Little Moments

The other night my sister and her husband took the twins to the Boise Philharmonics so I babysat the 3 younger kids.  We played Cops and Robbers, rode stick horse around looking for treasure, and then curled up all together to read a few stories before bed. 

 

 

I love little moments like that!  My heart still aches for having kids, but I have to say being an Aunt is a close second.  I love these kids like crazy and I hope they know that!! 

 

Shooting

Last weekend I was itching to go shooting so I called up my dad.  Ever since I went shooting at the range last month I wanted to get back out and practice what I had learned.  We (my dad, Cindy and me) headed out to the range in Emmett and had a little fun.   

I was happy to see improvement!  While I still have some work to do I am excited to see progress and it makes me want to get out to the gun range more often. 

We also shot my dad’s .22 which is always fun!   

It is amazing to me how getting out to the range is a big stress release for me.  It is nice to be able to leave all the stress of life behind and for an hour or two and strictly focus on targets and shooting.   

 

I was also proud of myself for being able to take my gun apart and clean it myself afterwards.  Usually my dad helps me but I finally have it down! 

 

I can’t wait to go again!      

Projects

One of the things I got in the divorce was our bed.  I loved the bed frame and it made my room look more complete and put together.   That being said the bed had two downfalls.  1. It was a California King which made it hard to find sheets for it and when you did find some they often cost an arm and a leg.  2.  On the ex’s side of the bed there was indentation from where he used to sleep.  No matter what I did it was always there. 

 

When my mom and Lynn were packing up their house I asked them what they were going to do with all the beds since their new house will not have so many rooms.  They were planning on getting rid of a couple of them so volunteered to take one.  Their beds are in amazing shape and I was excited they let me have one.  Only problem was all their bed frames were shades of brown and my nightstand and dresser are black. 

 

SO we decided to paint one.   Let me start off with I am not crafty.  I have never painted anything and didn’t know where to start or what to do.  It became the girls (my sister, mom and me) project and with what time we could squeeze in we slowly got it done. 

 

I think it turned out really good!  In the end it has a few flaws but to be honest I LOVE them because it reminds me of my mom and sister and the time we put into it.  It has been really nice to have a queen size bed and it makes my room feel more open.  The bed it’s self is amazing and I slept really well in it.  I love the bedding I found for it too and it makes me smile every time I go into my room.       

 

Another project I did was to make a new wood sign.  My friend Angelie cut the wood while I stained it.  She then put the wood together for me.  Once it was together we change course of how it was going to turn out but in the long run I honestly love it! 

We had another friend who completed the wording on it for us and I couldn’t be happier with it!  Now I just need to take to have the back part put on so I can hang it.     

Good-bye

Last year my mom and her husband Lynn started to talk about serving a mission for the LDS church.  When they first started to talk about it, I really didn’t think they meant they wanted to serve one now, but down the road.  Next thing I knew they were sending in their papers and the first part of December their mission call came.  As they opened up their call I was shocked to learn they would be serving a humanitarian service mission in the Middle East/African North Area in the county of Kurdistan, aka they were going to Iraq.  

I sat there in disbelief and fear.  What I knew about Iraq is it is a war torn country that doesn’t seem to be a fan of Americans or Christians.  Images flashed in my mind of Isis killing people and I felt sick.  It took awhile for me to process the call.  I had no idea the LDS church was sending anyone there, come to find out they will be the only LDS couple in that area.  I had a few months to prepare, at the time March/April seemed so far away….then I blinked. 

On March 20^th, the day after I went through the temple for the first time, my Mom and Lynn were set apart as missionaries.  That afternoon they left for Utah to attend the MTC aka the Missionary Training Center.  They spent two weeks there.  It was fun to hear about all the things they learned and the excitement they were feeling about helping those in need.  Their mission is a service mission only.  They are not allowed to preach or share anything about what they belief.  They are going to help the large amount of refugees, many of which are children.  They will be helping to provide food, shelter, medical care, and other immediate needs as well as long-term needs of refugees in the camps.  They will be there for 18 months.  Unlike the youth who serve missions they will be able to call, email, text, be on social media and face time when they have time. 

After the MTC they came home for almost 2 weeks.  During those two weeks we tried to do as much together as possible.  One of my favorite moments was getting to go to the temple with just my mom. 

On Saturday, April 9^th, we gathered together one last time in their old backyard for family pictures (they sold their house and have a new piece of property they will be building on).  My amazing friend Amy took them and I LOVE how they turned out!

After pictures we headed to their new property to have dinner with everyone who came into town.  For dinner we had a traditional Iraqi dinner.  To help learn the culture and langue Lynn has had a tutor named Husain.  Husain was an interpreter for the US troopers over in Iraq.  When the troops pulled out, Husain’s life was in danger so him and his wife Halah came here.  It was so much fun to get to know them better.  They are both amazing! 

 

 

The next day, Sunday, was their mission farewell where they get up and speak in church.  It was a really good sacrament and the sprit there was so strong!  LOTS of tears.  After we had lunch over at my sisters and it was fun to relax a little and hang out with everyone a little more. 

The rest of the week we meet up for dinners, painting my bed, taking pictures of the grandkids and just trying to enjoy the time we had. 

 

 

Thursday, April 14^th, was the big day.  I fought off tears as long as I could but it was like trying to hold back a crumbling dam that is ready to burst.  Once the tears came it was hard to stop, by the end of the day I was emotionally drained.  Saying good-bye was incredibly hard. 

 

 

I still have fears and worries but know they will be doing amazing things!  It has made me want to be a better person and makes me want to serve others.  It is going to be a LONG 18 mouths but I have no doubt that at the same time I will blink and it will already be time for them to come home.  Until then I will be sending them lots of love and prayers.