27 Apr 2008

April 27, 2008
Dear Elder Sean,
Well we are now home from Phoenix. We got home this afternoon and recovered all the kids. Kirk just called and is home in Rexburg safely. In fact he called from Mary's apt where they are catching up on homework from their math class that they are taking together.

We had a wonderful time with family over the weekend and it was so fun being in the temple with everyone again and seeing Jen and Gio being sealed. The sealer had wonderful words for them both, reminding them of their covenants they had made in the temple ceremonies and also reminding them that they were now forming an eternal unit of the church. He said that most units in the church i.e. wards, stakes, etc are formed and get divided, changed, moved etc but the only unit in the church that never changes is a husband and wife. He talked of how a stake president is called to preside over a stake and how he prays and thinks about the members of his stake every day and how concerned he is about each one of them. But he went on to say that a stake president gets released and moves on to another calling in life. He said that when a man and woman get married and have children they become very concerned about each child and pray every day for them, but they are never released from that calling and it is so similar to how our Heavenly Father feels about us. My only wish in the temple was that more of my family could be there. We'll keep working on that.

The night before the wedding we went to a dinner at Joe's BBQ in Mesa. It was a fun place, very casual and good food. Most the cousins spent their free time in the pool and jacuzzi. Here's who came: G & G Trumbo, me, Harold and Kirk, Steve's whole family except Axel. Carolina's sister Cristina and her son, Jan, Jeff, David and Katie, Toni, McKenna, Hannah, Cami and Sam, Allen and Lisa and all their kids, David and Caryn and all their kids including the two little ones they are trying to adopt, Patrice and Dennis and Sunny and Chad, Mike, Trevor and Brig.

The reception was on Saturday night at Jen's parents house. It was a beautiful backyard and the night cooled down enough to make it perfect weather for being outside. During the day it got into the 90's, so it was kind of a shock to our system to be that hot. Before the reception Isaac (who is now living in Phoenix) took a bunch of us to Scottsdale on a shopping trip to a beautiful big mall. Scottsdale looks like a fun place to spend some time, kind of an artsy shopping town. Flying in you could see tons of golf courses which is of course what a lot of people do in Arizona.
We all stayed at the same motel thanks to Steve's planning. It made it a lot of fun. We are all looking forward to the many weddings and celebrations in the family in the future.

This week dad and I are going to the temple with Corey Campbell. He and Tyler are now actively getting ready to enter the MTC.

I almost forgot. We got your CD's this week. They were great. The CD case was broken and that scratched the #4 CD which is the one that had about 500 photos on it. I was able to retrieve about 111 photos from it. So I hope you have a copy of them somewhere. Don't erase any photos you have. We can just keep sending you more SD cards if you need them. It was fun seeing your videos too. However, the ones where you are driving were a little scary for me to watch. Especially the ones where there is a rally car and you are following it really close and passing other cars. I couldn't tell if you were driving in that one or not, but if you were, please don't do that any more. That looked scary and reckless to me, at least watching the video made it look that way. Sorry, had to put in a little mom warning there.

How is the Gonzalez family doing? They are still in our prayers. I hope they are enjoying being in the ward and are receiving callings. This is a tender and trying time for them. Did you have that FHE you were talking about?

Alex just came home from his Academy planning mtg. He said the theme for this year is Call Upon the Nations. He's very excited about it and it's fun seeing him work hard with this. He went to Pasco this weekend. They took 1st place in their division and they made the honors concert. They are really a great choir this year and their hard work is paying off for them. When they make their CD, we'll send you a copy. We both listened to the songs you sent. He said he'll let Mr. McMullen listen to them. Alex also got his ACT scores this week. He got a 29. He wants to try again and see if he can get in the 30's.

At home, we're getting peas planted in the garden this week. I'm going ask dad to plant potatoes this year too since I use them a lot. I like making roasted potatoes with our meals and they taste good baked with soup or chili on top.

How is the record organizing going in your office? Sounds like a big job, but I know you're the one who can whip it into shape. Plus you'll learn a lot about the general organization of the mission. It will help you see the big picture.

Everyone at the wedding said to say hello. They all asked about you and some were even asking about specific families you've been teaching. We are all with you in spirit and care so much about what you care about. Keep sharing your stories with all of us. Sharing your testimony strengthens our testimonies.

Have a great day and a spirit filled week. The Lord is with you always and knows your comings and goings and He loves the people of Cordoba more than you know.

Love always,
momxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxox