January 18th Farewell January 28th MTC

Hello everyone..... So, after much ado, Jared's farewell has been finally scheduled for January 18th. He will have 10 days after that before he enters the MTC. He is very excited. I am very stressed. I have so much to do still to be ready. He will make a wonderful missionary and he will be greatly missed. We have all of his travel documents submitted along with his passport and visas, etc... I'm excited and dreading it at the same time. I just better buy stock in Kleenex as I will be using a ton and a half I am sure ! More info to come as it gets closer.....

Who Knew????

So, gals, fellow cricut owners... I found out this new way to make your cutting mats for your cricuts last longer ! My neighbor sells Close To My Heart and she said that the Spritz that they sell to clean their clear stamps will clean the cutting mat. I was skeptical, but tried it on some old ones. She said to spray it on the mat, let it sit for 5 minutes, (( I let mine sit for about 10 because they were really bad )), and then wipe it off with a baby wipe. I wiped it clean. She said to let it dry and it will be as sticky as new. I didn't believe her, but MAN ~ It works !!! I had 2 old ones that I was going to toss... I cleaned them up and they are as sticky as new. I'm wondering if there is something in the spritz that is different than my Stampin Up cleaner. Remember, the Close To My Heart stamps are all clear and acrylic, and when you clean them, it makes them sticky again as well. Anyway, I just thought that I would pass on this little tip because it will save a bunch of $$$$ that you can use to purchase other doo dad scrappy items. There you go gals... tip of the week !

Jordan River Temple is the place !

So, Jared has an appointment to get his endowments this Saturday, Oct 18th for the 10:20 session. He is so dang excited and we can't wait for that day. We were shopping this weekend for some of his clothing and when he was trying on one of his suits in the mirror, I glanced over and started to cry. Yes... I know that you can't believe that, but it happened. He looked so handsome and so grown up in all of his missionary apparel. It was a nice day that we got to spend together. He got a temporary calling in church, and he's going to be a ward missionary. How appropriate, huh? His companion ( is that what they call them?? ) is a returned missionary who just got home a couple of months ago. I thought that that was cool so that he could get some practice time in. He is also reading the French Book of Mormon ( thank you Lindsay for the suggestion! ) and preparing everyday. We wanted to post this so that if we missed anyone with an invitation, please come and share this special day with us.

When The Saints Meet, The Angels Weep

So much for getting our pictures taken. It rained all day Saturday, and Sunday, the boys were sleeping as they had to go to work graveyards. So, we shall try again. Gary's mom, my sweet little mother in law, used to always say, "When The Saints Meet, The Angels Weep! " I guess that I should have taken her advice and not planned it for that day. Oh well...
Update on Jared's mission prep
We've been buying his clothes and necessities. He's gotten all of his shots... ( OUCH ! ) and his passport and visa applications are done and in process. He has been to the Stake President's office twice to get his recommend signed but hasn't been able to make that happen yet. Hopefully this Thursday, it will. He's very excited to attend the temple for the first time. We will post his date and time for the session so if you would like to attend, you may. His birthday is on the 17th and I thought that it would be fun to go the next day, but the temple won't assign a spot until his recommend has been signed. So we will keep this updated and let you all know. I can't believe that October is all ready here. Christmas will be here before we know it. And then, January 28th is right around the corner. Someone give me another tissue !

Fall Family Fotos

Hello everyone!

So, I've had this idea in my brain that I wanted to take our photo up in the canyon this weekend because we won't have another chance for a couple of years. I just heard on the news that it's going to be yucky, but I'm hoping for one bright spot that we can do it. I'm excited to post some pics with my whole clan. I know that they aren't real excited to go, but hopefully they will all show up and we will get this done. I want a new photo to place on the piano that I can look at when Jared is away. Maybe it will make me miss him less..... or maybe even more ! I'll post when I get them done. Wish me luck !!!

12 Things That I'm Excited For !

So my darling great neice Kylee tagged me... So here goes
1. Going to the temple with Jared for the first time.
2. Jared's Farewell
3. Jared's first letter from the mission field.
4. Christmas Morning
5. Painting my house.
6. Finishing all of my Christmas projects.
7. Zoe and Ali having puppies.
8. Picking Jared up in Switzerland in 2011 !
9. Seeing Jenna go to her first real high school dance.
10. Our little family expanding.
11. Getting 3 new daughters and 1 new son!
12. Grandbabies !

12 People that I'm Tagging:
1. Ashlee
2. Debbie Brown
3. Stephanie Lancaster
4. Jill
5. Ginger
6. Marci
7. Jaime
8. Stephanie
9. Becky
10. Jenna
11. Kirk
12. Jared

Drum Roll Please

So, ladies and gentlemen, after much ado, we finally have Jared's mission call. When it came in the mail, my heart was beating so hard. We gathered as a family and he ripped it open. Many tears later, the words sunk into my head and my heart..... Geneva Switzerland. He's going to Switzerland to serve a French speaking mission ! I can't believe it. His dream has been realized. His mission is huge !!! It emcompasses Switzerland, France, Belgium, and Luxembourge. He will report to the MTC on January 28th to begin. He has taken 4 years of French and I'm sure that that had a little bit to do with the fact that he was called over there. I told Gary that we have to start saving now, as I WILL be going to pick him up. I'm so proud of him. I don't think that his feet have touched the ground yet. They probably won't for awhile. I was so praying for him to stay in the states, but he has always wanted to go foreign. I guess if he has to go overseas, this isn't a bad place to be at all.