I love my MM's!

I have mentioned my missionary mom group before and I thought I would finally dedicate a post to them. When Jordan got his call, I researched everything to do with Guatemala, missionaries, and surviving being a missionary mom. I came across this site that linked moms from around the world through an email group with missionaries serving in the same area. I was immediately welcomed to this fabulous group of women whose sons and daughters are serving, or will be serving, in the 5 missions of Guatemala and the 2 missions of El Salvador. Little did I know that these ladies would become some of my closest friends. They helped me with my gazillion questions ranging from what are the best shoes, garments, luggage to buy to other concerns like how do we send packages safely, etc. But most importantly, they supported me in my fears and my sadness as I faced saying goodbye to my missionary son.

I, in turn, have learned so much about everyday missionary life in Central America and have grown to love each of their missionaries as my own. I look forward to hearing their weekly updates. We cheer each other on through the good times, and eveyone is able to truly empathize during the hard times as well. Probably one of the best things about this group is that none of us ever get sick of talking about or hearing about each other's missionaries! We all savor every little detail.

Just two days after we dropped Jordan off at the MTC, a few moms organized a MM dinner at The Spaghetti Factory. This was the first time that I actually met some of these friends face to face. They traveled from all over Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and Idaho. We had such a wonderful evening! There was never an awkward pause or what I call "superficial politeness." We all felt like old friends who had been there for each other in the trenches! It felt SO good to be able to give a big hug to a few friends that I have gotten extra close to and whose sons I have "adopted" as my own.

After a nice meal and sharing of stories and photographs, some of us came back to my house for some dessert and some real "chat" time.

The husbands were all good sports and made themselves comfortable on the couches and watched the Olympics. The women all gathered in the kitchen around the hot fudge sauce and brownies for several more hours of chatting and sharing.

The only sad part about the night was all the friends that weren't able to make it. We have MMs from all over the U.S. in our Central America group and I know some I will never meet face to face. But I am so thankful that I can call all these ladies my friends and for all the tears and laughs that we have shared and will continue to share throughout this missionary journey and beyond.

A missionary home

What a blessing it has been to have a son out on a mission. Everyone always asks us if we miss him. OF COURSE WE DO! Sundays are especially quiet and we seem to miss him most, but it's not with sadness. It is so much fun to be a part of Jordan's missionary journey and we woudn't choose for him to be doing anything else right now than serving our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We also wouldn't choose any other place for him to be than in Guatemala. What adventures he's had already.

The day that Jordan left the Provo MTC and left the U.S. for the first time in his life to go down to the Guatemala MTC (CCM) was the same day that our young men and young women had their annual missionaries around the ward activity.

They all met at the church where they were assigned a companion and a "mission." Ward members volunteered in advance to prepare a cultural meal and receive the missionaries for dinner. The young men and women prepared a short lesson to give to the family as well. This year's lesson was on the restoration. Jake got to go to the home of the Williams where coincidentally Melissa served in Guatemala so they got to have a good discussion about the country and eat a traditional soup.

Allison was "called" to the Hill's home. Brother Hill is a recent convert and so did not serve a mission, but what a great opportunity for him to share the importance of missionary work and his love for those that brought him the gospel. We loved having little "Elders" Haskell and Kimball to our house. They were amazingly mature and gave us the sweetest lesson. We had rice, beans, and tacos in honor of Jordan whom we had just spoken to a few hours before during his layover. Right after the activity was over, we got another fun missionary surprise from our real life missionary in the form of an unexpected phone call from him and extended family members who live in Guatemala and went to meet him at the airport. If you haven't read the full account, click here to link over to Jordan's blog.

The following week we had another missionary farewell. This time for my cute mom and dad once again. They got home just last July from serving for 18 months in Colombia, stayed just long enough to see Jordan receive his call, helped get him ready, and off they went again. This mission will only be for 3 months per their request. They were called to serve in Santiago Chile, and got there shortly after the huge and devastating earthquake. We are thankful for their amazing dedication to the Gospel and the Perpetual Education Fund. We will see them again in June.

Family Temple Trip

The Saturday before Jordan entered the MTC, we planned a trip to the Salt Lake Temple with our whole family. Nicole came with us too. She realized she didn't have her recommend with her when we were almost to SLC and too late and too far to go back. After a few phone calls, and some prayers, she was able to get clearance from her bishop and was able to go in with us. Whew!

Jordan performed the baptismal ordinances with Nicole, Jake, and Allison. I got to watch. I was overcome with such a beautiful feeling of joy and pure love as I watched my two boys in the font dressed in white, together, pure and worthy, in service to our Heavenly Father and his children. It just doesn't get much better than that.

