one whole week

it has been one week now since mom and dad entered the MTC. james, bowen and i drove them to the MTC last monday bright and early. we had good conversation on the way down. good laughs too! the goodbyes were obviously the hardest part. bowen now knows that "ga-ma" and "pa-pa" are in "ga-na" and seems to be ok with the idea, even though he'd perfer them here to show him the "neigh neighs!" after i tell him that they are in Ghana because they love jesus, he's content. i miss my mom. a lot. we were together nearly everyday and you can imagine the bordom that now fills her void. shopping isn't as fun, cause i don't have my partner in crime (don't get me wrong...i still go, oh, how i still go!) and i definately miss her yummy dinner's she'd feed me when james was late from work. and boy how i miss that she "wanted" to change every poopy diaper that bowen had to offer. she is truly a mother that no one can replace, and i miss her.

i miss dad. his quiet wisdom and good conversation. i miss that he was so eager to take bowen to see the horses and give me a minute to rest. i love that he never cared if bowen jumped on the couch while he watched golf and that he showed bowen all the good football plays. man, i love them. after we dropped them off we took a trip to the hoagle zoo. mostly because james and i didn't want to cry for the three hour drive home. but also because, bowen had never been, james had taken the day off, and we needed some family time. (thanks mom and dad for suggesting it, it was exactly what we needed.) bowen loved the animals and i loved the new baby elephant, zuri. she was the most adorable thing i had ever seen (except my own baby of course!) we went on the carosol, the train and occupied the gift shop for quite some time too. as soon as we made it home we filled the trailer and started moving.
now, we're in a new house. not new to me, but new to us! we now have three homes to care for. lawns and cleaning just tripled on our to-do list. we feel overwhelmed at times but more than that we feel blessed. blessed to have parents willing to serve the Lord. blessed to be able to help them. blessed to be able to hear the mission stories and feel of the spirit more frequently. blessed everyday.

i hope you all know that i have a testimony of my Savior. I know that regardless of the hard goodbyes, my parents have made the best decision they could have in serving Him. I know that my Heavenly Father will help me through the next two years and that we will continue to see blessings from Him through His tender mercies.

here's to a new normal.