Mija....

 

 Dear Precious Mija...(my daughter)...

You are 22 years old today! 

 I know I always say the same thing when you and your brothers birthdays roll around...

"where has the time gone??" 

I am amazed by you! You have the strength and wisdom of an old soul...

I guess that is really what you are. You have been and continue to be a great comfort to me...

Thank you for that! You are fiercely loyal to those you love. You seek to comfort anyone or 

anything you see that may be suffering. You defend the underdog. 

 You don't speak badly of anyone, and hate it if you hear others gossip. 

 I love that about you. You try your best to make correct choices. 

 You are constantly setting goals and want to achieve great things. 

You have a deep and strong commitment to Jesus Christ. 

 I think this is one of your greatest traits, one you inherited from your Dad.

 

You have had some great learning experience these past couple of years. 

Some of those experience have been hard to understand. 

 But you push forward with great faith...faith that they will all work for you good. 

I have to admit that I have spent many nights, and days, in prayer for you, 

pleading with Heavenly Father to support you through these experiences that are meant 

to be yours, and He has done just that. You are stronger than you have ever been 

and I know that you will continue to get stronger. I have faith in you!

   

 You light up a room with your smile and your sense 

of humor keeps us laughing! You are a light in our family! 

Oh how I love you My Girl!! 

Happy Birthday to you!!

21

Dear Precious,
 You are 21! Where did the time go?
It seems like it was just yesterday that you were a newborn...a huge fat baby
amidst the tiny preemie babies in the NICU section of the hospital.  Ten days later you were in the
arms of your big brother who could only mutter the words "Babe...Babe..." over and over
again as he patted you so tenderly.  And now you are  a beautiful young woman with so many
hopes and dreams.  You have had a rough year.  You have had so many challenges that you never
thought would be yours, and you have navigated through them with such grace and strength. You
have amazed your parents with your goodness and with your desire to be your best.  Thank you for
blessing our family.  Thank you for blessing your parents...For lending your strength to us when we have needed it...
For loving your brothers and being their biggest fans.
Thank you for helping us laugh and laugh and laugh!
Thank you for being you!
We are blessed that you are our daughter.
Heavenly Father know you PreSh...he knows the desires of your heart...
and He will bless you with those desires....
This I know for sure!
Thank you for choosing to be our girl!
I love you madly!
SMOOCHIE!!

 

The Aggie Wrap-Up....

 

The Aggie Darlings are finishing-up a few finals in the next couple of days, and then they

will be off to their next adventure! The will be moving...getting jobs for the Summer...

and all the fun that goes along with;) It has been a good semester for them both.

  PreShie has completed her first year at USU!! The Aggie Boy has settled into college life...

the ups and downs. They have both grown alot this semester! The Aggie Boy celebrated his 21st birthday

 with this group of good friends and cousins.

 Thanks to PreShie an fun party was organized.

 

The Aggie Boy was gifted with a very special cup to drink is most favorite drink from!

 

 

The Aggie Boy also became a "True Aggie" He has joined the ranks of many family members

 who have gone before him...including his grandparents;) and our PreShie!

A fun tradition at USU.

Called To Serve...Sweet Precious

 

This past week was Spring Break for The "Aggie" Darlings.

 Oh...I was thrilled to have them come home and just be here with us.

 What a treat for the Mom;) They stopped off in Mesa, so PreShie could have another

surgery on her mouth...I think this is the third...possibly fourth. BUT, she can now see the

light at the end of the tunnel and all of her mouth "drama" should be over in the

next two months! Anyway...after spending a couple of days with the Grandparents S.

 they headed home. We ate way too much! We stayed up talking...we had family gatherings...

we had a wonderful time.

 

 

The Aggie cousin group planned to leave Saturday to return to Logan and

 Friday morning PreShies mission call showed up! We just figured her "lost" call would

 arrived next week in Logan. We never expected that it would actually arrive in Mexico,

while she was here...what are the odds! It was just meant to be;)

The moment the Bishop dropped off her call, we began contacting family to

let them know that she would be opening it that evening. Evening came...

the family gathered...The Grandparents S. joined us on Skype...

and then it was time...

