The October Tradition Continues

We missed Braden this year.  But we were glad to have George join us for the first time!

Missionary Letter

My son!  How are you?  Yes, we can hardly believe you have hit your three month mark, and passed your first change in the field. Dad said it is always hard to say goodbye to missionary friends when there are changes, but so fun to see them again at zone and mission conferences. Also, we are glad you got to go on divisions last week.  Yes, it is good to get a different perspective and experience different styles of missionary service, there is no one "right" way to approach and teach.  I believe you were sent to Honduras because there are people there that YOU are perfectly equipped to teach and influence.  We pray every day that you will be led to them, or them to you. 

We loved your story about the torrential rain storm, and glad you are keeping your optimism and sense of humor.  Maybe it will rub off on your companion!  With all that rain and constant wetness, how are your clothes and shoes holding up?  I noticed in a picture you sent a couple of weeks ago--the day you went hiking near Nicaragua--that your p-day shoes are looking a bit hammered!  Big holes with your toes poking through! Don't forget that you will have a Christmas and birthday package coming your way very soon.  Is it better to send you new shoes from home, or better for you to buy them there?  Should I send you some extra money for shoes?  Sorry to be a worried mom, I seriously can't help it!

Well, you probably would like some news from home.  It has been quite a week!  This may have been one of the busiest weeks of my life.  Friday night was the ward Halloween party, and guess who was in charge??  It was a lot of work, but turned out awesome.  We had a costume contest, a parade, tons of eats, and dancing, it was really fun, and a great turnout.  I think everyone had a fun time! 

And yesterday was the primary Sacrament Meeting program, my third since being called as primary president.  Oh my, what a big job, but it went beautifully!  Of course there were several little glitches: kids who made funny faces, spoke too loud, spoke too soft, refused to speak, forgot their speaking part, bugged the kids sitting next to them, picked their noses...etc.  But that is what makes it interesting and entertaining, right?!  Love it!  So glad it is done for another year! 

Grandma and Grandpa's welcome home was yesterday, but we had to miss it because of my primary program.  If it had been any other Sunday we would definitely have been there, but there is no way I could have bailed on the day of the program!  Disappointing.

Dad had a big week too, the state cross country meet was on Wednesday.  Both the American Fork boys and Davis girls won again--for the fourth year in a row!  Dad's girls' team came in 9th, boys' team was 8th.  His top boy was #13, but Dad thinks that he could have been in the top 10 if he had not played in the State Cup that week.  Oh well, it was a fun season. And just like that the cross country season is over!  Moving on.

Thursday we went to Lehi's last football game of the season, they lost to Lone Peak.  But it was a great game, they were in it until the end.  So fall sports are over, we have a couple weeks break and on to the basketball season.  Tryouts start on November 11th.  Things are about to get very busy at the Smith house!

This week is Halloween!  Tonight we are going to Bryan and Katie's house for our annual jack-o-lantern carving tradition.  We will carve one for you, complete with a missionary name tag.  Haha.  We hope you have a good week, we love you sooooooooooooo much!

Love, Mom (and Dad and Stef)

Ward Halloween Party

Guess who was in charge of the ward Halloween Party this year?  Yes, the primary was given the assignment! It was a lot of work, but turned out awesome!  We had a costume contest, a parade, dancing and tons of eats.  It was really fun and a great turnout.  How do I look as a redhead??

 

Here are some of the amazing costumes on display during the parade. 

Rachel and George came to the party to support me!  Awesome pirate costumes!

Stefanie was a 50's girl in her poodle skirt.  So cute!

I put Kent in charge of counting the votes for the costume contest.  The ballot included categories such as Cutest, Scariest, Ugliest, Most Creative, Best Couple and Best Family Theme. 

Everyone gathered together to hear the results of the costume contest...

Fun dancing!  One of our neighbors is a professional DJ and agreed to provide the music for the dance.  He has tons of equipment, lights, fog machine, and awesome music. 

I love my ward!

My Greatest Wish

When I saw this statement on facebook a short time ago it brought a little ache to my heart.  My children and future grandchildren will know that I love them unconditionally, that they are important to me, and that they are my greatest priority over anything else in my life.  They will never have to question if I care about them, or if I am interested in their activities and events.  I want to be a part of their day-to-day lives and share all their special milestones with them, no matter their age or location.  Most of all, I want them to know that I will be there for them whenever they need me.  It is my greatest goal and wish. 

Dear Elder Smith...

Hola!  Time for my favorite Sunday evening activity, writing to YOU!  I really enjoy doing this and look forward to it all week.  How was your week?  How is missionary life in Choluteca?  So we were watching ESPN last Tuesday and saw that Honduras has qualified for the World Cup next year.  So exciting!   I'll bet you will have fun cheering for them with your native friends.  USA is in too!  This will be fun.

