To Witness For His Name

We had some really great things happen this week, but the very best and most exciting was Wyatt's mission call to the Florida Fort Lauderdale Mission. He will be learning Haitian and reporting on October 4. He wanted to read it alone, so when the email came Tuesday morning in the middle of watching LOTR with Griffin, he stopped the movie and read it and then called a bunch of people to tell them individually. It was perfect. As Alan and I were going to bed that night, Alan said (and I agreed) that it just felt right and inspired. He is pretty excited and we are too. He is going to be great.

It rained a TON at the first of the week and we had to stop and take pictures with these monstrous mushrooms that grew!

We went to a spontaneous zoo day with the Langford littles on the last day their pass was valid.

Eloise, Violet, Eve. Which, as Griff pointed out, spells EVE. Just what she needed! They also have a triplet brother who may turn out to be just what Griffin needs.

Griff and Eve kept disappearing while we ate outside at the new Taco Republic at Corinth Square. We found them testing out the shuffle board table and had a hard time dragging them away.

Last year I wrote about Pray on Troost, where we gathered and prayed for racial peace and justice. This year we prayed for peace on Prospect. There have been 66 shooting deaths in Kansas City just this year so far. It is impacting so many families. But there were many fewer people who gathered to pray on a holiday weekend. I even had a conflict, so I asked a couple of friends to go take pictures for me and they got some great ones. We did drive by some of these people as we were on our way to our conflict though, and thanked them and told them we would pray with them.

This family was reading a list of people who have been shot in Kansas City and where they died and then they prayed for their families by name.

Our conflict was a Lindsey Stirling concert! We sat WAY too close to the front, about 10 feet from the woofers. It required ear plugs just to be able to tolerate that location, and we felt the bass drum as it vibrated in our lungs, tracheas, backs and seats. But the show was awesome! She celebrates being the light in the darkness and is just a fantastic entertainer. The costuming and the staging and the film running behind her and the dancing as she plays (even upside down, blindfolded and spinning at one point) were all just breathtaking. And she twice came and played and smiled straight at Griffin (the biggest fan in our family) and Eve!

Then today is the fourth of July. We got dressed in our most patriotic church clothes and sang the patriotic songs and heard testimonies from people who were so thankful for our country and our freedoms--including two immigrants who are now citizens: our former bishop (from Peru) and our stake president (from the Dominican Republic).

This resting grumpy face with an unflattering angle on my neck is the only pic I have on my phone of myself this week, but I thought my sisters might like it. I'm sneakily showing Eliza where Eve's fashion reading glasses are during Sunday School. You're welcome.

Eve hanging our flag. I just love her grace and the innocence and joy of this age.