Tales of a Shoebox Princess

OMYGOSH you guys! Other Jim is HOME. Matt says he should be given credit for spotting OJ first, and I will concede. However, I spotted him loudest, as you can hear in the video clip. Jim got first hug, but I got longest (I'm so competitive) and I demanded a second one a few minutes later. He is happy to be home, but of course he is unused to "regular" life. He says it will be weird doing normal things without having to make sure he and his companion are within range. He occasionally lapses into Spanish, and couldn't remember the word Sacrament--referring to it as Santo Sena. He'll start sentences with "Pues" or "Tambien." We spent over an hour with the stake president. He asked Other Jim lots of questions about what he learned on his mission, about companions, investigators, etc, and at the end of the interview, he said, "Elder Evans, you may now remove your missionary name tags and I officially release you from your mission. You...

It arrived! EJ's official itinerary for his return flight! Feb 4 at 6:11 p.m. at Terminal 2 (formerly the Lindbergh terminal). You are invited to join us at baggage claim to welcome EJ (soon to be Other Jim again) back to civilian life. I will hopefully provide a banner that we can all hold. Someone bring a camera. I'll be too busy hugging EJ.

Remember the tape on the piano from last week? I was curious to see if there was a reaction this week to my turning the piano around and the tape being ripped off by someone else. Heeheehee! No second message, and the piano was facing out like I like it to be... But "they" had turned ALL the chairs in the room so they faced a different wall, and so that the piano was now in the back and the congregation would have their backs to the piano. That's one way to deal with it I guess. I could see the chorister and the piano faced out, so I was ok with it. The rest of the people in our ward were a little flummoxed as to why the room was set up so, but there wasn't time to change it all back to how we liked it. I'll let you know if anything else happens.

I know everyone already is aware of Paul's mission call, but I wanted to share the video of him opening the letter. We didn't get to see EJ open his letter (which was fine because we weren't around when the letter came and EJ couldn't wait to open it. Who can blame him?), so it was fun to see Paul open his. Here is the link to the video: LINK Please ignore the loud, overbearing mother noise in the background (or foreground. I'm pretty loud in this video and possibly real life). If I could learn to keep my trap shut, the video would have been much nicer. Anyway, Paul is pretty happy about his assignment. Peru will be an adventure. We discovered from the internet (source of all truth) that Piura Peru is the oldest Spanish settlement in South America. July 17th 2013 is the date Paul reports to Lima Peru to start his mission. I'm open to suggestions for Paul's future mission blog title. I thought I'd just mimic the one I have for EJ, which is EJ go...

Paul finished his application to serve a mission today! The last thing he needs is an interview with the Stake President, which he hopes to do tomorrow. And then the wait for the letter will begin. His friend Tommy just got his mission call. His wait was nearly a month from submission to letter in hand. I wonder if Paul will have to wait that long. EJ waited about 2 weeks. Let the guessing begin! Where do you think Paul will go? Stateside or foreign?

Because of the news that LDS young men can now be considered for a missionary service at age 18, we face the possibility of having two sons serving concurrently. Paul has a big decision to make, now that he is suddenly eligible for missionary service. It will be a great act of faith on his part and ours to get him to Elder status sooner than he had originally planned, so we ask for your prayers. No decision has been made yet, and for sure he will finish this semester at college. We are excited for our niece Morgan, who will be able to serve 2 years sooner than planned because the age for young women was lowered to 19. She will make a great missionary! From what I see on facebook, her foot is already out the door. My pipe dream: That Paul will get called in Feb to Tijuana and that he's assigned to work with another Elder Evans.

And another year of seminary is finished. Paul is done with early morning seminary, and Hayley has finished her first year. I did something I don't usually like to do, which is give out rewards for achievement. I made one slip of the tongue, promising whoever memorized all 25 scripture mastery verses would get a pair of "ugly pants" (mismatched pajama pants). I made good on my hasty promise though. The promise came about when Katie was here for Christmas and she wanted to make pj pants but didn't have enough of either kind of fabric she liked to make a pair of pants. I suggested she make a leg out of each kind of fabric. She liked the idea, and so did Paul, who had to find something to give as a white elephant gift the next day in seminary. He ended up sewing a lovely pair of capri pants out of Star Wars villains on one leg and Disney Princess heads on another. The girl who ended up with the capri pants LOVED them and several others in the class coveted them. My...

