With All My Love

 4 January 2020

Dear Cooper,

I taught Dodger to shake.

Love,

Breyer

Dear Elder Schenewark,

How are you? Loved talking to you Thursday evening. I do love watching my boys develop their culinary skills. Cannot believe how quickly you picked up making and working with yeast dough. I know your companions are thrilled you’re there – for that alone. They’re eating well. I know there was one more thing you asked for a recipe – biscuits?

Breyer has also been learning to cook since we’ve returned to Texas. She started to make her signature brownies and realized she had no cocoa powder. So we found a Snickerdoodle recipe that could accommodate the flour and sugar already in the bowl. And it is fabulous! Definitely one that will get added to her cookbook, and one that I’ll now use as well. It’s been fun to cook with her – and a bonus that I’m getting more fabulous cookie recipes. Last night she made S’more cookies – basically a chocolate chip cookie recipe that puts smore ingredients inside to cookie dough portions. Just think of all those ingredients plus the two plus cups of butter and you’ll know a bit of our sugar induced coma.

Miller enjoyed his time in Utah especially because he had access to multiple frisbee golf courses. Even in 28 degree weather he wanted to go every day, multiple times a day. For the most part he could finding willing partners. But it was cold. He is now home enjoying barely 60 degree sunny Texas weather and our backyard, with the hopes of going to the course soon.

Dodger and Wagner survived the trip. They did have a few adventures or, I should say our dog sitter had a few adventures. They dug the sewer hole deeper, and started a second. They had to be taken outside on a leash just to be hooked to the lead. They went through the entire bag of frozen dog bones that normally would have lasted over a month. They got loose, were photographed and written about on the neighborhood website ensuring the Counts and another neighbor were quick to let me know about. And, as our sitter doesn’t carry a cell phone, left us worrying a bit longer than necessary. And finally, while outside attempting to put rocks in the quickly expanding dug holes the sitter got locked outside the house. Apparently the dogs jumped on the back door and secured the lock, as they did to me when you were home only she didn’t have a MTC companion to let her back in. So to the tune of $100 she had to borrow our neighbor’s phone to contact the locksmith who rescued her belongings and key inside our home. She was overbaked. Don’t know if she’ll come back. But she did her due diligence in multiple potty breaks and walks on a daily basis.

Sawyer has been in full Cowpoke Leather Co making mode filling orders plaguing him all December. He finished the speaker case including strap. He‘s now working on the oil field arm protectors. He’ll have basketball practice and games to add to the mix starting tomorrow.

We’re all struggling with the virus. Breyer has finally succumbed today. We’ve struggled clearing Sawyer for basketball even though he’s past the mandated, soon to be 7, 10 days. He should be able to play in his game tomorrow evening though.

We missed you at Come Follow Me. We were so excited to see you and your companion in our living room! Please try again next week! The fact that you were the only one up on time, doing what you were suppose to be doing, has made us kind of puffed out. I mean, what parent doesn’t bask in the glory of their son’s obedience? And this isn’t the first time. You had moments with your MTC companion as well. I challenge you to look for the blessings the Lord provides you because of your obedience. Look for your box shortly.

Love,

Mom