Bubbling Over

So I had an interesting week.

Monday among other stressors,  I was worried about Elise and how she is coping with the 17 days in self-isolation/quarantine.  I'd read that the Italian government was changing the restrictions on the quarantine so that people could not leave their homes without paperwork stating a valid reason like work or childcare.  I hadn't talked to her in nearly a week and I was a little stressed about that.   I felt fine Tuesday morning.  But then went for a walk and talked about the effects of coronavirus nonstop with friends.  There are so many changes, we are all just trying to process it.  Came home and found out our spring break cruise that we've looked forward to for a year is cancelled.  Our doTERRA leadership retreat is cancelled.  Friends have businesses that are going to be hugely impacted.  Graduation, weddings, track, lacrosse, climbing, its all going to be cancelled and it starts sinking in.

I came home and just felt really anxious.  Like I'm using all my coping skills trying to keep a lid on the emotions that are starting to bubble over.  I felt like my emotions were a pot of boiling water and logic and reason was the lid.  But no matter how I tried to talk myself down and keep a lid on things, it was boiling over anyway.

Wednesday I got to talk to Elise, and she was perfectly happy, and it was so reassuring.  I think this whole world is in a little state of shock right now.  I hope by some miracle things get better soon.

One thing that Elise has a great talent for is seeing the humor in every situation.  Our whole family is in a fight?  She's taking notes and writing down funny quotes.  She stays pretty calm.  But I did feel validated when she told me that she was also a little stressed when she thought Monday that she couldn't go outside anymore.  Her awesome comp was reassuring her that they still could sit on the balcony and could work out inside.  Anyway, great to have a supportive person like that right now.

Here was Elise's letter:

Corona's got nothing on us! Funny thing about this corona virus thing, I thought we would have a ton of time to do random stuff like paint and actually do language study but we definitely still don't.

It's been crazy over here, lots of good things are happening.
Our mission president is the best ever, he got a Burger King crown and taped Corona beer logos all over it and sent in a video of him wearing it calling himself the Corona king haha. After that everyone in our mission united and decided to make the most out of corona and I feel like we have bonded with the mission and the members because of it. Our goal as a mission this transfer was to teach a certain amount of member lessons and we achieved a new record as a mission and our zone was able to double our record, all thanks to corona! 

Another fun thing this week is Sorella Schmidt and I are starting a pilot program for the Church! We are working with the Alpine Germany mission to make missionary advertisements to go on Facebook and Instagram which would substitute street finding (because we cant do that anymore.) It's been really fun to put together and we are excited to see how it goes! 

This week I was thinking a lot about the prayer I said before this transfer, I prayed to have experiences that will push me and help me to learn new ways to improve as a missionary. I thought my answer was being called as an STL but turns out the real answer this transfer was actually corona haha I am learning so much about being patient and being creative with missionary work! Even though it makes things tricky it really is kinda a blessing in disguise. 

One year

One year since I hugged her, less than 6 months to go until I hug her again.

Today Jared and I went to the temple to celebrate.  Figured we can do that for her.  We aren't great at attending the temple and definitely need to do it more.

My thoughts and feelings this week are really impacted by what is happening in Elise's mission.

Coronavirus is really spreading there.  So that leaves a lot of uncertainty with how that will impact the work they do.

For now they are in self-isolation basically.  They can still leave the apartment to exercise and shop.  But they are instructed to not use public transport and to stay away from people in the street.  And also teach via video chat.  This is all mainly to prevent the transmission of the virus.  For people that are young, healthy and nonsmoking, this virus doesn't seem to be too problematic.  But, there is a big threat to the elderly and immunocompromised.

In Italy the death rate so far has been 4.25%.  Thats a lot of grandmas and grandpas.  I don't like those odds.  I'm hopeful that the numbers are skewed and that they percentage is so high because there are so many that have the virus but have mild symptoms and don't know it.  Elise just served in little Treviso where her best buds were elderly people who would not do well with Coronavirus if those numbers are accurate.  Like 20% of elderly people can die.  The virus has little impact on younger people.  Not one death under 9 years old.  I'm not really worried about Elise's physical health.  But I am hoping she is doing okay with the changes, and the uncertainty.  Being in isolation and being in limbo is rough.

