I Hope They Call Me on a Mission

A year and half ago in the 2012 October General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints President Monson announced a change the affected our family. Young Men can now serve a mission at 18 years old if they would like to as long as they have graduated from high school. A whole year earlier than before. Exciting! A new revelation that really has become part of our family!

Bruce immediately was the most excited about this change. He can't wait to be a missionary! He says he's going as a soon as graduates from high school.

Dallin had some thinking to do about it. For a while he didn't say much about it. He was pondering and thinking. I was shaken up a bit thinking about it. Ever since I found out he was a boy that would be born in July 1996 these were my plans for him:

Grow up
Graduate from high school in 2014
Go to college for a year
Come home
Start filling out mission papers
Get a job
Work until you turn 19
Go on a mission for two years

That thought process was now different. There were other options now! I said to him several different things.
"You could right after you turn 18"
"You could still go to school for a year if you want, you'll still be 18 after one year of college"
"It's all up to YOU. You get to decide what you want to do."

Then in November or so of 2013 Lance took Dallin to an open house at a Boise hotel for Utah State University. As soon as Dallin walked through the door into the dining room the first thing out of his mouth to me was, "Utah State will hold my admissions and scholarships for up to 2 1/2 years." And there it was. His mind must have been settled at that point. He's going was on a mission first.

We started seeing how good it will be to go first. No wasted time in college not knowing what to really study and just waiting to go on mission. Just go and serve the Lord first. Everything else will fall into place later.

So when his senior year started this year we started planning a little bit more. Mission papers can go in around the end of March (120 days before his availability date). So he needed doctor appointments and dentist appointments. Lance was the first to schedule one. He took Dallin to his cleaning (which we've been doing yearly since we pay cash for all dental work) and he came home and said, "I scheduled his next appointment earlier because he'll need to get his mission papers filled out."  Wow! Okay. What a great plan. We picked a new doctor (time to move on from the pediatrician) and went and saw him in August just so we'd know him before mission physical time. 

The beginning of March Dallin meet with Bishop Roger Christensen and started everything going. Doctor and dentist appointments were easy! No problems. This kid is healthy! Then he filled out all the information on-line that he needed to. (I LOVE that the church is SO tech savvy! It's amazing how simple things are when everything is done on-line.) Then Dallin meet with our stake president, President Shane Beus on March 30th. After President Beus talked with Bishop Christensen he sent the paperwork and his recommendation to the church offices in Salt Lake City.

There the papers were reviewed by a missionary committee and then a mission is selected by inspiration by a member of the Quorum of the Twelve apostles and reviewed by the prophet, President Thomas S. Monson. Then the call is signed by him and sent to Dallin.

I truly believe that a mission call is given by inspiration. I believe that the Lord has a specific plan for each us and callings help us grow and achieve our own potential, which He knows. Where a missionary is called to serve is important. There are people the Lord knows need that missionary and I believe the missionary needs those people too--to help him grow and learn what he needs to be successful in his calling.

The waiting for the call started right after that interview with the stake president. We knew it would take a few weeks because of General Conference. During the waiting time, our nephew Austin got his mission call. Philippines Bacolod Mission. He enters the Provo Missionary Training Center on August 13th. And Dallin has several friends receive their calls too. It really is fun to see where they all are getting called!

On Tuesday, April 15th Dallin send me this text: 
FWD-BISHOP: Your status says assignment made! 

So the mail comes around noon. I guess. I never really paid attention. Thursday I kept myself busy all morning and went out to the mailbox right around noon so I could send Dallin this text:

Melissa: The mail!

Dallin: Yes!!!!!!!!!!(:

And I could send this text to my parents:

"It's here! Opening later tonight. Lance went to Pocatello today and will be home late. Thinking around ten at this point"
 

I thought I might be a bit weepy about my oldest getting his mission call. I did have a few tears in my eyes when I very first saw it in the mailbox. But then I just started grinning! I was so excited! 

Then I cleaned. Went to the middle school track meet, which happened to be in Kuna. Thayne was throwing and Bruce did triple jump. Dallin helped work the discus event. It was good to keep busy. 

Lance called and said he'd really be home around 7:30. So I contacted grandparents to let them know we'd be calling or skyping at 8:00. 

I took the four young ones homes and we fixes up quick nachos for dinner.
Dallin got home and Andrea Johnson came over to hang out until it was time to open it.

