John Goes on a Mission!

 I've already written several times about John's mission, and I'll definitely be talking about it more in the future, so the main purpose of this post is pictures! These are the pictures leading up to and including the start of John's mission to Denver Colorado South, which started on August 12th. He loved his time in the MTC, and he's been in Colorado since September 3rd. I'm happy to report that he seems to be doing quite well there. One month down, 23 more to go!

This was him giving his farewell talk, as Bishop Harris looks on. A friend took this screenshot because she was watching at home from Zoom and she sent this to me, which was so thoughtful.

Here he was with some of his remaining friends that day. His three best friends had all left on their missions, and he was the next one to go. Only Ashley, the girl on the far left, is a member of the Church (for now! 😉).

That evening, John was set apart as a missionary. It was a special blessing he was given, and it was a memorable experience.

These are the men who stood in the circle.

After the setting apart, John wanted me to take some pictures of him outside of the church. 

He wanted to take a few more once we got home, too. I think he was planning his farewell-for-two-years post on Instagram, and he wanted the perfect picture for it.

I like this one because it reminds me of a young bird about to spread its wings and fly off into the world. It was a fitting analogy!

I think he used this picture in his Instagram post.

Classic!

This was his first day of home MTC, which he did for a week and enjoyed.

Some of his friends came over and visited and brought him food from Taco Bell during his week of home MTC. These are the shoes of his friends in the second picture up above.

Andrew and John probably won't see each other for three years because Andrew plans to leave for his mission in a year. Three years!

With Aunt Liz. She's always loved "Johnny."

John's departure day for Utah was Tuesday, August 20th. He, Sam, my parents, and I drove into Logan Airport in Boston that morning to see him off. 

Hugging little bro one last time.

I like that the American flag is in this picture, since John is serving an American mission (the greatest nation on earth! Well, for now anyway. 😅).

💖 Our last family picture for awhile. 💖

I didn't get emotional until he walked away to go through security. Then it got real. 😥 

One last picture, and right under the flag, too!

I watched him go through security until I couldn't see him anymore. This really is the last picture I took of him.

 It was weird to leave the airport to go home without him, with him still there and off to the West for two years. It all felt a little surreal, like "Is this actually happening?" And fortunately, it was.

I was emotional for the rest of the day, but I've adjusted more quickly than I thought I would to him being gone and not being a quick phone call or a text away. I know that he's in the best place he could be, doing the best work he could be doing. And I'm so proud of him. 

May God be with all of us until we meet again.

My Deer Friend(s) in the Woods!

 Much to my delight, I've been enjoying some Briar Rose/Snow White moments in the woods recently. I discovered the sweetest deer on one of my walks in the woods last month! She didn't run away and she had a sweet, gentle, chill spirit about her. She was a rarity among deer 😄, and she made my day!

Do you see her?

She's ready for her close-up, Mr. DeMille. 😉

I got a vertical shot, too. (No, not that kind of shot. Never!)
Isn't she pretty?

Why thank you! 😆

When I walked by again a few minutes later from a different place on the path, she was still there. I spotted her through the trees.

😍

I attempted a couple of selfies with my deer friend. She came out better than I did.

She was so chill, just meandering along without a care in the world. So unusual for a deer when a human is nearby!

Then, a couple of weeks later, I saw a deer in the same woods again who wasn't afraid. I think it was the same one, but I can't be sure. The relaxed personality leads me to believe that it was.

Selfie time again!

And this was yet a different day. This encounter left me a little worried. I'm not sure if this was her or not, but again, due to personality, I think it may have been. She had discoloration on her body that I hope was dried mud and not sickness. I've been kind of worried about her since then.

Why the discoloration? I hope she's okay. I love having a deer friend, or friends, on my walks in the woods.

On a related note, unbeknownst to me, there had been a storm that caused some destruction in these peaceful, beautiful woods. I was surprised by the extent of it!

This picture doesn't do it justice, but this is a HUGE long tree that had come down.

I'm about to go out now for another walk in these woods. Most of the time, I do see a deer, but only sometimes do I see the sweet, chill one who doesn't run away from me. She's my deer dear friend! 😉

John Goes to the Temple

 Friday, August 2nd was a very special day. John went to the temple to receive his endowment! It was a warm, sunny summer day, and we went to the 12:00 session at the Boston Temple (which, incidentally, is one of my favorite places in the world that is also just about as close as you can get to heaven! I may have mentioned that on here before 😉.). My dad was John's escort, and my mom was there too. It was a special and memorable experience with my eldest son, and I'm so happy and thankful that he's chosen to make these sacred covenants. They can be a game-changer in life if you let them be, and I hope that John will do just that for the rest of his life. 

We didn't take as many pictures as I wanted because there was another family taking pictures on the lawn, but we still got some nice ones to commemorate this very special occasion.

With my parents/John's grandparents

He was off to Denver, Colorado for his mission almost one month exactly from this day!

Some of life's most valuable treasures are in this picture: the temple, The Book of Mormon, and my son.
Not necessarily in that order. 😉

John is not only physically strong, but spiritually strong! 😄 

The temple is the best place you can go to get closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and to increase your spiritual strength. 

I love this one of us. I'll always treasure it and what it means to me as a mother. 🤍

Later that day, his missionary tags arrived in the mail. Good timing! 

He still had a little over a week until his mission began.

Now he's been on his mission for almost one month, with one week doing home MTC, two weeks at the Provo, Utah MTC (which he loved), and last Tuesday, he flew to Colorado and began his time in the field serving, inviting, and teaching others about God, Jesus Christ, and the gospel of Christ and His restored church. It's the beginning of what I hope will be one of the greatest experiences of his life!