Monday, December 20, 2010 Today we wrote Christmas cards because it was
getting so late but we were waiting for our mission call. It has not come yet but hopefully within the
next day or two we will get it. We had
Mason, Jayden, Madison, Scott, Christie, Barrek, Kasen, Camron and Hudson come
in the afternoon and decorate sugar cookies.
Then Marv took Mason, Jayden and Madison home and Scott and Christie and
their kids went to WalMart to get some friend and brother presents while we
watched Hudson, who slept while they were gone. When they came back I had made Hamburger pie
and invited them to eat with us. Then we
went to the Detention for Family Home Evening.
We finished watching the last half of the Polar Express. It always makes me sad to think Quayde is
going to have to spend Christmas inside there but he has a good attitude and
said he doesn’t want out until he is sure that he has really changed his
attitude and all the things he has done wrong,
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 No mission call today. Marv and I went to the viewing and Catholic
Mass for Julie McGuirk, who was Don McGuirk’s wife. Marv used to work with him at the FAA. She was 53 years old when she died. It was really sudden. Our understanding is she had breast cancer
started her chemo but had a reaction and they found she had a blockage of some
sort and I believe she had surgery but I don’t know if something happened
during the surgery or what but she died some time after that. Apparently it was only 2 ½ weeks from the
start to finish.
Marv and worked on Christmas presents. Marv did the recording of Twas the Night
Before Christmas on two story books (the three book wouldn’t record – we will
have to take it bake) and I put the Ancestors Charts I had made into forms and
then we went to lunch at IHOP and then we went shopping for me a new coat for
Christmas. I found one at Beall’s and
so we bought it for Christmas. We went
to Smith’s and picked up a couple of gift cards and bread, eggs, etc. Came home and finished wrapping up the
presents and cleaned up just in time for the kids to come over to decorate
gingerbread houses. Bryan and Candayln
and their three kids, Mason, Jayden, Madison and Scott and Christie and their
four little boys, Barrek, Kasen, Camron and Hudson came over. It was fun and the kids and parents made
cute houses. Marv and I worked on
ours. Then Marv took pictures of the
kids with their gingerbread houses. We
will miss this doing these things with our grandkids while we are gone but I am
sure the blessings will be worth all of it.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 Well it is 8:30 a.m. and I did not receive a
phone call from the post office this morning saying our mission papers were
here. I feel like a mother waiting for
the birth of her child. It seems like
it will never happen. I guess I feel
this because both of my boys were past their due dates, Bryan 2 weeks and Scott
a whole month. The only reason Christie
came close to her due date was the doctor was going out of town and so he
induced me around her due date.
Marv said the Lord is trying to teach me patience but
haven’t I been patient enough? After
all the whole process started the end of August and now it is the end of
December., Scott Perkins parents were
contacted about a mission at the Guatemala Temple around the 1st of
November and they were told they will get their call this week. They think it has taken forever but it
definitely is quicker for them. I know
the Lord had to get Marv to the point that he was willing to go. I know he isn’t anxious for the call because
then he knows the whole thing is a reality and we will need to move
forward. I hope and pray that he can get
excited at this call whatever it is and that it will be one of the most
rewarding experiences for the two of us.
I sure hope it comes by tomorrow.
That will be the best Christmas present yet.
We are probably going to St. George today because one of the
books “Twas the Night Before Christmas” that Marv was recording in doesn’t
work. We hope they give us a new one but
if they don’t then I hope we can find another one so Marv can record in it for
Scott’s family. I can’t believe
Christmas is here in three more days.
This year has gone by fast.
Thursday, December 23, 2010 Princess, my cat, woke me up at about 7:40
a.m. I got up and showered and took the
phone out of the bedroom so it wouldn’t wake up Marv if the post office called. I sat on the couch and read in my scriptures
for about a half hour. I was so hopeful
that we would get our call today. I
read the scriptures that teach us we must believe all things are possible with
God if we just believe and if it is good.
I had said my morning prayers and asked again that we might get our call
so that we would have it before Christmas.
I was expecting the post office to call by 8:00 a.m. but no call came
and finally when it was past 8:30 a.m.
I thought that we must not be getting our call. I was pretty discouraged. I said another little prayer and then the
phone rang and it is Rachel from the post office asking if I was looking for a
mission call. I said, I sure am, do you
have it? She said she did and that either
I could come get it or we could have our carrier deliver it. I said, “I’ll be right down.” I got in the car and drove down. I had to fight back tears because I was so
excited that our call had finally come.