Lance got home. The rest of the Johnson family came over--and they brought brownies too. (Thank you Rhonda!) Jake Wing, Ben Christensen and Josh Hellewell came over too. 

8:00!

Jake, Josh, Ben and Dallin

from left: Kyle, Russ, Hunter, Abby, Kylie, Andrea, Jake, Josh, Ben  (Thayne on the floor--getting ready to Skype)

Rhonda took pictures and video for me so I could just watch. I'll try to figure out how to add the video later. But here's a rough transcript:

Me: "Hey you guys, quit talking"

Dallin opening envelope with his pocket knife, "You guys, this is freaky!"

Someone: "This is awesome!"

Someone else: "Don't cheat!"

Dallin: "I won't cheat. I'll read it line by line, (whispered) precept upon precept."

Reading:"April 15, 2014

Dear Elder Warnick (little sigh of whooh)

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the New Mexico Farmington Mission. (mouths 'All right' smiles and continues skimming the letter) Serve for 24 months. English! WHOOOOOOOOO!" Pumps right fist straight into the air! 

"I'm SO HAPPY to speak English!" 

Everyone laughing.

Dallin puts paper down on fireplace. Claps hands a little bit while smiling.

Me: "When do you have to go?"

Dallin: "Oh!" grabs letter and looks at it, "August 20th."

After reading the call

Talking to Grandparents (one set on each phone)

Time to check out the map!

A little research

The call: New Mexico Farmington Mission

Yep! He's a bit wired with excitement and kind of goofy!

April 17, 2014

REMEMBER

It's time to get back to recording our lives on this blog. After a couple years break, I have decided this is the best way to do a large part of recording our family's history, especially if I print a blog book every year. So I'll be using more pictures and lots of stories. It has taken me a while to figure out if I want to do post in order or just start again. So I decided that I needed to just start with the current state of lives and do flash backs that highlight the fabulous adventures we've had the past two busy years.

REMEMBER

This is a powerful word. To remember the past builds a bond with immediate family members and extended family and with our ancestors too. Remembering helps you understand where you've been and where your going.This bond is really real! To be sealed to your family is not just something for the next live. It's for NOW too. That bond you can feel with a sibling or a cousin is real. We are really connected to each other and we belong to each other. We're part of a family. A family which is bigger than just ourselves.

I am reminded of a talk about this very subject from the October 2007 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints by President Henry B. Eyring titled "O Remember, Remember ."  He shared why he started journaling.

"I was supposed to record for my children to read, someday in the future, how I had seen the hand of God blessing our family."

That is my goal. I want my children to be able to see the hand of God blessing our family. I want to have them remember throughout their lives what we taught them. And most importantly I want them to know this from the Book of Mormon, Helaman 5:12:

  "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

So I'm starting again.

With purpose and intent. 

And a lot of LOVE.

The Warnicks Fall 2013

 

Story Teller

This story is from Hunter's third grade portfolio. I features a made up character, Bobra. Our boys have a tendancy to use the name Bob when they are being funny. (They even know that is my Grandpa Ricks name, but they just think it is funny! I guess I have never meet a boy their age called Bob.)

Secrets by Hunter Warnick

Chapter 1 Secrets
Once upon a time there lived a girl named Bobra B. Jr. She worked at Sonic. She was married to a handsome man name Joe Smoe, Jr. bobra had two kids and three secrets. One, she's a spy. Two, she's a special opps spy. Three, she's pregnant. Eventually she revealed the third but never the first two. It was a bright summer day when Bobra, Joe, Misty Sara and baby Jakey were having a picnic and discussing Bobra's new job as a model. Bobra was modeling a green dress, green flipflops and a green bracelet. Bobra was chosen to be a model because Bobra had beautiful tan skin, brown hair, brown eyes, white teeth and she was very skinny.

Chapter 2 Dark Star!
Bobra was at the OSS waiting for her next assignment when the OSS had received a a code and Bobra had to crack it! A second later Babra cracked it. It said my name is Dark Star and I am here to take over the human race. Bobra knew what to do go home and sadly feed the baby second get Dark star. An hour later Bobra was at the OSS picking up supplies. An hour and a half later Bobra was in Dark Star's elevator. Dooooon doooooooon doooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnn. His hid out is under Sonic. When she gets into his secret hideout she sings her spectacular theme song. (music notes) To the tune of Bad Romance (music notes) Booooooobra, she is so cooooooool.  Boooooooooobra she works at Sonic!!! Would like a salty sideorder of curly fries......(pause)......With supreme curls. Dooooonnnn doooooooon doooooooooooonnnnnnnnnn.