Jordan changed and joined Brendan and I on a session while the other kids went to the Church History Museum for a few hours. It was quite the experience to go through that beautiful temple with our son. After the session, we got to participate in doing some sealings. as well. Jordan got to experience so much that day. It was long, but so worth it.

What a blessing we have of being a family for time and all eternity.

I instigated this?

I don't like being cold.

I don't really get excited about out of control speeds.

I prefer cozy, at home activities surrounded with family and friends and food.

So I don't know what got into me when I decided we needed to go to Soldier Hollow and try the tubing hills. Not only is this a cold activity, but we had reservations to go at 6:00 pm (not even a chance of sunshine to warm up the wintery weather). I dressed in about 4 or 5 layers and got lot's of weird look from my kids. Nicole said I looked like I had gained 20 lbs from all my "bulkiness."

But guess what! I stayed warm! We all stayed warm and we ALL had so much fun. Of course the boys were fearless and took the hills with a running start onto their tubes. I was a little more cautious to begin with but it wasn't quite as fun as everyone else seemed to be having. Then we all figured out the fastest runs and we all hooked our tubes together!

Not sure how to put this in a scientifically correct way, but we discovered that Weight + Mass = Speed! It was hard to see with so much snow spraying in our faces from all of us trying to "put on the brakes." We ran into the fence at the end quite a few times, but we finished the night with smiles on our faces and all our bodies in one piece.

Allison and her favorite person in the whole world....her Daddy!

Oops....Jordan knocked Nicole down with his tube!

Jake tried to avoid the camera all night, but I got a couple of shots in. Look at the creepy ninja that sneaked into the back of the second picture!

Here is a video of one of our runs.....

It's almost time

So much has been going on and there's so much to say, but no time to do it. I could maybe make the time, but my mind is spinning with so many details that I'm just not in the right frame of mind to put my thoughts together. Our family is on our two week missionary countdown. Sunday is Jordan's farewell. It seems surreal that it's all actually happening.

I have my 3 page pre-mission To Do/To Buy list all crossed off with my handy yellow highlighter.

Our trip to the temple was wonderful. Jordan picked the Jordan River Temple (because it has a GREAT name.) Pictures and thoughts are on his mission blog.

Farewell brunch food items are bought and assigned and my awesome friends helped me figure out how to decorate for it today.

White shirts are ironed. Clothes are all labeled. New shoes are broken in.

Is this real?

Do we really have just two weeks left with Jordan?

Everything is ready except for Me!

Somedays I cry and cry at the thought of him leaving and not seeing his smiling, crazy face everyday for two years. Other times I get so frustrated with him that I think to myself, "Can you just go now so that you can grow up and start to appreciate me a little more?" Then at times I find myself so excited for the opportunities and experiences he'll be having that I end up on my knees to thank God that he is worthy and willing and excited to serve a mission.

It really is a rollercoaster and I pray that the ups will outweigh the downs and that at the end of the ride we will all have big smiles on our faces and say, "That was AWESOME!"

What a blessing it has been to have Brendan tell me story after story of his mission (actually he talks about it all the time still, which I love) but has recently recounted many of them to set my heart at ease about all my fears and questions.

The other thing that has been a huge blessing at this season of my life has been the support from our missionary mom email group. Most of their sons are already in the field and their pre-mission expertise has been invaluable. Some of their missionaries are in El Salvador and others are spread out through the 4 missions of Guatemala. But they are ALL out there with one heart and one mind and one purpose. I treasure the stories of this mighty Army of God in this part of the world. I told one mom earlier today that it feels like we have 10 or more sons out there writing home to "us."

I'm thankful that my house won't be empty and that I have two other wonderful kids to keep me on my toes. I see Jake worshipping his big brother and am so grateful that they have had each other and are such good friends. Allison will turn 16, driving and dating, right when Jordan gets back and Jake will be almost done with his senior year in high school. Thinking of that helps me to know that time will fly during these next two years.

Right now I feel at peace. Right now I am grateful for this blessing and opportunity in our family. Right now I am anxious, but excited.

Tomorrow may be a meltdown day but I've learned that those times are brief.

Just a few Christmas memories

Our Christmas holidays were very blessed with lots of family memories and fun. Our Christmas Eve festivities started out at Brendan's parents for his mom's famous Chimichangas. We got to be there when his parents opened up their gift from all of their kids which happened to be a new Mac computer and monitor this year. A much needed and deserved present for them.

