Our First Transfer Group

SURPRISE! We sent home our first group of 13 missionaries this week. It was a wonderful, bittersweet experience! I was overwhelmed with how much I had come to love these missionaries that I had met only a couple of times for most of them.

And then equally amazed at how immediately I was in love with the new group of 15 that we welcomed into our home the very next morning.

Aren't they a sharp looking group? They come prepared and excited to serve and we are really looking forward to knowing this group as our first to come be with us their entire mission.

Part of the schedule of the day was "naptime" and it was very important! I was able to leave them resting and take Braden over to get registered at the high school. Amazing how that worked out!

The next morning, we all went over for the new missionaries to meet their trainers and to join us in our transfer meeting with all the transfers in the mission...it was quite a group!

We were exhausted when we were done...and we celebrated by taking Braden to see Harry Potter that night since we had been so crazy busy for the past week.

YAY! we survived our first of about 26 transfers while we are here :)

BROTHER TAYLOR

We have had so much fun with Braden and his name tag...

They asked us in the office if we wanted one for him and we said "Sure!"

So, he has worn it a few times and it was really fun at the airport when we went to pick up missionaries. We met two returned missionaries on that same trip that both assumed Braden was one of our current missionaries...he is looking old enough to be one and that scares me!

Austin...do you recognize his suit? You should.

He made the day of these two Elders from North Carolina at their zone activity...this is what we try to go to each Preparation Day for Braden to play with the missionaries.

This young man has been AMAZING with being dragged from his friends and home to a very new and sometimes uncomfortable lifestyle.

Keep us in your prayers. This is not an easy thing for any of us, but especially a sacrifice for Braden. We love our "Brother Taylor!"

SOME NEW HOUSE THINGS

We have moved into a beautiful home here in Peoria, Arizona. It is really a showplace, that we are trying to make into a "home" for Braden. This home has not had children living here, so it will take a little bit to make it comfortable for him.I started with the kitchen...my new motto is "LAUGH" every day! This could save my life!
Jenna, here is the tray you gave me, with some summer fruits for decoration...pretty cute in a red kitchen!
And more homey touchs with the quilted flag and the quilted potholders for the 4th of July that Jenna made for me. It makes me happy to have some things from home around me!
The next few photos are of the master bathroom. We had decided that the room needed some "pop" with adding a dark teal blue color to blend in the blue master bedroom attached. The print in the little toilet room was the inspiration for the color and looks so cute.
The James Audobon prints matted in the same blue look fantastic...this picture does not do it justice at all.
My shelf from home also was a perfect touch in there to show off the extra towels. I will post Braden's neat BYU theme room another day and other parts as I have time.

We have been without AC in 1/2 the house for the past 4 days as temperatures have soared to 117 with significant humidity. But, we are doing fine. Utah is a good preparation for desert climate.

FIRST "Family P-DAY"

We received some timely counsel from the apostles at our New Mission President Seminar about how to conduct ourselves on our Preparation days and specifically when we go out as a family or on dates. We were told to "blend in with the crowd" so we did just that.We first drove past the temple site for the Phoenix temple that is just beginning construction, and then over to Mesa to the beautiful temple there. This was the hottest day of the summer so far...about 117 degrees, but the temple was just beautiful and we really enjoyed it.
We are so grateful to have Braden with us on this mission! He has been a really good sport to go with us on all our preparations and to dinners with ward members and area leaders. What an amazing young man to "go and do the things the Lord commands" at such a young age!

We were excited to see a couple of our missionaries over at the visitor center with some new members...they looked sharp and had no idea who we were in our street clothes...pretty exciting to see them in action! (Elders Whitlock and Anhder)