A great Five days...

Monday... We got back from the Seminar at 10 this morning and immediately got back to regular life. How strange that was! But that will be another post. Friday and Saturday were full of instruction on the programs that we will be using with the missionaries and practicing how to teach them. I loved it all. Each day was full of listening to General Authorities, taking notes, meeting new Mission Presidents and renewing friendships with those who we just met. Even though we have only known some of these people for five days, it's as if we've been friends forever.



One group that we tried to get to know better were the Presidents who would be working in Mexico. There were six other Presidents called and we became fast friends. We will see them at our training meetings while we serve.





On Friday we had a special wives breakout session which was very helpful. We discussed our different roles while serving... as a wife and mother, as a companion, as a teacher and as a leader. All of these were very helpful to all of us as we contemplated what we could do to make this mission the best.
That evening we had a devotional with Elder Bednar. He spoke about the requirements to become a Preach My Gospel Missionary... they are called by the Lord, they understand that they represent Jesus Christ, they are worthy, they treasure up the words of Eternal Life, they understand the Holy Ghost is the ultimate & true teacher and the understand that teaching is more than talking and telling. There is a link on the Church website that gives some highlights from the Seminar. It gives you a small glimpse of what we experienced in our meetings.


After the devotional we were able to meet four of the missionaries who will be coming into our mission in July and August. It was so fun to meet them and talk with them. These are some of the first missionaries who will be with us for the entire time of their mission.
This is Elder Peterson, Elder Wigington, Elder Shipley and Elder Painter






On Saturday night we were privileged to have dinner with Elder Bednar and his wife. She is so darling! We had a great time listening to stories of BYU Idaho. He is really passionate about the school.

These are the Mexico Presidents and wives with Elder Bednar and his wife.





















Elder Gonzalez also had dinner with our group. He set me apart earlier in the week.








On Sunday we were able to hear from Elder Holland, Elder Nelson and testimonies from others of the Twelve who had been there all week. We also had a Sacrament Meeting where President Erying spoke. His remarks were so positive and uplifting. I felt very encouraged with his thoughts. He is such a sweet, sensitive man and happy. I think he smiled the entire time he was on the stand!
This whole week has been so uplifting and I have a feeling that I can go to Mexico and do this. I know that the Lord wants us to succeed and I know He loves His missionaries and with His help, Robert and I will be able to serve the missionaries and the people of Puebla.

First day of instruction

Thursday... first official day of the Seminar and training. What an amazing day! We started out by hearing from President Monson. He instructed us on how to better motivate our missionaries and gave us many ways to positively encourage the missionaries in our missions. We also heard from Elder Nelson, Elder Hinckley, Elder Hallstrom, Elder Snow and Elder Christofferson. All the classes were highly motivational and uplifting. During lunch and dinner we had the opportunity to visit with other couples who have served as Mission Presidents and were able to ask questions of them. It was so helpful to us to feel like we can do this!



We also had the great pleasure of meeting President and Sister Martinez. They are going to be Benjamin's new Mission President in Chile. It was wonderful to visit with them and get to know them. Benjamin is very blessed to have them coming to Chile and taking over for the Swensens.











Our nephew, Ryan, is in the MTC and we found him and visited with him. He has received his Visa for Spain and will be leaving soon. We were glad that we were able to visit with him before he leaves.

New President's Seminar

We started out our day by going to breakfast with some dear friends of ours, Nick and Julie. Nick and Robert served together many years ago in the Spain Madrid Mission. It was all one mission then and they became great friends. I was also in the same ward with Nick and Julie after Nick's mission at BYU, so we've been friends for a long time! After breakfast and doing some serious catching up, they dropped us off at the MTC, just like a couple of regular missionaries! Matt Beecher met us at the security gate of the MTC and welcomed us with "Good morning President and Sister Reeves! Welcome to the MTC!" We had 128 Presidents and their wives at the seminar and those good brothers and sisters knew our names before we even arrived. The MTC is truly an amazing place.
The day was spent in verifying information, taking a new picture, getting lots of handouts, eating lunch and dinner and meeting lots of new people. The food was incredible, the meetings were informative and meeting all the new presidents and their wives was so fun and exciting. There are so many faithful, wonderful people who are going to be serving as Mission Presidents. I know our missionaries are in good hands!

Where to Begin...

Today Robert, Brian and I flew to Utah for the New Mission President's Seminar in preparation for our Mission in Puebla, Mexico. We immediately drove to the Mexican Consulate in Salt Lake City (I didn't know that there even WAS a Mexican Consulate in SLC...) to finish getting our Visas for Mexico. We had our pictures taken, we were fingerprinted and signed the papers. All ready to go!

