With All My Love

Good morning Elder Schenewark!

I hope your week was wonderful. I’ve told several people several times this week, as I’ve been asked several times, that sending multiple missionaries doesn’t get easier. It gets longer. And harder. Oh well. Living in a day and age where weekly communication is possible, allows me to endure and endure well.

Monday evening for family home evening we were downtown in parade formation. Cooper was on the tennis team "float," obtaining place of honor in the bed of the pick up, with two other senior players. Sawyer was on a flatbed pulled behind a pick up truck with the basketball team. Both doused us with candy. And all the pee wee football floats threw candy at Miller, as he's well known in the elementary school athletic world. Even Breyer was hailed from female friends on cheer leader and elementary school floats. We came home with a huge bowlful of candy, and we haven't even reached the peak Halloween event week.

Well, your father and I have waited for 27 years for the Red Sox to meet the Dodgers in the World Series, and this year it finally happened. They haven't played each other in a World Series game for 104 years! So even though it's of no eternal consequence, considering baseball is the choice of sport for heavenly messengers, we're game.

The first game occurred Tuesday in my stomping grounds, and with a home win 8-5. We lasted until the seventh inning. Dad borrowed Gammons cable codes to log into the game. Not very heavenly, but funny. And his moans and groans when mistakes were made on his team were sometimes more entertaining than the game itself.

The Wednesday game was a Red Sox 4-2 win as well, but neither of us saw it.

The Friday game, in Los Angeles, was won by the Dodgers 3-2. After 18 innings! The first inning that any one scored was in the 13th, which ended 1-1. Crazy! Tanner was working on a legal brief, and appreciated the Red Sox keeping him company. The Sox won yesterday, and will probably finish the series with a win tonight. Thank goodness!

Breyer reading, having just discovered the joys of

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Thursday evenings Miss B goes to gymnastics, and is one skill away from moving up to level 3: back hand springs on the trampoline. So this week and next she’ll be working only on that, which is very hard to do for the entire class. She’s very excited to demonstrate her new skills to AnneMarie at Christmas time. And if you remember, will do so gladly for you when you call.

Your father had to go to an overnight conference in Austin Friday, but when he returned Saturday afternoon he returned with lots of surprises. He stopped at the famous pie shop Blue Bonnet Café in Marble Falls and brought home a chocolate cream for us and a banana cream for his clerks. He also stopped off in Round Rock for their world famous donut, of which you ate many, and brought home a dozen for us to enjoy this morning. Friday evening all the boys went to the homecoming football game, Miller procuring his ticket in his school office for $4.00 They came home with twenty plus plastic footballs, and a dozen hand towels, all of which were thrown into the stands. Just want we needed. My kitchen draw makes good use of those towels, to be sure. Breyer and I always enjoy our time together, this night with popcorn and ice cream. She was willing to hang out in the back yard for a bit while I mowed, picking up pine cones along our back fence. By the amount of pine cones on the trees the winter looks to be cold!

Saturday morning we had our second week of piano lessons x 4. Sawyer and his friend were invited by Coach B to practice with varsity on Saturday, which included a pancake breakfast. They returned to Nathan’s home to help with his sister’s flooded car and lawn care. He did vacuum for me later! Both boys were dropped off for the annual Halloween party at the church. Due to the rising snake population outside the church, meaning rattlesnakes on the doorsteps every week, the event was held inside, even the bouncy house, which appears so much larger when inside the gym. Miller and I joined the end of the party as he had a 5 p.m. baseball game. He had an in-the-park home run, with two runners batted in. He also had a double. He played a great game of catch, and after three innings catching was put in as pitcher. He had strikes, and a strike out, but wasn’t up to his usual pitching game after catching in 85 degree weather.

In the talk “Now Is the Time” by Elder Jack N. Gerard he asked, “How [are] we doing as a family and individually? [Are] we living our lives consistent with the covenants we ha[ve] made and the Lord’s expectations, or ha[ve] we perhaps unintentionally allowed the cares of the world to distract us from those things which matter most?” Elder Gerard spoke of a life changing incident where “almost instantaneously in that anxious moment, my entire perspective changed. What seemed so important just moments earlier was now of little interest. My mind raced away from the comfort and cares of this life to an eternal perspective—thoughts of family, children, my wife, and ultimately an assessment of my own life. He invited us to “consider an important lesson learned from this experience: to step back from the world and assess your life. Or in the words of the doctor, if there is anything in your life you need to consider, now is the time.” You’re in a position to be free from the cares of the world, more than you’ll ever be while on your mission as you’re concentrating on what matters most. Enjoy this time.

Knowing we're one week closer to enjoying you -

Mom