From there we headed off to my brother Ed's in Cedar Hills. We're glad that Carlos, Julie, Gavin, and Taylor were able to come up from California to be with us and make our family complete this year. We played our traditional White Elephant game and the money game. Nicole was the big winner of that!

We spent some time in their music room listening to Noah and Brendan play Christmas songs on the piano while the rest of us sang. I was surprised that we actually sounded good and in tune. Kind of a hard thing for the Sanches clan to do. It must have been the help of Maria, Brendan, and Nicole's vocal talents. We enjoyed another feast of Honey Baked Ham, yams, That Good Salad, homemade rolls, and Martinellis. We watched a video on the birth of Christ put out by the Church a few years ago. We then opened gifts from one another and the kids had fun playing with their new toys.

The oldest and youngest cousin... Ryder will be 2 1/2 when Jordan gets home from his mission.

Me and my brothers and Mom. Love them all so much!

We're thankful to have had my mom and dad back with us this year after 18 months serving their mission in Colombia.

Maria made my mom and I these beautiful aprons!

Jake and Noah took a test run of their new sleds out back and down the steep driveway! We all went to bed around 2 am.

Christmas morning didn't start until 11 am at our house. I woke up around 8 and expected Jake or Allison to come in at any minute. 9:00 rolled around and I got out of bed and decided to shower and get ready. Brendan got up around 9:30 and we made our bed, read our books, and sat and waited until Allison peeked in our room around 11. Sheesh!!! I never thought they'd get up. We went into Jake's room and he was beginning to stir. I ended up having to jump on top of Jordan to get him to wake up. Not quite the same having sleepy teenagers in the house compared to eager little kids that are up when it's still dark outside.

Some of our favorite things we received this year were:

Brendan: His Kindle for reading electronic books (I think it's his favorite gift ever!)

Leslie: A 3 inch memory foam mattress topper and a porcelain of Christ hugging a little boy from my mom to represent His watchful care of my little boy this coming year on his mission.

Jordan: New scriptures, ties and more ties, a journal, mission backpack full of supplies and a new digital camera

Jake: New grips on his golf clubs, a golf caddy, and a golf game for our Wii. Ya, he loves golf!

Allison: A big makeup bag full of nailpolish in all colors of the rainbow and a collection of new games to play with friends.

Brendan and I got caught up doing our Christmas week puzzle and finished it in 1 1/2 days.

It was a wonderful couple of days spent entirely with family and we're thankful for our many blessings we have received this year.

My gift has taken 19 years to make

This Year for Christmas

I skipped the sales after Thanksgiving.
The thrill just wasn't there.
No pictures taken with Santa Clause,
my decorating has no flair.
His presents are shoes, shirts, and ties,
two suits and socks...no fun.
I've bought him all white clothes because...
This year I'm giving Christ my son.

I've spent more time in the temple,
Felt strength come from His words.
I've reread November's Ensign,
and my testimony stirred.
Our family prays more frequently
My tears are quick to run.
Abraham seems closer because,
This year I'm giving Christ my son.

I wonder how those Lamanite mothers,
gave their sons to war?
Or how the pioneers chose Zion,
their sacrifice was so much more.
My loss will be his presence,
I'll miss his smile a ton
For two years we will pray for him,
I'm giving Christ my son.

I stare at his face when he's not looking.
I memorize his eyes, their shine.
He's always hungered for the part of him,
that makes his soul divine.
The stories and lessons he always heard,
His choice and mine are one.
I'll put my faith in God's hand,
This year, I'm giving Him my son.

Past gifts have lost their glitter,
I think I finally understand
Christ's birth should be celebrated
by giving Him a hand.
It's because I know Christ lives and reigns
that all his packing’s done.
My gift has taken years to make,
This year... I'm giving Christ my son

This poem was shared with me from a fellow missionary mom in Las Vegas whose son is currently serving in Guatemala.

New Moon

What a perfect day!!! We had all planned and looked forward to a fun girl's day out for the premier of New Moon months in advance. Tom and Michele rented out a whole theater for opening day. It was fun to be there with Jenny and Michele and so many others that we know. Thanks so much Michele for letting us all be a part of this fun night and for arranging it all.

I invited Nicole and her best friend Liz to come along with Allison and her friend Morgan. I brought my best friend along too...Brendan is "one of the gals" for things like this.

Loved, loved, loved these fangs that Nicole and Liz brought. They looked so real and really added to the "atmosphere."