 

 

With all eyes on her...she carefully opened the large white

envelope that was addressed to Sister Victoria Jones...

 

Called to Serve...

California Sacramento Mission

Reporting July 2

English Speaking

 

 

I am so grateful that she was home for this amazing moment...

and that it was shared with family and friends who love her so much.

 I am so grateful for our Precious! She has been a great blessing to me,

her mother and to her whole family. She loves life and has a deep sense of spirituality.

 She will be an amazing missionary! I love her sense of duty in following in the

footsteps of grandmothers who have gone before her. I love her sense of family.

She is an amazing young lady. Here's to our beautiful Precious!

The soon to be...Sister Jones!

I love you very much PreShie!!

 

And We Wait....

 

While PreShie was home for Christmas, she began to work on her missionary paperwork.

She has patiently waiting the chance to serve an 18 month mission.

 Due to problems with her teeth, this opportunity has been delayed.

 But at Christmas time, she did all that was necessary to complete her paperwork.

And then she left and went back to school at USU.

She knew that around the month of February, the paperwork could be submitted.

 The day came...and The Farmer pressed "submit."

The Farmer called PreShie to let he know what had been done, and not to expect

  anything in the mail for a month to six weeks. And so we all settled in for the wait.

Last week, just for fun, The Farmer check his link into the missionary department

and found that not only had her paperwork arrived in Salt Lake City...where

the assignments are made...but that her assignment had already been made!

 WHAT???!!

This timing is unheard of in our area. Typically it takes several weeks for the

paperwork to even get to Salt Lake City.

And now...we wait...

 

So while we wait we tested out the Skype call...

to make sure it was working well.

 

 

It was so much fun to see The Darlings!

Here is The Boy with his new "glow in the dark" cat shirt that The Rooster sent

 him for Valentine's Day...very nice!

 

Oh, I miss these two!

They are a lot of fun!

 I LOVED Skyping with them!

 

 

Here is the map that PreShie has going in her dorm at school.

It has been used by others who are also waiting for mission calls.

Everyone stops by and makes their guesses.

 

 

This is the map we have in the entry of our home.

The guesses are all pretty fun! Many have made us laugh!

It will be very fun to finally see where she has been called to serve,

and truly, it doesn't matter. Wherever it is...she will be happy,

and she will give it her all. In the meantime...

we wait!

 

My Stomach Turned A Little...

Although I am beyond thrilled that our Precious has decided to serve a mission...
if I am completely honest I would have to admit that when
The Farmer showed me this yesterday... my stomach turned a little...
I can't wait to see where she will be called to serve!!!
We love you PreSh!!!

The Party Follows Them...Seriously!!

 

It seems that I do this each and every year...I get behind on my blogging during the holidays!

  Ugh!

Now, catching up is going to be a challenge...but it must be done!

Wrapping up a year is an interesting experience. It has left me full of so many emotions.

What blessed year it was in so many ways, and yet we have faced many challenges that

we probably wouldn't have chosen on our own.

  I hope we are better for every experience that was ours in 2013.

 Certainly a major highlight of our year was welcoming home our Missionary Son,

and after two years we were all together for a very special holiday season. It was wonderful!

 The Darlings have a great energy, each one individually, BUT...when they are together...

it is an extraordinary energy!

 

WOW!!

That's a good WOW!! by the way;)

Like Auntie said a few nights ago, as The Darlings arrived at her home to spend the night...

"The party follows these kids, wherever they go!!"

That was the case in our home throughout the holidays. Friendships were re-kindled...

cousins were reunited...many steaks were eaten...the pool table got some great use...

our home was filled with laughing and lots of chatter!

I loved it!!

 

 

It's quiet now.

 Two of The Darlings have headed to school...

The third Darling is still on his Christmas vacation from school.

 Life is getting back to "normal" whatever that is...

and I miss that really loud yet sacred time that was ours when we were all together.

  It was the closest thing to perfection that I know!

 

Now, as I look forward a bit, into 2014 we are again headed for an eventful year.

 Some events we are aware of...and I a sure we are bound for many that

we are perfectly unaware of...and that's OK.