Chapter 3 Chicken
Suddenly Bobra was capatured in a tremendous, colossal, enormus, mammoth and gigantic steel chicken . The she had a light bulb! Because she remembered that she brought Minnie Man the small size of your thumb. To go through the key hole and find the key then unlock the steel chicken. So then he did the easy kind of complicated task. Then Bobra escaped and went home half an hour later. Bobra got home and recieived a stylish letter from the model company. Saying she was, you better be ready for this okay?!

Chapter 4 Fired

FIRED!So Bobra got depressed. dooonnnn dooooonnnnnnndoooooooooonnnnnnn. It was months of crying and chocolates. Finally she got another stylish letter from the modeling company saying ever since she was fired their money was dropping! So that meant they were in big trouble. So the letter said the only way you can get your job back is if you tell us your secret identity. Bobra was shocked. If she did Bobra would get in big trouble from the OSS. "I can't," she said over and over again in her head! She begged and begged and begged in her non fashinabal letters. Finally, the let Bobra do something else they said in a letter the other thing was that she had to kill her husband. Bobra screamed as laud as could screeeeeeech!! Suddenly Babra stopped because she thought of a way she could kill Joe without really killing him. It was a very, very, very easy plan to follow. Or was it? doooonnnn dooooonnnn dooooooooooooooonnnnn! The plan was that Bobra needed a blow torch, chicken for lunch, latter and a decoy of Joes from supercialifraglelistickexpealladoshushs. Shannatatc Shop! Bobra traveld for hours trying to stay hidden from Dark Star. Finally one million two thousand eight, hundred nine seconds later Bobra was bakc at home setting up her plan to kill Joes but not to really kill him. Then Bobra got hungry and went inside to eat the chicken. Then she went back outside and got decoy Joe out of the smelly garage of doom. Dooooonnnnnn dooooooonnnnn. doooooooooooonnnnnnnnn. Then she put decoy Joe on the ladder then put the ladder on fire and to her surprise she killed Dark Star instead!  
The End


 

How to Make an Italian Grilled Cheese

This is from Hunter's Writing Portfolio from third grade.

How to Make an Italian Grilled Cheese
 
You will need the following ingredients to make this delicious recipe.

1. 1/2 a tsp. of Italian Seasoning
2. a block of cheese
3. Two slices of bread about one cm. thick.
4. A whole tomato.
5. Butter

First, turn on your stove to High and put a medium sized (pan) on your burner that you turned onto High earlier. Then, flick water into the pan until the water dissolves almost instantly. After that, get a butter knife and spread your butter on one side of each piece of bread. Now, spray Pam into the bottom of the pan. Then, put one piece of bread with butter facing the pan. Then put bread in the pan soon after, grab the cheese and a grader and graid square slices of cheese and lay the cheese on your bread inside the pan. Now, get a non-saraded edge knife and cut about 1/2 a cm. thick slices and lay them on top of your cheese. Then, you get a tsp. and fill it half way up with the Italian seasoning and sprinkle the seasoning on your tomatoes then put the other piece of bread on the seasoning with butter facing up. Finally, grab a spachela and flip your sandwich. Then, wait a minute and then flip your sandwich on a plate then, Bon apetiete! 

Bad Recess Day November 2011

Hunter had a fabulously bloody head scrap one day at recess in third grade. I was at Teresa Rudd's house getting stuff ready for the Relief Society Super Saturday. My cell phone was dead. Teresa got a phone call and it was really for me. Sara Williams just happened to know that I was at Teresa's house, so when she walked into the office at Indian Creek and saw Hunter sitting there with blood dripping off the front and back of his head and the secretaries that couldn't get through to me, she knew just what to do.

I headed over to the school to find Hunt with an ice pack on his head and blood everywhere. Poor Mrs. Morrill. She was so patient with all of the blood and very good with Hunter. Sara came with me to try to get into a clinic in Kuna. She held the ice pack on his head while I drove. We couldn't get in. So I dropped her back off at school and headed into Nampa to go to the Quick Care there where Lance met me. Hunter's head had quit bleeding so much by the time we got there. He got seven staples!!! The ice REALLY helped keep the bleeding down. The ladies at the school did such a good job handling the mess.

