The mission call

I couldn't believe that the day was finally here for Jadon to turn in his mission papers.  Because of busy schedules, we had a hard time getting him in to see the stake president.  Once it finally happened and we knew his papers were officially turned in, it was the longest two weeks of my life.  Our bishop was able to check the status of where the call was.  He let us know when he was "ready to be assigned".  He let us know on April 21, 2015 that the call had been assigned.  That was a Tuesday so we expected that it would come the Thursday of the same week.  That was the pattern with all the other boys who had already received their calls.  So we planned to open it Thursday night.  I spent the day cleaning the house and making treats.  So when the mail came that day, and the call wasn't in it, we were all pretty disappointed! 

 

Dale and I had tickets to go see Brian Regan, in Logan, for Friday April 24th so I was pretty positive that it would come on Friday.  That's exactly what happened.  When I was taking Katie to school on Friday, the mailman tried to hand deliver it.  He left a cute note on the door telling us that the call was in the mailbox.  Jadon had decided that he wanted to invite all his friends and family to be there when he opened his call.  That left us waiting until the next night. 

 

 

I knew Saturday April 25th was going to be a long day so I decided we should keep busy.  I got up and started making treats for the big event.  I had made a bunch on Thursday that we gave away because I wanted fresh desserts for Saturday.  So I started over again on Saturday.  Then we went to the temple to do baptisms.  Kierra had a baby to take care of, as part of her child development class, so she wasn't able to come with us.  I was sad she couldn't be there.  It was so nice and relaxing to be in the temple with my family.  It really helped with the anxiety we had been feeling all week.  After that we went to Katie's softball game where she got her first hit of the season!  Then we all went out to lunch.  Gladys arrived at our house at 4:00. Jadon had to work for two hours (5:00-7:00) so while he was at work, I finished the baking and visited with Gladys.  At 7:00 Jadon came home and we just sat around waiting for people to arrive.  He and I both felt like we were going to throw up!

 

The snacks for the party

 

Little elder bunnies that Kierra made

Jaxon, Annie, Darrell and Sharalee making predictions

 

We had a large map of the world so that everyone could make their guesses for where he was going.  While people were arriving, they placed their guesses on the map.  Jadon guessed Boise, Idaho.

 

Jadon's friend Andrew Searle and his mom, Wendy

 

The house filled up pretty quickly with all of our friends and family.  It is so neat to have the support of people that we love with us for this awesome event.  A lot of our family was there and tons of ward members and friends.  We have known most of the people in our ward for over 10 years so they are like family to us.

 

 

We announced that he would open his call at 8:00.  By the time most of the people were there (we couldn't wait for Doyle because Jadon's friend, Connor, was opening his call at 8:30 pm) we finally were ready about 8:15 pm.

 

 

Lisa tried to get a picture of his shaking hand before he opened the big white envelope!

Jadon with his very proud, excited and nervous parents

Here we go!

 

 

Jadon stood up on a stool because the kitchen and family room were full of people.  I wanted everyone to be able to see and hear him.

 

 

Elder Jadon Wilson Byers, you are hereby called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  You are assigned to labor in the New Hampshire Manchester Mission.

 

Everyone clapped and cheered.  I think everyone was really surprised.  I asked everyone if anybody guessed that and it turns out that I was closest with my guess of New York.

 

 

After everyone but family left, Jadon posted his call on facebook

 

 

and then we were able to sit on the couch and look over his book that showed the area that his mission covered.  His mission is in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.  We are all so excited that he will be serving in such a beautiful part of the United States.  I am planning to go back with Dale and Jadon after he comes home and I want to add New York to our trip since he has always wanted to go there.

 

 

This is how Jaxon looked after Jadon got his call.  He will miss his big brother so much!

 

I love this picture!  We have the best bishop in the world.  He is such a wonderful caring person.  He genuinely cares about everyone in our ward.  There is a group of 6 boys that all got their calls within about 2 months.  I imagine that the bishop's heart is so full of love for them. 

I am so happy that Jadon has chosen to serve a mission.  The week we were waiting for his call to come was very stressful.  The second he opened the envelope, and told us where he was going, the stress was gone.  It just felt so peaceful and right.  I will miss him terribly but I know he is doing the right thing and is going to where the Lord needs him!

Sweet sixteen!

 This week Kierra turned 16.  I can't believe my kids are growing up so fast and how each year seems to go by faster than the last one.  Kierra is growing up and I am really proud of the person she is becoming.  She is very independent and if she wants to do something, she does it.  She is very artistically talented.  It is amazing how she can draw anything and how fast she does it.   She has recently discovered acrylic paints and is painting anything she can get her hands on.  Phone cases, scissors, staplers.  She is getting her own room as soon as Jadon leaves on his mission so she's painting everything to match the colors of her new room.

 Kierra has a lot of great friends.  She loves doing things with them.  She is frequently found walking to Subway with friends.  That's what she did on her birthday.  The friends in the picture above walked to Subway together and then came back to our house to play games.

 Kierra is always willing to try new things.  She doesn't seem to have many fears of things.  We recently went on a cruise to Mexico.  She did paddle boards, power snorkeling and boogie boards.  She had a great time spending time with her cousins and always looked super cute on our trip.

Kierra is a great student.  She has almost consistently had a 4.0 through highschool with the exception of one A-.  She is very independent in school too.  I never have to remind her about homework.  If she needs help, she always goes to school early to get help from  her teacher.  She has found a love for sign language.  She recently participated in a state wide ASL competition and she took 1st place in her category.  We were so proud of her!  I love that she knows what she wants to do after highschool.  She wants to be a teacher to deaf children.
I am so happy with Kierra and the decisions she is making in her life.  She has a strong testimony of the gospel and is a great example to those around her.  I feel very blessed to have her for my daughter.  I love you Kierra!