September Misc

Just some random pics - Savannah's picture day, Weston hanging out with friends for a hot tub and games night, Weston's collection of pencils that he found on the ground at school (that he had been carrying around in his backpack), and a youth activity.  The youth did a big fundraiser dinner and service auction. 

Owen's basketball team doing wall sits, Alex performing a wedding, monthly temple outing, and Savannah at a birthday party.

I spent a lot of time in August and September cleaning and selling some things from the house and garage that we didn't need anymore.  I also made a SISTERS book for Alison's 40th birthday - celebrating 40 years of sisterhood.  I had one moment where I was getting close to finishing the book.  I was eager to start working on it, but then I had the thought that I hadn't read my scriptures yet.  I had a little argument in my mind, but Jared's words popped in my head, "Just read your scriptures first."  I called it my WWJD moment - What Would JARED Do?  His influence is still here even though he's not at home.  I'm grateful for his example and good habits to motivate me.  I did my scripture study first AND finished Alison's book that day. 

September Birthdays

We celebrated Alex's birthday with a few good meals - breakfast, a Chili's lunch date, stuffed peppers for dinner, and cake & ice cream for dessert.  My birthday was on a Sunday (also fast Sunday), so we went out to eat for breakfast on Friday.  Savannah made a cake for me, and a couple friends dropped off flowers and cookies on my birthday.  It was hilarious listening to Weston play the trombone during my birthday singing.  The following Friday, some friends did a birthday lunch for me, which was fun. 

 

BYU

Nathan made it out to BYU and went to football games the first couple of weekends.  He made a good friend, Karsen, as he was moving in.  Karsen offered to help him move his things in, and they have been good friends since then.  After the first game, they went out to eat after the game.  There were a few girls sitting nearby and they heard one of them say their goal was to get married in 3 months.  They laughed a little about that and started speaking Spanish.  A little while later, one of the girls came over and said she had served a mission in Panama, so she knew what they were saying!  It turned into a conversation and they had a double date by the end of the night.  The date never actually happened, but it was a pretty funny story.  He did go on a few dates later with a couple other girls.   

It turned out to be a tender mercy that I didn't fly out to UT to help Nathan move in.  A few weeks into the semester, he called and told us he was called to the High Council.  He needed to be ordained a High Priest for that calling, so Alex and I scrambled to find flights out there for the following Sunday.  It wasn't cheap or even very convenient, but we managed to get flights.  We had to make some last-minute arrangements for the kids at home to get to church and school.  We had a 5:30am flight out of LAX, so it was an early start.  We got into SLC around 8:45am and made it just in time for Nathan's 10:00am stake conference.  Nathan sang in the choir, so we didn't get to sit with him.  We got to listen to Nathan's mission president from Ecuador, Elder Roman, who was now a 70, speak at the conference.  We also met him and his wife after the conference.  Nathan also had the opportunity to participate in a panel on Friday evening.  He was the student representative, answering questions, along with Elder Roman and the Stake President.  Apparently he did a really good job at that meeting.  We ran into a couple girls from the ward on campus after the meeting that complimented Nathan on how he did on the panel.  

We had lunch in the cafeteria and then went for Nathan's ordination and setting apart to the High Council.  Alex got to do the ordination, so it was a pretty cool experience.  Later for dinner, we met up with the missionary, Brook Langston, that baptized Alex back in 1995.  Alex hadn't seen him since his baptism, and he hadn't been in contact until just a couple weeks prior to Nathan receiving his calling.  Brook had sought out Alex on Facebook and then contacted him.  We had a little zoom chat a couple weeks before we went to UT, and then it worked out great to have dinner with Brook and his family that Sunday evening.   

After dinner, we dropped off Nathan back at BYU, then headed to the airport.  Alex took a late flight back to CA because he had a conference the next morning in Anaheim.  So Alex wasn't even in UT for a full day.  Alison picked me up from the airport and I stayed the night at their home.  My flight back was on Monday afternoon, so I at least got to hang out with Alison and the kids for part of the day.  We just hung around, played with the cats, and watched the kids do their Monday routine.  I was back home by Monday night.  The hardest part of the trip for me was finding our car at the airport.  I had 2 one-way flights, so I didn't even fly into the same terminal that I left out of.  I didn't pay attention to that, so it was a little hard to find the parking garage.  I ended up wandering around in the parking garage and alleyways outside by myself until I could get to the right place.  

 

And they're off...

...to school, and mission, and college!