When I picked up our call, I started to call my kids in the
parking lot to let them know. I talked
with Bryan, Kristin, Scott Perkins and Christie and then I stopped by
Candalyn’s Office on my way home because she was the only one having to work
today to find out when she could come to have us open the call. We decided on 11 a.m. because Christie had
visiting teachers coming over at 10:00 and I had told Marv or fed him breakfast
yet. He was home when I got home and
figured I had gone for the letter. I
definitely more inpatient about getting it than him because he said, what does
it matter this year or next.
Mason had the flu so he had to stay home but Bryan and I got
our computers set up on Oovoo so we could do a video chat and he could see us
open our letter. Candalyn ended up
going home to be with Mason and Bryan brought Jayden and Madison to the
house. Scott and Christie and their
four little boys just barely beat Bryan here and were so excited at beating him
to our house. Apparently they were
following each other out to our house from Enoch.
It was probably around 11:30 a.m. when we got everything set
up and we asked everyone to give their guess of where we were being
called. Then I opened the envelope and
pulled out the letter. I realized there
was a letter for Marv and one for me. I
handed him his letter and everyone told me to read it out loud. I started to read and my eyes scanned and
saw that we were assigned to the Germany Frankfurt Mission with our assignment
being to labor in member and leader support and in the Frankfurt Germany CES
Program. When I saw this, I started
jumping up and down and screaming, yes, yes, we are going to Germany. I’m sure I looked like an idiot but I was so
relieved that we were assigned to the position we had been talked to about
before. We had been told even though we
were tagged for this assignment, we needed to be aware that when the General
Authorities considered it we might be assigned somewhere else. We will go to the MTC on February 21st,
2011. That will give us almost two
months to get prepared.
Scott and Kristin’s baby is suppose to be born March 6 so we
wouldn’t be here for that and Kasen’s birthday is February 24 and Makayla’s
Birthday is February 29th and will miss those this year. Of course I can make sure they have their
presents before I leave so that will be good.
I guess this will be the start of missing some birthdays and events but
I am sure we will be blessed and our kids and their families will be blessed.
Scott Perkins has put in his application for a position as
Principal in Enterprise. I hope that
works out for him if it will be a good move for him. If he gets it, it will start the middle of
January 2011.
Scott’s parents did not get their call today. They were told last week that they should get
their call this week. I hope they get
it tomorrow. They are both so excited
about it.
I made a count down chart that I bought from Deseret Book
for each of the kids family so they can mark off the days we are gone. I put our picture on it. The name on it was Grandpa and Grandma
Paxton and then there was a place to enter which mission we were called
to. I printed all this information off
on sticker paper and put it on the form.
I made copies for all of Scott’s brothers and sisters which was for two
years instead of 18 months that they could add a picture and information for
Lynn and Terri when they get their call.
(The chart I had bought had 18 month on one side and 24 months on the
other so I just copied the side I wasn’t using.)
Marv and I tried to take Pam Bringhurst and Jim Wilson a
present for Christmas but their office was closed so we went to Pam’s house but
she wouldn’t answer her door. Her car
was there and her door was kind of open.
I hope she is okay. Then we went
to Jim Wilson’s house and took him some See;s Chocolates and to thank him for
his help and tell him about our call.
Then we went to WalMart to finish up things for Christmas. We went to Walgreens but didn’t buy another
there. We went to Smith’s but Marv had
walked around plenty and was really tired and hurting so I had him sit in the
Denali and I did the food shopping and then we came home. Before we left I sent out a quick e-mail to
a few people to let them know we had received our call.
When we got home it was around 5:00 p.m. and I put away the
groceries and then I took around our neighbor gifts, visiting teaching gifts
and friends gifts. I only really got to
talk to Sharon Eddings and Shannon Roseberry.
It was 7:15 p.m. by the time I got done with all that and we hadn’t
eaten since morning. We took Scott
Perkins Christmas present that was too big for them to take (ice fishing hut)
out to their house and then we went to Wendy’s and brought a chicken club combo
for dinner. We brought it home and
finally sat down and watch the Sorcerers Apprentice which Bryan had paid for us
to watch on satellite.
I am so excited about this opportunity to serve a mission
for our Savior in Germany. I am nervous
that I won’t be able to do everything but I keep reminding myself that with the
help of the Lord all things are possible so I am trusting in his help and
support. I pray Marv will get more and
more excited about the call now that it is officially here. I guess I had best go get the paper I need
to write my acceptance on and get it done.
I am so grateful the Lord gave me the best Christmas present ever today
by letting me get my call.
