Casie is going on a mission!

Although this happened back in Feb, it still calls for all CAPS and three exclamation points....CASIE IS GOING ON A MISSION!!!  All throughout her senior year of high school I kept hinting (ok, it was more like commanding/begging) to her that I thought she should serve a mission.  Maybe it's just a teenage thing, or maybe she really didn't want to go, but she resisted.  She kept saying, "I really don't feel like I want to go."  I had accepted that and was excited to see what her future would hold.  Shortly after graduating she decided to get her patriarchal blessing.  The patriarch said some very specific things about her serving a mission.  I was a bit nervous and told her that just because he said that didn't mean she HAD to go and that it could mean later in life.  But she told me that she had already decided to serve a mission but just hadn't told me yet! The next few months she moved to Cedar City to work for Amy and Dusty at their newly acquired business Great Harvest Bread CO.  Working with Dusty, (who was her Stake President in the singles ward) she put together her mission papers and was called to the Brazil Maceio mission!!  She leaves July 18.  Awesomely, that is the same mission that Mindy and Kyle served in 20 years ago!  And awesomely, they live just down the street from us! And awesomely, Casie is moving home in May to live with us until she leaves.  I know the Lord has called her to the place she needs to be.  I know she will be a force for good in bringing souls to the Gospel.  I can't wait to see her grow and learn.  We are so proud of her!!! She is so amazing.

Japanese exchange students

Annie is Japanese.  Ok, not really, but her heart and mind are!  For the last 3 years she has become obsessed,...(what? Annie obsessed with something!?) with everything Japanese.  She loves the culture, the music, the language, the toys, the tv shows, the animation, the clothes...everything.  She has been teaching herself Japanese and is doing really well.  Shortly after we moved to St. George in Feb of 2017 (had to throw that in since it's mentioned NO WHERE in this blog) we had the opportunity to host a Japanese foreign exchange student.  We jumped at the opportunity.  Mostly because Japanese people had almost become celebrities in Annie's mind and we thought it would be fun for her.  IT WAS!  At first Annie was a bit star struck when she came face to face with them.  She clammed up and wouldn't utter a word of Japanese to them.  She felt awkward and embarrassed.  Luckily our student Kana, was super out going and started showing Annie a funny face swapping app on her phone.  The girls started laughing together and from then on they became inseparable!  It was so fun to see our normally reserved Annie come to life with these Japanese kids! Mindy was hosting a student as well so we through several parties and invited all the Japanese kids in the area (who were part of the exchange program as well) to come over and socialize.  They roasted marshmallows one night, karaoke one night, we took the girls kayaking, and to snow canyon.  On the nights we didn't have an organized party, Annie, Kana, and Ayumi (Mindy's student) could be found watching movies together, laughing and eating popcorn, and practicing their Japanese/English.  I loved having them here.  I found the Japanese kids to have such sweet spirits.  They were so in awe and so cute about being in the US.  It was fun to show them things they hadn't seen before (like microwave popcorn and Italian soda)  They have very rigorous school schedules so it was fun for them to kick back for a few weeks and really enjoy themselves.  Annie was in heaven!  She really bonded with Kana and Ayumi.  It was a very tearful goodbye for all of them.  She is friends with both of them on facebook and they text each other as well.  I am so grateful we had the opportunity to have them in our home!!

WAY too much time has gone by!!!

Way, way, WAY, WAYYYYYY...too much time has passed since I have updated my blog.  My heart hurts when I think about all the wonderful memories that will fade and be forgotten because I didn't write them down.  It makes me want to cry. But greatfully it also has inspired me to start blogging once again.  I love my life and I love my children and I hope by recording a bit of our lives I can fully appreciate all that I have, and most importantly REMEMBER all the wonderful things that happen to us.  (and as a side benefit, perhaps my children will read this in the future and tell their therapist that perhaps I wasn't such a horrible mom after all.)

As I scroll through pictures from the past, so many memories pour in.  Each photo could be it's own blog entry.  Each photo is filled with memories and details that deserve to be recoreded.  I almost don't know where to start.  Maybe I will just start with a bit of what's been going on in my mind, because the last couple of years have been an inner struggle for me, yet wonderful memories have still been made, and so much happiness and joy have been experienced.  I have been expeirencing depression and anxiety.  Not, like "I'm feeling down, and a little nervous", but more like, I felt like I was losing my mind.  I went from positive and optimistic to scared and apathetic..almost overnight.  My whole experience has baffled me, tormented me, and made me miserable, but it has also taught me, and is teaching me, amazing things.  I don't have the desire or need to go into all the details of my  journey, but I have found that joy can be found even in the darkest times.  I can have depression and still have happiness.  I hope that I can learn more to thrive, and understand, and most importantly help others who are going through the same thing...(which I am finding are a whole ton of people!)