Done Deal for Eternity

He did it!  Our oldest is now a married man.  Yep..time did go by and the unimaginable really did happen.  Our first baby that we held for the first time and could not even think that 22 years would come so quickly.... came.  We now are parents to 5 children...What a blessing!!  Ke'Nia now officially has a sister!  There day was PERFECT and beautiful! Only thing that could have made it better??  Elder Martin being there to share it.

The first few Minutes after becoming Mr and Mrs Martin

Friends forever

Freezing but beautiful day!

Who's the Newlyweds??

I got all my bros....Isn't Ridge so handsome?  Perfect Best Man!

They Will Be Hitched Before We Know It!

Yesterday I gave MiKayla a Sugar and Spice a Little Naughty and Nice bridal shower and of course it snowed and snowed and snowed!  But amazingly almost everyone showed and showered her with wonderful stuff!  It was so fun to Parteee and catch up with everyone.  This is how it went down....

The Party is Here!

Lace and Burlap

Brown Sugar scrup for the Mrs.

Sugar Cinnamon for the Miss's

Spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting!  YUM

 The house was filled with dear friends and family!  We served Taco Salads for the Spice part and she received plenty of spicey gifts ;)

Once Upon A Time

So there was this handsome Prince who one day found this beautiful Princess in a land filled with books and more books.  Books of Ancient History, Books of The Human Body, Books of Numbers and Books of Art....a most romantic place ever!  He finally got up the nerve to ask this Princess to accompany him on an outing.  And so they went and found it to be most pleasant!  The courting began and before long the Prince knew that this Princess was to be the one for him.  He decided one evening, the first day of Autumn to ask this beautiful Princess if she would join him on his journey to start their kingdom in a time for all of eternity.  She said YES!  The Queen and King were very very happy and knew that this lovely lady would love their Prince dearly.  This is the beginning of their story....

The Prince lit his lantern..got down one one knee and asked her the most important question of a lifetime...

She looked out upon all the lantern floating on the horizon...

and she said YES!

Never have I seen this Prince this happy!!

These are the well-wishers!

Runner Up!!

There's a runner in the family and nope...It's not me!  I'm just a wanna be runner but not enough wanna to do it.. ugh!  But I was inspired (for a min) by our cute son, as he ran Ragnar for CBR.  Without any training..he did pretty good!  Average of 8 and a half min mile isn't to shabby..so I have been told haha!

Only this much farther...

Cheering on our Athlete!

Waiting patiently for their team mate Dax, Alan and the dude in the red shirt

He did it! and with a smile!

He is super!  For SURE!

A vacation in the middle of a Mission?? kinda :)

Wow!  What a coaster ride we have been on!  Our Missionary is returning home on Saturday the 27th.  Lots of prayers went out to him, in the hopes that he would be okay to stay and serve.  It looks as though that is not what is to be at this time ...so with excitement growing, we will be at the airport on Saturday at noon to welcome back probably the best Missionary Peru has ever known!  So many different emotions are bottled up inside me and I am just hoping that he is okay with what has to be.  Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday on his shoulder and hopefully as soon as we know more about his ankle we can take care of that really soon.  A little trip to Hawaii as a family with all of us present, is looking even better than ever.  A nice place to recover from surgery I'm thinking :)  When we get back it's on to therapy and hopefully a full medical release to allow him to go back to the people of Peru.  His mission president left President Mower with some very kind words stating that he was one of the hardest working missionaries he has ever had and that Elder Martin would definitely be in his company if he were to make a trek across the plains.  He wants Dakotah back and from what we hear that is rarely done or requested.  Usually missionaries get reassigned to the states after surgeries but the Mission President would like him back in the Lima West Peru mission.
So it's 1:00 in the morning and all this is leaving me sleepless.   His request...5 layer beefy burrito from Taco Bell!  I think I can most definitely handle that :) 
Now if I can just forget for that I'm going to have to say goodbye again I'll be ok.