Everything happened in matter of a couple of weeks.  Owen and Weston started school on Monday August 19th.  Owen is in 10th grade at the High School.  He is still able to walk to school, but he goes to seminary scripture study class from 7:00-7:50am at the church before school each day (although he has also had some morning basketball practices that have conflicted with seminary).  Weston is in 8th grade at the Junior High.  He rides the bus home in the afternoons and on Wednesday morning.  We take him the other mornings for 0-period advanced band.  Savannah started 6th grade on Wednesday the 21st at the Elementary School.  Alex or I usually walk the few blocks to school with her.  Her first day of school was also the day Jared headed off for his mission.  

Jared started home MTC on Monday August 12th, which was a little tough since we still had family in town for a couple more days.  He was definitely on a different schedule than everyone else.  He was operating on Peru time, so he had to wake up at 4:30am to be able to exercise and get ready for his online training to start at 6:30am.  He had lunch around 10:30am and dinner at 3:00-4:00, so I had to prepare dinner around 2:45pm.  

I got up with him and ran 2 of the mornings at 4:30am since he had to have someone with him to leave the house.  It wasn't very fun running in the dark, but I appreciated the last couple of times to spend a little bit of time with Jared.  On the first run, we headed for the bike path, which usually has lights, but they weren't on.  We decided to head back to the school, where I thought we could run on the track.  Well, the gate wasn't open for the track (nor were there lights on), but we were able to squeeze through the side of the gate.  At least the surface was predictable as we ran with a flashlight on the track.  And Jared didn't have to run my pace.  Jared ended up running full on into a spiderweb on the way back home.  The 2nd morning we ran, the moon was bright, so we did a few miles on the bike path.  After our run, we had a nice chat about Captain Moroni and his preparations for war and how Alma and the sons of Mosiah were still out preaching.  They couldn't rest.  I taught the youth Sunday School lesson on Sunday on that topic.  Jared came into my class and was a good contributor to the lesson, particularly how he's prepared for his mission.  We've had to do a lot to prepare physically, but the main part was his spiritual preparation.  He's put in the extra work to strengthen his testimony and work on weaknesses.  One of the things he did was bear his testimony every month in fast and testimony meeting for the last year.  That helped with his confidence in public speaking and sharing as the spirit directed.  It was also a great blessing for me and our ward to hear from him.  He inspired some of the other youth to share their testimonies often too.  

Speaking of preparation, it's amazing the number of things required to do to prepare for a mission, with so many things to gather and paperwork and medical stuff.  One of his pieces of luggage arrived just a couple days before he left.  We still had to get Jared set up with a credit / debit card that would work in Paraguay, and we had to get $160 in crisp bills for the Visa as he entered Paraguay.  The bills were supposed to be free of any marks or folds - basically uncirculated pristine bills.  We waited until the day before to try to find those, and that proved to be an impossible task.  Alex ended up going to over 15 banks in search of these bills, and they were nowhere to be found.  All of them had a fold down the middle, from being sent through machines at the bank.  We eventually gave up and hoped that somehow they would be good enough and not rejected.  Jared took the carefully placed bills in a protective plastic sleeve.  That was one of my biggest worries sending him off - would the money be rejected?  I just hoped and prayed that they would be good enough, that maybe the Lord could somehow remove the folds in the bills.  What's interesting is that a bit of a miracle did occur with the process, but not what I expected.  It turns out the church has been working with Paraguay to get that fee removed for the missionaries (or maybe handled in some other way), and they didn't even need the money to enter.  Instead Jared had a representative from the church there with him as he entered, basically an advocate for him that he was who he said he was and serving for the church.  So he ended up taking the cash with him and didn't even need it for entry into the country.  That was a tender mercy!

Anyway, we had our pancake breakfast the morning that Jared headed off.  It wasn't any easier to say "bye" to Jared than it was for Nathan - still just as hard and ripped out a piece of my heart to watch him walk away for the next 2 years.  I was in tears off and on most of the morning after he left.  I had to come home and finish cleaning out his room so that Owen could move his stuff in there.  Owen was excited to have his own room finally.  Weston would have been fine either way, but he now has his own room too.  My friend Carrie dropped off a "missionary mom" necklace for me, which I love.  I'm sharing the letter I wrote to Jared.  

Jared flew to Atlanta first and then on to Lima, Peru where he spent 5 weeks at the Missionary Training Center.  Another tender mercy was a photo we received from a random church member at the airport in Atlanta.  He snapped a photo of Jared and 4 other missionaries who were flying together to Peru.  Jared didn't have a phone for travel, so it was nice to get an update.  We did send Jared with Air Tags, so we were able to track him based on where his luggage was during his traveling.   

