June 2, 2020

GOOD MORNING! It was so good to see your darling face the other day! I saw your dimples and wanted to cry! I'm so excited to get more details today about everything! I'm so excited to hear more about your companion, your work online, what we can send you in your package today, how you are doing, everything! I want to start with a sweet story. I saw God yesterday. We showed up to our first load and out of the front door walked my sister Angie's special needs friend from high school. You may remember her. The thing that touched me so deeply is that she said "I have wanted a garden forever and ever". It turns out her brother-in-law built her garden boxes, ordered her compost, and paid for the compost. I was just so touched that he would take such special care of this special needs girl and her sister out in this dumpy house in Taylorsville. I saw God today. It is early in the morning and we are excited to build the flagstone patio today! There is a stone place right here in Bluffdale and we can fill our entire truck with flagstone for $50, so we are going to go CRAZY! The Child's are coming up to help! When is the part we stop thinking about ourselves and our yard and the getting of things? We work so hard all day hauling compost FOR $ and work so hard the rest of the time on our yard FOR OURSELVES. I feel like a jerk. I think on Saturday the yard is going to look splendorous then maybe we can halt this crazy horse and put life more in balance. Also, this is a train you can get on and ride forever, just keep getting more and better stuff. I am SO GRATEFUL for it all, don't get me wrong. I'm so overjoyed to not walk in the backyard and see the tarps and feel the shame, but I feel so selfish. After this we will be pretty set up to have people over and I have a burning desire to do more missionary work! I feel the spirit so strongly when I think about having the neighbors over we don't know really well and just loving and being interested in them.....I feel the Spirit surge through me when I think about taking cookies to Lee, Alyssa, Ryan, Mark and Trina, on and on.....I want to be you. I want to do what you are doing. I don't want to worry about money, I just want to serve all day. I hope you enjoy this precious season of your life my wonderful boy. I MISS YOU TERRIBLY! Things are good and crazy. Compost hasn't slowed at all. We did 7 loads last Thursday, 5 yesterday. Actually we have zero today so maybe as of this moment it is slowing. We have just a few days til the wedding and our awesome family is all enlisting. Nic is helping with menu, Jayna has saved us thousands in just a few days with free sod, almost free rock and a thousand other things she found to borrow, use, go get. Abby has spent an entire week here working her guts out doing so much backbreaking labor. Grandpa Jello weed eated our entire back, spent hours shoveling the new fill dirt we got where the fort used to be, Grandma Jan was down here on her tin lizzy bike just talkin about everything. She wants to wash the dishes and make the salads. Everyone is helping so much. Our family is so awesome. It is going to be a sacred day on Saturday. How precious are these covenants! Mooks and Lids are SO DARLING and SO EXCITED! I just texted Alee and I think she's coming over to help! I LOVE YOU! That phrase, "live after the manner of happiness" comes to mind so often. We really do, and it is because of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. I feel like the ultimate manifestation of our Christianity is how we speak to and treat each other. This makes life sweet or bitter. Having the Savior's teachings and love and the gift of the Holy Ghost, having the knowledge that we have a natural man to conquer, having meaning dripped into every single bit of our lives and knowing that even the difficult experiences we have are a gift from a loving Father who loves us enough to help us learn something, these things and so much more give us that happiness. We also enjoy the civility bred by the knowledge of the value of a human soul, and our responsibility towards our fellowman. We are not responsible to change people, but rather we have the opportunity to love them. I am so grateful for the message you are sharing and the work you are doing. Sethie's phone broke, so he has been extra amazing nice and he told me it's because he wants a new one. He really has been amazing, mowing, cleaning, working outside all day every day. Coy and Bec are getting up at 5 to study for the law school test. Annie has been on the compost truck making bank since school ended a few days ago. She got all A's by the way, even with everything that has happened; the car accident, the cancer scare and hospitilization, and coronavirus. Spenny went up to Lizzy's house on Sunday and met her whole family! They crafted together! Ask him for a picture! We love you so much! Can't wait to talk to you today! I'm SO PROUD OF YOU!