Letters to home...taking the good with the bad

July 4th
 hope you guys are having fun on your road trip. thanks for the email. tell carson before he takes off that right now i wish i had a jump rope, a USB, a wrist rocket, a pocket knife, my ipod and all the church videos. let me know how his farewell goes im excited for him. and tell him to give you my guitar back. we had a ward family night this week and i did that lesson where i bought everyone a candybar and made a kid do 7 pushups for everyone for their candy. (the significance of Christs atonement for everyone of us individually) but the problem was that eeryone wanted their candy and didnt care if the poor kid had to muscle 7 more pushups hahaha it was funny so that activity kinda backfired on me. and it kinda tells ya what the people are like here, it was humorus. all the rest of our adventures are tagged with the pics. so hopefully they go thru to you. you should save all my email too if ya can cause im a little bit of a slacker writing in my journal. tell everyone i said hey and have fun on your trip. love you tons.-kode. and im 1/5 of the way done with my mission. times flying huh

July 11
hey ma! thats awesome your trip went so good! i forgot to ask last week who donated to my mission fund? everythings fine down here thismorning we were building a shack for a lady out of bamboo and wire its pretty sweet ill send you a pic when we finish it. today is changes day and at 11 ill find out where im going. so im pretty much pro at making tortillas now. we have another baptism date for the 16th of this month, a little muchacho named luigi. the whether here is starting to cool down and it rains a ton kinda like a mist. and its super muddy. that sucks that terriaki place is gone. at least you got to eat applebeez i have to eat freakin cow stomach its sick! but in that package can you send my ipod please my little touch one i got for christmas and the cord, headphones and the charger. and tell jade to load it up with some enya. and to leave everything else on it, cause i have spanish stuff on it that i need. thanks, but make sure you send it with that lady cause if you send it in the mail to peru itll get robbed. hows everyone doing down there and when does carson get shipped off to prison? chases letter is crazy thats awesome, we gave a priesthood blessing to 2 members last night who were pretty sick, less than 10 minutes later they were perfectly fine it was awesome! we,ve witnessed this miracle tons of times too. everyone thought it was going to be the end of the world here too it was pretty funny. ill spare ya on all the crazy stuff that happens here on a daily basis till when i get home haha. love you talk to ya in a week.-kode

July 18th
hey pa hows it goin? everythings goin down here south of the equator. ya i think my pods in the den somewhere but ill just buy one down here and load it up. so i need about 150-200 bucks in my account and ill take it out next monday. but if you every find it send it with that lady, that´d be awesome. why does she come down so often? the dunes sounded sweet so did you not take your bike? or did jade ride it? is it more fun on my bike with the hard sand or the soft sand? guess what im going on my six month mark sweet huh, 29 more days and im 1/4 done. halelujia. dude i guess ive had the gastrities for 3 months i have no clue what that is in english but it sucks man so im trying to get rid of it by eating a bunch of limes. could you climb choke-cherry on my bike? and hows ridge healing up haha thats pretty funny. i got a new comp last week, he´s been out 15 months and he´s from peru. he´s pretty cool, a nerd but he´s alright, and the prez told me he´s pretty lazy so i have to keep him busy, but its going good. the language is alright hopefully one day ill understand what the heck these people are trying to say haha. ankle is good. how was the washington trip? good luck in august haha that sucks. how many books are you expecting? tonight im making tacos for the prez and his family wish me luck. did you get the tranny in the jeep? talk to ya next monday pa love ya- kode


July 25
we were on our way to the hospital thismorning and the doctors called and said that the mri machine was broken so there going to set me up for another appointment i guess but dang dude thiss suckersz so loose it feels like its goin out and in all day its weird. im typing with one hand too haha and i got one of the packages im stoked to open everrything up

