At Christmas time, my parents received their much anticipated mission call. We, along with my brother's family gathered at my parents' house for the big opening of the mission call to see where they would be spending this next year and a half. We connected with my other siblings over Skype. We had all cast our predictions March-Madness style; my bro even laid out a map & pinned everyone's guesses - including friends' guesses. Considering my parents' history of having simultaneously served missions in France & Belgium as young adults (their mission president told my dad to ask my mom out when they returned to BYU - and later told them he never suggested that to any other missionaries), and their verbalized willingness to go to a foreign speaking & or challenging mission, most predictions were for a French speaking mission. ... A lot of us predicted French speaking regions of Africa (as per my mom thinking that might be the spot & my dad excited about the idea of such foreign place). And only one person, one little 3 year old girl guessed the correct location of their mission call -
and that was Taya (ok, so maybe I assigned a prediction for her name) - so do you want to know what she guessed that landed her the position of best grandchild in the family (finally firming up our suspicions anway)?
Yah?
Well, she guessed ...
Paris, France!
We are all so stoked for them. This mission includes other areas of France & part of Belgium as well. I know they will be such a blessing to those they encounter. They both have so many wonderful skills, qualities & talents to offer, and most meaningfully to me, they are incredibly people oriented & service oriented. We will miss them of course, but are really excited for the adventures, challenges, & wonderful times they are bound for.
While they are gone, Paul, the girls & I will be living in their home. So once they leave in April, we will be moving into their home.
We had originally hoped to rent our house out while doing this, but have decided it is better for us to sell our home instead (well, short-sale). That has been a tough decision, not so much due to what we're losing, but just making peace with it (though I am feeling quite nostalgic about our home these days). The fact that this decision enables me to stay home with the girls, as well as gain other important blessings, has driven us in this direction and overall, we feel it is best.
So come Spring, we will be saying goodbye to this beloved territory & heading 22 minutes away : ) (Come visit!)
I know I will have many a chance to share my gushy love for you friends so close by, so I will wrap this post up since it is about my parents and not me!
They are busy, busy preparing & brushing up on their French.
I am proud of them & grateful for them, to say the least.
And to cheese up this post lil' league style:
Go get 'em Mom & Dad!
(yah, I really did just say that)
