22 Jun 2008

June 22, 2008
Dear Elder Sean,
How are you this week? Your letters have been wonderful, full of great stories and many miracles. Great to hear! We are in full swing summer now, not only with the weather, but with all the activities as well.

We went from 65 degrees to 95 degrees in a blink of the eye. We're pulling hundreds of weeds that seemed to just crop up out of nowhere and taunt us every day. The garden is growing, the strawberries are prolific and tasty, Alex and Kristina seem like they are constantly mowing the lawn and we even managed to get 5 cherries from the cherry tree before the birds got the rest. Those 5 were tasty though. The peach tree is loaded this year and I'm hoping that placing the fake snake in the tree will fool a few of the birds and keep them away.

Alex had a great week at EFY. He flew down Monday morning and returned Sat evening. They had a really small group-only about 300 kids since their group was a last minute add on. But they joined with another session for the dances, etc. He's still on a high from it and he's going to teach Family night tomorrow night about what he learned there. Sounds like he made lots of new friends as usual. Also sounds like he has a crush on one of his counselors, a 19 year old. All in all a very fun and spiritual week for him. It's good to have him home. He heads back to work tomorrow morning.

Nikki finished her chef's class and Kristina is just getting started with hers. Nikki is loving being in the kitchen and asks to cook everything now. It's so fun to see how strongly she feels about cooking. Kristina was very excited about her first class because they made Argentine empanadas. You both will have to compare recipes.

Church was wonderful. Our talks were on service and home teaching/visit teaching. A point that was made that I really liked was that we should invite our home teachers to our noteworthy family events such as baptisms, weddings, ceremonies, activities. That way we help our home teachers become closer to us.

This was the last week for the Hemmelgarn's. They are moving to Lehi. Sis. Hemmelgarn has been struggling with cancer for the last couple months. She is going through chemo, has lost tons of weight and all her hair. She and her family have been amazing though through all of this. Their faith is strong and they have served all of us probably more than any of us have been able to serve them. She will be in good hands in Utah as she continues treatments at the Huntsman Cancer Center, but we will all miss them.

The Jensen's and the Yorgason's have both sold their homes. Jensen's will rent the Hemmelgarn's old house while their new home is being built. They will stay in our ward until August and then attend the 8th ward. The Yorgason's are moving to a home between Star and Middleton until they decide where they go next. Royce and Brian are still actively working on their new project-their shaved ice business in Las Vegas. It will be a shock to have both those families gone from our ward and especially to have the Yorgason's gone from our neighborhood.

BTW, I delivered your letter to Andrea on her birthday. She called later in the week. She said turning 21 felt kind of strange. I reminded her how very young that still is. She said she's still up in the air about a mission. She was meeting again with her Bishop today. That's a difficult decision for a girl. It's very personal and just because a mission is a good thing doesn't mean it's always a good choice for every girl. I know her struggle, because I was faced with the same thing. My Bishop helped me a lot and it sounds like she has a wonderful Bishop too.

Kirk called this evening when dad and Alex and I were on our way out of the hospital where we had just visited Bro. Lamm. He's having some intestinal problems and should be ok in a few days. Kirk's enjoying school--well, actually the social part of it. He's been dating the same girl these past couple weeks. They've been having fun together. I'm glad he's having some good dating experiences. I just hope he can balance grades and girls. Dad's grades totally went down when he started dating me ; >

Kristina's band is meeting at our house now, so we have a drum set down in the basement. It's actually fun to hear them practicing down there. That reminds me-do you remember what you did with your amp? We could use another one and can't find yours. Kristina's teacher said she'd teach me the Mandolin and/or banjo right after band practice each week. I'm really loving the sound of the Octave Mandolin and it has the same chording as the violin which I'm totally used to. The banjo has been difficult for me to learn on my own, so I definitely need a teacher's help. She's going to bring a mandolin this week for me to try out. I'm pretty excited.

Well, that's about it for around here. I can't wait to hear that you've gotten our latest packages. I also hope grandpa's letter finally gets to you. He's worried it got lost en route. Do you still have baptisms set up for the 7th? I'm very excited for your investigators. As I read the Book of Mormon again, I just think to myself, how can anyone who reads these words not know and feel that these prophets of old are real, have shared their personal testimonies with us and that they were led by a loving Heavenly Father so that their records could be preserved for us to have in this day. It truly is a marvelous work and a wonder.

Have a great week. My prayers are with you each day!
Love you,
momxoxoxooxoxoxo