in the driver's seat

Elder Australia Gremmert has done most of the driving in his companionships since he has been there.  I can tell he is glad he is in the driver's seat here... but then again, he likes being in charge.  I have a friend in Australia (well, actually, she is my friend Ronda's friend but I have adopted her after a shared mini roadtrip.  Aaron actually met her in Australia and then I got to hang out with her here in the US) anyway....who has a single daughter.  We made a little arrangement last Spring and now she is writing me to let me know that her daughter has been seeing someone else!  What nerve!  It is all in good fun - but poor Aaron when he gets home.... I will have to stop asking all the nice, intelligent, cute 20-something gals if they have a boyfriend before he gets here.  We got a bunch of emails from Aaron tonight - he sounds like he in lovin' being a district leader again and not having all the responsibilities (and meetings) of a zone leader.  He gets along with his companion and they sound busy - and he said he is sending me Cadbury!  Maybe this isn't a good time to have given up white sugar?

Elder MTC (OK...New York) Gremmert

Seth sent us his SD card... there were some pretty amusing photos but this is one of the favorites.  It looks like he just loves all the paperwork that goes along with being a zone leader in the MTC.  Don't worry, Seth, there will be paperwork for the rest of your life....  Doesn't that look remind you of how most of us feel when it is time to do our taxes?   He and another missionary from our ward, Brady Paxman, are both in the MTC right now.  They are actually in the same dorm, on the same floor and Brady was just made a zone leader too.  What are the chances of that?  Carnation has turned out some pretty amazing young men! 

You can't see it here, but his nametag has Elder Gremmert on the top line and then "American Sign Language" just below it.  He graced us with a crayon rubbing of it on one of his first letters home -

He will be off to New York in just a couple weeks.

Elder Japan Gremmert

Jacob sent us this shot in June 2008.  It is one of my favorites of Jacob - his is grinning even though it looks soooo cold there!  I am sure that it was actually taken in March or April.  He wrote us describing the snow.  We always think of snow as being beautiful even if we don't want to deal with driving in it, but when it hangs around for months in a city it can get pretty dirty.  He is lovin' that REI jacket and boots - no wonder they call Sapporo missionaries the frozen choosen!

Elder Australia Gremmert

Here is one of my favorite pictures that we have gotten from Aaron while he has been serving in Australia. He sent us this in June 2008.  Besides that it is a great shot in front of the temple, he just looks so happy.  Can't you just see the differences in personalities between him and his companion?  Just look at the way they are standing.  Maybe I feel kinda sorry for that companion... I wonder if they got along?  Aaron is older than many of the missionaries that he serves with, but it sounds like he has gotten along with all his companions.... maybe we will hear more stories after he gets back!

where to start?

These are a couple of the oldest pics on my laptop, so it is as good a place to start as any...  We decided to fly Seth home for a 3 day weekend October 2008.  We had dropped him at BYU Provo the end of August, it was our church's conference weekend which has always been a big family weekend for us and we were really missing the parts of our family that were gone.  We felt bad for Eli, who had lost all the other bigger (or at least older) members of his pack.  Darren and I decided that we COULD fly him home, but that it wasn't an option for Aaron and Jacob.  We also knew that he would most likely be gone by this year's October conference on his mission - and we were right.   As you can see, we had tons of fun and Noah loved having his Seth back and not just seeing him on Skype.  Noah is obviously a good tongue catcher at 10 months!  Ryan and Tiffany were in Seattle that weekend too, so we all got together.  I am so glad now that we spent the time and $$ to have the memories now.  We can't take that $$ with us, but the memories are forever.

Snapshots in time

I decided to look back at this blog from when I was pregnant with Noah and can't believe that it has been almost 2 years since I last posted.  This is a lot like my life's attempt at keeping a journal... I do great for chunks of time and then just forget about it.  Still, a snapshot in time is better than none at all, right?  I would like to think that I will keep this blog current - that family and friends can stay connected this way.  But really - I like snapshots... so I am sure it will be more like that.  Did you ever wonder what missionaries do in the MTC in their spare time? (photo by Elder Seth Gremmert)