First Email from Brett at the Madrid MTC!

Well hello!!
i am in a different country, and i don´t know what to even think! I dont know how to change the caps or anything, the keyboard is all crazy. anyway i hope you get this i´ll write to you more in a sec

(Dad makes a brief comment back)

yes!! Hello!! I am glad to see you are on! we get to write our families right now and tell you that we are ok. but i am more tired than i have ever been in my life right now, it is almost 5pm, and i havent slept really since i got out of my bed in provo. i did for a min. on the plane, but not enough to balance the fact that we got here at 9am spain time, but 1 am provo time, and have been going ever since!!!
I will have to say that this place is the most georgious place on the planet!! This mtc is the bomb!! We went for a walk, and saw all around the town, we get to go into town on our p days!!

Brett Called Home from Atlanta!! WOOHOO!

Well, he's really on his way to Spain today! He called his Dad this morning from SLC International and then he called me from Atlanta, Georgia. He says he's excited but a little scared and he's worried because he's boarding right now (6:00 pm) and in 6 hours he'll be in Spain and it will be Wednesday, 9:00 am! yikes! Are these 21 Missionaries going to get any sleep? Will tomorrow possibly be a free day for them to catch up? The mother in me says IT HAD BETTER BE! oops...sorry. The Lord knows best hehe ;)
Nate and Morgan got a chance to talk to Brett. The boys talked about guy stuff and Nate told Brett not to get killed by extremists! Hello?!?! don't say that in front of me!!!
And Morgan told Brett about going skating at Classic tonight and then asked him if he had a girlfriend yet...um...well...MAN! I'm a bad LDS parent...how does she not know that LDS missionaries don't go looking for girlfriends while they're out? how?

By the way, Brett says that McDonald's in Atlanta...possibly all of Georgia...possibly the entire south; I don't know,... has a Southern Style Chicken Sandwich that is Deep Fat FRIED! It's #5 on the menu in case you're interested. I can feel my stomach churning just thinking about it.

He's really going, he's heading to Spain. Leaving the continent, for 2 years.

Before I go, I'll tell you about the first Blessing I feel like I've received since Brett left. It's sweet for me, the kind of sweet that makes me tear up.

I've always loved Mikes boys like they were mine, but I've never felt comfortable telling them that I love them. I don't know why; everyone needs to hear it, but I just didn't want to embarrass them...or maybe I didn't want to be hurt by their possible reaction. But I love them. Always have.

But it's different now. They're getting older and they're leaving and I don't want them leaving not knowing how I feel about them. What if something happened to Brett while he was gone and I never told him I love him...I couldn't live with myself!

So that's the blessing...I love my step son and I can tell him so. AND he tells me he loves me too!!!! yeah me!

Watch out Nate...You're Next!

Our Final Goodbye's

Wednesday April 9th, 2008

As we walked to the front of the MTC, to take the pictures that every LDS family takes before their son or daughter embarks on the biggest adventure of their young life, I'm amazed at this picture before me...(below) of our two grown sons walking with their Mother Suzy. So big! SERIOUSLY...so much bigger then I thought they were. I see them every day in my home and I know they're bigger then me...their Step Mother, but to see them next to their Mother...

She looks like she's walking with two men.  

Amazing

Doesn't Brett look great in a suit?

This is Brett's friend Andy Hulka. Andy was going to BYU and thought he'd run from his classes on Campus to the MTC to see Brett off.  We were so happy to see the University approved 

MULLET gone from his head...till we saw the RAT TAIL he left in its place!  GOOD GRIEF MAN! But he's a great kid and we feel so luck to have had his family move into our neighborhood years ago, to become one of Brett and Nate's best friends. 

So we took Andy into the MTC as one of our Sons so he could get 30 more minutes with Brett.

That's our guy. I love him so much. I miss him like crazy, 

but I couldn't be more proud.

Brett's last night home or,...OMG! what are we going to do without BRETT!

Well, if you read my "meadow on a ledge" blog a few weeks ago then you know how I was feeling on this evening...these pictures were taken after Brett was set apart as a Missionary. So here he is with his mangy looking companion for the next 24 hours. 

AND I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE DOG

MY BOYS...boy do i love them

The setting apart was a sweet experience; and I don't mean saaaaweeeet...I mean sweet. I just wish I had a better memory because I have nothing that was said, in writing. Everyone got a chance to say a few words to Brett about how they felt about the gospel, about this choice he was making, about our pride in him. His Mother Suzy was so gracious to Mike and I. Her comments were toward us and the gratitude she felt for the way we'd raised her Sons.  That was so kind of her.  The blessing given to Brett was beautiful and I felt the Lord was with us. Brett's countenance seemed to change as we said Amen. The smile wouldn't leave his face. His testimony of the work he was about to do was sweet and ambitious. 

Let the adventure begin!   

Farewell...oops, I mean Testimonial; sorry Mom

Brett's Farewell (testimonial) was Sunday, March 30th. He did a great job, a little shaky at first but he got comfortable fast and gave a great talk. My favorite part was his comments about his Dad and the great time he had working on the truck late at night for years. Brett felt like he learned a lot from his old man and he wanted to make sure the Ward and Mike knew that it was appreciated. 

Mike gently cried, with a smile on his face.

Lunch was a little shocking! That boy has too many people who love him; and that's not counting his mothers side of the family who had a party for him the night before. I fed at least 100 people. The office was filled with shoes!  I was never this popular as a teen.  Of course I don't think I was this  cute either. 

We had ten days to go at this point. We thought for sure MTC day was forever away...