Dear Elder Alex,
What great news to hear that the Taylors got baptized and that everything went well. The pictures were great and yes, even the fried corn looked tasty. I'm not sure anyone has those in Boise, only at the fair.
So how was your Thanksgiving? We had a wonderful time with Steve, Carolina, Dakota, Kassie, Gio, Jen, James, Kirk, Sarah, Nikki, Leah, Kristina, dad and me. A smaller group than usual, but lots of fun. On Pie Night, we had Bill and Nancy come by as well as Coach Arnold (Steve's old BYU basketball coach, remember him...) and his wife. It was fun reminiscing. Turns out Bill used to work for Frank Arnold when Bill was just a teenager. I guess he sold ice cold drinks at the Hawks baseball games. Small world. Coach Arnold also remembered well the time Bill was thrown out of a BYU basketball game because he was yelling at the refs and threw a towel at them. Since we had excellent seats for every game, the refs could hear pretty much everything any one of us said.
Steve's thinking of building a Noah's here in Boise, so dad and I took him around town looking at lots. We went to the movies, out to eat, black Friday shopping, etc. all the usual Thanksgiving activities. It was extra fun having little James in our house. He just started walking so it was fun seeing him wobble around.
On Saturday Steve and Carolina left and then later on Kirk and Sarah left. Sarah went with Kirk to Rexburg and today her ride drove up from Utah through Idaho Falls and picked her up. This afternoon Sean left and then tonight I took Gio and Jen to the airport where they flew back to Arizona. Everyone said to say hi and tell you how much they love reading your letters.
Today we went to the 8th ward to hear Jake give his mission report. I'm so happy that they actually want you guys to tell stories from your missions again in your report. For a couple years they gave topics to speak on and we never heard very much about the mission. Now they say they'd like you to actually report your mission in your talk. Jake looks great-a little older. He spoke well, deliberate, more mature. He's gained a lot of wisdom in his last two years and really enjoyed his mission. His testimony was strong and his stories backed up that strength. I talked with him afterward and he asked about you. He told dad that his advice to you is 'don't hurry home, enjoy your mission while you're there.' Sounds like he's planning on going to BYU-I in January.
Dad's at work today, the girls are in bed, the last of the Thanksgiving guests have left, so the house seems very quiet. Even the dogs are noticing it.
I forgot to mention that Jared came over during the weekend too, so we got to catch up on his life. He's thinking of joining the Air Force and switching away from his music plans. He still loves music, but he can see there's not much future in it. So he's been talking to a recruiter about becoming an air traffic controller.
Sean just called and made it home safely. He took about 5 people home with him so he had a full car.
We missed you this week, but I love knowing that you're on a mission. There's such a great feeling in our home just knowing you are out in the mission field. I am so thankful for the knowledge I have about the gospel and the peace it gives me in my life. I learn more and more as time goes on and that's something I love about it. Keep spreading the 'good news' in the South. I can see how the Vision of the South is being fulfilled through many of your experiences.
Have a grateful week!!
love you,
Mom xxoo
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