice! Especially when I know he has personal experience with it. Tim always struggled with school, but he never gave up. He kept trying and working at it. It's great to see the growth he is making and the man he is becoming.

Looking forward...Tom and I have decided to work together on another goal. This time we are limiting our sugar intake. No sugary treats except twice a week. Wish me luck!

What mama likes...

Tim knows what his mama likes. He sent me a Snickers bar for Mother's Day, a box of chocolates for my birthday and the SD card from his camera with pictures on it!

The chocolate is tucked away for after this diet is over...Look out, chocolate! July 4 is open season on chocolate!

The photos are now on my computer and being enjoyed thoroughly.

Here are a few:

Mount Timp

Provo Temple

Tim and his companion in the MTC

Tim at the MTC

Tim and his mission president and Sister president

St. Stephen, New Brunswick

Tim

Tim and his current companion

Tim by the river. St Stephen is right on the St. Croix River

Yipee!!!

School is out! I've been counting down since mid October. (Isn't that about the time I got my new calling?) This year has been so long.

And the school year ended with a bang when I visited the DMV this morning. I arrived well prepared to sit and wait for an hour. I had a book to read that I hadn't even started yet. I walked in, pushed the button for my number and heard, "Number 0-1-5 is now being seen at window 12." I looked down. My number was 015. I tore the number off and walked to counter #12.

While there the lady asked if I was still 5 foot one inch and 218 pounds. It was great to say, "No, I'm no longer 218. I'm now 167." Her reply was, "Wow!"

Then I walked over to the camera and had my picture taken. I decided to get the 8 year license because I didn't want to go in again for a long, long time. Who cares if my picture and license say I'm 167 when I finally get to 112. At least it's closer than stating and looking like I'm 218. My whole trip to the DMV and back home again took less than half an hour.

My book is still not started.

Another good thing...I don't have to work on my birthday!

One last thing...Tim is doing great. He wrote this week that he and his companion saw a bear and her cub crossing the street one day. He says that's unusual there, too. Also, they started with no one to teach, but are teaching 3 people and finding more. One is a man whose daughter is taking the lessons in another area. He also told us that they found a nice place by the river where they can study every day, and the spirit is strong when they are there. Tim has grown so much already. He is going to be one powerful man. I think he may just love them into the church.

First Letter!

We got Timothy's first letter today, and he is doing great. Three days in the MTC, and he was loving the Spirit, his companion, the other missionaries on the floor and the leadership of the MTC. He said he is with lots of polynesian boys and thinks that is cool. He said he was pretty comforable with the first discussion, getting to know people and letting them know that they care about them.

I always worry about my boys in the MTC because I had such a rough time there. Johnathan had some rough spots, but pulled out of it soon. Timothy hasn't been bothered by a thing apparently. I shouldn't be surprised that they would have an easier time in the MTC than I did. All my struggles were related to the issues I carried around with me. My boys haven't had to deal with those same issues...Thank goodness.

The Drop off

TUESDAY...Our trip to Utah was very long and boring. The wind was blowing badly which made driving a challenge, and I was happy to let Tom drive as much as possible. One of our family traditions is to do a temple session the day before the missionary leaves. We attended a session in the Salt Lake Temple that evening.

Tim, Tom and Ann

Tim, Carol, Ann, Angie and Tom

Steve, Carol, Tim, Tom, Ann and Nancy

One of the talks during General Conference really touched my heart. It was about turning to the Lord in our trials and how it can affect future generations. Seeing these three men together in the temple made me feel so good. My dad, Tom and Tim...three generations of good and righteous men.

WEDNESDAY...We stayed with our friends, the Grubers, while we were in Utah. Their son Gordon loves Tim so we thought we'd better let them have some time together before Tim left for the next two years. Here we are at Emmett and Ethel's in Lehi having ice cream on the way to the MTC.

We stopped in a corner of the Marriott Center parking lot to take photos and say goodbye to the Grubers.

Hannah, Tim, James, Tom and Ann

Tim and Gordon

From there we drove to the MTC. We were directed to a curb where they had 25 numbered signs, each one car length apart. Elders were standing on the curb to be hosts to the new missionaries. We unloaded Tim's luggage, hugged and said goodbye. The elders took Tim into the MTC and we drove away. I liked doing it this way much more. The old way was drawn out. Short goodbyes are much nicer...like pulling off a bandaid...quicker is better and less painful. I still got teary, though.

Another family tradition is to eat at the Brick Oven after dropping a missionary off. So we met the Grubers at the Brick Oven and had lunch.

Now I'm wondering...why does the quietest person in the family leave the biggest hole?

I can't wait for my first missionary mail! Or for Mother's Day!

