GETTING Close to DEPARTURE DATE

Love these pretty grand daughters, Gretchen, Whitney, Shantelle and Brooklyn Waltman.

We had a birthdayparty for Lance and a little missionary fireside for us at Bryan's house last Sunday.  It was wonderful having all the kids ask questions and give us advice.  So touching for us.

Here are Emma Waltman and Brooklyn.  Cute little cousins!  How they will change while we are gone!

Here is Darren waiting to give his advice about writing home and being good to the young elders in Cyprus.  He told us our example in serving would do more for our family than anything we could do here.  Thanks Darren!

We had the oldest grandkids to breakfast this morning after seminary.  Grandpa makes the best light hotcakes known to man--or at least the grandkids!

Crazy kids dancing for us after breakfast. Lyndon, Whitney, Wesley, Gretchen and Shantelle break fast brake dancing.  We are going to miss these kids!
If I did this right,  the next thing should hopefully be Lyndon jumping the rope!

I found some pics to practise blogging and to keep us remembering on the mish!

Mark holding Reese Miller, Jennifer's youngest. She and her mother came for a visit in October.

We wined and dined Jennifer shown here with Aaron.

                     Strange brothers, Aaron and Dennis.

Cute newly weds--actually a year already!  Mark and Samantha.

Not so cute, but ready to serve the Lord in 3 short weeks.

Add caption

 Reese loved being at Grandpa's house without all her brothers and sisters. She got pretty spoiled!

Trying to perfect a hotdog, Samantha and Jennifer!

Scared D. Cat and Dennis' dog.

 Carter and kitty. I am going to love these cat pics on the mish! JK.  It's really the grand kids I will miss!

Maren, Grant, Dennis, Erica and Bryan at Texas Road House. It seems like we are forever eating!

Our other young married couple here in Oklahona, Grant and Maren.

Flake Sisters Retreat Oct 30-Nov 2, 2011

 So my fantastic sisters planned a wonderful retreat/birthday party for me in Utah last weekend.  We went to a resort northeast of Ogden called Wolf Creek. We took some great walks, hot tubbed, watched a scary movie, (The Village) romantic ones too, and ate ourselves sick.  We didn't get much sleep, but the bonding, advice and spirit was enough to last me at least 18 months!

 Here we are: RaeAnn, Jolynne, MayLynn, Claudia, Lova, Elaine and me!!  Carolee took the picture.

What a wonderful 62nd Halloween birthday, replete with games, gifts, spooks and loads of love and best wishes for my future mission to Greece.  I am now all ready to be the best companion my husband will have on his mission!

Computer tricks and grandkids!

We got a new laptop computer for our mission so Donna came over to help us figure it out.  We are not very technically gifted;  I am scared we will have trouble Skypeing and blogging and even e-mailing on our mission, but thank you for trying Donna dear!

Carter, Donna and Bryan's youngest of their 8, watched his favorite Dora the Explora while we worked.

Donna is explaining computers for idiots.  The real idiot is taking the picture.

Finally Dennis and Erica's kids came home from school.  Here is Grant (8) eating a cream puff.

 

 

Toothless gummers, Brooklyn and Grant--both Dennis' kids and our  next door neighbors!

Beautiful Sarah, Brianna and Brooklyn again.  Parents went to Washington so the kids stayed with their cousins.

Oops, Carter found the Halloween tricks and treats.  Still two weeks til that lovely holiday.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Practicing on this blog has me a little worried about what I might write on our mission.   Surely I can come up with more interesting wordage that this.  The pictures are cute enough, I just don't have much to say.  It's boring!  Oh, well.  Maybe I'll improve.

Video of Call Opening

We Finally Got the Call to Serve!

Saturday afternoon Oct. 8th, we gathered our sons and their families at our home to open our mission call. Our daughters, the Millers, Cases and Hayes families, were watching or listening via skype or cell phones.  Darren's and Nathan Berrett's families joined us--even Shea Danner was present.  It was a complete surprise, very humbling, and a total blessing to be called to serve in the Greece Athens Mission as "member and leader support missionaries"!!!

 How thankful we are for this wonderful call to serve the Lord! We hope to be ready to enter the MTC in Provo on November 28--only seven weeks away!! This picture shows some of us at our weekly temple date, Darren and Melanie, Aaron and Kim, Nathan and Kathy Berrett (Donna's sister), Virgil and Lucy, Barry, Bryan and Donna, Dennis and Erica.

More pictures and fun stuff

We still don't have our call to serve, but we are getting excited.  Hopefully we won't miss everyone too much.  Here are a few pictures of our wonderful and supportive family.

This past summer we went to Idaho for Justin Christensen's wedding.  It took place in a beautiful vineyard in Melba Valley.  Maren and Grant pose for a picture with the backdrop of the vineyard and the Owyhee Mountains in the distance.

We will definitely miss Aaron and Kim shown here at the vineyard wedding.

Barry and Carin were also there.

Cute newlyweds, Mark and Samantha, in our kitchen at home.

 Donna, Shantelle (our oldest grand child) and Bryan in our living room, come for a visit.

 Sorry, I'm thinking about cats again.

We loved having Brian and Michelle live with us this summer.

Some of the grand kids at the BYU game against Old Miss. Sept.3, 2011

Bathing beauties, Michelle, Samantha and Maren at Aaron's hot tub.

Dennis won something at our Virgil Christensen Family Reunion this summer.

Jennifer and Mark playing volleyball at reunion.