So on July 24th we went to Mom and Dad Martins for Sacrament to hear the homecoming of the Eaves and as we were getting ready to leave we noticed that I had had a missed call, Ken did and Jade did also.  It dawned on us that it could have been Dakotah and sure enough I had a message.  My heart sank as I tried to listen to the broken up call letting us know that he had been hurt.  Right when I was trying to hear what he was saying, he called back.  He had dislocated his arm again on his P-day the Monday earlier while jumping on a trampoline.  They were to take him for an MRI and decide what to do with him.  They were really concerned that he had had problems with his ankle off and on and decided to MRI that also.  The next day on Monday, we learned that the MRI machine was down and he would have to wait a week for the test.  We were able to find the e-mail address for the Mission President and sent him a note.  He called us later that night letting us know that if surgery needed to be performed, there was a fantastic Dr. available and the hospitals in the city were as good as any hospital here in the states.  It helped ease our fears some.  The President is concerned that he may have to have extensive therapy and if that is the case they will send him back.  BACK??  Shouldn't I be overly excited that our first son, the boy who took my heart with him when he left,  may be coming home?? A month ago I would have so said yes but the amazing change that has occurred has helped me see beyond my selfishness and all I want is for the Lord to take our Son and raise him for 18 more months then send him back.  The change that has come over him has been so beautiful and NOTHING I could have ever given him if he stayed.  I am at peace with standing back and watching the spirit touch the spirit of our son and turning him into more than just a man.  Parents can only do so much and where we fall short our Father in Heaven makes up for.  The Atonement is so much more than I ever imagined and so much more than I will EVER comprehend.  It's found in ALL we do and all lessons learned.  His experiences with the Holy Ghost and the humbleness of the Peruvian people has left and continues to leave a mark on the great man he has become and the greater man he can become.   I really pray that he will have the faith required to be well, as well as the faith he has to heal.  For me to wish for him to come home would be such a cheat for him and his future family.  He is a wonderful guy but I can only imagine what he will be when he has done all the missionary work out in the field that the Lord has assigned him to.  If it be enough and he gets sent back, so be it.  The Lord does absolutely nothing that is contrary to the plan he has for each of his Children and since I do not know his plan I will continue to  pray for him.  We are still waiting for results and the outcome of what is going to happen.  As of Monday this is all we know:

Aug 1
hey ma thanks for the letter thats awesome- whats going on up there
anything exciting? i got changed to a new zone with elder coons from
california, were just sitting in the house doing nothing all day its
pretty boring. my arms alright, it feels like it just falls out
sometimes and it kills but i guess the docs are gonna check out the
mri data today and let me know whats up, the mri tube is weird! have
you ever got one? i thought i was suppost to get one today for my
ankle but i havent heard anything, but ya ill let ya know what
happens. ill write you some more next monday or hopefully i can call
ya this week im runniing out of minutes but love you thanks mom your
the best mom in the whole world and i can say that now cause im in the
peruvian world now haha the states rule
hey old man. ya the prez told me he talked to you haha and he said we
sound almost exactly the same he thought he was talking to me. my
shoulders doing alright, i have alot more range but it feels like it
just falls out sometimes and it freakin kills at night i dunno whats
up, and my ankle is jacked its been getting stuck like crazy lately, i
thought i was suppost to get an mri on it today but i havent heard
anything yet, i got one on my shoulder it was crazy i got put in a mri
tube for 40 minutes it was way weird. so he said he wants to get me
opperated on here? dude that would blow re-cuperating here he put me
with another white dude from california and weve just been sitting in
a house all week and its driving me nuts.i think the docs are gonna
check out my mri results on my shoulder today and let me know whats
up. how did your interviews go? that sounds like fun. did you take any
pictures of the ups hub that sound like it would have to be pretty
sweet. hopefullyt ill get to call you guys this week and let ya know
whats up, thanks for celebrating my day without me haha and ya i got
one package but i havent seen the other one yet, who knows. me and
elder coons are going to an american store today to try to find bbq
sauce. keep on truckin, love ya-kode

These things are hard for Moms!  Patience and trust....That's what I need.  That's what's being taught to me.  I'm trying not to let my heart fall apart...to move forward with faith....but why is it that everything around me today is him and it's tugging at my emotions??  I'm sure I could still take him on my lap and in my arms hug and kiss him and tell he can never grown up...but the never grow up part is slippin....Things have changed a bit, he's learned to need me less and his Heavenly Father more, and as it should be.  xooxoxoxoxxoxoxox being sent to my boy.  Another lesson learned as a type...I need my Father more now too.
 

Letters from the field July 11

hey ma! thats awesome your trip went so good! i forgot to ask last week who donated to my mission fund? everythings fine down here thismorning we were building a shack for a lady out of bamboo and wire its pretty sweet ill send you a pic when we finish it. today is changes day and at 11 ill find out where im going. so im pretty much pro at making tortillas now. we have another baptism date for the 16th of this month, a little muchacho named luigi. the whether here is starting to cool down and it rains a ton kinda like a mist. and its super muddy. that sucks that terriaki place is gone. at least you got to eat applebeez i have to eat freakin cow stomach its sick! but in that package can you send my ipod please my little touch one i got for christmas and the cord, headphones and the charger. and tell jade to load it up with some enya. and to leave everything else on it, cause i have spanish stuff on it that i need. thanks, but make sure you send it with that lady cause if you send it in the mail to peru itll get robbed. hows everyone doing down there and when does carson get shipped off to prison?
chases letter is crazy thats awesome, we gave a priesthood blessing to 2 members last night who were pretty sick, less than 10 minutes later they were perfectly fine it was awesome! we,ve witnessed this miracle tons of times too. everyone thought it was going to be the end of the world here too it was pretty funny. ill spare ya on all the crazy stuff that happens here on a daily basis till when i get home haha. love you talk to ya in a week.-kode

