Last Week of January

Hola my son!  Hooray, P-day again and time for another letter from my favorite missionary.   I love Mondays!

Here are the highlights from our week…

*Friday night Dad and I went out to dinner with the Glassetts, it was fun. They are really nice people, very warm and friendly, we had such an enjoyable evening with them! We talked and talked about everything under the sun, but especially our missionaries. Dad and Brother Glassett got along great, he is an assistant soccer coach at Jordan High School so they talked sports a lot of the time. Also, he is a dentist and does humanitarian dental work in third world countries, that was really interesting.  We were so happy to meet them, and glad our missionary sons were able to serve together in Honduras.

*Stefanie is getting braces!  We had our first orthodontist appointment on Thursday, they put spacers between a few of her back teeth so her mouth has been sore for a few days.  The doctor estimated it will take 18 months to get it all done, so she is hopeful she will get them off before you get home. 

*Saturday night the three of us went to a Vocal Point concert at Thanksgiving Point. Those guys are amazing, they put on a great show.  Stefanie said they did a couple of the same songs they had sung at Willowcreek last year when the two of you snuck in (haha) but most of it was original stuff.  So good!

 
*Dad's team lost to Herriman last week, both the JV and Varsity. neither team played well.  Dad is losing hope for them to make it to state.  Two games coming up this week, Tuesday at home against AF, Friday at Lone Peak.  Tough week!  Dad says it is a long shot that we will beat either of them.  

*We are excited for the Super Bowl next Sunday, Rachel and George are hosting the party at their place.  They are funny, Rachel is a big Broncos fan and George likes the Seahawks so it is rivalry week for them.  They each have their team jerseys, hats and jackets they have been wearing all week.  Should be a fun game! Dad is not a Broncos fan, and I was born in Seattle, so we will be cheering with George for the Seahawks!  Does anyone care about the Super Bowl in Honduras?

Spiritual thought of the week from Stefanie:  "Never postpone a prompting."  ~Thomas S. Monson

That is all our news!  We love you!  Work hard this week!  Love, Mom

Six Months

Hola, my son!  Another week has gone by, and you will hit your six month mark this week!  Wow, how about that?  So exciting!  

Guess what Dad and I will be doing on Friday night?  We are going out to dinner with Elder Glassett's parents!  His mom and I have been communicating via email for a few months now, and a couple of weeks ago I got this message from her…

Sister Glassett:  Now that the holidays are behind us, I would love to meet you and say hello.

Me:  Yes, sounds great!  I'm sure Braden would be amused to know that his mom and Elder Glassett's mom have become friends, let's do it!  :)

 

Sister Glassett:  I have heard nothing but great things about Braden, even from the boys on the Jordan team who got slaughtered by Lehi last year.  Many of them remember him well and commented about his sportsmanship.  It seems fitting that we should be friends if our kids are.  Especially with the SUU connection as well.  Yesterday I met Jerry, the Lehi coach, at Team Gear.  I told him our sons were great friends in the mission and that my other son was the boy who got the concussion at the Jordan/Lehi game last year.  He asked me to send my hellos to Braden thru Zach.  I will do that next week.

Haha!  You are still famous, even after being away for six months!  We are excited to meet the Glassetts and look forward to a fun evening talking about our missionary boys! 

Stefanie had another cheer competition on Saturday, this one was at Cottonwood HS in Murray.  She did great, although we weren't sure she would be able to compete.  She injured her shoulder and elbow pretty badly at practice the night before when she and another teammate collided mid-backflip.  Stefanie was bruised but still had full range of motion, so Dad had her ice it all evening and gave her a priesthood blessing.  Saturday morning she was really sore and cried all the way up until about 1/2 hour before her team went on.  I just kept remembering that blessing and saying prayers for her.  Thank goodness she was able to perform, she did her part on the stunts and tumbling passes,  but we could tell she was hurting and wasn't 100%.  Her team ended up fourth out of nine teams, so not their best showing but we were just extremely grateful she got through it!  She has another competition next Saturday so she will have to take it easy this week and hopefully she will be back to full strength next week!  Say a prayer or two for her, OK?

How is your  "Hour of Power" going?  I love it, every day at 4:00 p.m. (5:00 your time) I stop what I am doing to pray and read my scriptures.  My study has been much more effective, I look forward to it every day.  Thanks so much for the invitation!  I hope it is helping, and that you are seeing some results. Also, you would be proud of Dad, Stefanie and I!  We have not missed family scripture study for 20 days in a row!  We started our new streak on January 1st and haven't missed a day since.  Yay for us!  We hope we can keep it up all year.

Now for a Lehi basketball update, we played on Friday night against Westlake and had an amazing comeback.  We were behind by 15 points at halftime, then we had an incredible 3rd quarter and outscored them 34-9!  We ended up winning by 8.  Woohoo!  They gym was packed and LOUD!  So glad we got a win!  Of course Dad's JV team won also, their record so far is 10-2, they are undefeated in region.  Herriman coming up on Tuesday.