She had such a busy week before this all happened.  And she was just expressing how much she loved it!  Being so busy was awesome in her mind.  I wonder if being a missionary they are so focused on being productive with their time and contacting that it is tricky to shift into a totally different mode where they don't have all those same concrete things to do with their time.

She said her investigators are actually reading the Book of Mormon and they are having success meeting with people via video chat.  So that is really positive!   It probably helps that a lot of people are staying home so they aren't too busy for the reading and the lessons.  So there is some positives with the work.

The economic impact is starting to really unfold.  Elise has mentioned that people in Italy struggle to find work already.  But now, that might be even worse.  Restaurants are closed.  Museums are starting to reopen from what I heard on the news with the instructions that people stay a couple meters away from each other.  Schools are closed which is challenging for parents who work.  The stores restock their food, but it took awhile she said.

I just read last night that the missionaries in South Korea where they have about 6500 cases vs 4600 in Italy, are heading home.  Those with less than seven months are said to be heading home without reassignment.  The others have to self-isolate for two weeks before being reassigned.

That would be really hard.  I know one of the reasons Elise wanted to come right home from Italy was so that she could have that whole airport scene.  And if they have to self-isolate, it won't really look like that.  Emotionally it would be kinda hard to be home, but not really home.  Also, she was saying in February how she was sad that she only had 6 months left and how it was just Christmas and now its almost March.  She loves her mission and I know she doesn't want it to end this way.  She just got the language.  But its kind of a dream to serve in Italy, and even if it is only a year, its still pretty lucky.

So I thought about that a lot today.  But in the end, I know she's flexible and will adapt and be okay with whatever happens.  It will probably be hard though.  I hope she gets to stay in Italy.  But we will see.  If she gets to go somewhere new, that will be okay.  I read a cool story from Grandma Goddard about her mission after her husband died.  She didn't want to do a proselyting mission, but was called to one anyway.  She thought about declining the call.  But decided to take it after praying about it.  She taught a young woman with diabetes who was given the wrong diet and her blood sugar was out of control.  Grandma was a dietitian and helped her to create a new diet and get to a healthy point with her sugars.  The woman eventually went blind because of the previous issues, but she lived.  Grandma was later reassigned to a temple mission.  She knows she was sent to the first one to teach this woman and help her with her health too.  Everything happens for a reason, so it will all work out.

Fav scripture applies here:

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Some funny photos I've seen lately!  There is a comical side to all of this.  I heard that Costco was crazy busy and had no water and TP.  So I avoided it, then finally went.  There was like half as many people as usual, and plenty of water and TP.  I think everyone got scared away thinking it was going to be crazy.

When Miles starts Crafting

I can't always write about the things Miles does, sometimes they are illegal, and other times they are just secret.  But I'll just say this kid might be funny and inappropriate, but has a good heart and has done some pretty awesome things these last couple weeks.

He has a lot of interests, and Miles likes to experiment with things.  It's always amusing to me to see what he's working on because it is really random for the most part.

I came home last week and as I entered the house it smelled really strongly of bleach and Miles comes out wearing rubber gloves.  He's been wearing some old overalls that Jared bought awhile back for a pack meeting costume.  Apparently overalls are a thing at school for boys.  Like kinda funny, ridiculous thing.  But Miles thought they needed a little something.  So he decided to bleach them.

Here is the end result, I kinda like them!

He also tried the spray paint dip on a pair of sneakers.  But it didn't work so well.


This is his shoe collection.  Most of these are to resell, some are boxes from shoes he is currently wearing so that he can sell them later when he is done with them.  Its actually a pretty complicated little business.  You have to stay on top of the prices and where to buy and sell everything and strategy with his accounts so that he has better chances of getting the "drops."  He earns quite a bit from it though.

He spent all of last weekend installing the subwoofer and backup camera in his car.   He also put in new headlights that change color.  He bought some fiberglass stuff to build door panels yesterday.  He's really excited about all these modifications.  Our neighbor sees him outside tinkering on things and gave him a scooter (like the kind you drive)!  So his next project is fixing it.   His motorbike from last year got all kinds of upgrades.  Until he sawed off one of the parts to make it go faster than it was supposed to go.  But he learned a lot.

He has been such a gentleman and opens all the doors for me and is always willing to help carry stuff into the house.  If I have a big load, he just takes it and brings it in.  I love that, so sweet.  He's growing up!