EJ's first name is now Elder. Some people EJ invited over for dinner his last night here. The guy on the left is a former missionary who served in our ward for 14 months. He was the first missionary that EJ really got to be good friends with. K is from Tonga and after his mission, he moved back here to our ward. He loves it here and we love him. He came to our house for dinner his first night in MN as a missionary, and I served pork loin and K said it made him feel happy. Pork is a celebratory food where he was from and it made him feel like he was celebrating. Former missionary K, EJ, Elder McD, Elder W, and Bishop J (Travis, you ought to recognize this guy)     no crying yet from any of us Just after EJ was set apart. Hayley and Matt didn't come because they had mucho homework. These next two pictures are from nearly twelve years ago.  I put those here because I just can't believe that those two boys are now these two boys: They probab...

And the open house is over, and so is the farewell talk.  I didn't cry. I'm too excited to cry. Besides, EJ still has 16 more days until he leaves. 16 days until we drop him off at the airport and say goodbye for two years. (still not crying) The open house was last night (Saturday). There are three young men leaving in February and so the party was for those three boys. Lots of people came to show their support for Ethan, Jimmy, and Erik. Jen of the hawleyfocus posted lots of pictures on her blog and I invite you to check it out to see more pictures than I have here. I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked because I was too busy enjoying everyone's company to stop for Kodak moments. I did take some, and here are the best of that lot. I'm glad EJ got some food early on. He was busy talking with people for the rest of the evening. My tres leches cakes. I got pretty good reviews. Hayley and some friends. Jim and a friend of his s...

I have been too busy waiting with Other Jim for his letter that I haven't blogged (plus not much has happened round these parts). Well, we don't have to wait anymore. The letter came when Jim and I and Hayley and Matt were at my mother's house for piano lessons, and OJ--although perhaps I should start referring to him as EJ (as in Elder Jim)--and Paul were home by themselves. OJ said he was a little nervous opening the letter, so he took it to his room to open it up by himself. He didn't even know we were gone. Anyway, he opened it, then called us when he decided to read it. He had to spell it to me on the phone, because he wasn't sure how it was pronounced: Tijuana, Mexico! We are very excited! He really wanted to go Spanish-speaking. He checks into the Missionary Training Center on February 8th. And he has a ton of stuff to do to prepare. Wish him luck! I'd write a longer, more Mexican-detailed post, but I'm tired and I really don't know ...

Other Jim has officially submitted his application to be a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The above picture is of him doing the actual submission. The last part of his submission was the photo to upload. He had to dress like a missionary. All he's missing is the name tag. Jim and I kept saying to each other all day, "Can you believe it? He wants to serve a mission. He actually got the paperwork and medical and dental exam done. Did you ever think that little boy who hated going to church and hated wearing church clothes and church shoes and church socks and was the cause of many headaches for his Primary teachers actually has applied to serve a mission?" He met with the Bishop yesterday and the last step will be an interview with the Stake President. And then we wait for the letter.

But I'd rather blog. I have RUNNING pictures. I didn't take them, though. They were taken by another track team parent. So thanks, Julie! I couldn't go to Paul's track meet because (sigh) I had to work til 6 p.m. So I missed Paul's new personal best. He ran the 3200m in 10:31. I have a hard time backing the van out of the garage in 10 1/2 minutes! He's temporarily airborne: He makes it look easy. Last night was his last run for this year in track. One more year! Switching gears, yes, I'm supposed to be packing. My mother and I are leaving for Florida this afternoon to attend Morgan's graduation (Morgan is my niece). I am very excited! Jenni and I coordinated the births of our children so that none of them graduate in the same year (ha! not really) so we can each concentrate on only one graduate each year. I promise I'll blog while I'm gone. Also today was the last day of seminary. These kids were alternately rowdy and sleepy, but I had such...

Folks, I am mighty tired. Seminary has been a huge chunk of my school year and I am eagerly awaiting next Wednesday--the last seminary day of this school year! (it's also the day I leave for my Florida trip) Tomorrow is my last day of teaching seminary for the year and I have just spent the last two hours making up a round-robin, puzzle-and-quiz lesson for teaching the Articles of Faith. I used lots of paper. I would like to high-five Puzzlemaker , because without it, some of my lessons would be boring (and my Valentine's day treasure hunts would take longer to create). Because I feel the need for pictures today, here are some from this year in seminary. All are taken with my camera phone, so they are small and kinda blurry. This is the day I saw a rainbow in class. I like this one, because J saw that I was taking a picture and she leaned over to make sure she was in it. She might have a future in Photobombing or "creeping." Paul and his friend read out loud for the ...