The movie was fantastic!!!! So much better than the first one. It was so fun to see it in a theater of mostly women and a lot of teenage girls! I have to say that Jacob didn't really do it for me. I much prefer the romantic Edward type over a hot body, but to all his...or should I say, Her own.

After the movie we topped off the night at Zupas for some "girlie food." Sandwiches, soups, salads, and Rocky Road Brownies. We sat for hours eating, sharing desserts, and talking about boys.

Perfect Girls Day out!!!

"Time Out for Women"

Every once in a while, we girls really need a Time Out. Jenny told us about this seminar put on by Deseret Book a few months ago. It was like an education week/stake women's conference all in one. We were priviliged to hear inspiring stories from people like Sheri Dew, Emily Watts, Kris Belcher, Mary Ellen Edmunds, Michael Wilcox, and Wendy L. Watson, wife of Elder Russell M. Nelson. Hillary Weeks also played and sang during the conference which was two days long held in Salt Lake.

A few pieces of their talks that really touched me were:

"Children aren't necessarily the fruit of our parenting. The fruit may be the change in us BECAUSE of the experiences we've had in raising them."

"If Heavenly Father only gave us trials that we could handle, then we wouldn't need Christ."

"Sometimes we act as if we're going to stay here (on earth.) But we can't, we aren't, and we won't. So set your priorities and live for eternity, not for today."

"Instead of just making a To Do list to keep you on track, make one and pray about it to make sure you are focusing on what the Lord would have you do."

It's always so fun to hang out with my two of my favorite girlfriends! Jenny and Michele are one in a million. I love them for so many different reasons. We have shared all of our ups and downs for the past ten years and I wouldn't trade them for anything. It was so fun to chat about the things we learned, of course it was fun to eat together, and one of the best part of the whole thing was being able to say "I'm friends with that girl with the cool purse!"

Michele got stopped constantly and asked about her purse. It was funny how often this happened. We were crossing the street the first day to go to our car and these two ladies literally were looking inside it to find the tag of the brand so they could buy it. Michele got it in California and we teased her to say to people, "Oh I made it!"

Halloween 2009

Only a month late, but at least it's documented right?

Halloween certainly isn't what it used to be around here with little kids to dress and put make up on while trying to make sure they have something warm in their tummy and on their body before going out. Now I just get a, "See you later Mom!" after I try to snap a few photos for memory sakes.

Jordan had a fun theme of Disneyland's Haunted House at the bank where he works. I couldn't pass the chance to see his costume as Jack from the Nightmare before Christmas. Good thing I had a deposit to make!

Allison told me that she wanted to dress up like an 80's girl. I guess that is the ultimate sign of being old....when your kids want to dress like you did as a teenager for Halloween. I went to my closet and pulled out my little box of favorite old things and only had to go buy her big, bright earrings. Yep, this is exactly how I used to dress. Belt and hair and hot pink unitard! Doing her hair was the best. It all came back to me like it was yesterday. Blow drying the "wings" on the side and curling, ratting, and spraying the claw bangs. Allison couldn't stop laughing and asking, "Really Mom? You really used to do your hair like this? REALLY?"

She decided to have a Halloween party at our house with the girls her age in the ward. They dressed up, made pumpkin shaped pizzas, and watched "Watcher in the Woods." (An old Disney classic for those my age.) They had so much fun and loved being scared during the movie.

The next day, we had a ward Halloween party at Classic Skating. Brendan wasn't going to dress up at all, but suprised us all when he came downstairs dressed in this get up. What the heck???? He said that if Allison was going to be a girl from the 80's, she needed an "F-dude" by her side. So funny!!!! They both won the costume contest and a bag of candy!

(Jake didn't dress up or want to participate much in family Halloween fun this year......he'll change his mind next year when he sees himself absent this year in our Halloween album, I hope.)

Watch Out Tiger Woods

After years of playing football all summer and fall, Jake decided that he would give golf a try. He has always liked to golf and goes often with his friends and a few times a year with Brendan. This year it was time to get some serious golf in. He found friends to go with him and together they would go to the golf course and volunteer to wash carts, pick up balls, whatever they needed in exchange for a free round. He worked 1 to 2 hours a day and ended up playing free golf 4 to 5 days a week all summer long. His hard work paid off in August when after a week of tryouts and 3 cuts, he called to say, "I MADE IT!"

