High Tea

For Lia's birthday I wanted to take the girls to the Grand America for High Tea. We decided to invite Kristen since she doesn't have any daughters to do things like this with. It was so fun and Lia and Laura and Megan were so cute! It's fun to get dressed up and do girly things every once in a while. 

Amelia's 19th Birthday

After the temple and lunch, Lia came home for the weekend and for her spring break. I was so happy to have her home! We gave her some clothes and a fanny pack for her mission. And we had chocolate cake, of course. While she was home she had some time to relax, she picked out new glasses and got contacts, we got froyo, we finished her t-shirt quilt, and we went to the Jazz game. It was such a fun couple of weeks and I was sad when they were over. Lia knows how to work hard and play hard. She also knows what it means to be a disciple of Christ and a good daughter, sister, cousin and friend. I have loved watching how she's handled her first year of college and what a good example she is to others. I know she's going to be a great missionary. We love Lia!

I Love to See the Temple

On Amelia's 19th birthday she went to the temple to receive her endowment. It was a day, like the day she opened her call, never to be forgotten. A day that makes you so grateful as a parent. We were so proud of her for making the decision to go to the temple and also for preparing herself to be there. She was excited and ready. She really wanted to go on her birthday and we were so glad she was able to. We also were so grateful for our family members that came and for the ones who stayed for the lunch afterward. Even though Laura, Josh and Megan weren't going in to the temple with us, I wanted them up in Logan with us. It was such a nice day! And to complete what was already a great week, Lia came home for the weekend to celebrate her birthday. 

Lia's Mission Call

A few days before her birthday, Lia got her mission call. We knew it was coming that day so we planned a get together with family and friends for her to open it. She wanted her roommates to come so they drove down together from Logan and I made dinner for them. Almost all her Barson and Nelson cousins and grandparents came, along with her friend Sarah from Utah State, her high school friends (who weren't already on missions), and a few of her young women leaders. We felt so much love and support from everyone in that room! We also streamed it for a few friends and family who couldn't make it (and for her friends and cousins on missions). She was a little nervous, but mostly excited. It had been a long process submitting her papers. As part of the process, Nate had her write a letter to herself about why she wanted to serve a mission. She decided to include it in her mission paperwork. What she wrote was beautiful. After writing that and submitting everything, she was at peace and was willing to serve wherever Heavenly Father wanted her to serve (even if it wasn't Spanish speaking which she was kind of hoping for). When she read where she was going, I was so surprised, and so was she! She got called to the Paraguay, Asuncion mission. She would be going to South America (which Nate was secretly praying for) and she'd be speaking Spanish! That mission was also where my nephew Brady was serving at the time. That part we were really surprised by! Lia couldn't wait to talk to him and Kristen and Cam were so happy for her. Brady loved his mission and we were exited they would have that connection. 

It was such a great night! Nate and I were so proud of her for making the decision to serve. We knew she would be a powerful missionary and we also believe in all the good that comes from serving. She has wanted to serve a mission since she was a little girl. Before she opened her call she talked about the missionary name tag she got at a youth activity when she was new to young women's and how she's held on to it all these years waiting to get the real thing. She planned and prepared and was ready.

Before Janet and Kent went home that night they gave Lia a gift. Janet sewed her apron to go with her temple clothes. It was the sweetest gift and it meant a lot to Lia and to Nate and me. I didn't want Lia to leave that night, but she had to get back to school. And I knew we would see her a few days later in Logan to go to the temple on her birthday.