We have had a good week, Saturday we spent the day at Lagoon, our annual Frightmares excursion.  It was as fun as ever. Stefanie invited Taelor, so we spent the first half of the day hanging out with them and hitting all the good ones... Colossus, Wicked, Tidal Wave, The Bat, Wooden Roller Coaster, Samarai, Rocket...  After lunch Dad and I parted ways with the girls and went through the haunted houses and saw a couple of shows.  My favorite is the chain saw zombies, they are great!  What a fun day, we love Lagoon.  Here is a picture...haha

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Lehi's region cross country meet was on Wednesday, the girls did GREAT!  They came in 3rd and are headed to State.  None of the boys are going to State, but their top two finishers did well.  The State meet is Wednesday at Sugar House Park.  Dad is excited and hoping his team will do well, although his top runner has State Cup the same day.  The kid has a chance to finish in the top ten in cross country, so he has a big decision to make! This is an exciting week.

So Dad's achilles heel injury has been flaring up lately and giving him some trouble.  It has bothered him for over two years, but lately it has been getting a little worse.  When our home teachers came over this evening, Dad asked for a blessing.  It was great, Dad was told in the blessing that Heavenly Father wants him to be healthy and whole, and that he should seek medical attention to get it taken care of.  He was promised a full and complete recovery. It was very comforting and the spirit was very strong.  We are so thankful for the priesthood!  And we are thankful for dedicated, worthy home teachers, what a blessing they are to us!  We love them.  So we will be doing some research and finding a doctor to visit very soon.  Please keep him in your prayers. 

So that is our week! We hope you are healthy, safe and happy!  And we hope you are finding good people to teach.  We loved your statement last week that you are not going to base your success on the number of baptisms, only by how hard you work, that is your gift to the Lord as you serve your mission. That is absolutely correct, and we admire your awesome, amazing attitude.  We love you so much!  

Love, Mom, Dad, Stefanie

My Favorite Color

Fall Break: Letter To My Missionary Son

Hola, my missionary son!  Happy Fall Break!  No school for Stefanie and I last Thursday and Friday, and tomorrow.  We celebrated by going out to lunch both days, and decorating our front porch for fall.  We got our traditional hay bale, corn stalks and spiderwebs, dug out Sammy the Scarecrow, and the giant spider, and picked all the pumpkins that have been growing in our garden all summer.  Then we strung orange lights up the bannister, just like always.  We are ready for Halloween!!

Another big event this week was Dad's region meet for Cross Country.  Both his girls' and boys' teams qualified for State!  Dad was really happy, especially because those are the only teams from Copper Hills making it to the State playoffs in any of their fall sports.  Must be because of their awesome coach!  Lehi's Region 4 meet is on Wednesday, it is not looking good for the boys, but the girls' team should come in 3rd or 4th. We are crossing fingers for Lehi.

I have had a great weekend, yesterday I got to attend the baptism of the cute Crockett twins.  I love attending baptisms, I get that opportunity nearly every month when my primary children turn 8-years-old.  It is one of my favorite responsibilities of my calling.  We were wondering if you have attended any baptisms in Honduras?  Are any of your investigators getting close?  After the baptism Dad and I went to the temple, and then we started our fast.  Of course the main focus of our fast was our Elder Smith!  It was a privilege for us to go without food for 24 hours in your behalf, we hope you will reap a few blessings from that!  Then Ward Council meeting this morning, Sacrament Meeting, and primary, I love them all!  Testimony meeting today was great, Michael shared his testimony.  He mentioned you, and read a funny email message you had sent to him about a couple you were teaching, and how the gospel helps us all to repent and overcome our sins.  It was a great testimony, we sure love Michael.

Last Wednesday was Dad's 46th birthday!  Stefanie had cheer practice so Dad and I went out to eat at an Italian place in Sandy, then we picked her up and came home for cake and ice cream with Rachel and George.  Dad's best birthday gift was a fancy new cell phone.  He has spent all week trying to figure the thing out and experimenting with different ring tones and text alerts.

You would be so proud of the three of us, Dad, Stefanie and I.  We are doing great with our scripture study and family prayer.  We set a goal that if we could go a full week of reading scriptures, we would reward ourselves with a trip to U-Swirl.  We did it, and that was our Family Home Evening last week.  Now our goal is to go two weeks without  missing and our reward will be Cafe Rio!  Definitely worth the effort.

We love you so much!  We miss you like crazy, your name gets brought up many times every single day.  We hope the time is going quickly for you, and that you are happy.

Love, Mom, Dad and Stefanie

Primary Busy-ness

This is the busiest time of year in primary.  We have our Sacrament Meeting program coming up in two weeks which always takes lots of preparation.  I am grateful for the confidence that comes with time served and experience in a calling, this will be my third primary program since being called as president.  Each year gets a little easier and less stressful, thank goodness!  And I have a wonderful presidency whom I love so much.  We work well together, I am so thankful for them. 

With new callings and releasings, baptisms and advancements, Cub Scouts and Activity Days, Ward Council, presidency and stake leadership training meetings, primary constantly keeps me on my toes.  Also, this year the primary was assigned to be in charge of our ward Halloween party.  What a busy month! 

