We are not old enough to have a grandson going on a mission!!!!

 It doesn't seems possible that Kolton, our grandson, could be old enough to go on a mission but he is.  He has been called to serve in the Spain, Malaga Mission.  The weeks preceding his entering the MTC were very busy and full.  He spent a lot of time with his friends and family.  He was able to attend the temple several different times.

These are some of his good friends who have had a very positive influence on his decisions to serve a mission.

 The day before he was to enter the MTC, he and family were able to attend the Mount Timpanogos Temple.

On December 5th, 2012, Kolton was to enter the MTC and learn the things he needed to know to be a full time missionary.  He was up bright and early that morning (6:30) reading his scriptures.

On the way to the MTC, it was decided to stop at Panda Express for lunch.

Here's Kolton's fortune.  It says, "You are heading in the right direction".  How appropriate is that??

And then it was time for the final goodbyes to the family.

And he was off for his two year service to the Lord.  Love you Kolton. You will be an awesome missionary.  We are proud of you.

This is what Thanksgiving looked like at our house this year!!

Have I mentioned how much I love my newly remodeled house?  It was so nice at Thanksgiving this year to fit all of us in one room.  Awesome!!!!  Here is what Thanksgiving looked like at our house.

We even got to have the four full time missionaries eat with us this year.

We were kind of short on desserts but somehow we managed to get full.  I did very little of the preparation of our Thanksgiving dinner since I had gotten home the day before.  The girls made a very delicious meal.

Our newest little grandchild (Arianna) was blessed by her father (Deco) the day after Thanksgiving.  It was one of those special events in our lives.  She is beautiful and so loved in our family.
We have so many blessings to be thankful for I can't even begin to mention them individually.  Family is at the top of the list and the list is long!!!  So grateful for all of our blessings!!!

Look what happened to my house while I was gone!!!

While I was in Nicaragua, my family did an awesome thing.  They remodeled my house and I didn't know they were going to do it.  The pictures will show it before, during and at the finish of the remodel.  It is amazing.  I am overwhelmed and I have the most amazing family in the world!!  Noelle called it "the best surprise in the history of the world".  She was pretty much right.

Here's a few pictures before the remodel started.  Notice the wall between the family room and the living room.

       Here is Milan Munson starting to work his magic.  The wall is coming down.

                                Here's the kitchen with original cabinets, etc.

 Everyone pitched in and were involved in the project.  Jed said it totally consumed their lives for the 7 weeks I was gone.

This picture needs a little bit of explaining.  The den was not scheduled to be part of the project but after Stacy's and Taylor's dog, Elmer, accidentally got locked in the den overnight and freaked out and scratched so hard on the carpet all night that he tore it to pieces, that carpet also became part of the project.  It got replaced.

                               Notice the wall is gone between the two rooms.

                               The painting ladies, Noelle and Heather.

                        My sons and sons-in-law got involved with the flooring and the cabinets.

                              The girls worked hard and deserved a break!!

                               Even the grandkids got involved.

                                   My beautiful kitchen!!!

                   The new carpet in the den. Thanks to Elmer for making it necessary!!

                                  A bunch of pictures of the finished product.

When we ate Thanksgiving dinner together, we were able to all be in the same room.  We used to use the two separate rooms, living room and family room.  Now, we have one big room.  Love it!!! 

When I walked in the door after being gone for 7 weeks, I could hardly believe I was in my own house.  I cried.  Carol said I was shaking.  I was speechless. They said it was all done for my birthday.  I turned 60 while I was in Nicaragua.  I'm not sure that I expressed my thanks to my family sufficiently but I hope they know how much I love them and appreciate what they did.  I love it!