We had an interesting set of visitors on Monday evening, Courtney and Kaylie B. stopped by!  They brought us a plate of goodies, and an invitation to Courtney's mission farewell.  They stayed and chatted for about an hour, it was fun to see them.

That's all our news for the week! We love you! Excited for your letter today!  Love, Mom

Layered Taco Salad

So proud of myself today that I actually created a recipe I had pinned on Pinterest!  Layered taco salad, yumm!  I had almost forgotten that the point of Pinterest is to actually create the things you pin! Maybe I ought to try doing that a little more often!

 

In a large glass bowl, layer in this order..

chopped lettuce

hamburger, browned with taco seasoning

spanish rice

black beans

whole kernel corn, drained

green onions

salsa

chopped tomatoes

Top with another layer of lettuce, cheese and green onions.  

On the side:  mix together equal parts salsa and French dressing. Have a bowl of tortilla chips on hand to crumble over the top of individual servings.

Hour of Power

Hola, my missionary boy!  How was your week?  We loved your letter and pictures from last week.  Can't believe you are 19 years old.  All those years as you were growing up we looked forward to that important milestone, the age when you would be old enough to serve a mission.  We could have never guessed that when that day finally arrived you would already have nearly six months of your mission under your belt.  Life is so unpredictable! 
 
We have had a good week, back to the routine of school, basketball, cheer and primary.  Monday night we celebrated your birthday, Rachel and George came over, we blew out your candles, ate your cake, and sang the birthday song for you.  It was a fun little party!  Dad had team dinner on Thursday night and a game against PG on Friday.  His JV team won...his record is 8-2...but another loss for varsity...4-7.  Two games coming up this week on Tuesday and Friday.

So I taught the Sharing Time lesson today in primary, it was a difficult lesson because of the subject...the Atonement.  That is a hard subject even for adults!  But the children were surprisingly reverent and attentive.  Dad said it was one of my best Sharing Time lessons ever.  I brought my ipad and had them watch a quote from a conference address by Elder James E. Faust.  He said, "I wish to speak about the greatest event in all history.  That singular event was the incomparable Atonement of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.  This was the most transcendent (that means significant or important) act that has ever taken place, yet it is the most difficult to understand.  Our salvation depends on believing and accepting the atonement.  Such acceptance requires a continual effort to understand it more fully."  Wow! I learned a lot just from studying for that little primary lesson and my understanding and testimony of the Atonement was strengthened.

This evening was the Great To Be 8 program for all the children in our ward turning 8-years-old in 2014.  We will have 15 baptisms throughout this year!  Jonathan Fenn was there, he will baptize his little sister, Lexi.  That will be a great event for their family.  I can't believe some of these children are old enough to be baptized, including Jillian Drake-- our little neighbor across the street, and Derek Blackwell--the youngest Blackwell child.  It will be a good year in primary. 

This morning Dad was reading the Church News online, there was an article on all the new mission presidents who have recently been called, and will begin serving in July.  We read that 122 new mission presidents have been called to missions around the globe, including Honduras, Tegucigalpa.  Have you been told of these changes?  Do you know anything about your soon-to-be mission president, Kendle Bowler?  His name sounds Gringo, I wonder where he is from?  I'm sure it will be an exciting and interesting change for you!

Hope you have a great week!  We would love to hear a little more about your day-to-day experiences and people you have been teaching.  Love you! 

Love, Mom 

***********

Instant message from Braden:  He is gringo! haha but I dont know a lot about him!!!! Research!

From Me: Aww, good morning!  Happy P-Day! You are here early today!  You must have something else planned for this afternoon?  So wonderful to hear from you, excited for your letter. :)

Braden: Thanks mom! Good morning to you too! what time is it in Utah right now? we dont really have anything planned today, but the zone leaders have consejo today so they have to leave early. thats why were here early!

Me:  It is 10:23 a.m. here in Utah, we are an hour behind you since Daylight Savings ended in November.  In the spring Daylight Savings will resume and we will be on the same time zone as you again. :) Carry on...

Me:  Great letter!  I will absolutely join with you in your "Hour of Power" each day at 5:00.  (4:00 our time.)  This is actually very ironic (or not...) because I have been studying the gospel each night just before bed for awhile now, and lately I have begun to realize that the quality of my study is not what it could and should be because of the late hour, and my diminished mental capacity when I am so tired.  So I have wondered when would be a better time for me to read and study, when I could fit it in without being rushed (in the morning) or sleepy (at bedtime).  This is the perfect answer for me!  Thanks so much for the invitation, what an inspired idea!  I am excited to see the miracles that will happen for you individually and as a district.

