Countdown Preparation

It's been an emotional week as we have just sent our youngest son, Paul, to his deployment in Iraq. He arrived in Kuwait to 127 degree weather with high winds blowing. He will be in Iraq in August and will be a part of the last group of military to finish up over there. It was a difficult day when he left, but have felt prayers being answered as we have put him in our Heavenly Fathers care and keeping. He is excited for us to go to New Zealand. He served there on his mission in the Auckland Mission 5 years ago.

Anticipation for our own departure for our mission has been filled with a lot of extra tasks and changes. Our daughters family that will be living in our home while we serve our mission has moved into our home and we are enjoying the extra activity that surrounds each day.

We have received an email from our new Mission President, Michael Kezerian from Orem, Utah, who began his new post June 28th. They are anticipating our arrival in September. Our immediate important dates are as follows: September 11th will be our Sacrament Meeting experience (Brigham City Box Elder Stake Center, 420 South 800 West, Brigham City at 2:10 pm), September 19th will be the MTC experience for one week, then September 26th will be our LONG Air New Zealand flight experience to arrive at our destination. We lose a day. Leave Monday and arrive Wednesday. Can't say as I can afford to lose any days, but I guess my age will remain the same. Looking forward to gaining a day on our return.

Mission Call

Our entire married life Dave and I have looked forward to the time when we would be able to submit our mission papers and serve a mission together. This time finally became a reality on May 24, 2011, when we received our mission call. The circumstances around waiting for our call to be delivered after 6 weeks following submission of our papers was hampered with our vacation plans to visit our oldest son in Topeka, Kansas. After inquiries to the Senior Missionary site online, and visiting on the phone with them in person, it was arranged for us to pick up our call at the Church Administration Building on our way to the airport. They were very generous and offered to see our papers through the process and have them ready for us. I remember very vividly the walk from our parked car to the Church Administration Building. I was nervous, excited and very aware of everything around us. It was an exciting day. Having our call in our hands was a fun experience, but we still had pre-arranged with our children to have them all witness "the Opening" and we were going to do that on Skype while we were at Scot's house. It was after 8 pm before we were all together and able to open it. How thrilled we were to realize that the call would be to the very same mission Dave served as a young missionary some 40 years ago. It was to the NEW ZEALAND WELLINGTON MISSION. A dream come true. We would depart for the MTC on September 19th (Happy Birthday Jaxon), and leave for New Zealand on September 26th (Happy Birthday Sadie). In the meantime we are busy taking care of business, enjoying our family together time and preparing ourselves for this great experience.

Blessings of Family

We have been blessed with 6 wonderful children, 6 incredible daughter and son-in-laws, and 19 amazing grandchildren. 18 of the 19 are posted (youngest yet to be born). Our oldest son, Scot, is an ENT Medical Doctor in Topeka, Kansas. He and his wife, Kristin, are the parents of five; Sara 15, Emma 13, Anna 9, Jacob 6, and Ella 3. Our daughter, Mindy, is a Dental Hygienist in Ogden, Utah. She and her husband, Shane Henrie, are the parents of five; Elayna 11, Kip 8, Jacob 6, Emelia 4, and Eliza 1. Our daughter, Kate, is a Massage Therapist in Farr West, Utah. She and her husband, Thom Richardson, are the parents of one son and 3 daughters; Caleb 10, Kensy 8, Sadie 6, and Sam 4. Our son, Mark, lives in Clinton, Utah with his wife, Krista, and their 3 boys; Jaxon 5, Dylan 3, and Brayden 1. He works for the Church as a Supply Chain Manager for Seminaries and Institutes. Our son, Paul, lives in Fort Hood, Texas with his wife, Alyssa and their daughter; Caitlin 2. They are expecting a son in August. Paul is serving in the Army Military and is currently on deployment to Iraq. Our daughter, Taneil just got married in April to Casey Liljenquist and are currently residing in Brigham City with our grand-dog Max. She is attending Utah State University studying Social Work. We love our family and appreciate their love and support of our mission experience.