We will move ahead no matter what our experiences will be.

 One thing we do know, is that our Precious is headed toward a beautiful year!

  An extraordinary year!

She has made some great choices that will lead her to some life changing experiences...

and she is ready!

 I love her drive, I love her passion for life, and I love her commitment to her values!

 

 

We had a special New Year's Dinner...

just our little family...

which I will blog about in the next few days. Part of our dinner included Fortune Cookies...

and this was PreShie's fortune...

funny that a little Fortune Cookie could be filled with so much truth!

Blessed was our 2013...

Looking forward to 2014...

It's going to be a good one!!

I Love These People!!!

 

 I love these people!! And...These Darlings are on their way home for Christmas!!!

Yay!!!

 Can't wait to get them home!!

On another happy note...The Grandparents got some wonderful news yesterday,

After several months of Chemotherapy, The Grandpa is now

free of the cancer that he has been working so hard to fight off.

Prayers have been answered for our family...

We are blessed!

Precious Is 19!!

 Last week Our Precious celebrated her 19th birthday! I was traveling and wasn't able to post on her very special day. Today I was looking through her Senior pictures to find a few for this post,
and shed some tears because I miss her!

I talk to her a little everyday...we text alot...but it isn't the same not having her home with us.
She brought so much energy to our home!
There were always friends coming and going...lots of laughing and a
good amount of teasing...mostly with The Rooster.
I miss her...we all miss her!
Sniff...Sniff...



Things I love about Our Precious..
*She is feisty!!
*She is goal oriented and driven
*She lives life to the fullest
*She is involved and soaking up her college experience to the max!!
 *She is a great friend
 *She is a gifted writer
 *She is a fantastic photographer
*She loves the process of learning

 
 *She is very funny! We are always laughing when she is around
*She is fiercely loyal...especially to her family! (That is one of my favorite things about her!)
*She is beautiful...both inside and out and now...
*She is an Aggie!!!

  This girl has her Dad totally wrapped around her little finger...
 I love to watch her work her magic on him! He is putty in her hands!!;)
It thrills me to see how she loves him and how he is smitten with her.
Of course he claims that he is responsible for every good quality that she posses!
She has blessed us with some pretty great experiences as parents!
Some have left us with great stories to tell! She is a blessing to us in soooo many ways.
 Oh how I love my PreShie Girl! I am so blessed to be her Mom!!
Feliz Cumpleanos Mi Hijita!
 I love you!!

The Aggie Update....

Last week was Homecoming week at USU.

PreShie found lots of fun activities to participate in. There were dances...A Chalk Dance... Concerts...more concerts...and most important...

 the opportunity to become a "True Aggie."

 

 

Groups of students gathered at "the A" She said the line was really really long...

but she and her friends decided it was worth the wait!

 

 

She is now a card carrying "True Aggie!!"

 and we couldn't be more proud! ;)

 

 

 

Another fun announcement from our little Aggie...

She is beginning the process of becoming a Missionary....

Yay!!!!

She's An Aggie Now!

 

Our beautiful Precious left Sunday for college.

It was a very full weekend for us. As we welcomed home The Missionary Boy,

we said good-bye to our PreShie.

 It was too much emotion for me!!

 

 

 

She packed and packed, until he had everything ready to go.

 

 

I hope it all fits in her new home;)

 

 

 

Her brothers and a very dear friend packed her car.

 And because of their amazing packing skills...everything fit!!;)

 

 

 

Then came time to say good-bye...there were lot of tears...

a few laughs, but mostly tears;)

 

 

 

Saying good-bye to The Rooster was especially tender. She cried...he cried...

 These two have been a great team for the last few years.

 She loves him very very much!

 

 

 

Saying good-bye to a brother who just got home, was prety sad too!

 

 

 

 But...saying good-bye to The Farmer was the saddest of all!

He was sad...she was sad...after she climbed into her car and drove away, he said..

."she was just here... and now she is gone!"

He has been very sad since she left.

Those two have a special connection!

 

 

 

Although sad to see her go, I know that she is ready to emabark on this next chapter of her life.

She is not only beautiful, she is strong.

And she is prepared!

Go Aggies!!