We did scripture study last night and I was trying to get the kids to tell me something I could pray about for each of them and he could not be serious about it at all, but it was pretty cute anyway and he's getting there.

What Makes You Happy?

I was thinking about this today!  Its Mental Health week in doTERRA, and as I'm learning more about mental health, I thought it was a good time to reflect.

Perspective:

Hope!  I've never felt more depressed than when I wasn't sure if God existed.  I don't know how people get through hard things without faith.  I love how challenges are framed when we have an eternal perspective.  Life is about joy, but it is also about growth, compassion, etc.  And all the hard things we go through give us greater wisdom, strength and love.

Progress:

I feel my best when I am energized by a new challenge or project.  I love when I have something to work on.   When my dad died, I spent the entire next few months doing little house projects.  I created this little garden bed in my front yard and absolutely loved it.  I envisioned him helping me.

I've been tired and a little bit stressed this week about Elise and the unknowns with her mission and the Coronavirus changes.  So I've had to push through those feelings to be productive.  So last Saturday Jared and I cleaned the fridge and pantry.  I know it sounds dumb, but I got so much joy out of looking at my pantry all week.  It just felt good to see it nice and organized.  It is so worth it to start even when I don't feel like it.

One thing I have learned too is that if I need a day off, I need a day off.  I don't feel that way very often.  But usually when I feel really tired and that I just want to stay in bed, I end up getting sick shortly after if I ignore it.  I've learned to pay attention and listen to my body.

Social:

Connecting with other women is super important to me.  Working out is a good time to do that because I can multitask!  I also go to lunch with a group of friends every month.  These ladies are so funny and provide the best support and comic relief.

Outdoors:

Being outside while connecting and exercising is the very best kind of stress relief.  I don't know how to explain it.  When Jared and I were going through a difficult time financially, we took the kids up the canyon every chance we got.  I felt like my stress just melted away when we got up into the mountains or our favorite little spot the Gardens at Thanksgiving Point.  Elise had a friend who said he hadn't really been up the canyon, although he lives just 5 minutes away.  We were all just so blown away by that.  How can people not?  They must not know how good it feels.  I went sledding on Tuesday, and I laughed like a kid the whole way down.  It felt so good.

Travel:

I pretty much always have something on the calendar.  I like having a trip to look forward to!  I love the adventure and the change.  I love to plan too.  It can be just a day trip even.  But I think why I like travel is because I like change.  And it gives you a little change of scenery and a break from regular life and habits.

Easy things:
1.  Music--a good little Spotify playlist with happy songs helps my mood
2.  Essential oils in the diffuser--I LOVE my diffuser blends.  Spearmint and Orange is a favorite lately.  Lemon is always a good standard for my kitchen.  Lavender or serenity for my room.
3.  Food.  We all need a fridge with healthy food on the ready.  I really think that fresh healthy food is a big part of me feeling happy and good.  My problem is that it takes a lot of time and effort to do the planning, preparing, etc.  Haha!  But when that part is done, it feels great!
4.  When my house is peaceful and clean
5.  Hugs.  When Elise went through a tough time in high school (just a breakup but those can be hard) we would go to her room and give her family hugs and it really does help.  Once when Jared lost his job, Monet was just a few months old and I swear she was my cuddly therapy pretty much all day long.

What doesn't make me happy:

Sitting at my desk or in front of my computer.  It sucks my energy.  I feel a lack of progress, even though I use my computer for productive means, I don't feel good when I have to sit all day to get things done.   I love to write/blog and read social media, but I don't love wasting time at my computer.

Soft Place to Land

We had some great talks today at church about kindness and not being critical.  I loved what I learned and I don't want to forget.

The other subject was on being approachable with our kids and not being shaming or preachy, but really listening and validating them.  Having open discussions and being a soft place to land.  This is something I've been thinking a lot about lately.  How to be involved but not be a helicopter parent.  How to be supportive and let them make decisions, but also instructive and intervene when necessary.  The tricky part of all of this is that each kid is so different.