Change

I was looking at the three kids tonight and realized that Wednesday we will be down to 2 kids at home. I can't believe it's that time already. When the kids are little you never think the day will come when they leave home, but it does. Wednesday we will drop Tim off at the Missionary Training Center and we won't see him for 2 years. We are excited to see the growth he makes in the next two years, but I think I'm really going to miss him. I have a special bond with Tim. From the time he was born we could communicate without talking. We just know what the other is thinking and can read each other's body language perfectly. I never even heard him cry for the first five weeks because I could read him so well.

Tim and the friends that came to hear him talk today.

The family after Tim was set apart by President Christensen.

Tim saying goodbye to Aunt Linda (aka...second mom)

James took this photo of my front flower garden.

Birthday again

Tim is 19 today! Happy birthday, Tim!

This cake was a result of the service auction we had last month for the Relief Society birthday. Helen Lester made the cake and it was delicious. I'm so glad I didn't have to make all the cakes this year.

Sending missionaries

One thing we learned when we sent Johnathan on his mission is that whatever cost estimate you've heard...double it! About 2 weeks before we were taking Johnathan to the MTC the van broke down. We ended up replacing the fuel pump at the tune of $800. This time we had to call a repairman to fix the fridge. Fortunately, it didn't cost $800. When we realized there was a problem we moved all the freezer items to the food storage freezer, and the milk and cheese into a cooler filled with ice. The problem was the fan had broken down...$148 plus half a gallon of milk.

Another thing we learned was that as soon as Johnathan was set apart, the blessings of having a missionary started kicking in. From that point on and for the next two years, things seemed to last longer and run better. We had a few break downs and repairs (the biggest was crushing my foot and Tom's fall off the ladder), but all in all things went rather smoothly...until Johnathan came home and things started breaking down.

While we were getting Johnathan ready I heard so much about the "sacrifice" a mission was. The boys sacrificing time, schooling, money and jobs. The parents sacrificing money, time, support and their child. I couldn't see it as a sacrifice. I served a mission and I knew the blessings Johnathan would be receiving. I knew they outweighed anything he was giving up. I saw it as a priviledge for Johnathan and for us. It's an amazing opportunity to serve the Lord, serve his children and the blessings received are amazing.

I knew that our family would be blessed for having a son/brother serving as a missionary. As far as I'm concerned the greatest blessing I received was the knowledge that Heavenly Father loves me. He knows me and loves me no matter what, no matter how imperfect I am. I didn't know that before. I'm excited to see what blessings Tim's mission brings.

Melt your heart and miracles

First...Melt your heart

A couple of people have given Timothy some money for his mission. I mentioned writing thank you cards and he said, "I was thinking about doing that." This morning I addressed the cards for him and read what he said. Ah, it just melts your heart. No wonder all the high school girls loved him. He is so sweet and kind! I'm so proud of my boy.

Second...Miracles

Laney arranged to borrow the MAV (aka...Frankenstein) so she can drive to Rexburg to tour the BYU-I campus and bring Johnathan home for the weekend. However, when Timothy told her about the warts of the MAV he forgot to remind her that the driver side window won't come back up if you roll it down.

So we get a text..."When does Mr. Tom get home? I need help getting the window back up."

We went to the hotel to work on the window and it was stuck. We couldn't get it to budge. So we decided to drive it home and see how much work we needed to do on it. As we were passing Kimble Motorsports Tom saw Rich turn into the parking lot. This was well after closing hours. Rich was able to get the window up in 30 seconds.

Miracles come in all shapes and sizes, but to meet Rich at the shop after hours without prior arrangements...that was a huge miracle and happened just when we needed it.

The trick...hold the button in the up position and slam the door. The window will go up a couple inches each time you slam the door.

Twin

One of the things I am grateful for is how my parents provided good experiences for us when we were kids. Tom and I have tried to do the same with our kids. This trip to the Twin Falls temple is one of the experiences we wanted to provide for the kids.

Hannah, James, Tom, Tim, Ann, Linda

We spent a wonderful day at the Twin Falls temple. Our friend, Carol Strayer came up from Salt Lake to meet us. She has now been in 16 of the temples. So we started counting. I've been in 21 of the temples. Linda has been in the one furthest from home...Sao Paulo Brazil. Tim will be able to attend the Halifax Canada temple while on his mission.

We started the day with everyone doing baptisms. Tim was able to serve as a baptizer, which was really neat to watch. Then James and Hannah stayed in the waiting room while the rest of us did sealings. That was a neat experience for Tim, too. He got to be a witness, a son and a man/father. When Tim was the man and Carol was the woman, the officiator stopped and said, "You know, I've never had a primary teacher and a primary student being sealed before." LOL Carol told me later that as she was preparing the names for our trip she kept getting the impression that this experience was what Tim needed and that it will come in handy while on his mission. It will be interesting to see what happens. We did the work for 96 of Carol's family. Doing family file names makes it so much more personal.

