Pins and Needles

Well, mostly just needles today.  This was a huge hit to the pocket.  And we are not done!  Had no idea immunizations cost so much.

If We Don't Study... Gandalf says...

Thanks to Black Friday, I was able to purchase Rosetta Stone at a more reasonable price.  My first hour session was interesting.  I can see and understand and give the correct answers when they are in front of me, but I still am VERY slow at trying to put words into sentences.  All these different things for feminine, masculine, plural, singular and so on.

I am hoping the next app will be the urim and thummim!  But for now Google Translate is pretty good.
So along with the Spanish study schedule, we are studying Preach My Gospel.  We are reading the Book of Mormon.  Mike is reading it in spanish.  I am reading in english.  Next time I will read it in spanish.  I should be done in a year or so. :)
I am trying to index once a day and use Family Tree every day as well.
This gives me a pretty full schedule as our preparation continues.  25 days until Christmas. 43 days until we report to the Provo MTC.

Leaving "The Garden of Eden"

I feel like I have left the Garden of Eden and am headed towards the "lone and dreary world". 

My locker no more!

Not that I feel that our mission together won't be wonderful and a great experience.  I know it is what we need to do and I want to! But I think Eve may have preferred to stay in the Garden where everything was beautiful.  But to get to better things, she and Adam had to get out of their "comfort zone" and get to mortality.  Because of their sacrifice, eternal lives with family were their great blessings.  My intent and hopeful blessings are the same.  I am doing this so that myself and others can have eternal lives with their families.  So, even though some call it the lone and dreary world, I see our world as the beautiful handiwork of God.  Uruguay will be a place where I also can witness the handiwork of God! It's just hard to leave the "Garden".

Off it comes, at least until January.

Online Missionary Portal Checklist

We started our checklist of things to be done before we enter the MTC.

One of the big crunches is our immunizations and reading the Book of Mormon in 57 days!  I wanted to try and read it in espanol, but not in 57 days. English will have to do for now.

We have everything calendared though and now that it is scheduled, I am a little more relaxed.

An item that isn't on our checklist but should be:

Our 40th wedding anniversary is today and that is a big checkmark! 

Thoughtful Friends

When I came to work Thursday at the FH Library this wonderful display awaited me.

My good neighbor, special friend and partner in teaching at the library did this for me. She had my computer screen set with all the images from the Mision Montevideo Uruguay. Cathy Anderegg is one of the best people I know. She encouraged me to be a church service missionary and I will be forever grateful to her.  

It was fun to share my mission call with everyone.  I won't even go into the emotions of having to leave such a wonderful place to work with the spirit of Elijah so prevalent.  I just count it my blessing to be able to have participated.  Today I taught the missionaries who are being released and sent home.  I guess that is me too! 

Our BIG Day

11/12/2013: 3:15 pm  Pick up my Mom from the St George Shuttle
                    5:00 pm  Pick up Papa Murphy's Pizza for Travis and Julie's kids because we are babysitting for a week, while they are in Florida at a convention.  We have a temple session with our ward.  We take Dallin, Bethany and Takoda so they can babysit.  Takoda will stay the night with Mike at Travis' because Justin and Kammi are going to the hospital early the next morning to have a baby we hope!  I will stay home with my Mom and get up early to help get Justin's kids off to school.
                    7:00 - 9:00 pm  Temple
                   10:00 - 11:00 pm  Visit with Mom
                
11/13/2013:  Midnight :  Can't sleep.  I try not to think about maybe receiving our mission call but I am a bundle of emotions.  There are only two other times I can remember being all jumbled like this.
First one was at my Grandma Helm's house.  We slept there because she lived close to the LAX airport and Mike was coming home that next morning. He had been serving for two years in the Uruguay-Paraguay Montevideo Mission.
Second one was the night before our wedding.  I listened to the rain all night long.

11/13/2013:  8 am  Get kids off to school.  Mike needs me to watch Travis' kids so he can do some things for Why'rd.
                     9 am  Run by the Post Office to check for mail.  I doubt that the call will come because Monday was a holiday and there was no mail that day.  Mom and I unlock the box and it is empty.  Oh, well.  Tomorrow then.  But people are starting to text me asking if the call is here.
                   10 am  Mike not quite ready to go, so I tell him I would like to go back up the hill and check the PO Box one more time.  Mail delivery is guaranteed to be in box my 10 am.  It is unusual not to get any mail in my box.  Mom and I go back up the hill.  I timidly unlock the box and there is mail!  I am looking for normal letter sized envelopes.  There are four sitting inside a bigger envelope.  I tell Mom that none of those letters are from the Church.  She said, "No, it is the big one."  I say, "I don't think so."  But as I look closer, I see Elder Michael Lamar Burnett and my heart stops.
                 

