Change

It seems very interesting the changes that have come with the start of 2009. I took a moment to notice how big both of my girls are. Ariana is growing up so fast. She is almost 9 months old. It is hard to believe that she is that old, yet she fits our family so perfectly. McKayla is getting to be more mature and older as well. I am amazed at how well she does sometimes. No, she is not perfect, but she is a great kid. She can make her own bed, feed the cat, brush the cat, and clean her room. She still needs help cleaning her room and brushing the cat, but she is eager to learn. A very big change in our lives is that my in-laws are gone for 18 months to serve a mission for our church. In our church young, unmarried men (19 years old) and young unmarried women (21 years old) serve missions all over the world. Older couples can do this as well. The process is similar in the fact that the missionary doesn't choose their mission location. Also, the missionaries pay for this experience or their families pay for the mission. The price varies, but many member choose to do this. You don't have to go on a mission to be a good member of our church. A person is not seen as less or as not being as faithful. (At least they shouldn't). It simply is an opportunity many are encouraged to take. My in-laws are going to northern Canada. Burr! McKayla does not understand how long they will be gone, but she did understand that there was no Sunday dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Porter's house yesterday. She really missed seeing her cousins and grandparents. In fact she argued with us for about an hour that we were wrong, and that Sunday dinner was happening without us! Change is hard, but good. I am excited to see what 2009 brings to our family.