Letters from the field July 4th

hope you guys are having fun on your road trip. thanks for the email. tell carson before he takes off that right now i wish i had a jump rope, a USB, a wrist rocket, a pocket knife, my ipod and all the church videos. let me know how his farewell goes im excited for him. and tell him to give you my guitar back. we had a ward family night this week and i did that lesson where i bought everyone a candybar and made a kid do 7 pushups for everyone for their candy. (the significance of Christs atonement for everyone of us individually) but the problem was that eeryone wanted their candy and didnt care if the poor kid had to muscle 7 more pushups hahaha it was funny so that activity kinda backfired on me. and it kinda tells ya what the people are like here, it was humorus. all the rest of our adventures are tagged with the pics. so hopefully they go thru to you. you should save all my email too if ya can cause im a little bit of a slacker writing in my journal. tell everyone i said hey and have fun on your trip. love you tons.-kode. and im 1/5 of the way done with my mission. times flying huh

Letters from the field

hey pa. that powell trip sounds awesome whos boat did you stay on and how hot was it down there? its dipping into the heart of winter down here and it rains almost everyday. we went to the temple on friday for a sealing with one of my comps old converts. we didnt end up going inside i dont know why i guess the session was full. its about an hour and a half to the temple from where were at through the crazyest traffic in the world. your lucky to see a car without a dent down here its nuts. my companion is awesome definatly one of my favorites, hes from guatamala and has been on his mission for 15 months. today were going to go buy stuff to make tacos with one of the less active families here. the people down here dont know what tacos are haha this place is weird. so im going to take 100 soles out of my checking accout today so about 40 bucks. tuesday we had a multi zone conference with the president, it was awesome cause he bought us dunkin donuts and burgerking. im teaching a bunch of kids english this wednesday so well see how that goes haha nothing else too exciting happened this week. ill take a bunch more pictures this week too i figured out how to size them down so theyre easy to send. mom wrote me a letter telling me how big of a stud you are keep it up. good luck with the jeep and send me some more pics of stuff when you get the chance. tell everyone i said hey. ill shoot you a nother letter monday. love you guys-kode

hey mom! thanks for the letter thats awesome to hear you guys had such a great time down in lake powell. i sent a letter to dad about everything but ya try to send that bubble envelope and ill see if it ever makes it here. thats awesome you got to go to the salt lake temple, i just learned a bunch of way cool stuff about that temple from a movie i just bought. like it took them 40 years to build it. they laid the whole foundation and then buried it so the government wouldnt find out about it when the armies came to utah. the foundatin cracked cause they used too much mortar so they ripped it all up and restarted its way crazy, the movie is called the mount of the lord its sweet. im finishing up the book of mormon for the 3rd time since i got here its way cool you can always get something new out of it. ive almost highlighted the whole dang thing. tell everyone i said hey. keep having fun without me haha. love you. kode

Letters from the field

hey! how are things going? everythings fine down here in the desert. the caddy looks sweet tell them good job. thats crazy theyre re'opening basin have they ever done that before? when are you heading down to powell? haha why didnt jade stay at alma? nothing too exciting happened this week, same old same old. we have a new gator who is ready to be baptized on the 18. our converts are doing awesome! theyre strong in the church and its lucas´s bday on thursday and he invited us to his party haha theyre an awesome family and have a ton of potential, were working on getting their parents married so they can be baptized. were working on building up the branch this month, so were visiting all the members and the less actives, everything is way laid back here that its hard on the church, the members buy the sacrament bread and pop for the branch after on sundays and church starts 45 minutes late and theres usually no rhyme or reason to sacrament meeting its pretty funny but hopefully we can get things a little more straightened out. im on a hunt today for flour and baking powder to make pancakes in my sandwichera haha these peruvians need to watch the food network channel more often their food sucks. i heard the same thing about the missionaries but i heard only the gringos but i dunno i just heard the new president doesnt like the north americans. i bought a guitar last week! its handmade by some skippy down in the ghetto its pretty sweet. ill send you a picture of it this week. ya with that package you can send a roping rope some more american food and some peanut mms for this one family down here that wants to try them if ya could. everyone here loves to talk about food its funny they can talk for hours about food. well tell everyone i said hola. love you tons ´kode