I pull the envelope out of our tiny PO box and set it on the counter and start to cry.  So does Mom.  I comment to her that I am not sure I want to do this.  Reality has it.  Then I corrected my statement to her because it sounded like I didn't want to do this mission which is definitely not the case.  I DO but I know the heartache of leaving my family will be difficult.  We wipe away our tears and then take a photo of the envelope and I text Mike first.  This was his response via text:

10:23 am  :)

10:23 am  :0)

10:23 am  :.)

10:23 am  :>)

These all came every 5 seconds.  Couldn't tell he was excited, huh!

Then I send a group text to my children and my siblings.  Driving all the way back to Travis' was fun. Nothing but text alarms going off.  My phone actually was feeling a bit warm from all the great activity.  

Plans to meet out at Laura and Dale's at 6 pm were made.  She would provide dinner.  Arrived at Travis' and gave Mike a big hug and kiss and on with the rest of the day.  He did his errand and then came back to watch the kids.

Mom and I went to the hospital to wait for Kammi to deliver baby.  Got there about 2 pm and visited with Justin.  Things going well.  I showed him the envelope and then he took it back to share with Kammi.

My last text from him was about 4:50pm.  Brought kids into the waiting room about 6 pm, but still no word. We waited til about 6:20 pm and decided we couldn't wait any longer and left for Dale and Laura's.  Finally got a text at 6:37 pm. "She's here!!! Kammi did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  That was a relief, because I really expected she would deliver more like 4:30 pm.

7:15 pm  We finally get everyone connected with Facetime, Briana and Matt, Travis and Julie, Kammi and Justin, speaker phone with Rhonda and Anna and Sally and not sure who else.  Videos are going and cameras too.  

Mike lets me open the envelope because it is my first call.  I want him to read it because he has the louder voice.  I open it and it only takes me 1 second to see where we are called and I smile.  I know Mike hasn't seen it yet. I hand it to him to read and as he finally sees where we are going , he chokes up and cannot read it.  I take the letter back and read:

Dear Elder Burnett:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  You are assigned to labor in the Uruguay Montevideo Mission.  Your primary assignment is to labor as an office specialist. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 23 months.

You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Monday, January 13, 2014. Your assignment may be modified according to the needs of the mission president.

The letter continued but too much celebration was happening to read the rest out loud.  Candiss won the prize (yet to be determined) and had guessed Uruguay. I came a close second, Argentina. The letter was dated November 12, 2013 and signed by President Monson.  I checked to see if my letter read the same and fortunately it did!

8:00 pm  Laura left for work and the rest of us headed back to the hospital where we greeted the newest addition to our wonderful family, Baby Girl Burnett.  She has yet to be named.  She arrived at 6:34 pm. Weighed in at 7 lbs 10 oz and was 20" long.  She looks alot like Ashlen and of course has red hair!  I gave Kammi a huge hug and more tears.  She did a natural delivery with a midwife and nurses.  Hard work! 

A GREAT blessing day for our family.  

Thank you to our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.  All that we are and all that we have are because of Their great love and sacrifice for us.

It is now past midnight and I am very happy tired!  Good night everyone. 

Here we sit like birds in the wilderness...

Item #1: Mike was released as High Priest Group Leader today.  They say that once you receive a mission call, you are to have no other callings.  But, I am still in Nursery.  I would rather stay busy.

Item #2:  Bishop said CALL HAS BEEN ISSUED!  Yipes.  It really is happening.  We will probably see it come in the mail Tuesday or Wednesday.

So.. as the boy scouts sing.. Here we sit like birds in the wilderness, waiting for the call to come.

Google Map Your Guess

Here is the link to a google map where people are putting their guesses of where we might be called.
Just click on the little balloon towards the top of the map and then click the place where you want. Add your name in the title and color the balloon a different color if you want!  We could have our call as early as next Wednesday or as late as Thanksgiving.  Enjoy!

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zYsLu22x8whI.kqwoKU3iZpN8

My Last Patron Class

Filled out my last Patron Class Blue Sheet.  After teaching patron classes for four years, I am quite sad about this loss.  I absolutely loved this.  But, I do know other opportunities await!

Interviews

We met Wednesday night with the Bishop Walter.  We had a nice visit with him.  We were his first missionary couple interview.  The interview was all about us and our feelings, our family, and how the finances worked.  Very different from a temple recommend interview.

Today we met with our President Miles, our stake president.  He is always so upbeat and was obviously very excited for us.  He also asked about our family and how they were all doing.  He testified to us that when we serve as missionaries, families are blessed.  President Miles asked if we were willing to serve where we were called and of course we said yes.  He asked if we really wanted to serve.  Mike said yes, he had wanted to 5 years ago.