Jared's MTC companion was Elder Bourgeous - they got along well and both are runners too.  He's quite a bit taller than Jared though (as seen in the photo below where you'll see Elder Bourgeous in the light blue pullover).  

After we sent Jared off, we had one more week with Nathan, which was spent going to the temple and gathering the last bit of things he needed for college (mostly clothes).  It worked out well to pile up Jaden's car when he was here and have him take most of Nathan's stuff with him.  That allowed us to put Nathan on a flight to Utah, with a couple suitcases full of clothes and shoes.  I initially wanted to be there to help him move in, but then it didn't seem necessary after the option to send stuff with Jaden.  Jaden was a huge help, as he also picked up Nathan from the airport in Salt Lake City and dropped him and his stuff off in Provo. I didn't cry when sending Nathan off to college, because I know I'll see and chat with him quite often. It was a little odd sending a kid off to college though - am I really old enough to have a college kid?  Welcome to a new season of life! 

Family Visit

Right after our family vacation, we had family come visit us.  My parents, my sister Audrey, my brother Mike, my nephew Jaden, and my sister Alison and her family all came out for a few days.  We weren't able to have everyone stay at our house.  My parents and Mike had to stay in a motel, and we had some creative sleeping arrangements.  Alison and Micah brought a trailer out, so a few of them stayed in that.  Audrey got Savannah's room.  Jaden was on a mattress on the floor with Owen and Weston.  Nathan was on the floor in Jared's room.  The rest of the kids were either on the trampoline, in a tent, or on the couch.  The girls couldn't decide where they wanted to sleep each night.  

We played sand volleyball, had a bonfire at the beach, hung out and played games, went shopping, went out to eat, some jogging and biking, and went to church together.  Nathan and Jared both spoke in sacrament meeting, with Nathan giving a post-mission talk and Jared giving a pre-mission talk.  Jared was set apart as a missionary right after church, so everyone was able to participate in that special experience.  Nathan and his friend Shawn also gave a missionary report on their missions later that evening, complete with pictures.  

It was great to have so many people out here, but not real fun to prepare food for 20 people.  We grilled hamburgers on Friday evening, had roast & potatoes and rolls for lunch on Sunday, spaghetti for dinner, and out to eat on Monday.  I didn't quite estimate the right amount of roast, but we got by.  One of my friends also brought brownies over Sunday afternoon, so it supplemented our lunch perfectly.  I did have to get up pretty early on Sunday morning to be able to make rolls and prep the roast before church.  The sacrifice was worth it to have so much family out to visit us though!

This is one of my favorite pictures from the visit - Bethany and Kai.  She loved her and just wanted to hang out with the dog.  I'm not sure if Kai appreciated Bethany as much but she's a pretty patient dog. 

Owen (and Weston and Savannah) were pretty good about hanging out with Bethany and Eden.  

Mammoth Lakes

We took a short family vacation to Mammoth Lakes.  We enjoyed some swimming, hiking, kayaking, hanging out, playing games, and watching the Olympics.  

 

Temple Trip

One of the first things we did after Nathan got back from his mission was go to the temple.  It was the first time we had been able to do work together as a family, as Savannah became old enough in January to go to the temple.  Nathan, Jared, Alex, and I did endowments and sealings together, which was a special experience.  Then all of us participated in doing baptisms, which was also cool, especially since Nathan, Jared, and Owen can all perform the baptisms.  Jared and Nathan were also able to help with confirmations since they both have the Melchizedek Priesthood.    

We didn't try to re-create the photo, but I remembered the first time we took all the kids to the temple when Savannah was just a baby.  I had them take a current picture of them sitting there with Alex.  Savannah is a little bit bigger now... 11 years older! 

After the temple, we went out for lunch and then watched a movie in the theater.  Nathan hadn't done that for 2 years. (The dessert and German pancakes are just some misc things from the month.) 

Later in the month, Nathan and I went to the Redlands Temple a couple days before he left for college.

  

He's Home!

Nathan stayed in Ibarra (and Quito North) to finish out his mission, with Elder Bybee.  They had 6 more baptisms during those last 5-6 weeks - Alejandra, Isabel, Didier, Pamela, Vanessa, and Danny.  Danny was his last baptism, which was just a couple days before the end of his mission.  Alejandra's mom had been baptized about a month prior to her daughter, so that was pretty special.  Isabel and Didier were 2 kids whose parents are waiting to get baptized after they get married.  Pamela was a special baptism as well, since she had connections with church members in Esmeraldas (where Nathan had served recently and knew her friends).  Pamela shared her testimony that a big part of her conversion was reading the Book of Mormon.  

