August 22, 2016 - From Sam

Week three and my final week in the trio with Elder Flygare and Elder Cardenas is in the books! It was a solid three weeks. We had a lot of success and a lot of fun together. Two really great missionaries. Especially Elder Flygare! He´s from my MTC group and is going home tomorrow. 2 years is up. Kinda weird that my group is going haha

The change is over and as expected Ill be heading to a new area! Dont have any more details than that and wont until tomorrow morning. Well get to the office and theyll tell me where and who im going with and jump in a taxi and head out.

Before you read any further check out the pics... The ward had a ¨going away party¨ of sorts for me and Elder Flygare. They made us signs and mine said ¨Good luck in your new area Elder Gorksnees¨.... I guess three weeks isnt enough time to learn a name like Gurksnis for Latinos especially hahaha I was dying when I saw it.

Dont have a lot of time this week.  But Laura and Hillary are two investigators weve been teaching.  About a week and a half ago I saw their husband bringing down a bunch of cement blocks. I felt a strong feeling to offer to help. After I saw how much he had left I felt as if I might regret it, but two hours and a little bit of booty sweat later I was happy that we were in their house teaching their family. Laura and Hillary have been at church two weeks in a row and will be baptised shortly after i leave! 

Jose was another miracle who was just a 16 year old kid we contacted in the street. He and his dad now come to church every sunday and leave at 630 in the morning so that his disabled dad can have an hour and a half to walk there. Jose bought a suit on his own a week later when really they have absolutely nothing. Dirt poor. His dad cut his long hair and shaved his two year long beard. All on their own. 

Ive been blessed to see so many miracles in three short weeks. I cant wait to see the miracles in my next area.

My scripture for the week is John 6:67-69

Jesus preaches to the multitude of the sacrifice He will soon make. Those that will ëat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood will have eternal life¨. Many followers did not understand and found offense to this and left Him. Then Jesus turns to His apostles and says 67:Then said Jesus unto the twelve, will you also go away 68:Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life 69:And we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

As this world continually becomes worse and worse, I am sure that God is saddened by the turning away of many of His chlidren. I ask you when you feel temptation to be as Peter. ¨Lord where else would we go? Though hast the words of Eternal Life.¨

I love you all! Have a great week.

Love,

Elder Gorksnees

August 21, 2016 - From Mom

Hi baby!  Oh this was a long week!  No pictures and so it felt longer:)  (Well I did get to see one picture of you and Flygare holding up posters from Sister de Leon.. so fun!) I'm sure that means you're incredibly busy which makes me so happy!  I can't believe how many lessons  you taught last week!  How are your investigators going?  I have a few quick questions I'll get out of the way...

1. How are you feeling?  Any anxiety still? Do you know how much we all love you and think about you constantly?

2. How are you sleeping and eating?

3. Do you get fed meals in this area? 

4. Do you know about your changes yet? Where are you going? Do you know who your comp will be?

Tomorrow you will get to see Brother and Sister Flygare!  I have some things for you that she is delivering!  Take a close look at the back of the tie... special surprise:)  I so wish I was able to fit in her suitcase and come give you a giant hug.  But I know it's not our time yet.  You have a very important calling you are fulfilling now.  Your faithful service will make our reunion even greater when the time comes.  And you'll be able to know you did your best and gave it all to the Lord.

Tonight Dad gave G and A father's blessings for the start of school.  Abby starts tomorrow and on Tuesday we bring Grayson to BYU.  I can't believe he is going!  Its going to be so quiet around here... I don't even want to think about it! He has his mission papers all filled out and will wait until he gets to BYU to have his final interviews with his Bishop and SP.  The plan is to have his papers turned in by early September.  We will actually know in a few weeks where Gray will be going!!  He doesn't seem hesitant at all.  He is ready to move forward.  I'm sure he gains a lot of confidence watching you first.  He knows what blessings a mission can bring so I think he feels good about it.  You're a great example to him.  He has seen you deal with incredibly hard things but you chose the right anyway.  That is pretty powerful.  I really appreciate you being such a great example to your brother and sister.  They really look up to you and want to be like you. A mother couldn't ask for anything greater from her oldest child!

Jeter didn't do very well when we were in Colorado!  I think he was really stressed without us here.  He had diarrhea all over upstairs... twice.  And we gave a key to the house to Taylor so she would have a place to get away from it all when she needed to.  So she saw the poop and cleaned it up... twice!!! Going beyond the call of duty for sure!  I feel bad we only brought her back a t-shirt... 

Other than getting the kids ready for school, I've been busy getting ready for seminary which starts in a week.  I have Abby in my class!  I'm excited about it but I'm not sure she is.  I keep kidding her about the embarrassing stories I'm going to tell about her and how I'll always call on her to answer the hard questions.  I'm excited to be teaching the New Testament!  This calling is extremely difficult and takes a big commitment (I guess you know all about that!) but it has been so great for me personally.  I love studying the scriptures in depth and my testimony has grown so much.  

