It's Been A Teeth Week!

I honestly have never received so many comments and texts after sending out one of your emails. I heard from so many....Lara, Cec, Jalynn, Kimberly, Ryan, Nikki Gonzales, and I even got a phone call from my brother Mark who NEVER calls! You really start learning who reads your letters from these experiences. I think I sent your email and Lara texted me like 30 second later! And it was like 11pm. It's quite the story and I've been laughing about Skull King all week! Thank goodness he was nearby! It was great to connect with the dentist and hear the plan ahead. It sounds good and what a bonus...we were going to have to repair that tooth anyway and now it's on the church's dime - hah! I actually told the dentist that I feel badly about that and that we are happy to pay for it. The dentist told us it's one of the blessings of serving a mission! I just hope and pray that it goes smoothly. I'm excited to hear about your toothless week! I'm wondering if you are ready to have it fixed and be done with the shock that people may have? In other teeth news at our house ... Jane had to get her two bottom teeth pulled on Tuesday. She had her permanent teeth grow in behind and they were hurting. She was so content with the laughing gas and Barbie show that she was a little mad when we were leaving, asking "when are they going to pull my teeth?" Needless to say the procedure went well! But check out the roots on the teeth. They are really gnarly! There was absolutely no absorption of the root. Good news is the Tooth Fairy came. I was worried that she was too old to come. We have a lot of teeth to go, so she needs to be on her A game! Oh and another twist of fate this week is that Grandpa Horsley broke his wrist playing pickleball. Dang! He's doing fine. It is casted and doesn't look like it will need to be repaired surgically, thank goodness. I told the Horsley family that we need a frequent "wrist repair' card - like buy two, get the third free with Hunter, McKay and now Bill all within one year! The pool is officially opened! I have a pic of the first swim of the year by Gwen. She is amazingly polar bear like. She doesn't care one bit about cold water! It's shocking to me. I think it was in the 60's and she stayed in and swam for a considerable amount of time! I also included a picture of Gwen walking down a slide with a rope. For YWs on Wednesday the girls worked on learning how to repel. Amy Balls in our new ward is a total outdoor enthusiast and is helping to teach the girls so we can go repelling later this summer. It was a great activity. I spent a little time shopping for flowers with my mom, which is one of our best outings each year. I have so much fun going with her. She really is amazing with her knowledge. She's so funny because she almost spends no money on things. She really doesn't like to spend. But when it comes to flowers, she has no budget! One of my very memorable letters from my Mom when I was on my mission came in August 1997. I was set to come home at the end of November 1997. In the letter there were one or two lines about how the tomatoes were ripe and she was missing me (because I always planted tomatoes with her and loved picking them off the vine and eating them with her). She said that the tomatoes would soon be over for the summer but that would mean that I would be home soon and that she was looking forward to me coming home. The line that caught me was something like "I'll save you a tomato." And it was the sweetest and most memorable thing she wrote to me as a missionary. Isn't that funny that I remember that all these years later? And that tomatoes and our love for gardening made me cry and miss her? I had the best experience with McKay this weekend. A few weeks ago McKay asked me if I would like to go with him to a race in Hurricane on April 23/24. I knew Dad was going on a campout with the priests and I couldn't see how we could make it work for me to also be gone with McKay. Last Sunday during the sacrament the spirit whispered to me to make it work and I began to see a way to make it work for me to go with McKay. When we got home from church I told him and he said it was too late. He'd already worked it out with his friends who had gotten work off and made plans to go with him. I was sad that I hadn't figured this out before but it had seemed like I had missed my chance. A couple of days later Max said he wasn't sure that he really wanted to go and the trip with his buds fell apart. So, we left on Friday and had the best time together! The race didn't go as he had planned. He made it around the first lap in 30 minutes, which was amazing. But even more amazing was that I got him his water bottle in the feed zone without any mistakes. I was seriously worried! There was a group of parents around me cheering me on. McKay may have thought it was for him, but it wasn't. The next lap I was even more on it...counting the number of riders to tell him his place, etc. I was all set but he never came. 40 minutes passed and still no McKay. I was seeing other people who were clearly behind him a ways and no McKay. I was stressing out. You know me. Then I was so worried...like what if I missed him somehow? That would be the lamest Mom move EVER! Finally, he came up behind me and about scared me to death. He'd had mechanical problems and ran into a cactus. This was the Cactus Hugger ride, so it was very appropriate. I was just so glad that he was ok. And let me just add that he had slobber all over the straps of his helmet. Gross. I guess the extra thick spit wasn't as projectile as he needed it to be in the wind. Gross again. McKay was disappointed but not devastated. Each race is good for learning. He spent the ride home going over his (and everyone who raced) numbers...analyzing, strategizing, and computing his next steps. You got to love that kid. Needless to say, we had a great time. It was such a joy to have that experience with him. I am so grateful that the spirit whispered to me during a quiet moment to get the ball rolling. And did you see the amazing picture I took of him at the start? I am quite proud of myself! This week was great. I told you how I was going to make it a priority to read the Book of Mormon everyday, and I did. I decided that even though I've read and listened to it 100 times or more, that I had to keep it simple and doable. I don't think I've ever studied two books of scripture at the same time. I guess I'm growing up and maturing so well spiritually in my 40's - haha. And let me just say that I felt different. It was a great part of my week. Oh yeah...another thing about this week is that I made an appointment to go to the Lieutenant Governor's office for your Apostille letter on Friday. I thought that was the last step...but no, I got there, gave him the Draper City paper work, paid a fee, filled out some paperwork, and was told to come back on Wednesday to pick it up. I'm SO GLAD we didn't go to all of this work last September and then have it expire. It's not just a simple little thing. I'm totally happy to do it, though. And the capitol building was absolutely gorgeous with all the blossoming trees surrounding it! I'll keep you posted! I love you so much! Oh wait....transfers....right? Can't wait to hear. Remember a couple of months ago when we were just counting down the days and praying for a change but trying to "let thy will be done"?? I'm so proud of how far you have come. You are doing great things. Just think how much I love you (which is more than you can comprehend) and times that by 11000000000 thousand million more and that doesn't even come close to how much your Heavenly Father and Savior love you! Keep up the great work. And keep that backwoods, Louisiana smile going! You're making a difference in my life and everyone you come in contact with. Have a wonderful week! We are praying for you like crazy! Love you TONS! Mom :)