Mark the Missionary

Mark got set apart as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints last Monday night.  President Caldwell came over to the house and set him apart.  My mom and Bob came as did Grandma Grant and Sally.  The blessing he gave Mark was beautiful and comforting.  Of course I was a cry baby and leaked tears through the whole thing.  This is not an easy thing to do for a mother.  Mark is a good boy and I love him and will miss him very much for the next two years.  I know that once children graduate from high school they are not yours anymore but this is way different.  Jacob was having a hard time yesterday and today when he thought about not seeing Mark for two years. 

Jacob was actually sick with a stomach flu on Monday and Tuesday, so we had to keep the boys apart.  We surely didn't want Mark to start throwing up on the plane or have to cancel the flight.  So Jacob missed two and half days of school this week.  He may be missing more if this snow doesn't stop soon.  The middle school cancelled practice so that the kids could get home safely.

Back to Mark.  His flight plans to get to Provo went like this: Take an early morning flight to Denver from Cody, have a two and a half hour layover and then board a plane to SLC.  That got him there by 12:50.  Then retrieve his luggage and get on the shuttle that will take him to the MTC.  I am assuming he got there just fine because we haven't heard anything. :) We have heard that he will be spending 12 days there and then on out to Seattle but nothing for sure.

Just making sure he has everything he needs to board the plane.

On our way into the Cody Airport very early in the morning, about 5:45 a.m.

Looking quite handsome and maybe a little nervous.

Jacob loves his brother very much.

Ah. Dad and Spark. Makes me smile.

We were looking pretty tired here and I am may have had a few tears flowing by this point.

Going through security.

Yep, they thought he was a terrorist and wiped his hands for gun residue.

Highly Recommended

A very kind and dear friend of mine gave me a book recently that I needed and love titled, "For Times Of Trouble" by Jeffrey R. Holland. He has taken select passages from the book of Psalms and has discussions about them. These are all very encouraging and comforting. It has given me peace, increased my faith and is strengthening my testimony of the love that our Savior has for us. Every one of us has times in our lives when things are tough and life is stressful. Take some time, read some of the passages and feel peace.

Kindle App

I got an iPad and I love it quite a bit. One of the biggest reasons is that I can read with the kindle app that I downloaded. Yippee! One of the first books that I read was Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was free to download and I talked Jacob into reading it with me. He has really enjoyed the Jack Sparrow movies and when I explained that this book is The Original pirate book he decided to read it. He loved it, I loved it. After reading that I decided to read Kidnapped by the same author. I enjoyed the book but not as much as Treasure Island, so I haven't pestered Jacob about reading it too.

Jacob got a kindle for Christmas so we were in a free book downloading frenzy. We got the first Tarzan book and put it on his kindle. He announced that he started reading it at school the other day and loves it. That makes me happy because I loved reading those books when I was young. I got a little obsessive and have all 26 books packed away in my closet. I had lent out the first two books but I still have all the rest. I started reading it today just to be able to have boom discussions with Jacob and I am having a hard time putting it down...who needs dinner anyway, right?

I also read another of my favorite books recently on the kindle, Wuthering Heights. My opinion of the characters has changed a bit since the first time I read it. I need to have a book discussion about it with my daughter or one of my sisters.

Home!

I need to update again. Some of the big kids came home this weekend to listen to Mark speak for his mission farewell. Rachael, Eli and Eve caught up with us on Friday night after we watched the Hobbit at the Hyart. They scared us as we were walking home by driving up slowly behind us in the dark. Yikes. We made it home and found Lucas, Shanae and Connor waiting for us. They made it home a few hours earlier so Spike made them some supper while Mark, Jacob and I were at the movie.

Saturday was a loooong day. We went to a wrestling tournament to watch Jacob. He ended up taking fourth on his bracket! He is learning a lot about wrestling this year. After that we had a nice dinner and an evening of cards. We played scum. Pretty much I was scum all night. Jacob totally ruled the night as king.

Here is a nice picture of Mark showing us his new suit. Looking good. He is headed out to the MTC on January 30th. We are excited for him but I will miss him a lot.

Mark spoke in church along with KJ Blackburn and Jared Asay. It was an awesome meeting. KJ went on his mission in Ohio and Jared just got back from Zimbabwe.

My mom is doing exceptionally well. She came to Mark's farewell and looked great. Daniel's wife, Amanda, gave her an awesome haircut which she needed since she had me cut it just before her surgery. Mom's balance is better than before the surgery and she feels better. I think she has to go to Denver for a checkup this month and we will find out more then but we are assuming that everything is a-ok.

Read and Rap

Mr. Lincoln's drummer was the book Jacob and I got to read for the middle school read and rap program. I facilitated our group which consisted of five students and their adult reader. One of the girls didn't have a reading partner. That was too bad. Our little group had a fantastic discussion. These kids were all good readers and remembered many interesting details about the book.

This book was historical fiction and was very well written for elementary and middle school age kids. It was a quick read, most of the adults finished it in one afternoon. I wanted the book to go on and give me more information about the main character, but then again, I want all the books I read to go on and on. We had some parents who admitted that they didn't enjoy reading but did like this book.

Eve is '2'!

Eve on her blessing day.

Playing the Piano with Grandma.

Her first picture with her mom

What a beauty!

Cheering on the Bulldogs in Laramie.

Getting ready to go swimming

Thinking about getting in the water.

Happy Birthday to my dear Eve!  She turned '2' today and is growing up to be a beautiful and exciting young lady.  Here are some pictures!

A Great Day at the Temple

Spike and I went to the temple with Sparky today. This was one of those "I just feel happy all day" days.

And a Happy New Year!

We had our annual New Year's Eve party last night. At first I didn't know if I would last until midnight but we had such good talks with Devin and Kynstyl, had so much fun watching their kiddos shoot Jacob over and over again, and enjoyed all of the drama from a game of spoons that I had no problem staying wide awake. Mark was the king of spoons, but I declare Brian the one that had the most fun. He only drew a little blood from Susie's arm ;) This year's party was a little sparse but we still had lots of fun.

This morning Jacob and I walked up the hill on a very frosty and bright morning to visit with my mom.  She is staying with Joyce for a while until she can feel better.  She is still just a little tippy and tired but we had a nice long visit and she wants to be up and doing.  Thanks for all your prayers.  We have felt so much love and support.

Susie, Kim, Maddy, Brian, Mark and Kynstyl

2012 was a great year for us.  Mark graduated from high school with many scholarships and honors, we got news of two new babies that will come into our family, Jacob started middle school and is enjoying it immensely, I got a new calling into the primary presidency, Spike is on the high council, Jared got his masters degree in economics, Rachael and Eli graduated from UW, Lucas & Shanae got to go to Disneyland, Spike and I got to go to Boston, Mark got his mission call, and many other fun and exciting things. We are sure that 2013 will bring many challenges and accomplishments.  Thanks to our many friends and family who supported us through all the good times and the tough times.  May your 2013 be terrific!

Jacob, Kelvin, Devin and Gavin waiting for a rootbeer float.