Dear Elder Church…

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Brazil Natal Mission... You should report to the Brazil Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, June 25, 2014. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Portuguese language!

Evan’s call was delivered to Heritage Halls on Wed. Feb 5th before 9am.  Evan sent me a text that said, “It’s here!”  I contacted our local family members and invited them over at 8pm.  Evan’s roommate also received his call the same day!  J.T. opened his call at the dorms and skyped his parents, and then Brian picked up Evan, Alyssa, J.T., Sean, and Jessica and brought them back to our house where we were all waiting!  Evan suggested we sing “Called to Serve” while J.T. played the piano, and then Evan opened the envelope and read, “Dear Elder Church…’'  “Should I keep reading?”

This day ranks right up there with the best days of my mothering career.   I am so thankful for the privilege I have of watching these children of mine grow and make choices that will bring them happiness.  I remember Evan as he was in this picture below, planning to serve a mission when he had grown a foot or two.  This was taken 9 years ago on the day Uncle Milan visited to tell us about his mission to Brazil, and Evan was eager to hear about life in a different country.  Evan loved the Brazilian money, the Guarana, and the soccer T-shirt that Milan brought back from Brazil.  Who would have guessed that Evan’s mission would one day take him to that same country?

I am thankful for the example that Evan is setting for all of us by choosing to serve a mission.  He spent time that evening calling far away family members to tell them about his call.

We took pictures next to our new map.  Sean is going to New York, New York, Mandarin speaking, and J.T. will be serving in Argentina Cordoba.

I loved meeting some of the people that are part of Evan's life at BYU this year.  He is surrounded by the best and I loved having them in our home for the evening.

Where in the World?

For years I’ve wanted to permanently hang a big map in our house, like the one Grandma and Grandpa Lowe had hanging next to their kitchen table.  As Evan was preparing to submit his mission papers, I decided that I needed to get that map in place before he opened his mission call.  I ordered a giant world map (10 feet by 6 feet) made by National Geographic.  Before I could hang the map, I had to patch and prime walls, and then paint the study.  It took me forever to choose a paint color!  I finished painting the walls on Monday afternoon, all except for the spot where I planned to put the map. 

I had an inspiration for our Family Home Evening lesson that night.  We talked about how Evan would be receiving his mission call sometime that week and would be leaving for two years to serve the Lord.  I told them that each of them will leave home one day and go forth somewhere to live the gospel and serve those around them, whether as a missionary or in another capacity.  I asked them to pick their favorite scriptures, quotes, or hymns to write on the wall that will give them courage to fulfill their missions here on earth.  I started them off with the message found on the sign at the entrance to BYU campus.  “Enter to learn, go forth to serve”, since they were sent to our family to learn and prepare to one day leave home.  This is the final result, though it is hard to read…

These are the messages we wrote:

And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.   Moroni 10:5

And it came to pass that I Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord has commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandment unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that the may accomplish the thing which he commanded them.  1 Ne 3:7

Go forth with faith to tell the world of Jesus Christ the Lord.  Hymn #263

Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.   Alma 29:2

If ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.   Mosiah 2:17

I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord.   Hymn #270

I hope they call me on a mission.  -Primary songbook

I will teach and preach and serve as missionaries do.  -Primary songbook

I love to see the temple, I’m going their someday.  -Primary songbook

And maybe my favorite in Hayley’s cute handwriting:  I am a child of God.  I love Evan and Alyssa.

On Tuesday, armed with thick wallpaper paste and a level, a friend helped me mount the map to our wall.  The next morning, Evan received his mission call, so I finished just in time!  I often walk past the study and find someone studying the map.  I love it!

Creative Corinne

Corinne (age 9) has such a desire to be independent.  She comes up with ideas and carries them out herself, sometimes waiting until I leave the house just in case I may not give my approval.  I admit, my reluctance to clean up messes causes me to squelch some of her plans.  I need to give her more freedom because she has some great ideas.  Here are a few things she’s been up to lately:

Making lemon bars all by herself

Hosting a hot chocolate party for friends

Creating fancy centerpieces for Sunday dinner

Designing her board for the history fair

Trying to beat her own record for lego tower building

Creating her “spotlight” poster

Directing and acting in plays and dances with Hayley

Designing her own Halloween costume—a TV news anchor

What will she think of next??

Swim Team Regions 2014

The boys’ team performed the haka to intimidate the other teams.  It almost worked.  They came in second in Region, but Grant had a great meet and swam his personal best in the 50 and 100 free, and also swam in two relays.  He put in so much time and hard work this year.  As a varsity swimmer he had the privilege of going to 5am practices.  He accomplished his goal by lettering this year!  Can you spot Grant in the back, on the right side?  He chose not to shave his head this year.  Smart boy.

You’ve Been Chopped!

Watching free episodes of Chopped on Amazon Prime has become a favorite pastime in our house this year.  I decided it was time to host a “Chopped” dessert round.  Grant and Jillian were our chefs and Corinne, Hayley, and Brian were the judges.   They began with four ingredients in their baskets:  thawed blackberries, prepared angel food cake, potato chips, and coconut milk.  In 30 minutes they each created delicious desserts for us to try.  I was very impressed with their creativity and skills in the kitchen.  Where did they learn that?  (patting self on the back)  The judges had a difficult decision to make, but finally declared Grant the winner.  Why did I forget to take pictures of their creations??