Every Sunday evening I send an email to all the primary families and teachers, informing them of all of our goings-on.  I started doing this a couple of years ago, just to keep things organized.  This is the email I sent last night, obviously there is a lot going on right now. I really love my calling. Names have been changed to protect the innocent. :)

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Dear primary teachers and families, here are the Primary Announcements for this week...

Theme for October:  I Will Share the Gospel with All of God's Children

Scripture for October: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

Opening Exercises for October 20th:

Junior Primary: Sunbeams

Opening prayer:  Ellen Gray

Theme:  Eliza Monson

Scripture:  Lori Dunn

Talk:  Kori Channing

Closing Prayer:  Jane Bradley

Senior Primary:
No opening exercises due to rehearsal for our Sacrament Meeting program.  See below...

A big thank you to the following primary workers who were released today. 

...Brother and Sister Dean and Hannah Henry from our CTR 7A class.

...Brother Brad Hill from nursery.

...Sister Brenda Anderson from Activity Days.

...Sister Linda Lacy from our CTR 4 class.

...Sister Penny Gray from our CTR 4 class.

And a warm welcome to the following individuals who have accepted new callings in primary...

...Brother Darren and Stella Morgan in the CTR 7A class.

...Sister Tina Brady in the Valiant 10A class.

...Sister Annie Beckstead as an Activity Days leader in our 9-year-old group.

...Brother Mack Shiner as a Wolf Den leader in the Cub Scouts

Our Primary Sacrament Meeting Program will be here in only two weeks! Next Sunday, October 20th, we would like all the Senior Primary children and teachers to remain in the chapel following Sacrament Meeting where we will show everyone where they should sit and how each class should file up to the podium for their speaking parts. We will have about 20 minutes in the chapel, then we will return to the primary room and continue to rehearse for our program for the rest of the 2nd hour, with class time during the 3rd hour.  Junior Primary will go directly to their classroom following Sacrament Meeting, with Sharing Time during the third hour. For any questions, please contact a member of the presidency.

Our Saturday Primary Program rehearsal will be held on October 26 at 9:30-11:00 a.m. in the chapel.  Best dress please.

Congratulations to the two newest members of our ward, Trent and Andy Crandall.  They were baptized and confirmed yesterday.    

Congratulations to Denny Hansen who will soon turn 12-years-old and advance into Young Men.  We will miss him in primary! 

Cub Scouts:  The Rocket Derby will be held this Thursday, October 17th, 5:00 p.m. at the park.  

Also coming up soon is the Ward Halloween Party.  This year the primary is in charge! It will be held on Friday, October 25th, 7:00-9:00 at the church.  We will have a costume parade, photo booth, dancing and treats.  Don't miss it!

Thank you, have a great week! ~Janeal Smith (801) 787-4444

I Saw Your Missionary!

So after the morning session of general conference I got an email from a sweet neighbor with the title, "I Saw Your Missionary!"  I was a bit baffled as I opened her email.  It said, "Was watching the segment between conference sessions, a documentary on the Mexico MTC, and saw Elder Smith!  Wonderful to see his bright, smiling missionary face!"

So I ran downstairs to the TV and saw that it was still recording, hooray!!  We started it over from the beginning, watched for a few minutes and there was my boy looking all handsome in his suit and tie.

A few minutes later I got a text message from another friend telling me she had just seen Elder Smith on TV.  Haha, love it! 

One year ago this morning when President Monson made his big announcement I had no idea what this year would bring for Braden.  Still can hardly believe it.  Less than three months later he turned 18.  A few weeks after that he turned in his mission papers.  Then his call came, he graduated from high school, and was gone.  It all happened so fast!  I am grateful that he was ready, willing and worthy to immediately heed the call of the prophet.  

Happy Birthday To My Honey!

So grateful to have him in my life.  Time for a birthday interview...

How do you feel about being 46 years old?  I feel great!  I am in good shape with the exception of a nagging achilles heel injury that flares up every now and then. 

What makes you happy?  My family.  And I like coaching my teams in cross country and basketball.
  
What are you looking forward to?  Missionary letters every Monday for the next 22 months.

What is your biggest challenge?  My Medical Anatomy and Physiology class I am teaching this year at school.  It is a fun class, but I have to work hard to learn the curriculum and stay ahead of the kids.

What are you proud of?  That my daughter was married in the temple, my missionary son, my delightful 14-year-old daughter, and a 23-year marriage.

What is your prediction for the coming year?  This will be a great year due to all the blessings from having a missionary.

October Sunset

Oh, how I love a mountain sunset.  I am blessed to live in an east-facing home with an unobstructed, panoramic view of the Oquirrh mountains from all the upstairs windows in the back of the house.  We often sit out on our back deck in the evenings to watch the colors change as the sun goes down.  This particular sunset this evening seemed especially magnificent.  So beautiful!