Happy 4th of July

Happy Independence Day! I remember when I was in Switzerland for the 4th of July and I was more grateful than I'd ever been to be an American. It really hits home when you are living abroad and celebrating the 4th. I've been thinking about you so much today!! With it being fast sunday, you were the main purpose of my fast. I am SO excited to talk to you in a couple of hours. I am just so anxious to hear how you are doing. Last week I was blown away by your peaceful, calm self. I was so far from that when I first got to Switzerland. Let me just say that it would be totally normal for you to be feeling anxious and frustrated as you adjust to your new environment. Please don't think that would be a shock to me or any of us. I am so anxious to hear about your week....the good, the bad and the ugly. I am praying so earnestly for the language and gift of tongues. Maybe you are in need of other blessings, but I know the language was a real struggle for me when I first got to Switzerland. As I sat in sacrament meeting thinking about you, i could help but hear the words of my Aunt Mary echoing in my ear...."GREEN THINGS GROW" and to never stop being green. The background to her advice came as she explained that missionaries used to travel by boat and were very motion sick when they arrived. They looked green and so they started calling the new missionaries "greenies" That was what they called the new missionaries in our mission too. But the concept is still the same. Stay green. Keep growing. It is such a steep hill you are on right now, but it won't always be this way. You're doing great things and learning SO much! Again, I cannot wait to hear about your week! Our week was great. We had some fun times. I'll give you a quick run down. Monday night we went to the lake. We had a good time. It was just our family. We went to pineview. It felt cold to me...especially compared to Lake Powell. I don't think that I have any pictures of that but I did have some pictures from our Relief Society activity mother/daughter cake/cookie decorating activity that I went to with Gwen and Jane. As you can see we won an award! It's the OCD reward. I seem to always get "most detailed" when I enter contests. I also have some pictures from our YW rappelling activity on Wednesday night. It was really fun. We had a great turn out and I actually borrowed your harness. I hope that's ok! Gwen was feeling really nervous about rappelling but she went up top and DID IT! I was very proud of her. It was scary but she did it. Those kinds of activities are the best! Thursday night we went to the Oakley Rodeo with the Paulsens and Montegues. It was super fun. I thought you'd like those pics. Olivia and Ana are just such great girls. They asked all about you! Saturday we worked hard in the yard and had the Calder's over for a BBQ (Jay, Lara, Anna, Topher). My parents are in Seattle with Kimberly and Ryan's family for Simon's baptism. It was really cool. He was baptized in the puget sound. It was really fun to see on Zoom. And Saturday night Dad put on his annual firework extravaganza...toned down a little because the fire danger is so real this year. It was really fun. We had Gma, Gpa, Hunter, our family (minus McKay - chump, he got a better offer....) and Henry's friends, plus some neighbors. It was a great "Circle of Fire". Included in the pics was one of Henry and his amazing transformation in 8 months from working out at the gym. I thought you'd like to see it. He is pretty impressive when he sets his mind to something! IT WAS SO FUN TO TALK FOR A SECOND! You look amazing and you're so calm! I know I keep saying that but wow! I hope you have such a fun day. I'm excited to hear about it. It was great to get a short report. So exciting about all of the people you are teaching. I love you! I am so proud of you. You are such a joy. I am so lucky to be your mother. You are changing people's lives, especially mine! Keep up the great work! Love you TONS! Mom

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