After the temple we went to lunch at Cafe Rio, and then we went exploring the Snake River gorge. On the way home Sunday we visited some friends who lived in our Salt Lake ward and now live in Jerome.

Here's one happy boy and dog!

Temples I have attended:

Portland

Oakland

San Diego

Boise

Twin Falls

Idaho Falls

Logan

Ogden

Bountiful

Salt Lake City

Jordan River

Mount Timpanogus

Provo

Manti

St. George

Mesa

Winter Quarters

Nauvoo

Palmyra

Washington DC

Altanta, Georgia

(Tom is 2 behind. He hasn't been in the Portland or Palmyra temples.)

Fantastic day!

Today Tim went to the temple for the first time. The worker took us into the session room before everyone else and as soon as we sat down the water works started. I quickly learned that I wouldn't cry as long as I didn't think about things like:

This was Tim's first time at the temple

Both my sons were there

Tim's mission starts April 28

and how much Tim has looked forward to this. Back in 2004 we went to California and while there we took the kids to walk around the grounds of the San Diego temple. Tim told me then, "I can't wait until I can come to the temple any time I want."

John, Ann, Tom and Tim

John, Grandpa Bright, Tim, Grandma Bright

Second mom (aka...Aunt Linda), John and Tim

We have been so greatly blessed!

Cute! and feeling encouraged

Hey Tim,
Gordon was at the neighbors today and was telling the Mom all about Tim..."Tim has this game...Tim knows how to play this game." When she asked him who Tim was he said, "My big brother." Cute huh. He just asked us the other day if we could go to Tim's house. You better make sure we get to see you before you leave!

I'm getting a handle on the gluten-free thing, and I had a good visit with the naturopath today. I don't think he expects me to be totally gluten-free...just as much as I can reasonably be. That allows me a little freedom on the food I eat outside the home which will really be nice. He also said that if I feel like I can handle eating without filling out a form and giving it to him at the next visit I don't have to do that. If I see a problem arising in my eating I'll at least start tracking it on sparkpeople again. And I don't have to go in every two weeks anymore. He said three weeks for the next one and then it may be longer if I do well. So I'm not feeling as discouraged as I was. Another thing we talked about was the ache in my leg which is back slightly. He said that as my body detoxes heavy metals it can affect how much calcuim I need so I'll be taking a little more of that and we'll see how it goes from there.

Today I was down to 188 pounds. That is a total of 36 pounds now! Another 7 pounds and I'll take pictures again.

Best Friends

There's just something about Tim that attracts all the little boys who come to visit. We noticed it first with Gordon. Our house, according to Gordon, was "Timses house" and he loved coming to see Tim. We look forward to seeing how their friendship develops as they both enter adulthood.




We've also seen this with Nephi. He came one day to be tended while mom went somewhere with me. When we came back we found Nephi as happy as a clam, chasing Tim through the house. Nephi always wants to "go play with the big boy at Jenson's."

This weekend Tim's friend was Kimball, our nephew's baby. Kimball followed Tim around all over, and even tried to help Tim do dishes.








We think Tim is pretty special, and apparently so do all the little boys we know!

Drum Roll, Please!!!

Tim got his mission call today!

We pulled James and Hannah out of school and called John on the speaker phone so we could open it as a family.

Tim is going to the Canada Halifax Mission on April 28 and is learning English...lol!!!

Ever since we got "God's Army" on video, Tim has been saying he wanted to go to Canada on his mission (so he could learn French)! He got close and I'm sure the French he studied all through high school will come in handy, too.

Mission Papers

President Christensen called tonight to finish off the mission papers and said he would be sending them in tonight! We expect to have a mission call in a couple weeks! It will be so nice to find out where and when Tim is leaving!

Wooohoooo!

It's official!

The mailman brought Tom's Master's degree today!

I'm so proud of him. He worked hard for this!



Can't wait to see what changes this brings...I think! lol

Other congratulations are in order, too...

Tim was ordained an elder yesterday. I'm so proud of my boys. They are great kids and wonderful examples to me.

When Tom's dad passed away I really wanted a blessing, but Tom wasn't home. Then I remembered that John could do it. It was so neat to have my son give me a blessing. Now we have another elder in the family who can give blessings when we need them. We are so blessed!

Saturday

Trying to stay cool...


Hannah and two cousins in the river


Tim, James and Kenny with Hannah behind


Hannah, James and Tim

Hannah

The Court of Honor...

The cake

James getting merit badges from Brother Hanna

James speaking

John speaking

Me playing the piano with my sister in law, Christi

Tim getting the award

The eagle's nest. We had five from our family in the eagle's nest...Tom's brother (Ken), two of our nephews (Carl and Dale) and our boys (John and Tim).

The Eagle's nest

Tim gave the mentor pin to Brother Patterson.