Missionary Status:

The elder Elder Thompson is back! (and he's grown an inch)  It has been a wonderful.  We have enjoyed having him back oh so much.  It's been great to hear more about his mission and share things that have gone on here in the last two years in greater depth.  We've had some great times.

He has kept opening the fridge and being amazed at all of the food.  He'll open the drawers and say 'just so many good things that I love'. He has missed cooking, so I know we have some cooking adventures in our future!  He's got some new ideas of things to try so I'm sure it will be exciting.  

One funny thing he shared with me (that is most likely blog-allowable by his standards):  he was transferred to a new area for his last six weeks.  During a Sunday class of one of his first weeks in the area the teacher asked him how long he'd been out.  He told them 22 months.  The teacher was shocked thinking his suit looked so new that he must be a newly arrived missionary.  Then he asked if his suit was brand new.  It wasn't. The teacher was amazed. That is what happens when you are in a mostly driving mission and the person is meticulous. It's great that we don't have to buy him new Sunday clothes for a while (surprisingly they still fit with the growth).

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Caleb is having a GREAT time.  We haven't known when he would be leaving for Argentina because the MTC lost his language score a few times and the time frame for visas being granted is always a question, but he flies out Monday--just 12 days there.  So crazy and exciting for him.  Cache is going to visit him tomorrow so that will be good for both of them.  

Ah.  Missionaries.  I love it.

And He's Off!

We had way too many 'adventures' getting Caleb ready for his mission to count.  I have a story in my journal called "The Miracle of the Passport".  To that, I could add  "Miscommunications in Becoming an Elder"  and "THE Night Before"  among others, but all would tell of odd roadblocks that made getting Caleb ready memorable (not all in a good way!).  Between all of that, getting a high school senior ready to leave for a foreign country that you can't send packages to and where everything is so expensive just 19 days after graduation felt like running a marathon!  Seniors in high school are typically focused on Prom and AP tests, graduation, and last hurrahs to really think a great deal about a mission; he was not much different.  So those 19 days after graduation were very tightly packed.   Just for my records, it cost about $3500 to get him sent out.  And we were super conservative!  I'm amazed at the difference--we only spent $1300 getting Cache ready to go.

He was all smiles all day.  He was SO excited!

Chan is going to miss having Caleb around too.

These two are best buds.

She's going to grow up so much in two years.

The girls insisted on riding with Caleb from the temple grounds to the MTC.

Because of the rush, hurried effort, apparent opposition and strange hiccups, dropping him off ended up just being a huge relief. It was quite an accomplishment to have completed everything that needed to be done, to make it there in one piece and to have good feelings in everyone's hearts.  I felt a little bad that I didn't feel so empty and train-wreckish driving away from the MTC like I did with Cache. But I was just SO thankful to have made it there with him ready that no other emotion could have filled my heart.  Plus I've decided that it truly is a privilege to send a missionary out. For quite a while I've felt a bit sorry for myself about the overlap, but I've decided just to be very happy about it.  It's been much better that way.  

This is my 2 for 1 week.

I get to have two missionaries out for one week. How lucky am I?

(I'll be honest, though, I am super excited for Wednesday!! But at the same time, I'm really sad for Cache that it is coming to an end.  Always a mixture of bitter with sweet it seems.)

iStrengthen My Family

This year in Primary to go along with the theme of Families are Forever, we decided to do a summer challenge.  We have been developing it since last November and it has come together piece by piece.  I have felt inspiration in every step of its development. I love that. 

The kids have an opportunity to earn this ultra cool iStrengthen My Family phone!

The phone images will be printed as a photo and then mounted on black foam core and cut out.  They look very real and cool.  We've had a lot of people ask if they are real phones.

Basically the kids have a list of activities that they can complete to strengthen their past, present and future families.  For completing just one activity in each category, they will receive their own phone. The phone will come with an app for Past family, Present family and Future family.  If they complete more activities, they get extra battery boost (on the back).We wanted something easy to manage for parents, but motivating for kids.  Time will tell the success of it, but it seems like the kids are pretty excited about it.

At the end of the summer we will have a culminating activity where they will sign contracts to get their phone and attend activities to get more apps:  a service app, a music app and a game app.  Each activity will provide more ways they can strengthen their family.  Each of those apps are printed on label stickers that will be added at each station as they participate. An app is something you apply so it is fitting for the theme.  At the activity, our music leaders will do a station teaching children how to strengthen their family through Primary music; the games station will teach the children a few fun and easy games to play with their family and at the service station they will make a service token to leave behind when they have done an act of service in their family that will be passed along as they each give service.  

The white rectangle is so we have a spot to write their names.

To introduce the challenge I had one of my Presidency member's ring tone on my real phone be the chorus of "Families Can Be Together Forever" and had them call me during Primary. Both of the phones were in a basket; I answered with the iStrengthen phone and had a one sided conversation that explained the challenge to them.  At one point I said "You are going to give every Primary child their very own iStrengthen My Family phone just for completing the challenge?  Do you realize I have 80 Primary children???"  That really got their attention!  It's been a fun project to work on and develop.  I hope it makes a difference for at least one child!