hey pa. haha yeah the people here definatly lack common sense and i think theyre more lazy haha. yeah its diving into winter here but its not very cold at all but the people here think its freezing. the caddy looks sweet! i told jade if it had a pin stripe it would tie it all together. how much did it cost to powdercoat the rims?  times going by way fast down here its sweet. i bought a guitar last week that was pretty crazy haha na nothing too crazy happened. my ankles giving me problems it sucks one night it got stuck and i think i finally severed my tendon cause i can feel it move up and down in my leg when i walk it sucks, hopefully it will just fix itself theyve just sent two elders home cause of their ankles to get sergury. the food you sent is heaven and all the gringos were stoked for the cornnuts and i gave a couple a butterfinger, its worth more than gold down here. im saving the jerky for deer hunting season so i can feel at home haha. today were going on a hunt for flour and baking soda so i can make pancakes in my sandwich griddle.  i sent a letter to mom too with a little more info. shoot me a message back if your still there

Monday Mail!! June 6 ,2011

hey old man! how are things going? thats funny to hear ridge had a pig in the fair i never would have guessed. what did he win? and when are you going to eat the piG? good luck with the caddy send me some pics when its finished. ya go for it throw all that crap away if you dont tell me what you throw away ill never know. the password to my hotmail acount is 123456. is dax still working in the warehouse too? tell kelsey ill write her sometime i just never have any time. have you been camping yet or 4 wheeling? and has work slowed down a bit? i got the package and i was stoked for all the food haha and so was all the other gringos we were dying for butterfingers and im eating my cornnuts now. i gave that apron, the wooden spoon the legos and the frisbee to our pensionist family, they were so stoked ill send you some pics of them. my new comp is lagit, he´s from guatamala and he´s been out 14 months, he doesnt know any english so its kinda hard to get some stuff across but its all good.i gave him that watch youguys sent cause he didnt have one and is short on cash and he was way stoked and says thanks. during changes monday the president bought each companionship a pizza from papa johns it was awsome. pizza here is way expensive its 45 soles so its 17 bucks. were teaching a family that is way poor, i think i told ya already, its a mom with cancer with 5 kids under the age of 13 and one has down syndrome. last monday me and elder rod went to the market and bought a ton of food for them and brought it to them that night, they were so happy it was way cool, her kids were stoked too it was fun. yesterday was the elections here and i guess it gets crazy during the elections so they cancelled church and we had to stay inside all day. tell the taggarts and the newtons and bishop quiggs and brook thanks for the letters, they were awsome. and that i dont know how to send them a letter back so ill write them one when i get home in a couple years. we did a service progect saturday it was brutle we had to carry about 3 tons of gravel up a mountain so a family could build a new house with it. we had about 20 guys with rice sacs and we´d just fill up the bags with rocks and climb about 200 stairs up the mountain for 4 hours. its sweet since im fresh and came from utah high up in the mountains and now were at sea level its easy as heck and everyone else is dying haha  this is the one spot in the world where us gringos can outwork the latinos. ill send you some ppics, i sized them down so hopefully they´ll come through.and check out this scripture i found out why a missionaries family is so blessed, mat 19:29.

keep on truckin- love ya , kode

Letter from the field...

