With All Our Love

Dear Tanner,

I must confess. Your letter S E E M E D a little shorter than usual last week. Might be me needing more of you, or you not needing so much of me. Either way, I wanted more, especially a photo of your face! Pictures aren't so good when they don't include one of you. Just saying!

I am wondering if you are going to reach your goal of 200? We certainly are cheering you and your mission on from over here. We're proud of you and your contribution to this historical total! What exciting times! We will surely miss President Tavares.

We enjoyed your informing us of the Brazilian equivalent of Valentine's day the 12th of June - Isn't wonderful that it is also your parents' anniversary? Twenty-two years and still going strong! We'll have to think of a good way to celebrate...this year we celebrated "quietly."

I'm glad the food has been better. Cow stomach was not appealing to me as well. I feed the missionaries a lot. This week it was three times, and each set still had three or four days with no dinner. I feel like this is  one small way I can contribute to the missionary efforts, since it's harder for me to contribute other ways.

I've started a package. My usual modus operandi is to leave the box on the counter, and chuck stuff in as it comes into my life. Like this week I bought four little jars of Nutella that were on sale. Excited? How about some mac & cheese? The package on the counter represents a physical replacement for you. Every once in a while I "feed" you, look at you, and very often think about you and what you're doing. I'll have to remember to put in the root beer.

I found two "Allens" on the Londrina Facebook page. One answered, and said her son is in Londrina training a new Elder. Must be the same one you wrote about?

A nice thought from Sis. Cummings: "Elder Faustino is Da Man! One of Elder Cummings' favorite companions. Hope Elder Schenewark can stop living out of suitcases soon, and find a post office."

From the email server for missionary moms, one mom shared that a group of ten elders left the MTC to fly to Brazil. The missionary from their ward got to the Atlanta airport and his passport and visa were stolen. He couldn't get onto the plane. He was so distraught, but thankfully there was an older LDS couple there who saw him - and they took him to the mission president. He is now serving there. Brazil will not re-issue his Visa...they refuse...so he is waiting to see where he will serve."

Have you heard about the special broadcast on missionary work? It is part of the training for new Mission Presidents but the First Presidency want as many members that can to participate. Entitled “The Work of Salvation,” it will be broadcast from the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, on Sunday, June 23, 2013, at 4:00 p.m. mountain daylight time.

Monday Hunter, Sawyer and Dad got up early and drove to London, KY for the Optimist International District Golf tournament. Hunter did really well! except for five holes, where there were a few 8's and two 9's. Ouch. He'll try again next year! Sawyer was THE only ten year old that entered a local competition, so he was the only one to play at the district level. Dad followed him around more than Hunter. He could pull his clubs, whereas Hunter had to carry his. Sawyer's companion was a 12 year old boy who was not interested in talking, but Sawyer didn't seem to notice. He was thrilled to come home with a first place trophy! Porter and I were at his game together. I've somehow become the official book keeper for his team as well, and have enjoyed sitting in the dugout with him.

Thank you for remembering Cooper's birthday. We had a fabulous celebration Tuesday. He officially announced himself as a "teen," no longer "tween" status. He was a little distraught to find out this week Cooper tires have been bought out by a company in India. He proclaimed, "I'm no longer made in America!" His fortune cookie wrapper rightly proclaimed, "You have a deep interest in all that is artistic."

He is still LEGO through and through, so we let him get on-line and pick out $30 worth of blocks for his birthday. They'll be arriving in the mail shortly. He also received some books, his requested carrot cake, and alfredo dinner, and Dad surprised him with donuts the morning of.  He surprised us all this week after receiving a phone call from a school friend by announcing his intention to go to cross country practice. After the first practice I didn't think he'd go back, but having a barbeque and pool party after the second practice made it a lot easier to forget the pain. I'm glad he's running. Not only is his appetite HEARTY but until the track is redone the supposed "new" soccer program isn't beginning this year. Remembering cross country dinners, which he's now been attending for five years, is a yummy incentive as well.

Wednesday was Cabell County library day. They were offering free art classes, so I thought we should take advantage of that freebie but, the instructor was a no show, and we learned later that she had postponed them until after Labor Day.

Since we were all out and about, and it was REALLY hot, we stopped at Stewarts for a root beer. You'll see the pictures, but I'm mentioning it as when we pulled in the parking lot, Sawyer proudly announced, "This is where Tanner brought me after an eye appointment. I thought Mom had told him to stop, but he told me it was nothing but brotherly love." He loves you dearly ;-) The baseball coaches love him dearly as well, and asked him to be on the ten year old All-Star baseball team again. He accepted after hearing who was to coach. He's getting wise in stuff like that. He had three two-hour practices in the hot sun, and was eagerly joined by little Miller, who helps shag balls in the outfield. By the third practice he was doing the ball drills with the boys, and running the bases as well. hey use him as an example of hustle and speed. Sawyer is a little annoyed, but shoulders it well.

