Happy 4th of July!!

July 4, 2016

Dear Sister Kristina,

Are you doing anything fun for the 4th of July celebration today? Dad has to work, so we’re on our own here. I’ll be spending the day getting the girls ready for girls camp this week. Nikki needs to get a fishing license. Bro. Bingham said he’d take her fishing and she’s excited about that. The girls also need some things for their secret sisters. This year, they are having the 4th year hike the day before girls camp, so Nikki leaves on Wed and goes on the hike, then Leah leaves on Thursday for girls camp. It’s been a little confusing, but I think we have it all straight now. What’s hard about it for us is that dad and I are leaving early Wed morning for California. So we need to have the girls completely packed and ready by Tuesday night. Plus Leah is a YCL so she’s doing extra things too. A little crazy this week.

Since we are leaving on Wed, Kayla is going to come here and stay with the girls and get them off to girls camp. It’s been so helpful to have Kayla and her husband in our ward and the girls feel comfortable with them. Kayla is even going to drop the dogs off at the kennel for us when Leah goes to camp. I’m hopeful that Leah will do well at camp. She didn’t go last year because it’s been a year now since she broke her leg. I can’t believe how different our lives are now, but I hope Leah has learned a lot, feels hope in her life and knows how to reach out for help when she needs it. It’s still a very real struggle around here, but I have faith and hope and have had so many prayers answered when I haven’t known where to turn. 

I’m excited to go to Cali with dad this week, but it’s been such a whirlwind with our many trips to Utah that it’s hard to relax about it. I know when we get there it will be great and once I see the beach I’ll feel totally at home and relaxed. Grandpa is excited for us to come too.

Last week we had a great time in Utah and Kirk gave a beautiful blessing to Haylee. We stayed in a hotel close to their house so we were able to run back and forth quickly. We brought Addie over to the hotel so she could swim with the girls too. I’m pretty sure she thinks Nana’s house has a pool now. haha Here are some pics from our trip:

We went to temple square one day

We went to City Creek one day with Kirk and Addie and ate at Johnny Rockets

Leah loves holding Haylee

But then one time she was holding her and Haylee laid on Leah’s lion necklace, so this happened…oh oh

Here’s the Luscher group that came for the blessing. Addie is in the picking the nose phase and Haylee was done with pictures at this point. The family on the right are cousins that came and just happened to be visiting in the states at the same time.

I love this picture of Haylee sleeping in Grandma Thompson’s lap.

Kirk and Haylee. We love her hair. It won’t lay down flat unless you put gel on it and it’s soooo soft.

Here’s Leah and you can see her lion necklace in this picture.

The cute family!

Little helper

Someone wasn’t happy about Canada Day or maybe she just didn’t like saying “cheese”!!

Sarah’s mom stayed with her for a whole month after having Haylee and was such a big help for her. They left back to Canada yesterday. Sarah’s feeling good now and is in a pretty good routine with both girls, so hopefully she’ll do well without her mom there. I love watching Kirk with his girls. He’s such a fun dad and so sweet to Sarah.

After the blessing at their church on Wed night, we set up half the gym for a light dinner. It was so hot last week, so we knew we had to have things indoors to keep cool and luckily most the youth (mutual) were doing things away from the building so it was pretty empty. We had plenty of food. I brought a crockpot of meatballs. 

Also while we were in Utah, we saw the new Finding Dory movie, the girls went to 7 Peaks with Chloe for an afternoon, Leah had some neurofeedback sessions with dad’s cousin Rebeccah, and of course on our way to Utah, we had our funny story of being suspected of being kidnappers/terrorists. We also went golfing at the new Top Golf place in Utah. We went to the Top Golf in Chicago and now Utah has one. Kirk, Leon, dad, Nikki and I went and it was really fun. I like golfing when there are extra large holes to hit your ball into and really good food to eat while you’re waiting for your buddies to hit. haha We’ll definitely take you there one time. You’d love it.

Dad’s cousins and grandma and grandpa went to Wyoming last weekend, so he got to visit with them before they left.

Our sister missionaries in our ward are so cute and outgoing. They said summer is a really slow time for them because so many of their investigators are out of town, etc so they want to do a bunch of service and are willing to help with anything. So I’ll try to think of something here I can use some help with. I showed them your picture of crushing the cans for service.

Here’s one more pic of a beautiful sunset here the other night. We have great sunsets just about every other night and I love them: 

I think of you when I see the sunsets because I remember how much you like them too. We had a great lesson in our family relations class yesterday. It was on helping children become more resilient. There was a part where they were talking about missionaries and how there are some who have a difficult time because they haven’t learned to bounce back after things don’t go their way and they are trying so hard to be perfect so that blessings can come and they don’t understand when things don’t go the way they want. It was the most common cause of emotional problems, lack of resilience, a misunderstanding of the commandment to be perfect. In the lesson it said, “But the Lord works through weak, simple servants”.  Miracles and blessings will come as we keep our covenants, try our best and respond quickly to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Our worth needs to come from knowing that “we become fully developed or complete through the atonement of Christ as we strive to follow Him” Matt. 5:48 

It’s Heavenly Father’s timing that is important because He knows each of us and what we need, when we need it. A new sister in our ward talked of her conversion and how it took 3 years of missionaries. She just needed that time and she is now a very strong member, the only one in her family (who are all very anti Mormon). But in times of trial now, her family members turn to her for guidance and help because they can see the peace in her life. 

I’m grateful for you and how I’ve seen your resilience to hard things and challenges and how you’ve learned where your true worth comes from-knowing who you really are and who is always with you. I’m grateful for this same knowledge. It brings a peace that can be found nowhere else and I am truly blessed with this knowledge and to have had parents who taught me these truths. I’m grateful you are teaching others these same truths. Keep the faith.

Have a wonderful week!!!

Love you,

Mom xxoo