Nathan also shared his experience with the Book of Mormon:  "This week I have felt the power of the Book of Mormon.  It constantly testifies of Christ and my testimony has been strengthened.  I am marking all scriptures that refer to the Savior in yellow and I noticed that a lot of the pages are completely yellow.  It is another testament of Jesus Christ.  I testify of the power of the Savior.  I have felt His hand in my life and as I have served.  I have even felt him at my side.  He is all powerful and there is nothing he can't do.  I also know he died for us and now he lives.  We can be forgiven and we can overcome all things.  Mistakes, pains, sicknesses, and weaknesses.  He is who makes this work possible.  So I invite y'all to look for the Savior more earnestly in your life.  'Look unto him in every thought, doubt not, fear not'.  I am constantly praying for more faith and that He may continue to change my heart."  

Nathan got to visit and teach in a drug rehabilitation facility.  He said, "The spirit was so strong in the visit as we shared with them about the hope that comes from Christ."  He got a new mission president the beginning of July - President and Sister Bradshaw.  President Bradshaw served his mission in Paraguay (where Jared is now serving).  Nathan got to translate from Spanish to English for Sister Bradshaw at zone conference since she was just learning Spanish.  

As a zone, they got to cook hamburgers for a meal the week of the 4th of July.  He got to have some fun with the other missionaries one day - doing cartwheels, push-ups, and weightlifting each other!  It's not all work and no play - they get to have a little bit of goofing around.  

Nathan also got to see Cascadas de Peguche, a 50-foot waterfall in Otavalo.  The area is classified as an indigenous ceremonial site because of the cleansing baths done there before the Inti Raymi ceremony, so it's considered a sacred place to the indigenous people.  

Even down to the very last week, Nathan was meeting people, being in the right place at the right time.  They met a man named Jorge, who about 10 years prior had met with missionaries and loved the lessons.  However, one day the missionaries never came back.  Jorge talked about how he loves the Book of Mormon and how it teaches us that the Savior was in the Americas.  He knew it made a lot of sense, so it was great that they ran into him that day to teach him more.  

Here is Nathan's last thoughts before he left:  "Honestly I wouldn't be able to describe the experience in this email.  But I know this is God's work.  He guides us through the spirit and through prophets and our leaders.  I have seen lives change and my life has changed.  I know the Savior Jesus Christ lives and His sacrifice makes it possible to change and be able to return to God's presence.  I love Ecuador and the people here.  I will always remember them!! And I am going to miss the beautiful landscape here.  I want to thank each one of you for the support these past 2 years and I hope that y'all can see the light of Christ in the gospel!!  See y'all around!!"  

Alejandra

Pamela, Isabel, and Didier

Old and new mission presidents, switching out

Cascadas de Peguche

Vanessa

His apartment, showing where he washed his clothes. 

                                                                                                     Danny

Last night in Ibarra

Nathan left Ecuador on July 29th and flew to Atlanta with 4 other missionaries.  It was nice to get a photo from Atlanta from the older sister missionary traveling with them.  Nathan flew from Atlanta to Salt Lake City on July 30th and then on to home.  We had a group waiting to welcome him home!  Savannah made the poster for him.  It was exciting to see him come down the escalator, and everyone knew that I got the first hug!

Directly from the airport, we met with the Stake President so Nathan could officially be released from his mission service.  It was a tender moment watching him take off the name tag and put it in his pocket.  While he won't wear the name tag anymore, we know he'll continue to be a witness for Jesus Christ as he moves on to the next chapters in his life.  We're proud of him for his service and sacrifice to help others come to Christ.  Of course in the process, he also changed and developed a stronger relationship with God and Jesus Christ. It was a great blessing to watch him grow these past 2 years!  We're also excited to have him back home. 

We went out to our favorite hamburger place after we met with the Stake President.  It was a bit of culture shock for him to be back in his home town.  I think it was surreal for Nathan to walk in the door at home.  He had some of his favorite things waiting for him on the table.  And he had to go say "hi" to Kai.  One of the first things he did was look in the fridge and noticed it was full of food!  Most of the time while on his mission, the fridge was pretty empty.  Nathan spent some time unpacking and going through his things.  We loved his croc "slides" or whatever the footwear is called.  He brought back a few other souvenirs too.  He brought back some Ecuadorian ties which the boys were excited to wear.

He was so exhausted by the time he got home.  That last picture in the collage is fitting (not taken the first day, but a couple days later).  He just wanted to be able to sit on the couch.  You can see he crashed on the couch while reading his scriptures - worn out in the service of God for the last 2 years.  That's a well-earned nap on the couch - well done Nathan!