Here is my spiritual thought for the day... I was reading my scriptures and a thought came to me.  Do we pray and read our scriptures in order to check it off our list of things we are supposed to do?  Or do we read and pray in order to develop a relationship with our Savior and become more like him?  We often think the answer to any of life's problems is to pray and read our scriptures... the primary answer.  But those things are most valuable if there is sincere effort behind them to grow closer to our Heavenly Father and Savior.  That is the goal... not to just do it for the sake of doing it (although there is value in establishing a habit of doing it).  Think about where you are on the spectrum of checking it off your list to developing a meaningful relationship with the Savior.  Are you becoming more dependent on Him and more willing to trust His will for you?  

I love you so much, Sam!  You are on my mind often throughout the day.  I wonder what you are doing right at that moment.  It helps me to remember that we are under the same moon.  When you look up at the moon at night, know that I am looking at it too and thinking of you... saying a prayer for you.  I love you infinity plus infinity!  

I hope you have the greatest week!  All my love, my son! xoxoxox

mom

p.s. Pictures are of Abby this morning (first day of school), Grayson mission picture and the four of us in Colorado missing you!

August 15, 2016 - From Sam

Wow what a week. We had quite a succesful week and it went by fast and was great! 

Ill start with a couple funny things. Elder Cardenas is super skinny and he wants to get big. I gave him a few excersises he could do. The next day he was bugging the crap out of me and Elder Flygare. We got back that night and he asked what he can eat to get bigger. I told him my secret is... grapes... he went out and bought literally five pounds of grapes and he just pounds them down every night hahahaha I constantly laugh while watching him eat grapes but he has no idea why hahah

So this week was succesful because we taught 41 lessons in one week which was the most in the mission this week! We worked super hard and it felt great. We had 9 investigators in sacrament meeting and are teaching FIVE different families right now who ALL have super awesome potential and are progressing. Truly incredible. I am sad that changes are next week and theres a very small chance Ill be here to watch them progress. But theyre all pretty amazing. 

One mother in particular has been an investigator for quite a while now. We were teaching her this week and I felt inspired to tell her the conversion story of my dad. He took a long time to commit to baptism because he felt he needed to know every single thing about the gospel before he was baptised. There was apparently even a picture of him in the mission home and under his picture it said ¨Baptise this man and go home two months early¨. Haha! Then a senior missionary couple started teaching him and the elderly man told him although hed been a bishop and had held multiple different callings, he was still learning something knew every day about the gospel. He was then baptised soon after. I told her that story and she committed to baptism. Pretty special. 

My scripture I wanted to share this week was Alma 5:60 ¨And now I say unto you that the good shepherd doth call after you and if you will hearken unto His voice he will bring you into His fold, and ye are His sheep; and he commandeth you that ye suffer no ravenous wolf to enter among you...¨ I love this scripture. Although at times in our lives we may feel far from our Heavenly Father, he is always calling out to us with open arms. He is our shepherd and we are His sheep. The bible says ¨what shepherd having 100 sheep would not leave the ninety and nine to find the one that is lost.¨ If you are lost, he is searching for you. Ive experienced this in my own life many a time. Especially in this last year or so. He loves you and will always be ready to accept you back into His fold if you seek after Him. 

I love you all! Have a fantastic week!

Elder Gurksnis

August 14, 2016 - From Mom

Hi sweetie!  How was Week 2?! I hope you are doing great!  It is my prayer every day that you are not too homesick and you are digging into the work.  I hope you are aware of how amazing this is... what you have done.  I was reading a Missionary Mom facebook post about a young man that came home after only a few weeks on his mission.  He came home with a strong testimony but slowly began to drift farther and farther away from the gospel. I know how much opposition you faced and how easy it would have been for you to have given up and moved on.  I read about  the heartache the mother feels at her son's path.  And I feel for her and all the others that added their comments and shared that they had similar experiences.  I guess it just reminds me of how special you are.  I loved Elder Flygare's letter last week (I forwarded it to you).  I loved how you gained a contact by serving somenone... just like Ammon. I was so proud of you when I read his letter!  Flygare said he was excited about his last 3 weeks because he was going to be with the "best missionary."  What a great young man and how he looks up to you.  

Speaking of Flygare, his mom will be there next Tuesday to pick him up and she has several things for you.  I sent them to her and she is bringing them down.  I figured it was the fastest and most affordable way to get them to you.  She was nice enough to offer to bring them:)  She promised to get a picture of you for me.  

