Back to church

July 12, 2015

Dear Sister Kristina,

Well, it felt good to be back to church today. It's weird how out of it I feel when I've only missed one week, but I definitely don't like the feeling. Dad is working today, so I took both girls. Leah went in her wheelchair and at first she said she wanted to stay all three hours, but after sitting for about a half hour, she decided she couldn't stay that long. I was just happy that deep down she really wanted to stay. 

Masen Thompson gave his homecoming report today and did a great job. Leah turned to me after he spoke and said, that was a really good talk. He made two good points that I was glad Leah heard: 1-we're only able to really change after we've had to struggle and 2-Heavenly Father is watching over all of us, but His timing is not always our timing and we need to trust in His timing. The girls and I talked about this after church. I shared with Leah my story of how I met dad, but it was like three years after I thought it was the right time for me to get married. It wasn't my timing, but the Lord's that mattered and when I look back now, He knew what was best for me. This injury to Leah's leg has been so painful for her and I really hope that she is now ready to learn from this. She has been so pleasant at home despite being in such pain.

Also today Grant Guymon spoke and he did such a great job. He's so sensitive about things and has a wonderful understanding of the gospel and experiences he's having. I told him afterward that he had a gift of being able to speak and share his thoughts and testimony.

The big shock came when we saw Michael Hansen walk in. He's home to have surgery on his ankle and can't go back until he's completely healed. I'll talk with Sheila more about it. I'm sure that's going to be hard for him. He was doing really well and p.s. Leah still wants to marry him. haha She just thinks he's the best and now Michael has a real love for the Polynesians from his mission. Who knows, right? I'll keep you posted.

I hope you have time to write a little bit more this week. I'm really anxious to hear how things have been going these last couple of weeks, with your new mission president, with your investigators, etc. It would be great for me to be able to get my mind on something else these days. I'm not a very good nurse-I'm not very patient. I'm glad Nikki is here to help me out when I need to get out. When Leah heals we are talking about having both girls sleep together and Leah thinks it's a good idea too. We may fix up the big room downstairs for them, but we'll see. Leah just wants to feel good-her leg and her mind. I wish her mind was as easy to fix as her leg.

Kirk and Sarah have been doing well and Sarah is having fun getting things ready for Addie's first birthday party. I told Sarah it's a surprise party for her since she doesn't even know we're throwing this shindig. haha Sean and Blair are busy making all those wedding reception decisions. Debbie and Blair are doing the most work. Nikki went over to their house the other day to make some desserts to test them out. She had a lot of fun baking with Debbie. Alex and Savannah are doing well and Alex is enjoying his advertising work. He's in charge of the twitter account for the BYU ADlab and loves it. 

I talked with Emily Hill and Reilly today and they both said to say hi. Emily is very excited about her mission. In our ward, the next person coming home is Blake Hansen. His parents are over in Italy right now picking him up.

I hope you are doing well and enjoying summer in Northern Cal. We're actually having thunderstorms in the afternoon here and I love it. Of course, I go out on the back porch and watch the rain come down. Tomorrow I'm going to Tracey's to quilt a small quilt for Addie for her birthday. It's a Minnie Mouse quilt. She just loves Minnie Mouse! Nikki is sewing a little fabric book for her. I'll take a picture of it when she's done and one of the quilt and send them to you next week. 

Last Saturday Nikki tested for her blue belt in Taekwondo and passed. Leah went to watch and support her. That's the one thing Leah is really going to miss for a while. When she gets into a walking boot, she's going to go back to Taekwondo and do all the upper body workouts just so she won't get too far behind. Also this coming week I will be in So Cal visiting grandpa. I need to take him to the attorney's on Thursday, so I fly down on Wed and fly back home on Friday. Kind of a really quick trip. Grandpa called tonight and always mentions how much he enjoys your letters. Grandma and Grandpa Thompson read your letters on Grandma's iPad!! 

That's about it for around here. We are well and it's good to be back home and to be healing. Thinking of you on your mission gives me such joy…I can't really even describe it, but it means so much and helps me when things seem a bit hard here. Keep up the great attitude. Look at your name tag often and always remember that your name is right next to Christ's name and that you're working together-you're never alone.

Love you soooooooo much!!

Mom xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo