Two-wheeled Jonah

Jonah is an animal. (When asked what kind of animal he is, he replies a dog, a German Shepherd to be exact.) However, Jonah is an animal for another reason. Within only a few days, he has learned how to ride a two-wheeler without training wheels!! Jonah recently expressed interest in riding without training wheels, so this week we have focused on helping him reach that goal. Boise has some great bike paths and we have wanted to ride on them as a family. However, the training wheels on Jonah's bike were so loud and worn down we were hesitant to do so until he could ride without them. Now we have no excuses. He rides like a pro. Way to go Jonah. Persistence and hard work will serve you well little buddy.

Halloween-at Home!

Jackson and Darla, Halloween "Look-a-Likes!"

We have no news about the visa's, except that the Church attorney is working on them. We did receive an email from a couple that in is Mongolia, she said the country is experiencing an extremely bad time with the swine flu, and they have closed a lot of the public businesses and schools, the only things open are the grocery stores...So we are guessing that we will be here for Thanksgiving! That will be OK, we will be able to see all of you, and to see little Joshua blessed. We have made some changes in our daily schedule at the MTC. We have accepted an assignment to help direct the traffic for the young missionaries as they get their immunizations. We are also taking off Friday afternoons, to go to the Temple. That kind of breaks up the week and gives us a little more to do. We came to an awareness this week...

"In the economy of Heaven, nothing , no experience or trial is ever wasted. We all go through things that are intended to strengthen, build and help us. We may not understand or know why, but the Lord does! He knows and asks us to trust and have faith. Someday we may have the privilege of knowing. Someday we may look back and thank Him for the blessings that have come because of those trials. But in the mean time - know the Lord is in charge and He is aware of us!"

We are not the only ones going through "hard times". You all have had or are struggling through things, know that we love each of you! The Lord, also knows and loves you - this we know! We love you, each of you!

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SUNNY CALIFORNIA

We just got back from California. We were there for 5 days and it was nice to get away for a little while. While we were there we hit Seaworld a couple of times, the beach, and Cabrillo Nat'l Monument.  The weather was perfect. Brynlee's favorite part was rolling around in the sand. She had a blast running into the water and then screaming when she saw the bubbles and foam.  Seaworld was fun but I think Brynlee was a little overstimulated. It's a lot for a little kid to take in. Her highlight was probably meeting Elmo and Big Bird. She also liked the flamingos because pink is her favorite. We also saw a statue of a cow wearing a swimsuit and sunglasses and she thought it was 'really cute'. Kevin and I enjoyed watching Brynlee experience new things. It was fun spending time with our little family.  

Petting bat rays at Seaworld. 

Joshua's First Pumpkin

We were very honored this year to have Joshua's first Halloween pumpkin carved by Grandpa Brady. Even though he won't remember it, we will never forget it. Happy Halloween.

Lessons Learned At MTC

Tomorrow, Oct 26th we will be starting our 12th week at the MTC! We are now the longest Senior couple currently at the MTC! There are two more couples, also. We still have no word about visa's, but we did get an email from Pres. Andersen on Thursday that said they were signing some papers on Monday, hoping to open up the visa situation, hopefully...
We have thought a lot about you kids, that went on missions and attended the MTC, walking the halls, learning in the classrooms, eating, playing, holding doors open for the sisters or the senior couples, and saying, "Hi" in the languages you were learning. When we say "Cann Banno" (Hello, how are you?) we get some who will ask where we are going, and some who will do a double take to look at our name badges. We tell them, Mongolia, "That's cool!", they say, and then they are on their way. It's fun to watch, be with and talk to these special young people, who are also making sacrifices to serve the Lord! And we think how blessed we are to have sons, a daughter, son-in-laws, and daughter-in-laws who have walked those halls! And even more special to think we have 11 grandsons who were born of righteous parents, who may also walk those halls, and of course, 4 darling granddaughters who may also!
I want to share one story - We attend the International Branch, #56, on Sunday's. There are aprox. 24 countries represented there, all learning to speak English. Last Sunday, an Elder from Tonga, led the music. He was so fun to watch! He did not keep the beat, he was swaying back and forth, and using both hands to lead us. You could tell he wasn't worrying what the piano player was doing , either. He sang very few of the words, he was probably just learning English and couldn't say the words fast enough. But, he was so fun to watch and that grin! He wasn't just smiling, he was grinning from ear to ear! I couldn't help but smile, too! And, as I looked around many others were smiling, also. It was so fun and inspiring to be in his presence, he was loving just being there! As I was pondering this I thought of a few things...As a missionary, we can jump right in - not worry, and just love the people and what we are doing! Also, even though we may not know the language as good as we would like...WE CAN SMILE IN MONGOLIAN!
One of the blessing of still being at home is to see you kids. We went to the Pumpkin Carving Dinner with some of you and with Grandma and Grandpa Brady. Grandpa carved a pumpkin for Baby Joshua, since he was the only one who brought one! It was small, but it was so cute! He couldn't even attend - doctor's orders to keep him in for a few weeks. We feel so blessed to have such a wonderful heritage! So grateful for righteous parents and grandparents! I ask all of you to keep in touch with Grandma and Grandpa, drop them a note, or call them. I would appreciate it and so would they - they look so good and are blessed to be doing well! Love all of you! take care of yourselves and each other!

The Pumpkinheads

So it is almost the most wonderful time of the year.  No, not Christmas, but Halloween.  The boys love, absolutely love Halloween.  Of course they love the candy, what Anderson doesn't; however, the thing they love the most about this holiday is all the pumpkins.  For weeks they have pled with us to take them to a pumpkin patch.  We finally gave in and went yesterday, swine flu and all.  The boys were in heaven; Bronwyn Sue could care less.  She just liked being out of the house. 

Ethan meticulously searched for the perfect pumpkin.  Jonah was happy with whatever pumpkin that happened to be in his line of sight.  They finally settled on some pumpkins and, as far as squash go, they are nice looking gourds.  Jonah named his pumpkin "J.Killer".  Ethan is still searching for the perfect name.  (Hopefully this won't take him as long as it took to find the pumpkin.)  Ethan says he wants a name that emphasizes "big and round".  I suggested Rosie O'Donnell or "Beached Whale".  He wouldn't even consider them. The boys have been pretty good pumpkin care-takers.  They washed them with warm water, have taken them for a walk, er roll, made soft beds for them and even had a pumpkin picnic.  They have kept pretty busy.  I think I heard the turtles breath a sigh of relief when they discovered something else may grab the boys' attention for a little while. We will see how long the pumpkins handle all the attention before they beg to be made into some pies.