August - Missions Possible

On July 31 and August 1, Scott and Nixon came over to help us with some home projects. Scott painted some doors and then stained the fence. We're so grateful for his help. He's very skilled with home projects.

Look how tall Nixon is!

Look how tall Grandad isn't!

Painting the doors

Note the new fence color

The honeysuckle is taking over.

On Monday, August 4, we drove to Las Vegas to be with Cameron when he took out his endowment the next day. We had to pack a few pills! (Good thing we're headed to Sin City where we can restock our supply of illicit medications.0)

Tuesday the 12th was a beautiful day and we were so grateful to be there. Cameron had waited to make sure he was ready for this commitment. He had a very personal, spiritual experience. What a blessing to have temples on the Earth. 

Grandad, me, Cameron, Dave, and Tiffani

Afterwards we celebrated by going to Dave's favorite taco place, Tacos El Gordo. Amazing!!

I was having a hard time so we decided to drive home instead of staying longer. It was a beautiful drive.

On Saturday, August 9, Erik and Asher came to mow the lawn. We love it when they come. Erik's boys have been offering us this service for years.

Grandad weeded his brick path. These bricks have found their way to our backyard from spots around the globe. (Some may or may not have been illegally obtained. Note the lack of an Easter egg because this is totally true!)

Sunday the 10th was Cameron's missionary homecoming meeting. He bore such a strong testimony. He has grown so much through his mission and it was wonderful hearing him testify of the changes his mission has made in his life. We were especially touched with how he shared some of his challenges and how the Lord helped him overcome him. We also enjoyed hearing his testimony of learning that it is not where we serve, but how we serve that matters.

On the 11th, Grandad picked six nectarines and some tomatoes. They were the first ones - Yahoo!

Tiffani and her kids drove up on the 12th to move Cameron in to his apartment. He is excited to be back in Provo.

Grandad picked lots of nectarines on the 14th.

On Saturday, August 16, Jonny went through the temple in preparation for his upcoming mission to Seattle, Washington. What a wonderful day. There is nothing better than being in the temple with our family. Being there with so many of our kids and grands was very special.

Erik, Shanelle, Grandad, me, Cameron, Tyler, Ashley, Jonny, Dianne, Clark, Bailey, Riley, Kolton, and Hailey

Tyler, Ashley, Clark, Jonny, Dianne, Bailey, Riley, Hailey

With the future missionary

Cameron came for dinner on the 17th. Now that he's back in town, this is back on our weekly schedule. We love having him over.

On Monday, August 18, the foot Dr. McKell discovered Grandad had arthritis in his feet. One of my feet is puffy, but he doesn't know why.

In better news, that same day we went on a fun trip to Heber with the Seamons in their 1967 Ford Mustang. It is an amazing car and we got lots of looks. (There was no air conditioning!)

Dad even got to drive! 

We drove to Heber and got some ice cream.

On Friday the 23rd, we watched the twins play volleyball thanks to floo powder 0. (Actually it was thanks to the Band app.)

Sunday the 24th, the Seamons helped us to a temporary patch job on Cameron's car. He had an accident with the sun roof and it has to get replaced.

On the 26th we had rain for the first time in a very long time. It continued with a big lightening storm on the 27th.

We had another visit from the friendly neighborhood bee keeper.

Tiffani and her family came for the first BYU football game. The Cougars won 69-0 on the 30th! Wahoo!

Cameron, Dave, Tiffani, Lauryn, Clara

Me, Grandad, Asher (with a photobomb from Dave)

Grandad added another flag to the collection in honor of Jonny's mission to Seattle. We now have 26!

Jonny's farewell was on Sunday the 31st. He gave such a great talk and will be a very good missionary. He is excited to serve and we are proud of him for making this choice.

And with that, August is over. We had a missionary homecoming and a missionary farewell and lots of wonderful memory making in between.

Missionary Moments

Lily: I realized I was grumpy about things that didn't matter because I didn't have control over them. But something I do have control about is my attitude! Why make yourself sad about your area, companion, situation, the weather, or whatever when you can't change it? What a silly waste of time and energy. 

Camden: Centralnym punktem naszej wiary jest Jezus Chrystus i Jego cudowne zmartwychwstanie. Dzięki temu, że pokonał śmierć, otrzymujemy nadzieję na życie wieczne i odkupienie. Jego zmartwychwstanie to ostateczny dowód Jego boskości i obietnica, że i my możemy być wskrzeszeni do chwalebnego życia. To wydarzenie zmienia wszystko!

(In case you don't speak Polish, here is the translation: The center of our faith is Jesus Christ and His miraculous resurrection. Because he overcame death, we have hope for eternal life and redemption. His resurrection is the ultimate proof of His divinity and the promise that we too can be raised to glorious life. This event is a game changer!)