I love Mondays!

Another week has passed and our missionary spent it doing amazing things.  He went back to the cat lady's house, who is a hoarder, and tried to help her get things cleaned up so the cable company could come and install her cable.  They had a lot of lessons this week including one with a referral named Steve.  They got the referral and then went straight to him. They had an amazing lesson and the spirit was so strong.  I love these experiences that Luke is having.  Not only is he sharing the true gospel but in the process of teaching, he is strengthening his own testimony.  Such a blessing.  Can't wait to hear from him next week.

Dance Competition

Today was Harlee's dance competition at Timpanogas High School.  I love watching Harlee dance and I was so excited.  Mimi also came to support her.  She performed three numbers: first was hip hop which was a pirate medley.  I loved it!  They actually won best costume and best overall! They were also awarded Diamond which is the same as first place.  Amazing!  The second dance that they performed was their lyrical called Finding Wonderland.  This dance was so pretty.  Watching Harlee brought tears to my eyes.  She is such a beautiful dancer and it was such a special moment.  They were awarded Diamond on this one also.  The final dance was their jazz dance called "One in a Million".  This was a super cute dance where they were pageant girls complete with sashes.  They took fourth overall with this dance and were also awarded Diamond on this dance.  I am so proud of Harlee.  She works so hard and it is so obvious.  I love that she loves it and I LOVE watching her perform.  Such a fun night.

"Last Day" of school

Today was not technically the last day of school but the junior high kids all decided that the last week is optional.  So Jackie decided to take the carpool group and moms for celebratory slushies.  We went to a slushie shack in Alpine and all of the kids enjoyed a yummy slushie.   Thanks so much Jackie for a fun afternoon.

Dance Festival

Today was the dance festival and the first one with only one child performing since Luke was little.  Tag's dance was to Footloose and he did an amazing job.  I was a little bit sad with the seat I chose because I had to watch his back most of the time, but he knew all of the steps!  I was so proud of him.  As I was leaving after his dance, I saw him walking by and he ran up to give me a hug.  It was the sweetest!  I love that he is not embarrassed to show affection in front of his classmates as he would say!  Such a special moment and another successful dance festival for the books.

State Fair

Today was the 5th grade State Fair.  Each student was given a state to research and share a report on.  They each did a tri-fold poster sharing all the information that they found.  Tag was given Alaska.  I was a little nervous because he did all of the work in class.  I seriously had no reason to be worried.  Tag did an amazing job!  He presented all of the information including some fun facts about the state.  I am so proud of him.  He is thriving in 5th grade and it is a blessing to watch.  

Missionary Monday

This week was an eventful one for our missionary.  He got to help a lady, who is a little bit of a hoarder, bury her dead cat.  the cat had been dead for 3-4 days so I can only imagine the smell.   While they were there to bury the cat, they heard some crunching behind them.  They turned around to see a racoon eating the cat food.  They were shocked to say the least!  The rest of the week was filled with lessons and missionary shenanigans.  

Mother's Day

I am seriously the luckiest!  Joey and the kids completely spoil me when it comes to Mother's Day.  I woke up to an amazing breakfast of bagel sandwiches.  Then they gave me some presents- money, a makeup counter organizer, some candy, and permission to order a ninja creami! It was way too much.  Each of the kids wrote me a card and so did Joey- this is my favorite part of the day.  Luke sent me the nicest email and was able to call.  It was seriously the best.  We opted to watch church and did so in our sweats.  Joey made the most delicious dinner- marinated chicken, crispy potatoes, salad, with cake and icecream for dessert.  It was such an amazing day and they all made me feel so loved.  I am beyond blessed to get to be the mom of my five perfect blessings.

Another amazing week for our missionary!

I have never in my life liked Monday's until Luke went on his mission!  I get so excited to wake up and get messages from him.  I also love reading his emails with his daily accounts of mission life.  He is doing so well.  So well in fact that he said he was genuinely happy!  What more could a mom ask for!  Such a blessing.  This week he got to go to the temple.  He also did a couple of exchanges, cleaned his apartments for transfers next week, spent time with Gerry and chatted with him about his patriarchal blessing.  Luke is having a great time and making some amazing friends.  He is also strengthening his own testimony as he teaches the gospel to the people of New Jersey.  So so proud of him.

Manhattan Temple

Today was a big day for our missionary!  He got to go to the Manhattan Temple with a recent baptized member named Shawn.  Gerry also made the trip with them.  What an amazing experience.  The temple is located right in the middle of the city.  Luke said that it is so noisy on the street but once you walk in it is completely quiet.  They performed baptisms there with names from Shawn and Gerry's families. Afterward, Elder Childs and Elder Church took a short walk to Central Park.  He said it just looked like a ton of trees. What an amazing experience. So happy for him.

I love Mondays!

I wake up excited every Monday because I know that I will get to chat with Luke.  Usually he will text first thing something like "Do you need me?" or "Do you hate me?".  This morning he messaged, "Do you absolutely despise me with all of your heart, might, mind, and strength?"  He is so funny!  I love the messages and I love Monday's.  I usually talk to him right after my class at 6am and then we get to message throughout the day.  We have a family call with him on Monday night at 7pm and usually get to talk for an hour and a half.  It is so amazing to hear all about the experiences of his week.

This week was a good one for Luke.  They actually had a baptism with their friend Lauren.  I guess there was a living situation that was holding her back.  But that was resolved and things moved quickly.  Luke was able to baptize her and Elder Church did the confirmation.  What an amazing experience.  The rest of the week was great for him.  He had a few lessons, did a split with Elder Anderson, and schooled other elders in Kendama.  Luke is having an amazing time and it makes me so happy for him.  He is having experiences that he would not have if not for his choice to serve a mission.  So grateful for his example for our family.