Georgia Anniversary -June/July 2021
Happy summer! I have always loved summer...anyway, we started ours off by heading to Utah for Zelle and Adam's wedding reception there. The 3 girls and I headed out for about 10 days and it was a little surreal to be on a plane after a year and to see Utah for the first time in a year. It was really so great to be home and see friends and family. It felt like taking a nice, deep breath and relaxing for a bit. It was fun to know where I was going and to be around people who know us. It was nice to eat some of the food we've been missing so much! It turns out Utah has great food.
We stayed at my parents' house, which was also nice. I haven't stayed with them in many years, and of course, it's always different kind of time you spend with people when you actually stay with them. Zelle and Adam's reception turned out beautifully. It was a very warm day, and we started with a family dinner, and then moved right into the reception on a lovely summer night in my parents' backyard. There was just everything to be grateful for - amazing friends and family, love and support for this great couple, a beautiful setting, and just the chance to be with the people we love. It was a very happy occasion, and one that made me think how much we have to be grateful for. I'm so happy Zelle and Adam are happily launched, celebrated, and loved by so many! They've moved into their little place at BYU and are going to go through this exceptionally warm summer with no air conditioning - phew!
Anyway, we did other great things this visit like get Susie's wisdom teeth out with uncle Mike at the same time as her cousin, Anna, because why not? We visited friends and family, closed on our house and had one last goodbye tour through it before we left! It was just a happy visit, but it was time to get back to Mark and the mission and help out again.
The week we got back was a zone conference week and we had trainings about a lot of different things. I taught about developing Christlike attributes in Preach my Gospel and while I know it's not super interesting to read the details of zone conference trainings, I just have to say that I'm enjoying how much I'm learning as I have chances to teach. It's so rewarding. I was planning to just take the first Christlike attribute of faith and teach about it, then take another for the next zone conference, but as I got into why we develop Christlike attributes and how we develop them, I started to understand through studying different talks and things that we do this because it is actually what enduring to the end means - changing, growing, becoming better and more Christlike is enduring. We thinking of enduring as hanging on and gritting it out, but it's not accurate. We're meant to have joy and progress throughout our lives. So I love understanding enduring to the end better, and then I began to understand that the way we develop these attributes, change, progress and endure to the end is by living the Doctrine of Christ. As we have faith to ask for the help and that we can have help through the enabling power of the Atonement of Christ, as we repent each day as we make mistakes and try to become better, as we participate in ordinances and renew covenants, the Spirit can be with us in greater abundance and help us be better. The cycle continues with each part reinforcing and strengthening the others, and this is how we endure to the end until we become more like our Savior. We're currently reading the Book of Mormon in 65 days - the amount of time it took Joseph Smith to translate it) and we're underlining all the references to the Savior in one color and the Doctrine of Christ in another color. I've never understood the Doctrine of Christ like this before. It's kind of jumping off the page at me this time, and before I didn't even really understand it all that well. I'm sure it's not that interesting to read about, but it's been a fun discovery.
The following Sunday on Father's Day, we took Suse and Natalie to the airport to head back to Utah. This time they were headed for 3 weeks to go to BYU sports camps, have time with friends and cousins, and to go to tennis camp in Logan and stay at Grandma & Grandpa Harris's. I'm writing this as they are finishing up their last day there in Utah - we pick them up tomorrow, and we can't wait to see them! It's been such a strangely quiet house, like a little preview of being empty nesters. We miss them! The first week, they liked their BYU camps - Suse went to track camp and Goose went to soccer camp. They had fun but were super hot all week! I was really proud of Suse because she wanted to try this camp, and knew it would mean going by herself since nobody she knows runs track, so she just went for it. She tried long jump one day since she's been wanting to try that and long jumped really well. They asked her to fill out a recruiting form since she jumped over 17 feet her first time. Go Suse! Lydia went with her soccer team to Boise the next week for regionals and her team ended up winning the whole Western United States - pretty exciting! Only 3 regions in the country and they won theirs. They qualified for the national championship in Florida in July, so that's exciting. This past week, Suse and Goose have been at tennis camp in Logan with their cousins. They've had a great time, and have also been super hot again. The crazy thing is while the western part of the country is so hot, we've had a pretty mild summer here for Atlanta. We had rain and really comfortable temperatures today, and it hasn't been nearly as hot as last year when we got here. Who ever thought we'd be 20 degrees cooler here in Atlanta in July than Utah is?
Another exciting thing that happened in the last coupe of weeks is Abby's arrival in Italy! She finally made it to her original assignment - hooray!!! In reality, it was bittersweet for her. She loved her mission in Missouri so much. She loved her companion, working with President and Sister Ames, her YSA ward and everything about what she was doing when she left. She was truly thriving. She knew Italy would be a big adjustment and it has been. She is with a native companion, Sorella Rossa, in a small town about an hour north of Rome by train called Terni. They're opening up a new area, and don't have transportation so they walk or ride bikes everywhere in the 100 degree heat. They also don't have A/C in their apartment and the language is a challenge, of course. The other interesting dynamic is being a trainee to a missionary who's only been out a few months, but who obviously speaks the language a lot better. Lots to adjust to, but she's learning a lot, and is determined to do all she can. I'm really proud of her. I know it isn't easy right now, but she's also focusing on the great things like gelato and amazing Pdays! She got to go to Assisi this past Pday, so that's pretty amazing. It's hard but good.
What a month! What a year! What a lot to be grateful for.
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