Dear Friends And The MTC...

This is our glimpse of Sister Precious at the Provo MTC.  Thankfully I have a very

dear friend who is a nurse there.  She wasn't in the day that Sis. Precious checked in,

but the moment she was back to work she tracked our beauty down to make sure

all was well with her.  I sure do appreciate her and the love and support she has offered

my children, especially Sis. Precious.  When we were saying our good-byes on the curb

of the MTC...I told Sis. Precious that if she got really sad or needed anything to find

Nurse W. and she would take care of everything.  I sure am grateful to that dear friend

of mine...And I am REALLY grateful for the the sweet photo of our Missionary Girl!

We left Provo this past Monday.  It was extra hard for me to leave this time, most likely

because I was leaving The Aggie Boy and Sis. PreSh behind.  It made me really happy

to be so close to them.  It made me really happy to have the Aggie Boy pop in

and out of our little rental house for a few minutes a random moments.

As we left Monday we knew that Sis. PreSh was going to call us the Tuesday morning

before she flew to her mission.  The time was set...between 4:30-7:00am.

As I went to bed Monday night, I was sure to check my phone...and turn up the ringer.

Well...I awoke at 6:30...no phone call...no missed calls...I wondered what had

happened to our Missionary.  Just then the phone rang...and she quickly asked why we hadn't

answered...she had called 10 times;)  Turns out she had called the home number instead

of the Cel. number.  Anyway...what a wonderful visit we had!  She sounds great!!

She shared many experiences with us...what she had learned...what she was feeling.

And we shed tears together.

It will be hard not to talk to her for the next few months.  Until Christmas to be exact!

But she is ready for this experience. 

Once she arrived in Sacramento she email to say she was there and it was really beautiful.

I am grateful for Sis. Precious!  I am grateful she has chosen to serve!

p.s. speaking of dear friends...Sis. Precious had a friend from school as her companion

in the MTC...Sis. Briggs!!! What a small world!

England...Sacred Ground...

 

The Missionary Boy has been home for about 6 weeks now. I have thought many times I would sit and write about what it has been like to have him come home. Our life has been a whirlwind since the moment he arrived. Actually that would be true of his actual birth! He has taken us on quite a parental ride...That Boy! There are days that when I think if his mission, it seems like such a blur. There are other days that I feel the feelings again...those of a Missionary Mother.

  They are feelings that won't soon be forgotten.

(Pres. and Sis. Millar)

When he left for his mission, a very wise man told us that... "we would mourn the loss of the boy... and we would celebrate the man that returns to us." And he was right. He isn't our "boy" anymore. He is now a man. He is very physically different, he has a very different view of the world now. He is concerned for others...he feels the pain and sadness of others...he loves more deeply...he loves sacred things...he is quick to help...he loves his family...very simply...he is grown up!

 

I am sure that leaving England was bittersweet for our "boy" turned man.

That place will always represent beautiful change and growth for him. It will be sacred ground for him, as it will be for us, his parents. It will be a place that he remembers with love for the great learning that took place there...even though sometimes it was very hard.

As a mother of a missionary, England will always hold a very special place in my heart,

as the home of my son when he was away from me. Had he been sent to Mexico, I would have had some point of reference to understand the experiences that he was having,

the food he was eating...the weather he was enjoying. I did not have that for England.

 To imagine what the people, the food and the weather were like was very difficult for me.

  It was foreign for him and it was foreign for us.

  Now that culture has become comfortable and familiar to him.

  Now Mexico seems a little different.

 

And so he said good-bye, not only to England, but to a time of life that happens only once.

A time he will never revisit. He climbed aboard a plane and headed to a land that was familiar but now different. It is different because he is different...in a very good and blessed way. Although he is happy to be home, he longs for his England, and the life of a missionary that he knew there. He is learning how to be this new man in his old world. It has been so exciting for him to begin to plan his future, but it has also been very sad for him, to see that some things and some people have not changed and probably never will and yet so much has changed and how will he fit into it all again. Returning from a mission is a hard thing. It is a time of great transition.

 

 

Strangely, I feel the same. I am a missionary mother who is adjusting too. I loved every moment of having a missionary in the mission field. I could have never anticipated the joy and great blessings that would be ours as a family during this special time. It was a sacred time for sure. I still find myself drawn to "all things England"
 and maybe I will always be.

 It is a place that I will always have a deep affection for...and maybe..

.if I am lucky...one day I will walk on the very soil that "raised" my son into the

 "new man" that we are getting to know all over again.

A Brotherly Haircut....

 It seems that while serving his mission, The Missionary Boy mastered the ability to cut hair.
 He is very meticulous, very detail oriented..
.so I guess he discovered that those talents made for a good haircut.
 He cut his companions hair, as well as other missionaries through the mission.
 It was something he enjoyed;)

 

 If you know The Rooster, you know that he has some GREAT hair.
 It is thick, it is curly, and it is a beautiful color.
Another things about The Rooster...he HATES, haircuts!
So he is known to grow his hair until the moment of suspension from school,
 just to avoid a haircut. That is pretty much how
The Rooster looked when The Missionary Boy returned home.

 

As a brotherly gesture of love, The Missionary Boy offered to cut and style The Roosters hair.
 It worried The Rooster a bit, but he agreed.

 

 After lots of laughs...and lots of work...The Rooster's hair was done.
With all that was cut off...a small wig could have been made;)
With his new haircut, The Rooster looked like a mission bucks..
.and The Missionary Boy was happy to have helped;)

The Airport...Back In Our Arms...;)

The Airport...It Plays In My Mind...Over...and...Over

 

Welcoming a Missionary home, is one of those experiences that every parent

plays out in their minds over and over again...until the moment arrives! That is how is was for me anyway! I can't even begin to put into words what it felt like to welcome

our Missionary Boy home! We were surrounded by family,

what I would call..."Beautiful Chaos"...it was the greatest thing every to be

supported through this wonderful experience.

Thank you to my Sister-in-law who captured some great moments!
 

He's Home!!!

 

There aren't words sufficient to describe the joy of welcoming the Missionary Boy...

now Man...back home, He is a complete delight!

 

 

 

Oh, we have missed him! I have so much to write about...

such a full and beautiful weekend. PreShie left us for college...

we welcomed one home as another left...

I wish they could all stay home for a little while...all together.

 

 

They are turning into such nice people...those Darlings of mine!;)

 I am so grateful!!

I Think We Are Just About Ready....;)

Missionary Monday....4 More To Go...

 

I cannot believe we have only 4 more Monday's before he is home!!

I realized late last night...that it was exactly one month until our Missionary Boy completes his missionary service. I have such mixed emotions...We are ready to have him back... but it has been an amazing experience to have a child serve a mission. His service has blessed our family!

 

A very special baptism..

.