One of the ways I used to really connect with Elise was by sitting in her room and just asking questions--not like a million peppering questions, just really sitting for a little bit because that's what it took sometimes for her to share.  But she also turned her phone in at night and I monitored her text messages.  I was always pretty respectful I think in how we handled that so it didn't feel invasive.  But it helped me to know what to talk to her about.  When she was younger, she was not going to really bring up much stuff on her own.  So it was up to me to pry it out of her at first.  She always listened to us and would have the conversation and be thoughtful about it and I really appreciated that.  Every kid is different and we are figuring that out and what that looks like right now with our other kids.

But it sounds like listening and being validating is universally a good way to open conversations.  A couple of weeks ago Miles and I went on a late night In N Out run.  It was nice to talk to him one on one and we had some good conversations and I loved how reflective he was.

So that coincides with some other thoughts I've been having lately.  About being kind, and also realizing that everyone needs to feel like they belong.  It's no wonder to me that Simone loves going to the climbing gym.  She walks in and there are so many friends, coaches, teammates and they have created this little environment that really feels good to her.  Everyone needs that in life.

For my kids, sports have given them an outlet for physical health, strengthened their discipline and mental toughness and have helped them to set and reach goals.  Plus the relationships that develop in sports are often really bonding.  There are a lot of different ways kids can have that same camaraderie.

Wouldn't that be great if everyone felt that at church?

One easy concrete thing: Greetings

I have been thinking a lot about the kind of people that make you feel really good when you see them and what it is that they do.  And I realized that greetings are important and can make a difference to people.

Monet and I were talking about friends.  And I was remembering some friends in high school that really had an impact on me specifically my senior year after my big car accident.  They were fun, crazy, and really sweet. But what I remember most is that they had the cutest greetings.  "SHEREEEE!!! you're the coolest girl!"  They would literally yell it down the hall.  They made me feel so good.  I might have been the most awkward person ever, but that made me feel so good.

I remembered Elise talking about Beau, a boy from her school that passed away when they were juniors.  He had this huge ready smile and was so warm and friendly he really made an impact on people.  Elise was more reserved and quiet.  At Beau's funeral a lot of people talked about his warmth and how he made them feel,  she tried hard to be more outgoing and friendly and greet people like he did.

I have a friend who is like that too.  She has this huge cute smile when she sees you and is so enthusiastic.  It is one of my favorite things about her.

And the cutest scene every morning is when we bring the dogs into the kitchen and they go around and "greet" each member of the family.  They are so excited to see everyone.

It's like when I had little toddlers at home and I'd return home from shopping or some other errand and they would be soooo excited and lift up their little arms and want to be held.  You just feel like the most important person right then.

I have a neighbor that is literally "female Jesus" to use Diane's best description of amazingly nice people.  I was walking past her house when her kids came home from school and she was there with the biggest happiest greeting and I thought that was so cute and inspiring.  Lucky kids!

Anyway, I loved all those lessons today and am inspired to work on those things.

Simone's Bouldering Nationals

Simone's been having a great year improving her climbing skills.  When she joined Team Momentum, she had about 9 months of climbing under her belt and she had only done bouldering, no sport or speed.  So everything was brand new and we were still figuring it all out.

She's now been climbing for 2 years and 3 months.  This year she's taller, stronger, and more confident in how it all works.  Earlier in the October I think she was invited to come to practices with the Momentum Elite Team.  I don't even know what it is called, but it is the team with the kids who are at nationals.

She said it was super helpful to have those extra intense practices and she really loved her workouts at the USA climbing headquarters in downtown Salt Lake.  She thought it was pretty cool that they have these big barrels of cliff bars that anyone can eat.  She liked the perks!

She LOVES her team and coaches.  They have had a few sleepovers with the girls on the team.  I am very impressed with how great the older girls on the team are with the younger ones.  They are so cute and supportive.

At Regionals in Ogden she did very well and advanced to Divisionals in Denver. I believe there are 8 divisions in the US.  Ours includes Colorado and is very competitive.  She did great at Divisionals placing second.  On the first day she topped all the boulders but fell one time.  Each problem has three scores.  Depending on how far you get on the boulder.  So there is usually a 5, 10, 15, and 25 point hold.  The max for each problem is 25.  Each fall gets .01 deduction.  So not much but it makes a difference. On the second day she flashed all and tied her teammate in the finals.  Because of the tie, they looked at the scores from the first day to determine who was first and second.  Simone was .01 behind her cute teammate Anna the day before so that determined that she was 2nd Place.  Which is soooo good.  We were excited for both of them to be heading to Nationals and to do so well in a competitive region.