I said yes, but of course the emotions of leaving and then I quickly added, "I can't go there."

So, we could have our call in 2 to 5 weeks!  Wow...  Are we ready?!

Recommendation Form Submitted

DONE!  Now it is a waiting game.  

Medical Done!

     

Me since 5 pm yesterday!

     Wow!  Glad that is over for the next 10 years.  I had 1 very small polyp.  I am not so sure that at our age, everyone doesn't have one.  They have to find at least 1 so that the diagnostic changes from "preventative" status to "diagnostic" so that they can charge you.  It's like does anyone at our age not have a mole or freckle?  Oh, well.  I went into the procedure room at 11:45 am.  It was really nice to have them say, "We the dream team are going to put you to sleep now."  I replied, "Okay." and I remember no more.  Out 20 minutes and I hear them say, "You are done now."  I was still in the same procedure room and they rolled me into a small recovery room where Mike joined me.  The doc came in and apologized that I awoke a little early?! Told him I didn't feel anything and he seemed relieved. Mike commented that he woke up in the recovery room.  

     I asked the nurse if I could have some of that sleeping stuff for home so it wouldn't take me 2 hours to get to sleep.  She laughed but then said that was what Michael Jackson used too much of.  I said, "Never mind."  

The Dreaded "C" Procedure

     It is now upon us.  Mike did all his prep work last night.  I think he was very nervous about this whole thing.  I am too!  I mentioned to him that most people had told me the hardest part was the clean out process. The actual procedure you know nothing about because they "twilight" you.  His comment and I quote, "I don't want twilight.  I want midnight!"  We both laughed.
    He had his procedure done this morning and was home by noon.  Only found one teeny tiny polyp. Mike assured me that the comments were correct.  They give you an IV and you are out.  He remembers nothing.  Hooray!  I am a little more relaxed now.
     I started the prep work tonight.  It really hasn't been as bad as all the internet comments make it out to be.  The solution to drink was kind of salty but still palatable.  Nothing like other things I have had to do in the past with my kidney stones.  That stuff made me gag! Literally.  So I am grateful for a better drink solution.  There is always a good side, somewhere!
Drinking that much though, made me cold so I have my electric blanket on.

     Procedure for me is tomorrow at 11:30 am.  I have to get up at 5 am though to drink another round. Cheers!

Dental work is all done though, so we will hand in our papers to Bishop Walter on Sunday.  :)

First Medical Exam

     Started my medical today with my OB-GYN. Blood work great. Not anemic. Mammogram good. Pelvic exam good.  The only surprise phone call later today, was that I have a bladder infection. Wow, had no clue, no symptoms.

Next appointment to schedule is the big, bad "C".

Paperwork and CheckUps

     I started all my paperwork and noticed that in order to serve internationally I need a mammogram and a colonoscopy.  The latter makes me really nervous.  I have avoided this for 10 years.  At first I was very reluctant but then came to  the conclusion that I will put it in God's hands.  He wants me to go, then this procedure will go smoothly.  I am nervous because one person I know died from this and another almost died.  I know there are other stories that give the opposite view of detecting cancer early and it has saved lives.
     My other concern was the cost of this procedure.  We have a high deductible insurance plan.  But, I got a letter in the mail from IHC and they mentioned that I haven't done this procedure yet.  The letter also made note that my insurance would probably cover this as preventive care.  I called to verify and sure enough, it is covered 100%!

So, tomorrow I start the medical exams.  Mammogram scheduled for 7am.

Ending a Chapter

     It is sad for me to think I just filled out my last patron class schedule for October 2013.  I don't think I will have time to teach those classes as we get closer to getting ready for our mission.

The Family Tree classes are me!

On the happy side of things, who knows what kinds of people, subjects, and it what places I may be teaching next year!  

The Online Paperwork Begins

     We officially started the process of getting our paperwork started online for our missionary call.
Mike is answering questions with my approval.  Any preference?  No.  How long? 23 months
Do we have a car?  Yes.  Funds available from us?  From family?  Where are your ancestors from?
     I need to go make dinner.  I do want to go but THE HARDEST thing is leaving family. A couple of months ago I was sitting with a grandchild on my lap and this mission thing hit my emotions like a brick and I started crying...    Our family is very close.  More so than most!  We live with Myron and his family.  Justin and family live next door.  Laura and family live 40 minutes away.  Travis and family live 15 minutes away.  Briana and Matt live in Kansas.  Candiss and family live 50 minutes away. Anamarie and family live 5 minutes away.  But distance is not what makes us close. We share the gospel of Jesus Christ together and love one another knowing relationships are eternal.