A Couple of Wednesdays in July

On Wednesday, July 17th, we drove to Provo, Utah, to drop our third-born child at the Missionary Training Center, where he will spend nine weeks preparing to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ in the Naga Philippines Mission.

It was not particularly easy for me to leave my dear Danny there, knowing I won't see him for two years. But I'm glad he's made the decision to serve, and I've been okay, so far.

One week later, on July 24th, we celebrated the Utah state holiday Pioneer Day by visiting my grandmother. And when we got home that evening, my daughter Hannah opened her mission call.

We were very surprised. We had each made a guess or two about where Hannah might be called to serve, but no one thought she might go to the Philippines like her brother. She'll be in the Cauayan mission (would you like to buy a consonant?), and Danny will be in the Naga mission. They will both be speaking Tagalog and, because Hannah leaves in December, will be coming home at about the same time.

My head is still spinning. But I feel very blessed, and greatly honored to be the mother of these amazing children.

Independence Days

We like birthdays at our house. And this week we got to celebrate the birthdays of a couple of countries.

On July 1st, we celebrated Canada Day by singing Oh, Canada, eating ice cream that Adam patiently shaped into maple leaves, and watching The Red Green Show.

(No, we're not Canadian. We just like a reason to celebrate.)





Three days  later, on July 4th, we decked the house in red, white and blue, ate an outdoor dinner and patriotically devoured this cake:

Then we watched the American Rock series from Schoolhouse Rock (if you're old enough, you'll remember some of these): The Shot Heard Round the World, No More Kings, Constitution Preamble, The Great American Melting Pot, and my personal favorite, I'm Just a Bill.

We've had a great week. Wherever you live, be grateful for what you have. And maybe eat some really yummy cake . . .

Empty(ing) Nest

Not long ago, after a very strong windstorm, my husband Wes found this in our front yard.

He brought it in to show me, and he was a little surprised that I wanted to keep it. It seemed to be a timely reminder of how our lives are moving now.

I can't count the number of times that some middle-aged woman, seeing me with my little flock of small children, said, "Oh, they grow up so fast." Of course, I didn't believe it. I felt like I was stuck in toddler-time, and would be forever.

But it's turning out that those women were right. When you are raising children, the days are long. But the years are short.

Here's a little history of the last 22 years with my three oldest children:

My oldest child Sam, 1991

Two-year-old Sam and his new sister Hannah, 1993.

Hannah, Sam and Danny, 1995

Sam

Hannah

Danny

Sam graduated from high school and served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Now he's majoring in Business Management at Brigham Young University and working part-time.

After graduation, Hannah received a lot of great scholarship offers. She has been studying History at Brigham Young University for two years. 

Danny just graduated from high school last month, but he will be leaving home soon: On July 17th, he will enter the Missionary Training Center in Provo to prepare to serve a two-year mission in the Philippines.

I suppose that I really always knew this would happen. That's the goal: to produce happy, successful children who can lead productive, independent lives. (But who still want to come home to visit.)

Three down, four to go.