We are sooo lucky we made to Divisionals.  I was taking her since Jared was in Hawaii already.  Hours before flying out with Simone and a teammate I found out our flight was cancelled.  I quickly booked another flight but had three people trying to talk to me while I was doing it.  When I got to the airport later that day I had trouble checking in and learned that I booked our flights from Denver to SLC instead of SLC to Denver.  Everything was now booked for that night, and there were no early flights with room in the morning.  So we tried to rent a car and drive.  But BOTH routes were closed due to weather.  One of her top teammates was stuck in Wyoming after the I-15 was closed.  She never was able to make it to Divisionals, so sad!  She would have qualified for nationals for sure.

I was freaking stressed.  And Jared was relaxing in Hawaii, which made me feel a little resentful.  Haha!  But after a little freak out, we went back to the Delta counter and tried to figure out another way to get there.  After a bit, three seats opened up to Colorado Springs!  Yay!  We made it by midnight.

The rest of the trip was so fun and such a breeze!  The girls all ran around the hotel together and we walked to the gym around the corner.  It was a lot of fun.

Travel days are always a little stressful and Nationals was no exception!  It was our 23rd anniversary the day we were supposed to leave.  I had a crapload of things I needed to get done that day.  And I didn't want to stress about it because there are a lot of days like that, and it all works out.  Usually.  Just put one foot in front of the other and figure it out.

So I had to get housing for Elise in Provo (thought it was taken care of but the first place lost my check and now they were full) so I drove around Provo all morning, came home to go to Miles's game, then took Simone to climbing.  I had a cold and was feeling exhausted and my ears were getting bad and I was getting vertigo.  I got home and thought I had a couple hours to pack.  Nope.  I realized I never got my drivers license back after signing Elise's lease.  So I drove back to Provo in the snowstorm thinking I'd need my license for my flight since my passport barely expired.

So I didn't make it.  I knew coming home that I didn't have time to do it all.  Plus I felt so crappy and exhausted and I knew flying would wreck my ears.  So I came home and packed Simone and sent her with Jared.  I was sad to miss out, but happy to be able to see Miles's two games and Monet's race and spend the weekend with Soren.

We loved watching Simone on the TV and were cheering for her every chance.  She did sooooo great!

The first day in qualifiers she got 11th of 50.  Top 20 made it to the Semi-finals.
In the Semi-final round she crushed it and got 4th out of 20.  Top 10 made it to Finals.
In finals the boulders were sooo hard.  She got 9th out of 10.  Finishing 9th in the nation!

I'm so happy that Simone has found a passion that helps her to develop discipline and strength.  She is so social and she has great friends and coaches and is in a supportive environment.  She loves it and we are proud of her.  I'm excited for her to do more outdoor climbing.  I want to go too.

I'll give myself a little pat on the back too, because I have sacrificed a lot to get her where she needs to be everyday.  Its not easy for me to be gone so much driving her around.  But we are figuring out solutions and adjusting.  I actually really like to drive.  It helps that we have a car that is a dream in traffic.  But I just turn up my music and I kinda enjoy it.  I get to spend lots of time with Simoney too.

She was very excited to flash this route at Smith Rock near Bend.  Her coaches took her here after Nationals and it was very cool.  She was able to lead climb which means the rope isn't already hanging from the top, its attached to the climber, so you clip in at each anchor point.  This particular route was hard because the anchor points are so far apart so if you fall, you fall far.  She said at the end she had to dyno (jump) to the last move and she was so excited that she got it because she did NOT want to fall.

Not for me

You know what I did during the Superbowl halftime show?

Well I really like Shakira's catchy music, so I watched.  Until she started getting on the floor and doing some weird gyrations, and then I thought, "Oh brother" and went upstairs.  So I didn't get to see J. Lo's crotch shots.  Dang.  Missed it.

Did I expect the Superbowl halftime show to be better?  Not really.  I lived through Miley Cyrus twerking on national television, and Janet Jacksons wardrobe malfunction.  I know what I am signing up for when I start to watch.  And especially when the performers are J. Lo and Shakira.  We probably all should have known what it was going to be like.

