I hope they call me on a mission...

Ryan opened his call tonight. He is going to the San Pablo Philippines Mission. He leaves Oct 14th, to the Provo MTC mission! We are so EXCITED!!!

Been Busy!

I don't know why my kids feel the need to graduate in flip-flops. O-well.
And, check out Makenna's poor little face, all swollen from getting her wisdom teeth out. She and Ryan had it done at the same time. Makenna was pretty ticked off that Ryan had no swelling at all.

Well, we've certainly been busy lately. Ryan graduated!!! We went on our cruise - had a ball. And, Ryan's mission papers are in! The bishop called us tonight to tell us that he checked the status on-line, and Ryan's call is IN THE MAIL!!! Exciting!

Boarding the ship

Together at dinner.

Busy May

I can't believe how much we have going on this month...especially the END of this month. Ryan graduates from Seminary tomorrow, from High School on Friday. Wow. Hard to believe. And, he's putting his missionary papers in on the 24th of May. Yikes! The seniors checked out of school last week. They are so done!! Ryan and Makenna get their wisdom teeth out this Wednesday...hope it goes well. And, we are going on a cruise on the 25th of May. To...Mexico? Well, it was supposed to be Mexico, but with all this swine flu stuff, they are re-routing us. Which is fine with me, cuz I'm not in love with Encinada. Anyway, it's the Senior trip, and we are taking, of course, the whole family. We're pretty excited about it. We went on the same cruise for Colten's senior trip. It was a ball. I highly recommend it. I honestly think that it was one of the funnest things we've ever done as a family. It doesn't even matter where you go. It's just fun.
We got to talk to Colten last Sunday. It was quite a memorable Mother's Day for me. Ryan was set apart as an Elder last Sunday. He also spoke in church. Did a great job. Made me cry. And, of course we got to talk to our missionary. Which is always an amazing and emotional experience. His accent is just so strong, it's very difficult to understand him. He's doing great. He's really happy. I'm sure that it will be quite an adjustment for him to come home. I can tell that he's nervous about it. So, things are moving forward for us. Life has a way of doing that doesn't it?

Update

Well, thought I would do a quick up-date on our humble little lives here in Southern Utah. Here goes.
1) Ryan is getting ready to put his papers in. (ahhh!) He and Danielle decided to be responsible, and break up, because Ryan is going on a mission, and he needs to focus on that. I never thought I would see that happen. I am so proud of my Ryan, I can't even tell you.
2) The big talk here is the SWINE FLU (which I don't even know WHY they call it the swine flu, cuz it has nothing to do with pigs). All of the teachers here have gotten lesson plans ready, and the kids have been told that it's only a matter of time before the schools are closed for the rest of the year. There are 5 unconfirmed cases here in Washington County. As soon as they ARE confirmed - the schools close. The kids will have to do their work on-line. They only have 3 more weeks of school here anyway. We'll see what happens.
3) Guess who's son is in hello...MEXICO!!! And guess who e-mailed us last week saying he was sick. Yeah, I've been worried all week. I CAN'T WAIT to hear from him today. I want to know what he has heard. I just keep reminding myself that if he is obedient, which he is, that he will be ok, and that the Lord will take care of him. But, I'm still a mom, so it's hard not to worry about my boy.
4) Mother's day is next week-end, and we are VERY excited to be able to talk to Colten.
5) Other than all that, life is pretty boring and usual here. I'm still working home health, love it. Barry is still working for Cindy Taylor Construction, doing good. We feel very blessed.
Hope you all are doing good too!!!

Hilarious!

We found this on You-Tube. Pretty funny stuff.

And if I was more of a computer whiz, I would figure out how to post a video without lopping off the right side...but I'm not, so it is. o-well. At least you get the general idea.

"LESSONS I LEARNED AS A BOY" by President Hinckley

In Colten's last letter, he told us to watch this video. We did. Even though I've heard this story before, I loved it.

Update on Colten

Colten and his new companion, Elder Franco, in front of another huge cathedral.

I realize that my blog is pretty much about my kids. But, that's just because...well, that's what I really care about. What can I say. I thought that this post I would update everyone on Colten. The best way to do that is to hear it straight from him. He writes:

"Changes came and went. I decided about 3 days before the changes came that I don`t want to go back to Juarez. I`m not in the mood to see all the drugs and death. I`m done with that. So i was really worried when Elder Carnohan told me the results of my district. I got changed. However, I feel really good about it. I`m opening up an area that has been closed for about 4 months. It's called Centro. Its located in the heart of Chihuahua. Yes, I`m in Chihuahua. I`m really loving it. I got a nice surprise though. When i showed up here today i heard that my area doesn't have a house. And that the area had been closed, which I didn`t know. I kept on asking around, and come to find out I`m going to the mission offices. Thats right I`m in the mission offices as the reference secretary. Thats cool and all but that means that my baptisms just all went out the window. Its hard to baptize in the offices because 1/2 the day we spend in the offices doing who knows what. So I`m happy and a little sad. Its possible that i`ll finish my mision here. Usually the Eldere last 8 months in the offices. I have 6 left, so this very well could be my last area. Who knows though.

My comp is Elder Franco. He`s from Mexico City. He has more time than I do, but is junior companion. Also, i`m still district leader. But I`m getting the feeling that this Elder is dead. The presidente pulled him aside and gave him a big warning before we came here to the internet. I think that the pres wants to keep him on a short leash. I don`t know though. Its going to take a great deal of patience. I hope that I can help this guy.

Good new though i`m with Elder Williams again. He`s in the offices as the finance secretary. I`m with my old comp again. I love that guy.

It was great experience leaving Jimenez. I felt so content with the work that I had done. I loved Jimenez. I`m going to miss it a lot. My testimony has grown so much about the reality of revelation. I know that President Flores is truly guiding us by the Holy Ghost. Thats wrong. I know that my Savior is guiding us in His work through the Holy Ghost. We are so blessed.

I am so thankful for this awesome chance I have to serve Him."