Some of our children and their wives were able to come up for the day also, as we were going to be set apart for the Mission. Kelli & Adam, Richard, Larry & Melanie, Kimber & Ryan, Lindsay and Brian were there. Nickie had to stay home with their kids, and Darren surprised Lindsay by flying her out here for Van's first birthday and the setting apart. Darren had to stay in Georgia and work. We missed both of them! We all met for lunch at Tucano's after finishing at the Consulate. My mother and my sister, Cindy also met us for lunch. It was so yummy! I think my mom has a new favorite restaurant... After lunch we parked at the Church Offices and walked around the Conference Center and Temple square, then headed over to Elder Holland's office to be set apart. Elder Holland set Robert apart to be the Mission President and Elder Gonzalez of the Seventy set me apart as his companion and Mission mom. It was wonderful and the start of a great week.






Richard, Brian, Lindsay, Sister Sue, Grandma Heagle, Robert, Janet, Elder Holland, Melanie, Larry, Adam, Kelli, Kimber, Ryan











Richard getting some advice from Elder Holland. Doesn't get much better than this...




We stayed the night at the home of Robert's brother Dave, and his wife Vickie. I think they might be considering putting a nameplate on the room where we stay because we're there so often! We love them both and are grateful for their love and support.

June Already!

How the time flies when you're so busy! It is June already and we are that much closer to leaving for Mexico. We spent a few days in California last week visiting Robert's brother, Mel and his wife, Linda, in Riverside where they are presiding over the Riverside Mission. We had so much fun visiting with them and their sons, Eric and Ryan, and experiencing a small part of their mission with them. Mel & Linda were so gracious and always make us feel so welcome. We look forward to having them visit us in Mexico so we can return the favor. We were able to see Ryan off at the airport, also, as he prepares to enter the MTC on Wednesday of this week and then he will be off to Spain to serve a mission. We hope to see him when we attend our Mission President's Seminar in a few weeks.
Our home is getting emptier and emptier as we loan out our furniture and belongings to our children and pack up lots of boxes. We have rented our home and found homes for most of the animals, so we're getting close to being ready. It was very sad to finally give Dakota to a new family, but we think he will be very happy with his new owners. He has his own little brother, another Aussie, named Jet. I'm sure they will have lots of fun playing together!
We were able to find homes for all the kittens and even though I only had them for a few weeks, I miss them already. I look forward to seeing Sadie and her kitty, Chloe, all grown up, when we return.
These next two weeks will bring lots more packing, organizing, and finding a home for the rest of our stuff. Wish us good luck!

lucky us…

So, some of you may know that over the last few months we have been slowly finding homes for all of our animals.  We can’t take them to Mexico with us… We have been successful in finding homes for everybody but the dogs.  But that’s another story…

So last week, on Thursday, Richard and I were taking some things out to the trash and Richard noticed a cat cuddled up next to our shed.  He said something about “you might have some kittens, Mom” and I got very excited!  But, wait!  I’m going on a mission!  I’m supposed to be giving my animals away, not acquiring more!

Well, we couldn’t just leave them there.  The mother is a stray and we didn’t want them to become strays also, so we took them in and started feeding them.  Luckily, they are old enough that we were able to wean them pretty quickly and they are eating well.

Sadie has been wanting a kitten for a long time, so Richard and Nickie will be adopting one and the other two will stay here till they are old enough to be adopted out.  What a great way for me to end my time here!

this is them in their new home in Brian’s room.  Wish I could keep them!

from start to finish...

Friday, April 22 We drove to Utah in preparation for Lindsay's upcoming marriage to Darren Dickerson, the love of her life! It was a fun trip, but a little different this time. Robert drove by himself in our car and I drove with Kimber and Van, so I could help keep Van happy. What a fun trip! I loved singing to Van and playing with him and watching him sleep. What a precious angel! We stopped in Aurora to pick up Grandma Heagle and then drove up to Provo where we planned to stay with Robert's brother Dave, and his wife, Vickie, for the week.

Saturday, April 23 Robert and I went to the MTC for another tutor session with Brother Bird. We love our tutor sessions with him because we learn so much.

We stopped by the Dickerson's and planned where we would arrange everything, then had lunch. After lunch, we headed to the temple with Lindsay. It was such a wonderful session and she loved everything about it. She got pretty emotional when she saw how many family members were there to share the day with her. I loved being there with her and helping her to understand the temple. It was a sweet experience to share with her.

