Happy Thanksgiving

A friend sent me this link and I thought it was quite clever. I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving and remember that I am very thankful for you.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS DANIEL GOING?

We heard just about an hour ago that Daniel's mission call came in the mail today. We have spent the last hour coordinating a time that he can open it and we can all hear him read the letter. It's a bit more complicated since he is at BYU. He called me when he got the letter and his voice was shaking he was so excited. I am anxious to hear the news.

Brent left his corporate meeting so that he could be on the speaker phone with Daniel. Those of us at home sat around the computer on ichat and Daniel and everyone in Provo sat in front of his computer on ichat. He anxiously waited for everyone to arrive and then he kissed the envelope and opened it with his ceremonial pencil. He read it aloud to all of us. Wow, what fun.

It is official now. He heads to the MTC on February 4th and will spend two weeks there before heading to St. Louis, Missouri. We are all thrilled for him. What an exciting time! His mission area covers the greater St. Louis area, some of Illinois, and a wee bit of Kentucky. I am anxious to get to see his mission map. I can't seem to find anything online.

There you have it. We are all so excited for him. I am thrilled.

Becca and Volleyball

Becca decided a little way into the volleyball season that she would like to play on the team. She faithfully attended practices and was invited to play on the "A" team. Since she came into the season late, she wasn't able to play in any games until she had 10 practices under her belt. She was a fantastic support for her team. Even though the "A" team didn't hold practices on Friday, Becca felt that she could use all the practice that she could get and met with the "B" team on Friday's.

Once she had her alloted practices under her belt, she continued to sit on the bench and support her team. She cheered. She laughed. She supported. The coach came to her and suggested that she might want to play on the "B" team so that she could have some playing time. Becca gave it much thought and decided to stay on the "A" team so that she could practice harder and be there with her friends.

It wasn't until the last game of the season that the coach leaned over and called her name to go into the game to serve. I am sure that her heart was pounding but she served and won the point. I was so excited for her.

I am so proud of her. She did something that she had never done before. She worked very hard. She NEVER complained about sitting on the bench. She was always cheering on her team. She was ready to shine when the coach called her name.

Guess what? She can't wait for next year's volleyball season.

SUNBEAMS

I was called a few weeks ago to be the Sunbeam teacher. There are ten, cute, three and four year olds in my class and they are all full of life and personality. I am so excited to be their teacher. Immediately after my call, I started thinking of what I could do for them for their birthdays and for Christmas. Preparing lessons is almost as challenging as when I taught Gospel Doctrine since I must prepare for a multitude of possibilities. The first Sunday I taught, the Primary President poked her head into our classroom to see if everything was okay. She had been tipped off to possible trouble by the kicking on the back wall of our room that unknown to me, shares a common wall with the Primary room. I now know how to call for help!

Awhile ago, I attended a lecture where the following story was shared. I laughed so hard and thought you might like a good laugh yourself. God bless the Sunbeams.

I work part time as a teacher of family doctors. This program provides training on psychiatric disorders and emphasizes the importance of emotional support. The new doctors are given plenty of time in clinic to visit with their patients and learn about their challenges. One of our interns who had never lived in Utah and knows nothing about Mormons is still struggling to understand the cultural climate here. Last week he was interviewing a new patient and stumbled upon what he thought was a raging psychosis.
Doctor: "Well, Mrs. Olsen, we've talked about your high blood pressure and your medications. Are you experiencing any particular stress in your life?"
Patient: "Oh, yes! It's the Sunbeams. They're driving me crazy."
Doctor: (Very surprised) "The sunbeams."
Patient: "Yes. I've never had trouble with them before, but this group won't sit still. They bounce all over the room, and run out the door and down the hall."
Doctor: (Reaching for a pen) "Have you told anyone about this?"
Patient: "Of course. I told the president."
Doctor: "Really! What did the President tell you?
Patient: "She said Sunbeams are like that. I'm just going to have to learn to deal with them."
Doctor: (Concerned that he may be missing something) "I know people who are sensitive to sunbeams. Do they cause you to rash or anything?"
Patient: (Confused) "A rash? No."
Doctor: "What's the biggest problem they're creating?"
Patient: "It's the noise. They just won't quit talking."
Doctor: (Astonished) "The sunbeams are talking to you?"
Patient: "Well, yes. But mostly to each other."
Doctor (Scribbling furiously in the chart) "I see. Can anyone else hear them talking?"
Patient: (After a moment of stunned silence) "You're not LDS, are you?"

Reflections of Christ

Our family was invited to go to a special viewing of a photographic exhibit entitled, "Reflections of Christ", done by Mark Mabry. Mark was in town from Mesa, AZ to set things up and then did a short "fireside" to give us some insight into the miracles that had occurred related to the photo shoots. It was amazing to say the least. The spirit was very strong and I was so grateful that we could be there for this experience.

Ben couldn't nail down which was his favorite photo because he liked them all. Becca loves the one of Christ walking on water. I am told that prints will be available in October and I would love to have one for my house but I don't know which to choose.

There is a website at www.reflectionsofchrist.org. If you register there, you can then view the videos with commentary on some of the pictures. It is really worth registering to see. Personally, I think you should also go to youtube and type in mark mabry reflections christ project.. I LOVE the music playing in the background on the youtube site.

I Love Living in the Middle

So it turned out that all my family living in the West came to stay with us over the Fourth of July. I LOVE IT! I love being surrounded by family and that doesn't happen very often. We are all quite spread out geographically but who could resist the urge to get together before the cost of fuel rises even higher.

We mostly just "chilled" at home so that little ones could maintain their nap and sleeping schedules. There was no lack of entertainment though.

We had the Wednesday night dance contest that Maren won hands down based on fan voting. Bridget was a close second with her retro style. Nathan was lucky he didn't rupture anything.



Then there was the attack Ben festival. Ben laughed so hard his face hurt and the kids were laughing almost as hard. It is great to see the big kids loving to be with the little kids.



We spent some time outside at the park having a picnic and playing in the water. It was a beautiful day to be outside. The park was a bit crowded and some of the "views" were less than wonderful but, oh well.

The fireworks "contest" got started with the neighbors parading down the street with the Grand Marshal wearing a patriotic striped hat and sitting atop his four wheeler. The rest of the reunion folks marched behind waving flags. We shot off illegal fireworks but these aren't the ones.

And we just basically had a blast being together. I live for these times.

God Bless The USA

Steven had requested that we stay in town for the Fourth of July so that he could participate in lighting the sky on fire and choking the neighborhood with acrid fumes. Last year our neighbors waved a white flag and surrendered after our finale. This year they planned a family reunion for the 4th so they could show us up. We took them on but my feeling was that it was a draw. They presented us with a 2nd place ribbon. Really funny you guys! We presented them with some party poppers and sparklers to get their stockpile started for next year.