27 Jan 2008

Jan. 27, 2008
Dear Elder Sean,

Hopefully you've already heard by now that Pres. Hinckley passed away this evening around 7pm MST. He had his close family all around him at the time. I'm so sad to hear of his leaving this earth, but couldn't be happier about his joyous reunion on the other side. In our last Stake Conf, Pres. Monson spoke to us and we really got to know him well from his talk. I'm looking forward to hearing more from him.

How are you doing this week? Randy Pinder was here tonight for the fireside dad had for the 11 yr old boys-Priesthood Preview and he was looking at your mission map and having some fond memories of his areas. He said Pres. Kimball passed away while he was on his mission and he said he was serving in Rio Gallegos in the southern tip of ARgentina and he said he was pretty sure he was the last person on the earth to hear the news of his passing because he was so far away from anything else. Hopefully you won't be the last one to hear this news.

Kirk called this evening and reported about his dinner he made for a girls' apt. He called over the weekend to get help in making cordon bleu(sp?) but when it came time to make it today, he found out that his oven doesn't work. So he quickly made some hamburger helper, Sunday salad and stove top stuffing. He said it was good and no one complained, so I guess it was ok after all. He's sticking to his word about having a date every weekend. He went out with a girl named Amy this weekend. He took her to a restaurant and went to some Latin dancing class. He said he wants to ask her out again.

This was our first day in a long time that we went above freezing and it only took about 1 hour for most the snow to melt. The girls have really been loving having all this snow around. Kristina and Alex have been using the ATV to take them hookie-bobbing in the back yard. I'll send a picture or two of our lovely snow. Unfortunately, it's supposed to snow 3 more days this week, so I guess we'll leave the sleds hooked up.

Friday night we went to the Nampa Civic Ctr as a family and watched one of their shows. It was a comedian/magician. He geared a lot of things to young children but it was pretty entertaining overall. He sure kept the little girls' attention well.

Today I subbed for Sis. McCauley in Primary and did the chorister job. We played games and sang lots of songs. Most of them are so high for me, it actually hurts my voice a bit. I don't think the kids would appreciate me singing the alto part to their favorite tunes.

So tell me about some of the people/families you are teaching now. Did you keep your same companion with the last transfer? I'm glad it wasn't any problem for you to translate my letter to Sis. Paez. I would love to hear from her.

Alex is starting into a new semester now. I helped him answer his sweetheart's date this week. We weren't very sure about the address and the phone number he had was no longer in service, so we took a chance and it worked out. He spread peanuts all over the front porch with a sign that said, "I would be nuts not to say yes after I've made this big mess." He found out later from her that it was her house and that her family was enjoying eating the peanuts now.

Kristina is getting ready for a piano festival. She has 2 songs that she'll be performing and getting judged with. She's getting good on the piano and enjoys playing, but I still have to push her to practice each day.

Leah got to go to the Tanner's house (Benson Tanner) to go ice skating on their back yard pond the other day. She thinks it's so cool to be able to go to a friend's house. She's still getting tested at school for her learning disability and they said they want to meet with me in two weeks to discuss the results of her testing. Math is still a big black hole to her.

Nikki got the Respect award at her school this month. She's very proud of it. She told me the other day that all the girls in her class have crushes. Leah asked me what a crush was, so I told her it was when someone liked someone else. So then Leah said she had a crush on someone. I asked her who, and she said "You mom". Just when you think they're gaining an older, wiser perspective on life, they say something that shows me just how young they still are, young and innocent (which I love).

Barkley is still just laying around and pretending that he's deaf. He has selective hearing. It works when I've got any food in my hand.

Dad has really had some busy weeks at work. They're down a couple people there and it's taking a toll on his schedule. He managed to get a chunk of time off for spring break, so we're hoping to go somewhere fun.

I'm so grateful for your letters each week. So many lessons you learn have become wonderful lessons for me also as you share them with me. My Bear scouts two weeks ago were horrible. They bad mouthed everything we did and were so rude. It was kind of hard to believe. They had been so bad for their wolf leader that she actually asked to be released, so I thought about it all week and the thought came to me to try something positive. So I gathered lots of items from the dollar store and at the beginning of our mtg last week, I explained what behavior was indicative of a good scout and that for every ten minutes they would act accordingly, I would reward them with a token. Once they had 4 tokens, they could pick any item from my basket to take home. We had a good discussion on proper, respectful behavior and it was like a miracle. The boys were so courteous and kind to not only me and Leslie, but also to each other. I told them how great it was to see them acting this way and they were so excited about getting tokens. And even though I had talked pretty seriously in the beginning with them, our rapport was definitely different and so much better afterward. My point in this is I remembered what you mentioned about prayer in your last letter and I immediately after the mtg thanked Heavenly Father for the inspiration and the help in what seemed like an impossible situation just a couple weeks earlier. I know He's there and willing to help if we just ask and listen and act.

I hope you are well and happy and sharing your testimony often. Share it through your actions and your words. You have a great attitude and many gifts. Use them in building the kingdom and remember always how much we love you and pray for you.

I love you,
momxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxooxoxooxoxoxoxoxoox