6 Apr 2008

April 6, 2008
Dear Elder Sean,
We've had a wonderful weekend here being able to watch all sessions of conference and having dad and Alex attending conference sessions in Utah. They had a great time and were able to do a lot of things in a short period of time. Alex sent me pix through his phone of the apostles they got to talk with and dad called me often to report on what they were up to.

The girls and I had a girls weekend. We went to the movies "Horton Hears a Who", went on walks, Nikki and Leah got to sleep with me and we watched conference together. Dad and Alex got home last night so we all watched together today. I made waffles this morning and Costa Vida pork for dinner tonight. Then as a family we walked to the Mylers to drop off some supplies for Spencer's Eagle project. The weather has been beautiful and it feels good to get outside now.

Your letter last week was fun to read. How is the war with the farmers and government getting along? I hope they work things out. It's little things like this that escalate and cause havoc in many countries. I also enjoyed hearing about your visit with Sis. Olsen's parents. I could picture them as you were writing.

How are the families doing that you've been teaching. I thought about the Gonzalez family during many of the talks at conference. I hope they were able to see it. I especially thought about them during the talk given this morning by Pres. Uchtdorf which was about the faith of our fathers. I also enjoyed Sis. Lant's talk on family traditions, Elder Bednar's talk on prayer and Elder Zwick's talk on "Do we lower our standards for our peers? Also Pres. Monson's talk in the morning Sunday session. I felt so strongly while he was talking that he was truly called of God, talked with God and that I could place my total faith in him. His pledge to us that he would give his life in the work of the gospel was so powerful to me and the spirit bore witness so strongly to me at that moment of the truthfulness of what he was saying. The beauty of the gospel for me is that I can continue to receive strong and powerful witnesses of it's truthfulness throughout my life (if I am in the right places at the right times) and that I don't just receive it once and then have to rely on a fading memory. Continual spiritual experiences are a tender mercy from the Lord.
Anyway, I am anxious to hear how the Moreno's and the Gonzalez family are doing and I hope they've been able to make some friends in the ward. That is so key for their progression.

Last week I took a copy of last month's Ensign which was the one all about Christ, over to Gigi Burke's (our neighbor across the street). I had a nice talk with her and I put a card in it bearing my testimony of Christ to her. We've talked about the church before and I know we have our differences but I told her I also knew that we believed in the same Christ and that I knew He loved and cared for all of us. It's a beautiful Ensign and the church's new website about Christ is also wonderful.

You mentioned something about Jessica Thompson getting married and we didn't even know that. So you are actually telling us news. Since she's in the 2nd ward and her family is in a completely different building we rarely hear news of their ward. I try to keep you in touch with whatever I know. The only person I heard anything about that you know is Megan Guerston (sp?). I heard she's back home and is a sub for the schools around here. Also Ashley Gooch is home and will be having her homecoming talk this coming Sunday. Kirk said he is going to go to it. He will be home from school on Friday. I can't believe his semester is already over. He has finals this week. He said he had a fun time this past weekend at his mission reunion and had a nice one on one talk with his first mission president-Devin Cornish-who by the way, just got called into the 70's.

The other news from the family is that Katie and Greg have postponed their wedding until at least the end of the year now. They want to take more time dating, etc. which all of us are in total agreement with. So now we'll have to think of another place to go for our summer vacation. We were planning on going there and to help Jan with the wedding. I've also heard that Trevor and Tyler are starting their paperwork for their missions too. Tyler is living in Orange now and working for grandpa and grandpa has been helping him get ready for his mission.

They finished testing Leah at school and they're going to put her in special ed 20%of the time which I'm very happy with. She'll always be in a normal class for most of the day, but just pulled out for extra help. She actually loves being pulled out and getting the one on one attention. She's doing very well. She and I are working very hard, not only on academics but also on having positive thoughts and becoming a strong young woman. Nikki is still living life largely. I met with her teacher last week and she said nikki has come a long way. She is very respectful in class, works hard and is a joy to have around. Kristina is working hard with ballet, drums, piano and High School Musical. This week is her ballet recital. I'll send pix next week. Alex is getting ready for prom next weekend. We're going to get a tux tomorrow. Dad and I are busy and happy. I'm anxious to get the garden going this year. I've been craving fresh tomatoes to make salsa with, sweet peas picked and eaten right from the garden and potatoes (I think Idaho is starting to rub off on me!)

I'm glad you liked the packages we sent. We sure have fun putting them together for you. As far as Mother's Day (which I'm totally excited to hear from you!), I don't have your cell number any longer. So we'll have to get that from you if you're still in the office.

I hope you have a miraculous week. My prayers are with you.
Love you,
momxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxox