March

Up date for March.

We got 6 new baby Chickens. They are so Cute!

Happy Birthday to Brad on the 26th! The Best Husband and Dad!

And Happy Birthday to Grandpa  on 27th. We Love you!

Fun Weekend in Leeds

We went to Leeds for the weekend, (it was so nice and warm, nice to get away from the cold) We got to go listen to Cody's farewell talk at the church and spend some time with him before he enters the MTC next week. It's always nice to spend time with Lyman and Cody they are great friends. We will miss having Cody on our hunting trips this summer, but look forward to spending time with Lym.

Cody's Farewell

The boys all went out shooting on Saturday afternoon and had a great time while Brookelyn and I spent time with my Mom.

On Saturday evening we went to St.George and had Dinner With Mark and Linda. They had the missionaries over for dinner and it was nice to visit with them. One of the missionaries was in St.George waiting for his visa to come and then he is going to........ Maceio Brazil! yes the exact same mission that Bradley's in. It was so fun to tell him some of the stories that Bradley had written home about. I had my laptop with me so I showed him all of Bradley's Pictures, I hope his visa comes soon, I think seeing the pictures and hearing the stories got him excited to get there. His Name is Elder Whitaker, he's on right with the blue tie.


Making fun of Bradley's short tie that we saw in the pictures.



I'm showing them pictures of Maceio on my laptop.

Thanks to Mark and Linda for sharing the missionaries with us. It helps when I'm missing Bradley!



Troy Scott Sullivan

We will miss Troy, He was a great friend, we have lots of fun memories growing up with him. He could always make you happy and when you were with Troy you were always laughing, he was a happy, loving friend. I know that Troy is free from the pain of cancer and that he is happy, I am greatful to know that I will see him again!

Happy Birthday Bradley!

    Today is Bradley's 20th Birthday! I can't believe he's 20 years old, I was 20 when I had him WOW! I feel old.

    Bradley has been great. He's always been a good example not only to his little brothers and sister but to Brad and I.  I am so greatful that I was chosen to raise him as my son!

Happy Birthday, We Love You!!

He also gets to share his birthday with his adorable little cousin who was born today! Sadie is the cutest little girl. I got to sit and hold her and even change her diaper a couple of times today!

Christmas

Christmas at our house was exciting this year because we got to talk to Bradley on the web cam.
 It was also pretty quiet, it's weird to only have teenagers on Christmas, It's alot easier before Christmas, but at bed time on Christmas eve it's kinda sad, We read a Christmas story on Christmas eve like we always have, and opened our Christmas Pj's, and the kids always sleep together on Christmas eve, this year they chose the TV room in the basement, they played video games.
They got us up at 6:30, we opened presents and then we had a nice breakfast before Bradley called at 10:00 I miss having little kids sometimes, but at other times I'm so glad that I'm past all of that. I guess I'll just have to wait until I have grand kids :)

Christmas Phone call
We got to talk to Bradley on the web cam on Christmas. It was soooo great! the internet connection was really good, We were worried that it would cut out and not have very good reception but it worked perfectly the whole time! We hooked the computer to the big TV and so we could all see him, It was just like he was sitting in the room talking to us.

We talked to him for a little while and he told us some stories and bore his testimony to us and it was very spiritual, then we called Dean and Jill to come over and let them talk to him for a minute, then we had a couple of his friends come over. I think it was fun for him to see everyone, he talked alot to McKay and Micah about the Mission and that it's hard, but it's worth it. He won't see them for 3 years, because they will be on their missions when he gets home. He told us that when he first was out on the mission he was there for other reasons, but now it's very spiritual and now that he feels comfortable with the language it getting easier and better, He loves the families of the wards, and he loves the little kids that are always running up to him and hugging him. They love his blonde hair and blue eyes.

We got to talk to Elder Oborn, while Bradley talked to his family, It was fun to hear Elder Oborn tell how quiet and shy Bradley was when he first arrived in Maceio, he said that he's not like that any more and he loves being Bradley's companion. They have alot of fun together.

We also got to talk to the Sister Missionary's, they are very cute and sweet. Sister Campos and Sister Nigri, both from Brazil. Sister Campos got on a few times, She bore her testimony to us in English, Bradley helped her a little bit but she did great! When Bradley was talking to her family, she was telling us that Bradley is her very best friend in the mission, it was fun to watch them talk to each other and joke around.

It was interesting to watch and listen to Bradley switch back and forth between English and Portuguese, he would be talking to us in English and then he would turn and say something to someone in Portuguese and he didn't even have to think about what to say. He said that he used to have to think of the word in English then translate it to Portuguese but he doesn't have to do that anymore, it just comes naturally now, a few times during our conversation, he couldn't think of a word in English, we would have to help him, and some English words sounded weird to him. It's only been 7 months, I wonder how it will be after 2 years? When he was speaking to us in English, he has an accent, it's so cute!

Brad took the laptop outside and showed him Koda his Husky, and took it out front and looked up and down the street, he was bummed that we didn't have any snow. Then he took him all around the house. Bradley misses Carpet, he hasn't seen carpet since he left the Provo MTC, we had a fire going in the fire place and he wanted to look at it. He said that he loves our house.

Bradley has really grown a lot, his testimony is so strong and he just has this sweet spirit about him. He has really helped my testimony grow, I can't even explain how proud I am of him, I think only a mother can understand how I feel.

6 Months!

Bradley hit the 6 month mark on November 26th. He's 1/4 of the way done with his mission.
It has gone by so slow yet kinda fast.  I miss him so much each day, and I sit by the computer every Monday until I get his email. It's nice to email back and forth with him when we are on at the same time.

It's been an awesome experience to read his letters and hear how much his testimony is growing and how much he loves the people of Brazil.  I am so greatful that he has this chance to serve in Brazil, and learn about a whole new culture and way of life. I'm also greatful for the chance he has to serve the Lord and have an experience that will help him throughout the rest of his life.

WE LOVE YOU BRADLEY!



Burning his tie - 6 month mark



Nauvoo

Brad had the oppurtunity to drive to Nauvoo with his mom, She has been called to serve a mission there for 18 months. They had a great time seeing the sites along the Pioneer trail!

We are all so very Proud of Janet and happy that she has this chance to serve a mission and serve the Lord.

If only I could go to Paris...

Brookelyn entered the Inspirations contest at school. The theme was If Only...  Brookelyn Made the Eiffel Tower out of toothpicks and she called it "If only I could go to Paris..."  and she won in her category and age group. Her project will be going to regions in the 3-D art category.