Dear Elder Alex,
Just writing that date brings a sobering feeling. Can't believe it's been 10 years since 9/11, many images and feelings ingrained in my mind. We watched the special on KBYU today with the spoken word on 9/11. It was very nice.
Just got back from a stake fireside for the youth, the one that Pres. Stafford holds each year on standards. Pres. Cameron also spoke tonight. I love how frankly they speak. It's great.
So you're in a new place! I hope it's going well for you and that you're feeling a little settled now. How was the ward? What's the town like? It doesn't look very large on the map, but at least we found it. Is it a completely different zone? I'm sure it will be a lot of work since you went into a whitewashed area. Do you meet with the President before you go to at least get an idea what he'd like you to do there? I know you'll be great there. It seems like you make such good friends so quickly wherever you've gone, and when the members get to know you well, they tend to think more often about their non-member friends.
It was fun hearing that you got to split with Elder Goodwin. Send us some pictures when you get a chance.
It was interesting to hear you had an experience learning about the power of Satan. Each one of you, Kirk, Sean and now you have learned this invaluable lesson. I know it's important especially for a priesthood holder on this earth to understand how powerful and evil the forces on the "other side" can be, but to know how powerful Christ is and how wonderful it is to have Him on your side. Being a disciple of Christ comes with innumerable blessings and miracles.
So our family is back down to 5. We took the extension out of the table. Kirk is back at BYUI and Sean is in full swing at BYU of course. Kirk is going through withdrawals without Sarah, but it's good she's a bit of a distance so he can keep some of his mind on his studies. Sarah was here with us this weekend and it was fun having her here. It's amazing how easily she fits right into the family and it sounds like that's probably a good thing since they are talking very seriously now. Her parents have been praying that she'd find a strong LDS young man despite the fact that they live in such a remote, non-lds place, so they are thrilled about Kirk even though they've only met him on skype.
Last Monday Sarah also spent the day with us at G&G Thompson's, where she helped pick grapes (a family right of passage). Then before we took off for Idaho, we went to lunch and her sister Nicole met us there too. Nicole just graduated from BYU and is working in SLC(actually she's waiting for her visa and paperwork to go through, but she has a great job lined up). In Sarah's family there are 3 sisters then a brother, the youngest, who is getting his paperwork ready for a mission. Sarah is #2 in the family. Nicole is #1 and her younger sister is married with one child.
Kirk is trying to make some other big decisions about his school work now, whether he should just get a degree in public health with a Spanish cluster(minor) then go on and get a master's degree, or whether he should take some pretty tough extra courses that are required by optometry schools, take the entrance exam and hope to get into an optometry school. The discouraging thing about the opt. schools are how much they cost compared to how much you actually make when you start working-a bit lopsided. So he'd going to talk with some counselors at school, fast and pray and then make his decisions.
I printed out your chempal newsletter tonight(the August letters) so I'll send that out tomorrow after you send an address. Sorry it's a bit late, but for some reason Julie Warr was not getting my emails. She says Cameron is doing great and loves reading the newsletter.
The girls are all doing well. Leah, in particular, is loving school. She says middle school is the best especially her science class. She says she loves science experiments. Who would have guessed. Nikki says math is making sense now and she even did 9 to the third power the other day. :) Kristina is just anxiously awaiting her big birthday so she can say she's 16! I hope being 16 is all she's dreamed it will be. She's already trying to figure out who to ask for Sadie's this year.
Dad and I are always just trying to make ends meet, but have fun along the way. After all these years, I still look forward to his phone calls during the day when he's working and look forward to our days off and even love our little lunch getaways each day he's home. It may seem like a simple life to some, but the great peace we feel because of the covenants we've made make life so fulfilling.
I've got some big RS events coming up, so I'll have some fairly busy next couple of weeks. This Thursday is our first Humanitarian Work Day. So many little details to make the day run smoothly. Then we have the dinner that we put on before the General RS broadcast next week. Again, lots of little details to make it appear effortless and enjoyable. I love the work and more than that, I love the women of this stake. I watch them and learn from them and so many of them are now my good friends. It will be fun to work hard with my new presidency too.
Well, I hope you are well, busy and happy. I bet there's lots of work that needs to be done there. Can't wait to hear what you're up to and who you're meeting and working with. Tell us about your new companion too.
Looks like you might be having a little cooler weather. enjoy it and have a great week.
love you very much,
mom xxoo
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