What I'd really love is a show with good music, good dancing minus the overly sexualized drama and none of the celebrity stunts that are just trying to get controversial and publicity.  But apparently that is boring these days.

When I see something that is overly sexy and I just think that a middle aged mom like me is not the target audience of this and I turn it off or unfollow.  Even People magazine bugs me these days.  Somehow I get it every week and I never even ordered it.  I would have been really excited about that back when I was young.  I used to love magazines.  Now it just goes into my recycle.

There are a few celebrities I really like, and the rest are just pretty much a mess.

I kinda hope that next time the Superbowl halftime show gets to be too much, people just stop watching and turn it off.  Maybe eventually they will get the message that they are pushing things too far and will tone it down.

23 years *Reality Check*

It was our 23rd wedding anniversary this week!  I am so glad that I married Jared.  He is the guy for me for sure.  I am very happy with my decision and with how our lives have gone.  I've loved each stage.

I love to think about how it was when we met and when we got married.  We were very much in love, but it was so fun and I loved being married to my best friend.  But it was also freaking hard.

Kids these days seem to get married and have the best lives!  Traveling Europe, posting the cutest pictures on social media.  Cute outfits, adorable babies, fun activities all the time.  It looks so dreamy.

Marriage didn't look quite like that for us!  We married while my parents were getting divorced.  It was a very interesting time with a lot of transitions and changes.   I had high hopes but didn't have high expectations going into marriage regarding a lot of things and was used to working hard and being independent.  So that is probably what got me through the first couple years.  In the first year of our marriage these things all happened:

1.  Married, moved twice in a few months
2.  New jobs for both of us twice as we moved
3.  had to start over with friendships because we literally knew no one and there were not very many people our age living in California who were married
4.  My parents got divorced
5.  My dad got remarried
6.  I started a new school
7.  Hormonal birth control and me did not get along.
8.  Jared had some crazy health problems that we never figured out.  He lost a ton of weight and was super tired all the time, and it was really hard for him to stay awake while driving.

When we married, this is what my schedule looked like:
wake up at 6 am and go to work until 5:30 then go straight to school and do school until 10.  Some nights I had off, and then I did homework.  I squeezed in laundry and grocery runs, in my downtime.  I felt like there were a lot of days when I did not see the sun.  There were a lot of days when Jared and I spent very little time together.  He worked at nights mostly when he did insurance.  So I worked full-time in the day, even if I had school off, I often didn't see him until 10pm.

Jared was not used to working long hours.  He usually played basketball for hours a day.  Or watched basketball for hours a day.  When I laugh that the Tivo saved our marriage, I'm not even joking.  It really did.  (My kids probably don't even know what a Tivo is lol)

I'm so glad that we were patient with each other.  I was so in love with him and we got along really well and he was super sweet and sentimental and he loved me so much.  I loved how we were together.  I felt so comfortable with him from day 1.  He's so funny and I still love that sense of humor.  He had the best heart.  I knew we both shared the same commitment to marriage.  Seeing our parents divorce and how hard that is forever instilled in us a desire to not want to ever go through that, or want our kids to go through that.  Sometimes divorce is inevitable.  And necessary.  But I knew with Jared, that both of us were super committed to having a good relationship.

But we were both so immature.  I had a lot to learn and so did he.  Being married young and moving out of state is hard and I missed my family and friends.  We took some marriage classes.  We read some books.  And we figured things out.

I know that we met at the right time for us,  We married at the right time for US.  I actually think it was a tender mercy that we met when we did.  But would not encourage any other person to do it.  Haha!  19 is young.  I guess seeing my girls reach this age is what is prompting me to make this disclaimer.  Years ago Elise and Monet were both really young and Elise asked me, "Mommy, how old were you when you got married?" I told them I was 19, but it is a good idea to be a little older.  So Monet says, "Okay, I'll get married when I'm 20."  haha.  Okay yes 20 is a *little* older I guess but I was thinking of a few years older.  But I really do hope they take their time in all aspects of that process because while it has worked out for us, I want them to have the best odds.

Firsts

I was just thinking the other day of how Elise is the first girl born into both of our families to serve a mission as a young person.  I'm so glad she is getting the opportunity to serve a mission.