He loved every second of it. He started out the season with a score in the mid 50's. He ended it with an average in the low 40's. Not bad for a sophomore. With their home course being out at The Ranches in Saratoga Springs and the fact that they had to provide their own transportation EVERY day for practice, it was so great that we had so many boys from our neighborhood make the team. We arranged a carpool so we only had to drive one time a week. I loved my day to drive and the chance to hear these cute boys talking and goofing off on the way to practice. Jake has been so blessed to have such good friends.

All these boys are/were in our ward!

The only downside to golf was that it's not really a spectator sport. We weren't really ever able to go see Jake play, but we got every detail when he got home each day. He's turned into a much darker shade of brown through his playing outside in the hot sun (our very own brown sugar bear!)

The Varsity team made took 2nd in Region and went to the State Tournament where they took 10th. Jake loved his new coach, Tele.

We all enjoyed a nice end of the season dinner at Thanksgiving Point with all the players, coaches, and parents. Jake is 90% sure he'll try out for the golf team again next year, but he's having a hard time getting football out of his system. We'll see what he decides.

Jake and his coaches

Team Dinner

BYU fans through and through

We bleed True Blue BYU at our house. This is how the crew looked right before they left to go to the game.

Jake spent about an hour doing his own face!

BYU 26 - UTAH 23!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IN OVERTIME BABY !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guatemala, Guatemala City North Mission!!

I spent Wednesday morning in the living room so that I could watch out the window and spot the mailman. What a long morning that was!!! My mom was equally as anxious so we spent the time dusting the furniture, cleaning the windows and the blinds in there (all the while peeking out the window!) I accidentally pulled too hard and all the blinds fell down, but that's ok. Now I had a better view! It was a different worker than our usual cute lady and he was driving a white mini van instead of the usual mail truck so that was weird. But he had the mail and that's all that mattered. The second I spotted him across the street, I grabbed my camcorder and taped the whole thing.

Oh my gosh!!!! My hands were shaking, my heart was pounding, and I even started sweating with all the emotions that were rushing through me. I spent the next little while texting, emailing, and calling everyone about the big news. Then we all had to wait 8 long hours to open it until Jordan finished his classes for the day and a shift at the bank. Nicole came over early to help me make cookies. I had found some fun mission countdown blocks at Pebbles and I bought both of us one. We decided to make them together to help pass the time.

As soon as Jordan was off work, we all met and went out to dinner and then headed over to BYU. He wanted to open it at his dorm because lots of his friends that wanted to be there didn't have transportation to our house. He and Ocho figured out how to do a live feed so they broadcast it on line for all our family and friends that couldn't be there. 8:09 was the chosen time for "Jordan's lucky number 9."

GUATEMALA,

GUATEMALA CITY NORTH MISSION!

It was so much fun to have so much of our family there and all the little cousins too! Jordan is the first grandchild on both sides so it's been a long time since we've had a missionary in the family! Thank you everyone for coming, especially everyone with little kids. Also thanks for everyone who tuned in on-line and for all the messages received since then.

Just a couple amazing stories concerning his call:

1. We had about 75 guesses from family and friends. Not ONE person guessed Guatemala!

2. My mom was born and raised in Guatemala City and has a lot of family still living there that she keeps in contact with. They are not of our faith and it would be so cool if Jordan could visit with them and teach them the gospel in Spanish!!! Not sure yet if his mission actually covers the part of Guatemala city where they live, so we will see.

3. A little over three years ago, Jordan was working on his Eagle Scout project. A family friend was associated with the Guatemalan MTC president and he learned that many local Guatemalan missionaries enter the MTC there with just the shirt on their back and a plastic sack of belongings. That really affected him and he decided to collect white shirts and ties to be sent to the Guatemalan missionaries and future missionaries from the city for his project. Now he's going to that exact place to serve them personally and will be one of them!!!

4. During October 2009 conference, Brendan and I were watching the "in between conference specials" that are always a favorite part of conference for me. They did a whole thing on a service project in a rural town in Guatemala. Click here to watch it. We loved it so much. We said that we wanted to take a family vacation with Jake and Allison to that place and help with the humanitarian efforts while Jordan served a mission. Little did we know that the little town would be right in the mission that he was called to serve in one month later!

5. We just remembered that Jordan did his 6th grade country report on Guatemala. It was fun to pull out his display board and see his 12 year old handwriting describing a country that would mean more to his life than he realized at the time.

We know that the call was so inspired. Jordan is thrilled beyond words and couldn't stop shaking all night. His call has already blessed our lives and we are so thankful to our Heavenly Father. Jordan is in His hands now and we put our trust and faith in His wisdom to guide and protect our son as he prepares to devote the next two years in His service among these choice people! He reports to the MTC on February 10, 2010.