Yo. weve met a ton of way cool people the last week, we trackted into a familily clear the hech up on the mountain and theyre awsome weve already taught them 3 lessons, got them to come to church and theyre getting baptized on the 28th. we have another baptism this week for a lady who has been going to church for a while now but her boyfriend wont marry her and wont get out of her house but we slapped him around with the word of god and he left so she can get baptized now. we taught a solid family last night and i feel pretty good about them. we have tons of investigators with tons of potential its exciting. the biggest obsticle we have here is marriage nobody here is married and they just live with eachother. we miss out on a lot of baptising opertunites because of it. ive looked at every store in villa hermosa and havent found one penguino and theres like 50 little stores it sucks, but i did buy myself some peanut butter and honey and its awesome. it was way freakin expensive tho and its almost gone. my shoe split already yesterday, sucky but i glued it back together and its all good now, i think its cause we walk so much we figured that we walk about 6 miles a day on rocky trails so i guess its not suprising that our shoes are getting wasted. today for pday were going to play soccer with the mexicans and look f0r penguinos at the super market. my comp had to go to the hospital on wednesday cause he has a colon infection and so i went on exchanges with an elder down here in the city. it was a good change of pace and i ran into a sister missionary who rode on the plane with us down to peru from arizona that finished her mission it was pretty funny. i bought her panda at the airport and her mom was talking about a missionary doing that for her and it was me  haha weird huh. i remembered my camera so ill send those pics over to ya. that awsome to hear everythings going so good there and that works so busy, im excited to see what it will be like when i get back. my stomach is better now still not normal but probably wont ever be if i have to eat the same freakin thing every day. spanish feels like its come to a hault which sucks hopefully i can hurry up and learn it cause i want to be able to just talk with these people instead of playing pictionary with them all the time haha. everythings good tho, most days are good some days i want to just go back home but all and all its fine. how are you liking your new mower? tell jeff i said good job with the duramax. did you replace the tranny in the jeep yet? get that dog all trained up for when i get home. ill send those pics in another email, send me some more when ya get a chance. tell everyone i said hey and ill talk to ya again in a week. love ya-kode

Peru!! Here he comes!!

Elder Martin is officially in Peru!   (I'm hoping anyways..)  He was shipped out of Arizona after a week stay and we were able to talk to him once again!  So spoiled, I know!   So for the record..April 26th was the day he left the country :)  Excited, nervous, anxious and missin him terribly are just a few of the emotions going on inside my heart and head.  The roller coaster off the Stratosphere would have been way easier to do than this.  His other best buddy sidekick, Carson received his call on Wednesday.  He will be as close as anyone to Elder Martin, he is going to Quito Equador, north of Peru.  He is the last of my boys to go for awhile.  So excited for him :)       Update: He made it!  Here is our first letter!!

Hey! im in peru this place is crazy there isnt any stop signs or anything and people drive like maniacs. the buildings are all crumbling in and the telephone poles have like a billion wires strung up on them. theres a whole bunch of little motorcycle taxis driving around and ghetto little busses called combis. people just light fires inbetween streets and theres a whole bunch of garbage laying everywhere its sweet. my comps name is elder rodriguez he´s from columbia, im teaching him english and he´s teaching me spanish. you cant drink the agua here and some of the food is bad too i guess but today the mission prez took all of us to chilis its funny theres a couple way nice restaurants scattered in all the ghetto city. remember that elder that got stabbed a few months ago down here in peru? hes in my mission and he was telling us his stabbed story it was pretty awesome you probably shouldnt tell ma tho. all the people here are pretty short and theres a bunch of dogs. soccer is huge down here theres like a million people gathered around the tv at the mall watching it. this place is seriously trippy its sweet. i´ll take some pics and send them to you on monday if i can. im heading off to villa hermosa. this is my address

Peru lima west mission

Carlos salaverry # 3664- Los olivos

casilla de correo 39-054

lima39

perú

tell jade to text that to mariah too. so mail doesnt make it across the boarder very often but if you send a package tape those pics of mary all over it. talk to ya later ill for sure have some sweet stories to tell ya.

love ya-dakotah

Elder Martin Update!

So Dakotah flew out to Arizona yesterday.  He spent 9 weeks in the Provo MTC and his visa???  Who knows!
 We were able to talk to him for an hour!  The MTC was not his favorite at all, but he did it and he is off and excited to use what he has learned and teach some people.   One of his best friends, Tanner Taggart went to the airport today and they missed each other by one day.  Both of them were not so happy with that.  It's awesome to have so many of Dakotahs friends out there in the field.  I am sooooo grateful for his fantastic friends!  We heard from Elder Martin today and here is what he had to say :

hey pa im in Maricopa AZ emailing you from the library. this place is tight everyones way nice its like were famous, pretty sweet. my comp is lagit hes been out 7 months and were "whitewashing" the area. i guess that means that all the missionaries in this area are new, theres 4 of us. were freakin confused as heck were getting all these phone calls for appointments and members calling and were just lost. the streets here are screwed up too the way utah is set up is so much nicer. we just moved into our house and its way nice and huge and its just the 2 of us. a members cooking us dinner right now thats pretty lagit. i cant remember our address but ill send you guys something when i have it. the mission president is cool and all the people working here are cool. i just got a bike and my comp has a guitar so im pretty stoked about that. the plane ride was so awesome it was way bumpy and crowded but it was fun, we flew over the grand canyon it was pretty cool. well were going off to walmart to pick up some stuff. our pdays are on mondays so ill shoot you another email. last night we stayed in a members house and they were both crazy about pianos they had like 10 grand pianos in their house and a bunch of other weird pianos mom would probably like it. i'm down here with one of my friends from school jonh garling tell carson that he'll be jeleous. well hopefully ill have some cool stories for ya by monday. talk at ya later-kode

This e-mail makes me so happy!! 