This week in her call she told Jared with a lot of emotion how grateful she was to have him.  I agree that she is lucky.  One of the main reasons I married him is because I knew he was going to be a good dad.  Elise said that she's been learning more about some of the fathers of the people she's meeting.  One woman has bruises every week and is being abused by her husband who has an alcohol problem.  I think that is so sad.  I am grateful for the word of wisdom in helping people to avoid addiction that makes life so much more complicated.  I love the emphasis on families.  I'm thankful that my husband was raised to understand respect for women.

I'm also really glad he served a mission before I met him.  I found these photos recently.  I love that my husband as a 19 year old kid got to do service for two years.  Missions require a lot of growth.  I think it is so good for them to see how different people live and how to interact with all ages and backgrounds.  I feel like that shaped him into the guy he was when we met.

I love these photos from the retirement home he served at.  Especially the Cinco de Mayo picture.  So cute.  Elise has been serving a lot of elderly people in Treviso.  They are so sweet and kind to her.  One of the women they serve has a difficult time walking and also takes care of her elderly husband.  Elise and her companions have been cleaning her home on a regular basis.  The missionaries that preceded her started this and everyone has continued it.  I think its really neat that they do this.  Elise loves her lunch dates with her 92 year old friend as well.  My Grandma Regen lived with me my whole life and helped raise me, and I feel like we need more connectedness through the generations.

And just for fun, look at all these missionaries we've had in our immediate family!  Talk about dotting the globe!  How cool.  I never served a mission, but I feel like my 5 months in Russia was like a little mini-mission with all the service and growth that happened.  It was a life-changing experience for me.  I know that those experiences both Jared and I had helped us to tap into a different set of skills and gave us a maturity that we really needed heading into marriage at 19 and barely 22.

I'm sure we are going to see a lot more girl cousins on this list eventually.

Elise's Grandparents:
Grandpa A--Guatemala
Papa--Kentucky/Tennessee
Grandpa G--Central America

Seniors:

Grandma and Grandpa A--Georgia

Grandma G--Washington DC

Elise's Uncles:
Dave --Australia
Aaron--Chile
Jared--Pittsburgh
Chris--France
Ryan--North Carolina
Travis--Brazil
Cameron--Alabama
Zach--Tennessee
Jon--Chile
Greg--Hong Kong
Dan--Argentina
Brent--West Indies
Matt--Guatemala

Elise's Cousins and younger uncles:
Jaron--Uruguay
Brayden--Argentina
Bryce--Philippines
Marty--Japan
Cade--Brazil
Chris--Mexico
Luke--Sierra Leone
Elise--Italy

We miss you Elise!

So in about six months, Elise comes home!   So exciting.  Yet so far away.  It's okay because I know she is learning so much and she's where she's supposed to be.  But wow, right now I really miss her.

What I miss most is how she brings a balance to our family.  We're doing good but I could use her perspective sometimes.  

She's getting transferred to Bologna this week!  She will be serving as an STL with a basketball teammate from 7th or 8th grade.  So that is pretty exciting!

There is a funny story about that basketball teammate.  I need some humor so I'll tell it. 

Awhile back Jared did some cupping therapy for his neck and it really helped with a pinched feeling he was having.  So he coached Elise's basketball team later that week when the bruising from the cupping was fading.  One of the teammates dad (her new comps dad) totally thought the bruises on Jared's neck were hickeys!  Lol.  So funny.   He said he could hardly look at Jared.  I was so glad that he said something so Jared could explain.  They are such large circular bruises, we never even thought that someone might think that.  Haha.

Also, one of the people in our ward had a cool story about Elise and her mission today.  This family does business with a boot company in Treviso.  So when he found out about Elise's mission call, he was super excited because the family that runs the boot company is so awesome and they are really close with their family and kids and were asking a lot of questions about the church.  

So it was pretty cool when Elise got transferred to Treviso!  It is the smallest branch in Italy and they only have one set of sister missionaries so it just seemed perfect that she happened to serve in that exact area because it isn't good odds.  They don't have a car so they don't venture out to the further parts of their area that often.  So it was a little difficult to get in contact with these people.  

But they eventually got an introduction, and we got a photo this week of Elise and her Companion with them!  I'm excited to find out more details.  But it is really neat that they had the connection. They told our friends here that Elise has a beautiful smile and gave them a "Mormon book."  So cute. I'm sad that she connected with them right before transfers, but glad she got to meet them!