Love the story of the abuelita giving you a traditional Honduran mother's blessing!  Priceless photo!  I'm so glad there were kind, caring people around you to make you feel important and loved on your birthday!

Braden: Thanks mom! This hour of power can help you in your life too! haha i think it will bring miracles in your life as well as ours! You are the best! I love you! i gotta go! ill talk to you next week! (:

From Stefanie

Hi Braden!! Happy Birthday! 19 sounds really old! school started back up today, after two weeks of break and it was hard to get up, but its nice having something to do during the day again. Taelor was in the hospital for a couple days last week, because she has been diagnosed with diabetes, so me and mom and dad took  her some flowers and went and saw her in the hospital on saturday so that was pretty nice of us i guess. shes home now and is doing better she just has to give herself a shot before she eats. also this week me and Rachel and George were  driving around and we found Waffle Love, the waffle truck, and id remember you talking about how awesome that was, so we went there, and it was super good. de todos modos feliz anciano cumpleaños, espero que tengas una buena semana. byee

xoxoxo,
stefanie

From Braden:  haha you are so funny stefanie! "so that was pretty nice of us i guess." haha i´m dying right now! Thank you stefanie! yeah 19 sounds pretty old! I´m sorry to hear about taelor! tell her i´m going to say a couple prayers for her this week ok! Oh my gosh!!! I LOVE WAFFLE LOVE!!! i´m pretty jealous! but at least the legacy is living on! haha thanks for your wish in spanish! good luck in school! By the way, It gets way easier to wake up on time if you decide the night before that your going to get up on time! Try that out some time. Its worked for me so far in the mission! (I haven´t slept in once! my body wakes itself up at 6:28 now, right before the alarm goes off!) I love you stefanie! 

Love Your big brother who is 5 years older than you! (: 
.

Stefanie:  Actually 4 years but what ever. i forgot to tell you one thing! the bachelor start today! Juan Pablo is it! so were going to watch it for you"re birthday! want us to record it for you?(: 

Braden:  haha how old are you?? 14! and i´m 19... that's 5 years! (: i win! And yes!! record it for me!! haha

Nineteen

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you.  Happy birthday Elder Smiiiiiiiiiiiith, happy birthday to you!!  Ahh, happy birthday, my son!!  At 3:50 this afternoon you will officially be 19-years-old!  And I'm sure it will be the most unusual birthday you have ever had.  Who would have ever guessed that you would spend this day in a foreign land, preaching the gospel in a foreign language! We are planning to celebrate your birthday for FHE this evening, Rachel and George are coming over and we will eat cake and ice cream in your honor. 

So how was your New Year's Eve?  Did the missionaries get to celebrate?  Ours was fun and typical, lots of food and games and watching the ball drop on Times Square.  On New Year's Day we slept in til noon and took down all the Christmas decorations.  Holly was happy to have her couch back by the window so she can sit and gaze out the window all day. 

Today is the first day back to school, the Christmas break is officially over.  I don't think any of us were ready, but so it goes.  Back to the routine.  Bleh.

It has been a busy week for me in primary, getting ready for the first Sunday of the New Year.  New teachers, new classrooms, new classmates, new seating in Sharing Time.  It all takes a lot of time to get it organized!  Saturday we had a little "Meet & Greet" activity for all the primary children to meet their new teachers.  We sang some primary songs and served ice cream sundaes.  Our theme was, "Come get the SCOOP on your new primary class!"  Haha.  It was cute, and Sunday couldn't have gone smoother.  Our ward was just moved to the 11:00-2:00 block, it was great to have a little extra time to get ready on Sunday morning. 

Yesterday we went to Sarah & Derek's new home in Pleasant Grove for Anna's 1st birthday party.  It was fun, Billy & Josette and family, Trevor and Maggie were all there.  We loved visiting with them and hearing all about their Christmas break.  Maggie just completed her mission papers, she should get her call very soon, so exciting!  Josette is expecting again, due in April.  They just found out it is a baby girl.  Anyway, Anna was adorable, she dug her little hands into the cake and icing, it was all over her face and hair before it was over.  Haha, I love first birthday parties.

My sister Tami is going through a hard time, she slipped and fell the day after Christmas and dislocated her knee and tore her ACL.  She needs surgery, but because she is pregnant the doctors can't operate until after the baby is born.  So until then her leg is in a brace and she is on crutches. Brady took Tami and Shane to Preston for a couple of weeks so my mom can can take care of them, and Brady had to go home to work.  Poor family, this is not a fun time for them.  Say a few extra prayers for them!

Lehi basketball update...Friday night the varsity team had a game against Provo and lost by two points.  Ugh!  It was a tough one!  The pre-season is now over, and region play begins this week. 

So that is all our news for this week.  We love you!  We are so proud of you!  We will be thinking of you all day today and hoping you are having a happy birthday. 

Love, Mom