We had several family members there as well as Darren and his family. We all went to Cafe Rio afterward for dinner. Cafe Rio is delicious! After dinner Robert and I took Grandma back to Payson where we met my sister, Cindy, who took my mom home. Cindy and Grandma were headed to Hawaii on Tuesday for a little vacation.

Sunday, April 24 Easter Sunday Robert and I, Kimber and Van attended church with Kelli and her family and then went to her house for Easter dinner. Richard, Nickie and the kids also joined us for dinner. It was very fun to be with everyone and the children enjoyed being together and looking at the chickens in the back yard.

Monday, April 25 What a full day! Kimber is a very creative person and she had this idea to make cute tables for the reception. So today we painted, sanded, stained, and attached legs to some doors that we brought up from Arizona. They turned out way cute! We had dinner at the Dickerson's (they fed us a lot while we were there) because it was so late by the time we got done. I got to play with Van and take him on a walk after he woke up from his nap, while a lot of the work was being done.

Friday, April 29, 2011

Sadie and Mason couldn’t wait for Darren & Lindsay to come out of the temple doors!

Mr. & Mrs. Darren Dickerson

The day started out very cold and so taking pictures was a challenge…

Brother Dickerson had a sleeping bag that he kept throwing around Lindsay in between pictures in an effort to keep her warm!

 

Larry did manage to get some pretty awesome pictures…

Taylor flew out from Virginia to be here for his little sisters’ wedding day.

 

After the sealing we attended a luncheon, which was held at the Northampton House in the Pleasant Grove area.  It was beautiful and we had a great time visiting with friends and family. 

The reception in the cultural hall (not plan A) turned out beautifully thanks to Kimber.  She spent a lot of time and energy and it paid off!

These are the cute tables that we made out of doors on Monday.  All Kimber’s idea!  She’s amazing…

We had a really great day!

So Much to Do, So Little Time…

I mentioned to Robert a few days ago that it would be nice if I could just manage to get a few more hours in each day… I feel overwhelmed by how much we have going on in our lives right now!  Well, the next morning I woke up at 2:30, dozed a little, then woke up again at 3:30.  So around 4:30, I decided to get up and get some studying done.  Problem solved!  I worked for a couple of hours then started in on my day and got so much done!  I wouldn’t recommend doing that every day, but it sure worked well that one time!

At the beginning of the month Robert and I were able to attend General Conference in Salt Lake City and had a wonderful time.  We stayed with Robert’s brother, David, and his wife, Vickie, and had such a great time visiting with them and playing games and visiting with their kids.  On Saturday afternoon we were also able to spend some time with Lindsay’s future in-laws, the Dickerson’s.  We are so happy for her wedding (in two weeks!) and are thrilled to know Darren and his family.  We know that she will be loved by her new family and are so happy to know all of them.

On Sunday morning, this is what we woke up to!  It was beautiful, but oh, so cold!  Plus, we weren’t sure we would make it to Conference on time… we were driving from Provo.  Luckily we left early enough that it wasn’t an issue.  On Sunday afternoon, we spent some time with our oldest daughter Kelli and her family and helped them unpack some of their boxes.  They had just moved into their new home on Thursday and were still getting settled.

Of course, we loved attending General Conference.  We were able to attend the Saturday morning and Sunday morning sessions at the Conference Center and loved the spirit we felt there as we listened to the Prophet and Apostles teach us.  We also saw some dear friends there and were able to meet new friends as well.  On Sunday the temperature had dropped quite a bit, but we  took the opportunity to walk through Temple Square and the grounds were beautiful .

These pictures were taken on my phone (just a regular phone…) so the quality isn’t great, but it’s better than nothing!

in paradise...

For Spring Break this year we are in Hawaii with Brian, Kimber & Ryan, baby Van, Lindsay and her fiance, Darren. Taylor will join us for a few days later this week. We are staying at the Waiohai on the island of Kauai, one of our favorite places.
We had a great time on Saturday swimming at Luma Hai and Queens Bath even though the North Shore is really crazy this time of year. The waves were spectacular and the kids had a fun time getting tossed in them.
I enjoyed watching them get tossed.





We went to one of our favorite beaches and baby Van had a great time tasting the sand. He would scoop it out of his beach pail then stick it in his mouth... it was everywhere but he was happy!








On Saturday morning we still had our tutor session and it was great. What a great place to have a tutor session! Robert and I really enjoy our sessions because we learn so much and we have an opportunity to share ideas and thoughts regarding principles of the gospel.

A Wonderful Weekend!