Saturday Dad took the three older boys to the Columbus temple. Sawyer got to go to the cub scout camp and have a fun day with fishing, shooting and archery. That left me with the two munchkins. It was kind of a long day. I'm not complaining at all, it was just really quiet after having every body home every day for three and a half weeks! I did get a lot done ;-). And the missionaries had to eat outside because every one was late coming home.

There was a garage sale up our street that Miller wanted to visit. At the end of the sale, I told him he could go up and look, and come back to talk if there was something he was interested in. He came home excited to tell me about the golf bag for sale that only costs $5. He told me he had $2 and could I help him find $3. So we raided Hunter's nickel stash, temporarily, and he ran back up the street with his money in the envelope. He comes back a few minutes later, the proud owner of a brand new golf bag, back-pack straps and stand-up legs included, with a price tag of $25. I said, "Miller, this isn't $5 it's $25!" And he said, "Mom, the man took my two green dollars, gave me back the nickels, and said I could have it because he hadn't sold it." What a bargain for that cute boy. He wanted to make sure you saw his bag.

Breyer must be growing this weekend. She's had a bee in her bonnet the last few days. She actually did get stung by a bee, on her foot, as she was leaving the little pool on the deck. Instead of knocking on the deck door, she runs all the way around the house so she can ring the doorbell. And in running through the clover filled grass, was stung.

I'm digressing. She's throwing a little attitude around town, and we're trying to keep her down on the ground, so to speak. When the house gets very quiet, I know she's into "something." One morning it was just Cooper, Miller and Breyer, and you could hear a pin drop. I was finishing my shower in the bathroom, and asked Cooper to find her. He did. On the kitchen table, painting the table cloth, cereal bowls and milk container green. Cooper had it all cleaned up by the time I came down so I didn't think too much about it until today. Dad came into the room with green lips. I asked him why, and he had no clue. He wanted to know what they looked like, and I said, "Like you ate green paint!" Then Porter cracked up. He figured out why Dad had green lips. He chugged milk out of the container that your sister had painted early in the week. Serves him right ;-)

We had a nice father's day celebration over here.

The children were asked to sing in church, which we love, except there weren't too many in town today. So Miller and Sawyer weren't too happy when they realized they couldn't hide. But then that bee got back in the bonnet, and the next thing I knew she was running after Miller. Until she realized there were a lot of eyes looking at her, and she didn't quite know what was going on. She stopped, got in a semi-hunch pose, turned around, and ran back to the bench, with more than a few giggles following her.

When Dad finally got home from church, we gave him a few books, and a fire pit. He loves sitting around fires, and the boys are excited to make a few s'mores. We would just dig a hole, instead of purchasing one, except it's not our property, so I thought this would be a better way. The boys had fun trying on the parts.

That's a quick wrap-up of the week. The three older boys and Dad are leaving for Colorado Springs in the morning. This is his last year, as he resigned after three years of serving on the accreditation committee for the National Council for Accreditation of Coaching Education. So next week's letter will smell like the west ;-) Actually, this week Colorado Springs has had a massive fire that destroyed almost 500 homes, and was declared the largest fire ever in the history of fires in Colorado. I thought this was a sweet comment in a newspaper article I read: "Getting tears in her eyes Jackson said she’s looking forward to the Black Forest parade and festival in August when the first responders go through, and the standing ovation they will receive for all of their hard work."

I read this article, and thought of what it must be like for you to teach your investigators. The story of the restoration is key to understanding the gospel, and I felt for a small moment what you must feel all the time. Elder Christofferson said, "We cannot demand things from God. We cannot say, “You have to answer me in this way, right this moment.” It is up to Him to decide how and when and what He will communicate to us. Our responsibility is to always be in the right condition to receive the promptings or whisperings, the revelation, the inspiration of the Spirit. But He makes the decision of how and when.

"What I was seeking at that time--which did not come then--did indeed come to me five or six weeks later. I was at home reading the Book of Mormon. And without my asking, there came upon me a strong impression, feeling, and communication through the Holy Ghost that confirmed my belief and testimony. It was such a strong communication that it made me cry. It was also such a pure communication that it had no need for words. The Spirit does not need to be limited to words; He can communicate Spirit to spirit with a language that is unmistakable because it has no words. It is a communication of pure knowledge and intelligence from the Spirit, and I have come to know that it truly is the best way to acquire knowledge. It is stronger and longer lasting than touching or seeing; we can come to doubt the physical senses, but we cannot doubt when the Holy Spirit speaks to us.

"The Lord did not give me an answer in the Sacred Grove because I might have come to think that one must make a pilgrimage to Palmyra in order to be able to receive a testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Now I know that it can come at any place. You don’t have to go to Jerusalem in order to receive a testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. That testimony can come to any ordinary person, wherever he or she may be, because our Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost know each one of us intimately. They know where we are and how to find us."

We too know where you are, and definitely how to find you. We'd never not know how to find you. We love you! Have an amazing week and finish strong for your President.

Love,

Mom and Dad