Saying Good Bye!

A month before we went to the MTC we went on a couple trips to see our children that lived out of state. It was so fun to see them, and the goodbyes weren’t as difficult as we thought they may be.In Omaha, we were able to meet our new twin granddaughters. We enjoyed seeing Vince and Mandy’s new home. 

We stayed with Julia and Kyle in their new home. We were grateful to see Tammy after her eye surgery. We spent hours laughing and having fun. In Denver, it was fun seeing Aaron at work. 

We had an incredible time going sailing with Sherri, Ken and Wesley.  It was great seeing Sherri’s new cabin and Mark's trailer on the ranch. It was definitely hard leaving my grandson, Wesley, after the week I had in southern Utah! 

We were thrilled to have a couple of weeks with Scott and Stacy and their six children before we left. Sammy and Ollie tried on my glasses and both laughed... It must be because they were so cute on me! In reality they were a lot cuter on them. We spent time with David and Leslie and their children. It was all great!    

I think one of the hardest goodbyes was leaving my little dog, Belle. There was no way I could prepare her. There was no way she would understand. I know it sounds silly, but she was always there for me through the cancer experience, with Jared. Now I felt like I was abandoning her. I was thrilled Lisa agreed to love and care for her. She kept getting in my suitcase.

The weekend before we left, Aaron came in from Denver. It was so much fun hanging out with my four youngest children. We spent time with my two best friends, Julie and Catherine as well. It was a great time! However, it did not prepare me for the airport! Kristina, Aaron, Jared and Katie took us to the airport. The time had finally come to say our goodbyes. Tears started to flow, hearts started to ache. None of us were prepared for the parting. 

Jared and I had been through so much over the last three years. Thank heavens Katie was there for him. After we made it through security Kristina sent me a text and said, “Aaron and I are sitting in the car crying. We had no idea it would be so hard, don't do this again." I sent a text back to her and said "do you not want us to come home and in-between missions?" 

She sent me a text back and said, “No, I want you to call Salt 
Lake and tell them you are not going on the second mission to Italy!”

Sherri and Ken sailing.

Sherri’s Cabin

Jared and Katie at our cook out.

Jared, Lisa, Kristina, and Aaron at our cook out.

 

 Katie and I