We love you! So looking forward to speaking with you sometime next week. I don't work Wednesday. Would that evening be easier? It's not on Christmas, but I don't care. I just want to see you. I hope your package has arrived in time for your Christmas party. Fort Worth Mission elders had their party already. They watched a movie. Not. It was on how to get a long with Sister missionaries. I hope your party is a bit more festive.
We're getting excited for our Christmas visitors. The beds are being changed, the rooms picked up. We've been practicing our fire making skills and wood chopping abilities, as well as our candle lighting talents.
Your cat story made me laugh. Any body, cat or otherwise, who dies, loses control of their bodily functions. It's a fact of life. So sorry you were exposed to this and the accident. Grim.
Oxford Dictionaries has crowned "youthquake" as its word of 2017 in a nod to the unexpected level of youth engagement in this summer's election in the United Kingdom. An amalgamation of "youth" and "earthquake", the noun is defined as "a significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people." The word was coined in the 1960s by then-Vogue editor, Diana Vreeland, to describe upheavals in fashion and music caused by Britain's youth culture. But an almost five-fold resurgence in usage of the word was seen between 2016 and 2017 in a different context. I'd say youthquake is an apt word to describe the effects of President Monson's missionary age changes. Sometimes when I have all seven children home youthquake is an appropriate word to describe the chaos in our house. But getting youth engaged is a great way to do missionary work, as evidenced by your successful ultimate frisbee and basketball activities in Ohio.
President Uchtdorf's talk titled Three Sisters had a wonderful quote. "You have the spiritual DNA of God. You have unique gifts that originated in your spiritual creation and that were developed during the vast span of your premortal life." I truly believe that a mission enables one to more fully develop these gifts. What better time than when you're consecrating all you have to your Father in Heaven. Record your thoughts in your journal,and use your gifts to create some youthquake engagements.
He also said "We must always stand for what is right, and there are times when we must raise our voices for that cause." Be strong and true. Walk tall and proud. You're a beloved son."
One more quote. "We are responsible for our own discipleship, and it has little - if anything - to do with the way others treat us." Sometimes life isn't as rosy as we'd like but it is ultimately up to us what we do about it.
We went to Sawyer's basketball game Thursday night in Weatherford. They handily won, but Sawyer left feeling disgruntled after a few public clashes with the coach. He's a major leader and contributor to his team, but we can always improve. Such incidents are how we learn life's little lessons.
I appreciate the fact that your father and I are both peace makers. I don't think our children realize how much this differs from the world. Anger is very prevalent in today's society, and our peaceful natures, coupled with the gospel, makes how we interact so different.
Miller had two games on Saturday. I elected to let the neighbor transport him to his prime team away game. It was a good call in terms of how much I got done while I would have been gone. But he had a great game, losing by a basket. He said he had ten of the 24 points, and made both his free throw shots.
I went out on a ride along with the warrant execution squad. What an adventure. They begin at 5 a.m., so I got up even earlier than my usual 3:55 a.m. I usually begin at 6 a.m. By 5:20 a.m. we were rousting out a man wanted on a misdemeanor theft. Scooped him up from his mattress and headed to the jail. When we cleared, we accompanied the Marshal's Office task force on a felony warrant. They do a lot of surveillance work, and call the warrant execution squad when they're ready to see if their intel was correct. This time we were out of luck. No one was home. We assisted a squad who was attempting pick up on a felony warrant at a residence, and he squeezed out the back door. They checked under the cars, inside the cars, inside sheds, but no luck. He probably sneaked into another house in the neighborhood. The motto of the sergeant is, "Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders and says "Oh no, He's awake" - Mikhail Ryabko, Spetsnaz Instructor. I thought that was great. Satan definitely shudders when you roll out of bed each morning in Brazil. That we may all be so fearful.
Let us know about your phone call. We're all so excited. Stay safe.
Love,
Mom
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