Nate's Mission Report

With Corby being out of town I debated taking the girls and heading North knowing storms were expected Friday and Sunday. But after a minute or two I realized fear will not hold me back so I gassed up the truck and met Teesh in Tremonton and headed to IF. We got there about 9pm and my sweet parents were up waiting. I got the girls settled then ran to the Winco for some food prep. My mom is recovering from her 5th knee replacement surgery. I have recently connected with a lady who is getting divorced from my high school boyfriend. HA HA that sentence requires a little more explanation I know. So I dated a kid named Darin Singleton when I was a senior and he was a freshman in college. We were a match in many ways. I even waited for him while he served a two year mission in the Philippines. After a few dates upon his return I quickly realized we wanted different things and we moved on. I have always stayed in touch with him as he married and I married and we each had our families. Funny I have 5 girls, He had 4 boys 1 girl. Anyway, his marriage ended in divorce and many years later he met Andrea and remarried. She reached out to me as I was "friends" with Darin in social media and we began talking here and there. After 4 years Daren filed for divorce and Andrea was is devastated. She reached out to me for comfort and guidance and a friendship was born. Well we have never met face to face and seeing how she lived in IF I suggested while I was there we get together. Because I had my girls we opted to stay at my parents home for breakfast burritos. It was fun and we found out that Andrea's cousins were my best friends growing up. Oh man so many names I haven't thought of in years. Reminiscing is the best. My mom talked and talked and talked to Andrea about her genealogy, it was the sweetest thing ever. While my parents attended a close family friends funeral LaraLee and Nate stopped by. 

Boy was it good to see him. Nate has been asked to bear a tough tough burden and he is amazing. He just returned from the Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Mission. He just glows. We chatted for a few hours and I made pizza for everyone. Later that evening when it was only my girls and I we played a few games and enjoyed laughing at Grandma Ellis. She can't hear all that great and so she can be so funny. I love being around her. Since it was St. Patricks Day and I hadn't thought much about it Teesh volunteered to run to the store for some items. Sometimes I am a pretty lame holiday mom haha but you know I am present with my girls so that counts for something, right?

 On Sunday it was an early morning to get everyone ready and out the door by 8am but we managed to arrive with a few minutes to spare out in Terreton. My sister lives in IF now but she raised her children in Mud Lake, Terreton and a few other small towns out there. Terreton is the boonies. One house every 3 to 5 miles. People out there love it but I couldn't even begin to handle it with the fact of no grocery stores within a 45 minute drive. But to each their own. Anyway, Nate reported his mission  and then we went to Chad and Kristy's house to celebrate. We had ham, muffins, fruit and other breakfast items. Nate did such a great job on his talk. His mission president wrote the bishop a really nice letter praising Nate for the fine missionary he was. He truly threw himself into the work and lost himself in the service of God. The spirit was so strong. So a little background. While Nate was serving his mission his parents divorced, all but one sibling has left the church and not just left but venomously left. Some no longer even believe in the existence of a higher power. If I could, I would pay for Nate to attend BYUI and get him around other like minded people. I know God is watching over his valiant servants and Nate will be ok but if you don't mind including him in your prayers that would be nice as well.
As we were driving home I spotted a childhood memory and just had to stop. These gas tanks were  landmarks for me and it was extra cool that someone painted them to look like giant cans of soda. Breeta has an obsession for Sprite so a photo was in order.

 Back at my parents house we vegged for a bit and visited with Hollie and her family. I kept hearing this obnoxious sound and inquired about it. My dad pulled back the curtains and revealed his "circus" bobble head critters. It made me laugh out loud. It is so not like my mom to have clutter like this in her home but my dad loves them so they get to stay. They are loud and its just funny. Glad my parents have a circus to keep them company.

 I had to make a hard choice this weekend. After plans had been made I found out Malia had her state competition on that Saturday. It was from 7am to 10pm or later. I would only be able to watch a small portion of her performance so I stayed with my existing plans and went to Idaho. Corby flew in from Tennessee and Vegas and was able to support Malia and watch her receive the Most Outstanding Dancer Award for Taylorsville High. Congrats my little sweetie. All your hard work is paying off and I couldn't be prouder. Love you so much. Can we talk about these flowers? Gorgeous.

 On Monday evening, Malia had her concert choir concert. This choir is outstanding. The teacher is phenomenal and works miracles each year. I am always in awe with their performances. Malia gets to go on tour to Disneyland the first week of April. I am excited for her as she deserves a break before all the AP exams begin. Each of these performances bring me to tears as I know it is the last for Malia. I am so excited for what the future holds for her but closing chapters is always a bit sad too.