Hunter was out at lunch recess when all the excitement happened. He was playing tag with a few friends and went underneath some playground equipment and just stood up a little too soon and caught the top of his head just right under a slide and it sliced him open pretty long. It wasn't really deep, just long and RIGHT in the middle of his head--so the blood started rolling off his head toward the front and the back. He didn't even know he was bleed until he touched the top of his head and pulled his hand away and saw the blood. It really freaked the other kids on the playground out! His classmates all wrote him get well cards. It was sweet.

Triage Room

What a mess! Partly because this boy has LOTS of blonde hair for the blood to get stuck in.

The gapping wound

Calm and cool! Hunter is our most experienced patient at Quick Care!

Seven staples in! No crying either! Love this kid!

 

 

What a day!

Here is Hunter's letter that he wrote for the letter unit at school.

911 W 4th Street

Kuna, ID 83634

February 9, 2012

Dear Mrs. Morrill,

Have you had a good day today? I have. I've been learning so much! Thank you for helping me with my cracked head. I think you're so smart. You're a big help to the school. Which school do you go to the most Ross or Indian Creek? I can't wait till I go to Ross! What is your favorite food? Mine is pizza! You're so nice. Tell Blake that I thought his invention was awesome! Stay in touch.

Sincerely,
Hunter

Third Grade Art Projects

Last year Hunter adored being in third grade!! I think it is so fun to do art in third grade because those fine motor skills have really started to become finely developed, neatness improves, and the imagination is easier to express. Hunter has ALWAYS loved doing art projects and Mrs. McMurtrey really liked teaching them. They were such a good fit together. (He already misses her this year.) As I was going through his stack of papers, I realized there are just way too many to stuff easily into a file folder and save for future years. So filing them away on my nifty computer and into cyberspace sounds so much less cluttery.

 Enjoy his beautiful work. I have no ideas of the dates on these, except they are all this past school year (okay, I'm sure the Halloween one is from October 2011).

Lines

Hunter's Hand

 

Halloween

Crayon colored Butterfly

Beehive and Busy Bees

Quilted Look

Christmas Design (I spent an afternoon getting these off the wood wall in the classroom!)

Snowflakes

Paper Heart--says I 'heart' U in the middle

Watercolor--Rainbow Circles

Aluminum Foil Owl

Learning to be a Writer

Luke spent a lot of class time in first grade learning how to write. I love his little stories and it has been fun to see how much he learns by DOING! 

I've been going through the 1st grade papers this morning and I just want to share a few of his writings.

First are poems he wrote to get ready for a Mother's Day gift. He wrote several difference poems and then picked his favorite. His teacher, Miss McMorrow typed up his favorite poem and then he added an illustration and then they framed it. Seriously this is the TOP of my favorite Mother's Day gifts EVER!  

Here are his poems:

My Mom (this one is spelled like he wrote it)

Luve
is floing from
the iwl
frum you to
my (me) 

(I think I need to have him help me with what iwl is)


The rest are edited with proper spelling.

My Mom


Like the 
sun
shining up the
day.


My Mom

Like a
bird
bringing the
chicks
food.

(That poem feels very true!!! What a great simile he applied to my life.)

Now the FAVORITE poem he chose to make into my gift:

My Mom

Like a
shooting star
on your
birthday
granting
your 
wishes.

Here's a picture of the present:

 Aww! I keep it right on the mantel. It melts my heart and helps me remember to keep being a good mom. (I think most moms need reminders of how they make their children feel.)

This is one of Luke's earlier writings. This is from Martin Luther King Day in January. Luke is CRAZY about recycling. He likes to make sure we put all the paper, cardboard, milk jugs, etc. in our recycle bin. Mostly though he likes to recycle by reusing things at home. He likes to build stuff with the old cardboard and cereal boxes. He uses lots of tape and staples to build creations. Lance says he was like that as a young boy too. They are so much a like!

I love how Luke always draws pictures of himself. Orange hair, of course,and almost always a striped shirt. He really doesn't have that many striped shirts. They must just look good for self portraits though. 
 

Here are some links to more of Luke's writing featured on his teacher's blog.

http://foreverin1st.blogspot.com/2012/01/andee-revised-small-moment-about-her.html

http://foreverin1st.blogspot.com/2012/04/strong-voices-are-contagious.html