Called to Serve

My parents have arrived in Hiko, Nevada! They loved their MTC experience and made many new friends. Mom said that she tried to take a picture of Dad out on the tractor discing, but the glare off of his smile kept getting in the way! It is much easier to send your parents than your son on a mission. I get to talk to them daily! I did get Jackson's return date: November 30th. He went out on the 19th and so this will be his third Thanksgiving away from home.

Family Farewell

Dianna, Bonnie, Kelly, Tony(or Clark), Sharon, Danny

The whole family missing only Bryan and Sierra (who went home for a nap) and the two missionaries, Jackson and Colten

My mom said that dad will miss the dog, Bandit, more than us!

The sleepyheads came back for a nice picture with the new missionaries!

Sending my parents on a mission is a whole lot easier than sending my son! First of all, they packed themselves, paid for their own new clothes, and took their cell phone with them! It is wonderful! They have been called the the Las Vegas, Nevada mission to a service mission on the Church's ranch in Delamar Valley. It is 2 hours north of Las Vegas. They are spending this week at the MTC in Provo with a slight hitch in that the MTC couples rooms are under construction so they are staying at Motel 8 nearby! My mom said this is way better! They have maid service! We will miss going over to raid the garden and the cupboards for treats, jumping on the tramp with grandma, hugs from grandpa, playing cards with grandma, and snuggling in the chair with grandpa!

A New Eagle

My Nephew, Ty, earned his Eagle Scout! He replaced the roof on the pavilion at the Paradise park for his project. The coolest part of the night was when he chose Grandpa Reay as his mentor and gave him a nice tie pin. It was a tender moment!

Cheesy cousins

We went to tell Colten good-bye before he went on his mission to Oklahoma. Unfortunately, he had gone bowling so we visited with the rest of the family. Chase and Savanna are about nine months apart. They were being cheesy for my camera.
Good Luck, Colten!

Aunt Lorraine

This is my Mom's sister. She looks so cute here. She is probably about 18 or so. She died this week. It wasn't a surprise, really. Honey reminded me that she had been going to die since we got married. She had emphaseyma (spell that one?) and it wasn't pretty. She left behind a husband and 6 children, 40 plus grandchildren and 20 or so great grandchildren. Everyone that spoke at the funeral said that her door was always open to anyone at any time and everytime I was at her house, lots of people were there. I have had little to do with them most of my life. Her family didn't want a funeral or anything but my mom thought we should. With the help of a gracious Bishop and kind Relief Society President, a very nice funeral was put together.

What I learned most of all, and I'm embarrassed to say, is that I had forgotten who she really was--a child of God. It was a little hard to see through the rough living and rough talking but she was just like me-one sin away from perfection. It doesn't matter how many more sins, it only takes one to be out of the running for perfection. What a blessing the atonement is! I am so thankful to be reminded again of how much I need my Savior.

Toni's baptism

My beautiful niece Toni, was baptized on March 7, in Malad. She looked so darn cute! She was so excited. She is such a fun girl to be with. She is always happy and so kind to her brothers. She looks so much like her mom, my sister, I can't believe it! We are so blessed to have her in our family!