With All Our Love

Dear Tanner,

I hope you've had a great week! We are eagerly awaiting your email, and hang on every word! In last week's letter I loved your rocket ship analogy, and used that on Facebook. I didn't realize your mission president was leaving this year. I'll be so sad! I can't imagine how you'll feel. Although, meeting another wonderful servant of the Lord, who will be a friend for life, is a great thing as well. Your thought on our family was very sweet.

I've enclosed a picture of your dog for you. He's sooooooooooo much better! The starch free food is really working. His fur is shiny and thick, and so clean, he's put on weight, and is very playful. What a difference from all of last year.

I also decided to include a few Breyer pictures this letter, as I'm sure to you she's the one that is changing the most, and as I look at these pictures, taken because everything she experiences is a first, realize it might be fun for you to see what her days are like.

(sneaking into Cooper's clarinet case)

(trying the boys' snack, ants on a log sans ants)

(wanting to POGO, and lots of big brothers to help)

(ready to feed the bunny and take out the trash)

(playing dinosaurs, with a big "ROAR")

(growing up so fast!)

This week Sawyer had a fever from Sunday noon to Friday. I don't think I've ever had anyone miss a full week of school before. We finally went to the doctor on Thursday, and he prescribed medicine for a sinus infection, as a virus shouldn't linger so long, but he was so much better that night I never used it. Cooper stayed home Friday with it, and Miller woke up Saturday with a high fever. Today both Cooper and Miller were sick. Hopefully this will be the end of this last round of germs.

Porter's doing track. He listed it as his secondary sport, and practices right after school, conditioning for hurdles and pole vaulting. Baseball officially kicked off for Porter Monday evening. Since we couldn't have FHE until he was done, I took Dad to an athletic booster meeting. I have thoroughly enjoyed my community groups, and wanted him to have the same experience. He had a good time. They're planning on building a new stadium and track, and he expressed some concerns regarding astro turf. And everyone listened. They knew nothing about sanitizing, yearly upkeep, or the problems Marshall has had with their new fields. This is the stuff he teaches every day so this is the community group he needs to be with. Good times and good stuff. We also shared our hippo story with them as a possible fundraiser idea. Having only one high school makes this area a great candidate for a mascot infusion.

For cub scouts Rick came in with some recreation students and talked to the boys about conservation principles, and then let them make plaster of paris casts from animal foot print molds. The boys loved it! Who wouldn't love Rick? Sawyer was home sick, so they made him a few molds I could bring home to him.

I had an "emergency" Relay for Life meeting. The American Cancer Society representative is a little worried about losing her chair, and came with a few tasks to assign to keep the momentum going. The longer I live the more I realize the invasive-ness of cancer. It's every where and affects every one.

Friday Dad and I got to accompany Hunter and Porter to the Iron Master tournament in Ironton, on the campus of Ohio University, Southern. Because Cooper was home from school, and Sawyer feeling better, we felt comfortable leaving Miller and Breyer. (They did a great job, and except for not changing one diaper, everything was in order.) Would you have changed that really ugly diaper at their age? Probably not. I digress. We arrived at the end of their first match, and they lost. Thus moving to the loser's bracket, had to fight their way back to stay in the competition. They had to win seven matches in a row to win the championship, and they did. It was a great day. Enjoy the photos in your email. Several times throughout the day your brothers were "recruited" to play on Ohio University's quiz bowl team. That stopped when they found out Porter was only a freshmen. Hunter carried the team. He did an amazing job, especially in the lightening rounds when they went into the round tied, when they began the round down by nine, and when they finished the round only ahead by one point. Your grandparents had this day on their calendar and really wanted to be here, but there will be no traveling until their health is better.

From your cousin Evan, he received his regional area's DAR scholarship AND was appointed a spot in West Point. And from your cousin Greg: My mission papers are officially in!! Ill find out where I am going hopefully in two weeks!

In regards to your picture with the two little boys and a bunch of sun glasses, your Facebook friend's comment made me smile: DUDE!!! That's the coolest mission pic I've ever scene!! Keep baptizing bro!!"

There's been a little scandal in Europe regarding horse meat DNA mixed in with hamburger in Burger King burgers then Ikea meatballs. My friend in Norway was traveling home from Greece, and commented: "We didn't go clear of the horse meat. It was found in a store bought lasagna. Now tell your kids there is just one more reason to be grateful for an Old School Mom..the kind that does just about all the cooking herself. You should have heard the passengers on the Lufthansa flight from Athens to Frankfurt when the dinner was being rolled out. Yes indeed, it was meatballs...and we heard neighing in many languages and lots of giggling among the passengers." That made me smile.

One missionary mother said that there are 280 missionaries who have been reassigned because they are waiting for their Visa's to go to Brasil. She said that the Degn's have asked all of the missionaries to pray for the Americans to get their Visa's. With all of the new missions opening, they need those missionaries!  She said the CTM is like a ghost-town compared to the Provo MTC. There were Londrina mothers who announced that through their sons' emails some are arriving in Brazil the 11th of March!

That's about all the news I thought worthy to share! I found this wonderful scripture in the New Testament while reading for seminary, and thought of you. In the chapter heading to Romans 10, it says, "Faith comes by hearing the gospel taught by legal administrators sent of God." That's you. And our leaders, such as apostles and our prophet. But I liked the beginning portion where those you meet develop faith by hearing you. Beginning in verse 14 it says, How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things! I don't know if I'd call your feet beautiful ;-) but the foundation it's referring to upon which you stand as missionaries is glorious. You're endowed with power from on high as a representative of Christ, with the call to preach the good news of the gospel and change lives.

With our everlasting love,

Mom and Dad