Emails from my missionaries is always good

Yeah, it is P-day for my kids.  It is always fun to hear from them but I wish they had longer to write.  It never seems like I am getting all of the information I want to hear.  I keep thinking, "where are the details".  And then for some reason, something tells me there really are no details.  They go to classes, have companion study, self study, meals, etc.  Maybe it will be better when they get out in the field.  Until then, I am glad I still have my album with every single one of Tyler's letters home when he was on his mission.  It is kind of fun to go back and read them after so many years.  Okay 4 years, well almost.

Anyway, both kids are doing great, are very happy, and that is all I can ask for.

Email from my kids, well kind of.....

After the longest week of my life, I finally received email from Destinee and Kade.  For those that don't already know, the 1st week of your kids in the MTC is the LONGEST--for the parents.  We hope, we pray, we miss them terribly.  You wait every day for that first letter or email, that will tell you when their P-days will be so you can at least schedule your wait time.  When it finally comes, you feel like it is the most glorious Christmas ever.

Destinee's email came at around 1 pm, just before my daughter and I got home from the movies.  We were so excited.  Destinee went into detail, as much as she had time for, and said she was sending a snail mail home.  We found out about her companions, how she is eating, and how many times she has seen her brother, her trip to the Temple.  She mentioned that she had very little time to write, and yet she managed to say a lot.

On the other hand, Kade's email came around 11 am, again while we were gone, and his included a response to my email asking if he needed anything, and a response to an email I sent asking for his passwords.Wow, the difference between boys and girls is obvious here.  Boys, your moms need a little bit more information!

So, hearing that a snail mail will be coming from Destinee, and HOPING one will be coming from Kade, I will be anticipating mail today.  I guess my mailman is used to my reactions, since he did witness and hand deliver their calls........

Missing my kids

I was so blessed to be at peace last Wednesday.  I had prayed for it.  I didn't not want to cry, or leave the MTC in a bawling fit, and I didn't.  I was fine...until Thursday.  Thursday I was alone most of the day. It was then that it hit me.  I tried to keep busy, looking all over for a sister missionary countdown, switching beds in Destinee and Kiana's rooms, and catching up on housework.  I miss my kids.  I really miss them.  I know they are happy, and I am rereading Tyler's letters to reassure me.  And that has been good.

Oh yeah, we started the puzzle tradition.  When Tyler left on his mission we set up a table and did jigsaw puzzles while he was gone.  Last night we set up the puzzle in Destinee's room.  We are doing Temple Square at Chistmas.  I don't know why we started this, but I think it helps to be in their room and do something where you can think.  Our rule is that only spiritual music or talks can be listened to in there.  Hmmm, I feel like working on the puzzle.....

Going to the Temple.........

Part of the missionary experience is going to the Temple before you leave.  It is a wonderful experience, where you get to be at your son or daughter's side and actually learn from the beginning all over again.  I learned a lot.  I learned that I need to go more often.  I learned that thinking about two kids going through for their first time can throw our train of thought out the window........I learned that my kids are definitely spiritually ready.

It was nice spending the day with Destinee and Kade.  This past week it has hit me pretty hard that they will both be gone and that I will miss them terribly.  Yes, I know I am blessed beyond measure, and that a lot of parents wish they had one kid going on a mission.  Having two going is really a blessing.  It is just hard for moms to let go......

time flies

Wow, we really don't have much time to prepare these two missionaries! I just returned from a 1 1/2 week trip to the Netherlands and now it is time to get busy. I need to sew a skirt or two, do a LOT more shopping for Destinee, and we get to go to the Temple soon. I finally found my first Temple dress and it fits Destinee, and she really likes it--yeah! Drue found a pair of Temple pants for Kade and so we are on our way!

A lot of emotions are stirring up inside me today. I am suffering from jet lag, and really realizing the changes happening in our lives. Not only are we sending two missionaries, but our oldest is planning on moving out after graduating and going on to Graduate School. He accepted BYU's offer so he won't be far, but he won't be here either. It will be a big change for our family, but I am so proud of the choices my kids are all making!

Preparing for the missions, and the calls

Many people have made comments to me lately, saying "you will be twice as blessed".  So, when I started this blog, it became the natural title. I think we are blessed many times over. So far, 3 of our 4 children have served or are called to serve, missions for the Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints. The last child is not quite 15 so that is a story yet to come.

Destinee and Kade didn't really plan on turning in their mission papers at the same time. It just happened that way. Both are attending school and planned to submit papers around their birthdays and put down an eligibility date of sometime around the 1st of May. As they made appointments with the Bishop and filled out papers, it became apparent that the timing would coincide. Destinee had most of her paperwork filled out and Kade got to use her information as a "cheat sheet". They ended up finishing it at the same time, with each others help. However, Kade still had to have his Wisdom teeth removed. So it looked like Destinee would be turning them in first.

Kade's wisdom teeth removal was scheduled, but we thought he had to have them actually removed before submitting the papers. We finally realized that they just needed to be scheduled. So he made his visit to the Bishop also, and they just had to wait for the Stake President to call them. Meanwhile, a little bit of teasing  was going on around the ward about them being in a race, and speculation on who would win.

The Secretary for the Stake finally called. Destinee was at work, so Kade's appointment was made for 9:00pm the following Tuesday. Destinee called back the next morning and was given an appointment time of 8:40 pm. The Stake President told them he would fill out his part and then submit them. And so we waited.........

Two weeks later, on March 3rd, we anxiously waited for the mailman, not knowing for sure that the calls would come, but hoping. The mailman did not come until 4 pm! We watched him fill the mailboxes and he got back in his vehicle, then returned to the mailboxes. He then came to the door and hand delivered the calls! He was beaming as he said, "I have two mission calls here". Of course, being the calm and cool mom that I am, I screamed! He was almost as excited as we were!

We had to wait for another 3 hours for them to open their calls, since they were working. Destinee opened her's first, receiving a call to the Guatemala City Central Mission, and Kade received his call to the Anaheim, California Spanish Speaking mission. Both are leaving on May 26th! Our family is very excited to have two missionaries in the field, and really feel that saying that we are twice as blessed is putting it mildly.

Why am I twice as blessed?

A couple of years ago it became apparent that both my son and daughter would be serving missions at the same time. Both of them had been planning on serving since they were small, but you never can know how things were going ot turn out.