Because five minutes is how long I have before I have to leave for work. 1. Matt gave his first talk in church yesterday. As he walked up to the podium, it began its descent to match his height. He watched it lower itself and said, "I dream of that not taking so long." Ever the comedian. 2. I have to give a talk next week AND play the organ. Let's see if I can screw both tasks up! 3. That will make 3 weeks in a row someone from my family has spoken in church. Paul and Jim better be ready. 4. It's a nice day! 5. Wish I could spend it outside digging holes in the yard 6. To plant new flowers. 7. Because of my new temporary work schedule, Jim is in charge of dinner for the next two weeks. 8. But if I don't want Taco Bell, pizza or spaghetti every night, I have to tell him exactly what to fix. Tonight his assignment is homemade burritos and I have already made the meat filling. 9. Working women who STILL have to worry about dinners are tired people. 10. Time to go.

My life is in flux right now. My body doesn't like to be in a state of uncertainty though, and I've had a nervous stomach since I got an appointment for a group interview with a bank for a teller position. This process of application is long and filled with proverbial hoops. Hoop #1: online application, which leads to... Hoop #2: online screening, which leads to... Hoop #3: phone conversation with a recruiter, which leads to... Hoop #4: group interview. And I don't know that the group interview leads to (provided I pass). It's hard for me to blog when I am this agitated. I'm not depressed; I'm just too nervous to think of anything else. My mind is fixating. In other news, I get to teach seminary this school year. I just got the official call yesterday at church. I have been telling myself that I really need to get up earlier and the Lord heard me and said, "You want to get up early? I'll help you achieve that goal!" Har. No, I'm really ex...

Katie arrives tomorrow (late)! 3 days til the party, 4 days til graduation! Other Jim graduated from seminary yesterday. Four years he has gotten up early to go to seminary before heading off to school. I can't say he was always on time (in fact, this last quarter he had over 20 tardies--the naughty boy!), but he usually went with a smile. I went to the last day of seminary on May 28th--yes, I got up at 5:30 a.m.--to help out with the breakfast. I took a few pictures too. It was a large class. Paul is in the picture too. He's just finished his second year of seminary. Here is the group of seniors who graduate with their two teachers. I like both these ladies very much. And of course, they have to goof around. Last night was the actual graduation with seminary seniors from all over the stake. I was so proud of my son when they called his name to receive his diploma. I truly do not know what changed his feelings toward church from elementary into middle school and on to...

It's stake conference today (explanatory link provided for those of you who don't know what stake conference is) and I'm missing it. I don't remember going often as a child--it was sort of a Get Out of Church Free card--so I never really thought of it as important as going to regular church services where we take the Sacrament. Now that I'm a regular old adult, though, I enjoy going because usually I sing in the choir and get to sit up on the stand and I can hear everything. But today I am home sick. Not from the frozen dinner I ate on Friday , though, just from some wicked cold virus that has my head spinning. I did nothing yesterday, except be sick and watch Gaslight on PBS with Matt. I think MST3K has permanently altered my ability to appreciate movies, especially black and white ones, because I thought this Academy Award winning movie was over-acted and dull. Plus there was one MST episode called " The Screaming Skull" that was very much like ...

I'm not going to post a giant essay (like I did yesterday) today because I am going to try to spend most of my day in my happy place. I wish I were going there for real so I wouldn't have to deal with tonight. I'm in charge of a church activity and I don't do "in charge" very well. PS--I think that picture would make an awesome 1500-2000 piece puzzle.

Merry Christmas, one and all (and probably just one person will read this today--me, as I'm writing it. But no matter. It's my scripture study for the day and whether or not anyone else reads it is not important)! I hope you have enjoyed your holiday. So I thought I'd ponder a few scriptures about the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ today. I will start with what is in my mind the quintessential Nativity scripture (and not just because it's a well-known part of The Messiah oratorio): Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. I can find so much in just this one scripture. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:" his birth was for us. We are born into this world for our own progression, essentially we are born each for him or herself, but Christ was born for u...

The snow is gently falling, making the Currier and Ives vision of Christmas complete. Paul just got up and said he's going out to shovel the driveway. He can be such a pragmatic boy. I imagine that he wakes up, looks out the window, notices the snow, and thinks, "The driveway will need shoveling," and then does it. I don't think he realizes that he could sit around, playing Wii, or texting or generally laze around on the couch until I asked him to shovel, and even then, he'd have like two chances to pretend he didn't hear. But no, he's putting his boots on right now. He hasn't even eaten breakfast! I wonder if he's being good for Santa? But then he's like that all year long. He doesn't do bribery. He just does. Every family should have a Paul. They are so nice to have! I'd even rent Paul out. Today's scripture (Luke 2:21-39) isn't considered part of the Nativity story, but it occurs so close to the night Christ was bo...