Two Visitors

Andrew Stahn, on of our great return missionaries,
 paid us a visit up in Sioux City at one of our Specialized Trainings.

We had him bear his testimony and share some of his insights about life after the mission.

We could tell he is doing beautifully

and... 

later on that week RM Kenzie Lawlor and her fabulous parents

surprised everyone by showing up at one of our Trail Center Trainings.

You should have heard all the screams and giggles

from the sisters who knew and loved her so much.

It is such a joy to see these wonderful young people

 so happy and well adjusted

 and

moving on with life.

Ups and Downs

Just a few fun pictures of the

putting up

and

taking down

of Zone Conference.

If you haven't seen your missionaries' face for awhile

just drop me a comment and I will make sure

to find him or her for next time.

We sure do love each one of these amazing young people.

There are no finer missionaries in all the world!

My Love

Beautiful Valentine flowers

from 

my darling husband.

Not Just Waiting Around

We are often asked to take missionaries from the MTC

who are waiting for their visa's,
each of them heading for exciting and exotic places.

When they arrive we encourage them to unpack their suitcases,

put down their roots and make this mission their own.

For the most part they have been able to do this

and consequently have had wonderful experiences.

Many say that it has helped them solidify their teaching skills,

and really learn how to be polished missionaries
without the concern of their new language.  

When their visa's clear we have the privilege of 

seeing them off to their "second"mission

and each time it feels like we are sending off one of our own.
Even in those few short months we come to love them so much.

They are always excited and a little nervous to leave,

but each has expressed the feeling that this will always

be an important part of their mission experience

and they are grateful they were able to serve in Nebraska.

They have discovered that it really doesn't matter what the address is...

when one is serving the Lord.

Puppy Love...

The theme of our Senior Dinner this month

was taken from the Disney movie, Lady and the Tramp.

We watched a snippet of the show

where they go to the Italian Restaurant.

The kindly owner who knows Tramp serves them spaghetti 

and one long shared noodle ends in a kiss.

Very sweet.

After that we enjoyed a lovely spaghetti dinner with all the trimmings.

The program was a delightful presentation

 by our Temple President and his wife

on puppy love that leads to celestial love and marriage.

It was a fun night for sweethearts

and reminded us all of the love in our lives.

It was truly a bella notte..

a beautiful night. 

Assistants

Two great missionaries are called to serve as assistants
to the president for a period of time.
They are so helpful to us.
I honestly don't think we could do without them.

We get very close to these wonderful young men

as they are in and out of the mission home quite often.

Consequently it is very hard to let them go back out into the field.

After 6 1/2 months it was time to release one of our great assistants

and have him go out to mentor, lift and inspire other missionaries.

So we say good bye to one and welcome another.

Our new assistant is also a fantastic young man

filled with faith and enthusiasm.

And the work goes on.

Dear Friend

I received the final box of decorations from my

wonderful friend Laura.

For three years Laura has sent me

beautifully wrapped, carefully selected,

decorations for every holiday and season

to help me brighten up the mission home.
How can one ever
express enough gratitude
to a dear friend like Laura?
Perhaps the best way is to try to
incorporate her thoughtful, sweet ways
into my own life
and be a better friend myself.
Thank you Laura,
you will always hold a tender place in my heart.

February Transfers

New Missionaries introducing themselves at the transfer site...

  after 7 1/2 months as an assistant
we are sending this great elder
back out to the field to lead a zone

(we will miss him very much)...

mingling around and catching up...

the transfer van and trailer

loaded to the hilt...

last goodbyes...

all packed in
(and yes they all have seat belts),
these wonderful young people

are off to their new assignments.

Birthday Skyping

We were privileged once again

to enjoy our kids birthdays

via 

SKYPE.

Scott's birthday was the 14th

and David's was the 25th.

They got together at David's house to celebrate

and we got to peek in on the festivities.

David and Hailey are so generous

to host every activity

with dinner and fun things to do.

We love and miss them all so much.

Happy Birthday!!

Creighton Blue Jays

Our wonderful friend, Zach, and his darling girlfriend Laura

invited us,  and the Watson's 

(Matthew opted out so we talked Elder Lund into taking his ticket)

to a Creighton Basketball Game.

We had a ball (no pun intended)!

We began the evening at Goodnight Pizza,

a hot-spot for the students

and had some of the best and most interesting

pizza I've ever tasted.

Then we headed over to the stadium

where we were excited to learn that we could get a free

pink teeshirt in honor of Breast Awareness.

Hence..the pink crowd below

and the pink team uniforms...

even their shoes were pink!

What a memorable evening.

A big thank you to Zach and Laura.

You two are amazing young people

and we are honored that you wanted to spend the evening

with a bunch of us old people.

You're the best!!

Church Basketball

So fun to watch our boy play...anything!

January Hellos

This week we welcomed 9 amazing new missionaries

to the Nebraska Omaha Mission:

eight wonderful young elders and 

a delightful sister all the way from Japan.

They are prepared and ready to go to work.

We know each young person leaves a family back home

who has worked very hard to get them where they are today

and we appreciate their love and sacrifice.

Omaha Auto Show at the Century Link Center

Audi 55 (Milan's favorite),

Corvette ZR1 (Matt's favorite),

Pontiac GTO 1966,

the Rat Mobile,

complete with Rat hood ornament,

Matt's dream Bullet Bike,

the Plymouth Road Runner,

and last but not least

(although it looks like the least)
 the hit of the show...

the Dominator,

used to observe tornados.

What....?
You think I didn't know the names of all these
amazing cars?
And that I had to ask Milan what they all were?
-_-

I've decided that these auto shows
are the male version of
window shopping.