It's Official! I'm a Missionary Mom

The Call in September....Exciting and Frightening and Unimaginable
The Temple Experience  January 26th...Amazing and Spiritual and oh so Rewarding
Patriarchal Blessing on Our Wedding  Anniversary....Heart Felt and Amazed at whats in store for him.  He is because We are...One of the 4 reasons of what has became of our love
The Farewell Feb 13th....Emotional and definitely a proud moment as I witnessed the support and friendships of the present and the past
The Special FHE Ken gave with the family and the Grandparents...Highly emotional.  Reminding us that we are all fishers of Men.  The swivel snap bracelets we wear are in support of His Disciple.  And reminders that we too can be His mouthpiece.
The Setting Apart Feb 15th... The Reality of the moment and its nearness.  The Spirit so strong bearing witness of the confirmation that this is  Dakotahs journey in life for this season.
The Priesthood Blessings given to each of us by a worthy Son and a Wonderful Husband.. (words would not do justice)
The Last Dinner for 2 years as a Family....Spaghetti Factory never tasted so unsatisfying
The Drop Off Feb 16th...Hardest thing I have ever done...EVER! (along with seeing Ken off for his mission)
The First Letter....Peace, Excitement, Emotional, sensing the change that Our Heavenly Father has poured upon him  in 3 short days

What a whirlwind!  I feel like I have been taken up in a tornado.  I'm emotionally drained.  Life is still chaotic and reality still at arms length.  Feeling the reality at times and forgetting I am living it at others.   Waiting for a good night kiss and a love you Mom,  Waiting for the phone call telling me he may be late,  Extra socks on the family room floor,  Crazy ideas of what he just needs to do,  Standing inside the refrigerator door and drinking a BOWL of milk until its gone and then shutting the door,  An extra boy or two at the house, A cute girl that was becoming a fixture, A major car project or climbing wall being built, An arm wrestle with his Dad that he just can't win, and when I get the courage, a terribly messy room left for me to clean with the thought of anger helping my sadness disappear!
2 Years seems like 4-ever, the last 3 days an eternity.  How blessed I am to be surrounded by people that love him and are such wonderful friends to me.  One Mom?  Not even, He is blessed with many!  I am surrounded with support, and my biggest support ever, comes from beyond this place I call home.
Let the Journey begin, after all I CAN do hard things.  (maybe I will believe it if I say it enough!)

Missionary Man

  Dakotah is leaving and it's a dream come true for me, a Dream I have hoped for, Prayed for and a Cause that has influenced the way we Live, Love and Learn, a major Turning Point, A time for growth, A time for Strength, A time for Hope, A time for Love, A time for many Prayers shared for One Cause, A time for a Mothers Smile and a Fathers Encouragement, A time for Brothers and a Sisters chance to realize how much Family Ties mean.  To be a part of something so much more than we are.  To witness many coming back to the Father who sent them.  For Generations affected for the Better because of One willing to Sacrifice and Serve.  How Grateful I am and how Proud!  There have been many wonderful, spiritual moments in my life but seeing Dakotah enter the Temple seems to be among the Top.  So I hold my breath and continue to do the best I can and pray for our other children as they go through life. 

Life As We Know It

So its official...Dakotah has his call to Lima West Peru!!  Feb 16th and so much to do.  We had to celebrate so we took an overextended weekend and went out of town.  We headed to Island Park with the Alan Martin family where we 4-wheeled and floated the river for a couple of days.  Beautiful Beautiful fall weekend.  Warm and sunny.  We went to Yellowstone and stayed the night in Jackson.  What a great get-away!

 Love this family of mine!!  How blessed we are and how excited we are for Dakotah as he embarks on a new Chapter of his life.  Bitter-Sweet is a perfect word describing this change that will soon be here.  A word that can only be understood in a situation such as this (right Hilary?)