CCM bonus photos #2
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MAUI
This trip turned out to be better than we could have hoped. And not because we went to Hawaii. I mean, that's an amazing place and it definitely lived up to our expectations. But Brynne was able to go with us and for the last week before her mission we were together as a family. THAT is the part that made it super amazing. And that's something that I plan to repeat for all future missionaries in our family. It probably won't be as luxurious as Hawaii, but finding a place to be alone as a family is a must. We flew out of Portland and had an afternoon to kill on our way up there. Josh loves the Japanese Garden and so his vote was to take the kids there. I don't know if they appreciated it as much as the entrance fee....but since the cost of our entire family is basically a year family membership...we did that and will have to go back at least once in the next 12 months. Maybe combine it with a zoo visit or something cool like that...
Mission Send-Off
We sent off our missionary almost two weeks ago. The time has flown by! I think it was most helpful that she had a year at BYU-Idaho so I got used to having her gone...and then this summer when she was home she wasn't really HOME much. Between work and her social life, our time with her was precious. I've never been part of a missionary setting apart, so I was looking forward to that experience. Our stake president and his wife came to our home on Monday evening. He spoke for about 10 minutes with some advice and thoughts on missions. His wife spoke for less than 2 minutes, and then starting with me, we each had an opportunity to share our testimony and say a few things to Brynne. It was a precious, sacred evening. It was powerful to hear our younger kids bear their testimony and share some of the deep feelings that they have for their sister. We finished with Brynne having a few minutes to share her testimony with us and then Jo...