This past weekend, Robert and I, Richard & Nickie, Larry and Brian drove up to Utah to attend the sealing of our oldest daughter, Kelli, and her husband, Adam, in the Timpanogos Temple.  We stopped along the way in Aurora to get my mom, who came with us, too.  There were lots of family members there and dear friends… Steve & Kathy Thurgood… and we so appreciated everyone being there.  It made it that much more special.  Afterwards, we celebrated at their church building with a yummy soup and bread dinner where more friends and family joined us.  Our trip up and back was easy and quick.

We have also been in the process of finding new homes for our many animals.  On this trip we took our cat, Chloe, to my mom and my sister, Cindy, who will be caring for her while we are gone on our mission.  She will get lots of love and attention there and we feel so good about her new home!  We will miss you Chloe!

Aprendiendo Espanol es muy dificil...

I just finished my tutoring session for today. Actually, we both had tutoring today, Robert this morning and me this afternoon. I have to say that this session went really well and Robert loved his session! I usually am so nervous that I'm going to say something wrong, or I won't know an answer to a question, or I won't know what my tutor is saying. I'm feeling a little sick and I think that helped me not to care as much if I made a mistake. Maybe I should always be sick...

Also, I did something on Tuesday that I've been wanting to do for awhile and I'll probably post a picture next week sometime... what could it be??

April 17, 2011 Well, it took me a little longer to post the picture than I thought it would take... I decided to finally cut my hair. I've really loved having it this short and it's been much easier to care for than I thought it would be...

La Bienvenida!

Wow, how time flies when you don't have time to write on the blog! The funny thing is that I didn't realize that many people actually read my blog. I got to thinking that I was writing it for me, but then some of you that actually read it will say things like, "you haven't posted anything new for a long time!" So, I apologize. I hate it when other people don't blog for awhile, so I guess I need to do better.


Our big news is that Robert and I have been called to preside over the Mexico Puebla Mission and will leave in July for that assignment. Talk about a life changing event! We are very excited and humbled by the thought of being in charge of a mission and being responsible for 150+ missionaries. We are excited at the opportunity to learn Spanish and to re-learn Spanish! We are excited for the opportunity that Brian will have to go with us and experience another culture. So many things to think about... We will miss our family, but we understand that some of them plan to come visit us. We will hold them to that.
We will try to post regularly and keep you informed of all the wonderful experiences of the mission, and we hope you will also feel welcome to share your experiences with us! We love you all!

Continuing the Saga…

After we left Ron & Dee’s we headed East across Montana, heading for Yellowstone National Park. Ron & Dee suggested that we travel through the Beartooth Pass in Montana. We followed their advice and saw the most beautiful country ever!

We drove across Montana and then down to a place called Red Lodge. From there we went through Rock Creek Vista Point and could see for miles in every direction.

We started climbing up over the Bear’s Tooth Pass and saw the most beautiful mountains, lakes and wild flowers. We thought we were in the Swiss Alps!

the entire side of the mountain would be covered in flowers like this…

It was July but there were still many pockets of snow and it was very cold!

If you look past the sign, right above the “E”, you can see why it’s called Bear’s Tooth Pass

Then, as we were coming down onto the other side of the pass, we saw them… the most beautiful pair of mountain goats. You can’t see the other one, but there were two. We got out of our car to look at them and were standing about 20-30 feet away from them. We watched them for quite awhile until they wandered down the mountain side. They were amazing!

You can see both of them in this picture…

this was a river that we crossed over on our drive. We had to get out and hike to see it

standing on the bridge above the river…

And then, we finally made it to Yellowstone…

We were hoping to see some animals when we got into the park, and we weren’t disappointed… almost immediately we saw a couple of buffalo and it just got better from there. The following are the animals we saw and one that we didn’t get a picture of was a bald eagle.. enjoy the pictures!

we saw hundreds of buffalo… everywhere…

above… standing above the falls, looking down

below… standing in front of the falls where we had to hike down to get to this spot. It was a long hike back up!

who would’ve guessed that there are pelicans in Yellowstone Park?

This was another elk that we saw a little later. Look how big his antlers are and the crazy guy in the bottom of the picture… we stayed safe in our car the whole time!

As we were about to leave the park, we felt like we had seen just about every animal that we had wanted to see. Except a Moose. We were heading over a bridge and there was a big crowd of people. They were looking at a couple of large moose that were eating grass along the rivers edge. Success!!

We had a great time in the park and loved all the beauty of this amazing place. We were in time to see the sunset over the Tetons and then stayed the night at Teton Village

We made our way back to Provo to pick up Brian from EFY and had such a fun trip. We loved seeing new places and travelling new roads. It was all a great trip!