Ode To Our Missionaries

In the last year, our ward missionaries have become dear to our hearts. They have been a very special part of our family and have brought more joy and happiness into our home than we can even begin to share. So, on that note, I am going to start with a poem that I had run through my head last night (should give everyone a good laugh) and then share all of the wonderful things about why we love our elders...

Ode To Our Elders
You serve, you laugh, you teach, you play...
You work, you love, you study, you pray...
Your spirit is felt in every life that you touch.
The joy and peace you bring means, oh so much.
So to all our elders, we send our love,
And we ask Heaven's blessings to be sent to you from above.

So here is the extra fun part - sharing some of the fun we have had this last year with some of the elders we have been blessed to have be part of our family and our lives....

These first pictures are from yesterday AM. Sunday I had noticed there were calcium streaks on the front of the fishtank. Didnt really think anything of it, our water just has high calcium levels and maybe thought water had been dripped from re-filling the tank from the top. Yesterday morning I went to show them to Preston and we both noticed the streaks, and mold and wet ALL along the bottom of the fishtank. Of course, right that minute Preston was walking out the door with Ceana to get to work/OSU collge fair. They left, and I was left wondering what we were going to do. We have had that fish tank for ages, and Preston's parents had it for ages before that. Guess it was just time for it to be retired...Our other concern was about our one last "radioactive" fish, what were we going to do with it?
I felt impressed to call our HT even though it was just past "the crack of stupid" in the morning (my friend's favorite description of extra early AM) Our HT's both have little kiddos at home, so I had a pretty good guess that they were also already up and about. After a brief description of our immediate dilema, and even though my HT was on his way out of town, he promised to help. A couple of phone calls, and he and his sweet wife had rallied the troops - the elders and our other HT and his wife, who also happens to be my VT.
Just minutes later the elders arrived. They both came right in, rolled up their sleeves, and went to work. We called Preston just to double check what the best plan of attack might be (these have been his domain, not really ever mine) and with instructions in hand, went at it. I gathered needed supplies and the elders went at attacking the tank. Ky and Kels wanted to be helpers too, and the elders are so sweet they just let the kids right in the middle of things too.
Elder W worked at getting the tank drained, and Elder S went to bat to rescue our radioactive fish. We all had a good laugh when I told them about that fish and the adventures he has caused. Elder S also worked hard at hauling all the buckets of YUCK water out to the yard. Eeeewww....
Shortly after the elders arrived, our HT/VT also arrived. They went to work with removing everything from the tank, scraping out rocks, hauling buckets, moving boxes and misc stuff. After the tank was mostly drained and cleared out, Bro M and the elders moved the tank out to the driveway until we can figure out when to haul it away. When we looked inside the cabinet base, the entire inside had heavy water damage. Thankfully the pressed wood had absorbed most of the water, otherwise things would have been alot worse than they were. There was also water/mold damage to our oak entertainment center, but hopefully it will dry and be ok. I was HUGELY thankful that there was NO damage to the new flooring - whew! Sis M and I cleaned up the floor and the ET cabinet while Bro M and the elders hauled out the tank cabinet.
Suddenly it was all done. We shook hands, and doled out hugs (to Sis M) and then everyone was on their way - the whole thing had taken less than an hour! We are ever grateful that we have the elders, HT and VT to help us in times of need. What a wonder the church is!

Elder W & Elder S - Notice Ky helping, and Kels supervising his work :)

Our radioactive fish - took Elder S forever to catch that dang fish to get him moved. We did find a home for it back with our neighbors across the street. They were able to use everything that was salvageable. They have a monster tank that spans a whole wall in their house, it is pretty impressive. Just a little reason why we tease that this one is "radioactive" - it has either eaten or outlived every set of fish we have had in the tank in the last couple of YEARS. It has even survived yuck tank at times, and not being fed for I dont know how long....Will be interesting to see how it does in our neighbor's tank where it originally came from....

The elders are always so good with all of our kiddos. Elder T and Elder C planned an extra special discussion with John one night and included all of the little kiddos too. The plan was to paint prayer rocks...

But as you can see, a little more than that got painted that night....

The kids thought it was hysterical, except maybe Colton, but he was a good sport. The prayer rocks did get painted and a great lesson and a good time was had by all....Thanx Elder T & Elder C

We have had sets of elders who LOVE to play games. We had the chance to have the elders come over for some just "for fun" time. Sometimes we are lucky enough to get all 4 elders to come at the same time. It worked out perfectly for our game day.

We love having the elders come to dinner with our family. The little kiddos get especially excited and bounce around the entire day they know the elders are coming. One of our special treats for the elders is whenever there is a new elder dinner is always dessert waffles. It is our extra special way of welcoming the new elders to our ward. It is great for me as the mom to watch these young men turn back into little kids as they build their ice cream sundae waffles and enjoy the rest of the bounty we usually add to go with it. We have had the last few sets of elders esp enjoy this treat, and that makes it so worth it, and extra fun to look forward to the next time.

I think that Elder T got dessert waffles 3 times because he was new, and then had new comps. Elder G was definately excited that he got multiple chances at our special dinner too. It was extra fun to see them enjoy a meal so much. Once again, we will soon be planning another night of waffly goodness as our other Elder T is getting his new comp today. Shouldnt be too long....

Elder T, Elder C, Elder F, Elder G

I think Elder G was the first of the elders to teach my little boys "knuckles and fries" - every time the elders came, it was the first thing the little boys ran for when they arrived, and they always made sure they had at it again when the elders left. It was their special little thing and a special memory

The elders have all been so good to, and with John. There have been several sets of elders in this last year. All of them have been wonderful and I think that was a big part of the reason John enjoyed and learned from the discussions so much. Ceana always sat in on discussions too, and it has been a great blessing to both of them to learn about the gospel together. It has been our special privilege to have these amazing young men in our home almost weekly this last year. It has brought a special feeling to our home that is hard to describe to anyone else.....
Elder T & Elder G before Elder T left us....

Elder M and Elder G

OK, so these are my special additions. One night we had all the elders here and I just saw all those shoes and backpacks all in a row, and I couldnt resist. I think they turned out kind of fun. Kind of fun with Elder T name tag, as he was transferred shortly after this visit....

So, there you have it. Some of the extra fun we have had enjoying all of our wonderful elders. We look forward to having them continue to teach John, and us, in the coming months and sharing in the blessings of having them be in our home, and part of our lives. Also, just a little PS that not pictured here is another Elder C who went home in the Spring. I couldnt find any picts, but he was also so special to us and he was a wonderful missionary. He is missed. We were so lucky to have had him help teach John, and us, and to have him be part of our lives too.