I'll be writing you from Denver tomorrow.  We got here last night.  We had a good week.  We drove to Moab (the scenic route because Grayson made us go to a lake that we actually couldn't get to and it added only 4 hours to our 12 hour drive) : / From there we went into Colorado heading towards Denver.

We have had a good time but we all miss you so much!  Its just not the same without you.  We have scouted out some great places for you to fish when you get home!  We also took some great hikes with just beautiful views.  I'm sure its similar to what you did/saw in Utah.  Just gorgeous country here. We took a 1 mile hike (doesn't sound so bad, right?) that goes straight up a mountain.  It was pretty challenging but then you get to the top and there is a lake with a waterfall that is just amazing.  It's called Hanging Lake.  The water was just crystal clear. One of the prettiest things I've ever scene.  We already decided we will take you there when you go back to BYU after your mission. I've attached a picture:)

 Tomorrow we are taking grandpa Tom out for his 75th birthday that is later this month.  AND dad volunteered me to got to one of Gayle's rehersals for a local community play that she is in... should be awesome...Nothing sounds more exciting than a senior citizen community play. Hmmm... But as Grayson said at dinner tonight, "sometimes you have to do something you don't want to because its for family."  Dad and I just started cracking up because that came from Grayson's mouth!  Can you believe that Gray leaves for college next Tuesday?!! It's hard for me to wrap my head around it.  Two of my boys leaving home within a couple of weeks. Ugh. But it is so exciting for him. 

I read something from President Uchtdorf this week that reminds me of you.  He said, " The Lord knows you.  He knows your heart and is pleased with your sacrifice. He smiles upon you each day.  He will uphold you and prepare the way for you.  He will send His angels before you.  You will feel their presence. And with the help of heaven, your talents will be multiplied. I promise you that as you lift those around you, the Lord God, the Creator of the universe, will lift you up.  If you will only believe and incline your heart to our Beloved Father, He will place within you a peace that surpasses understanding.  He will give you joy.  May you always remember this."

This is my prayer for you.  That you truly know this and feel this.  I said a prayer for you yesterday when we were at a quiet lake and I just prayed that you would feel the love of your family and the love of your Heavenly Father at that moment.  I am so incredibly happy for you, proud of you... and I love you so very much.  I love you my son.  Have a wonderful week!  I'll be waiting to chat with you online.  

xoxoxo

mom

p.s. Hopefully you can open the two videos I sent you!

August 8, 2016 - From Sam

Welp! Im back. Crazy to be back after being away from Guatemala for over one year. First let me just say I´m doing great! I love being back in the mission. It´s really an incredible feeling.  My spanish is all coming back and I already feel almost back to my normal mission self.

President Crapo thankfully put me in a trio with two zone leaders Elder Flygare, who is my buddy from the MTC who is going home in two weeks, and his companion Elder Cardenas.  Our area is called ¨Quatro de Febrero¨ which is the name of the main colony we work in.  We have seen so many amazing things already.

The first couple days were some of the hardest days ever to be honest. I was a little homesick, but the anxiety I had from doing a complete 180 of my daily life was insane. I´ve never had anxiety before or stress like that and it was almost unbearable. The mission is already so different from normal life, plus a lot of the things I remembered about the mission had changed. The way we work and the weekly routine. Not drastically but it was just another thing that was different and made it more difficult. I definitely thought at one point that there was just no way that I could do this.

Wednesday night I prayed so hard. I just prayed that my head could clear and I could focus again on what I came back to finish and what I am to accomplish as a missionary. I prayed that I could leave all of my personal problems and focus on the people that I was suppose to be serving.  It was difficult, but then I read in the Book of Mormon Alma 7:11-12 ¨And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind. And this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and sicknesses of his people... That he may know according to the flesh how to succor (comfort) his people according to their infirmities.¨ 

Although those first 2 or 3 days I felt as if no one could really understand what I was going through, it was then that I realized, again, that the Savior always knows our pains and afflictions. He understands them better than we ourselves understand them. I woke up Thursday morning and all the anxiety and stress was gone. I felt totally back to normal and accustomed to the mission again.  I was honestly maybe the most thankful that I have ever been in my life, that God answered my prayer. 

There´s honestly so much I want to share with you all.  But my time is limited so I´ll end with one last spiritual thought.  I read this week as well in Mosiah 15.  Verses 7-8 prophecy of the Atonement and Crucifixion of Christ. It says, ¨Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up by the will of the Father... and thus God breaketh the bands of death...¨  

Jesus Christ did not want to suffer the pain that he suffered.  He asked His Father to ¨let this cup pass from me¨.  But he says ´nevertheless not my will, but thine be done´. One thing that I feel I can be proud of in these past few years is always trying to do what the Lord wants me to do. I knew how difficult it would be to come back but I know doing what I want to do isn´t how I become closer to my Heavenly Father, but by doing His will for me.  

I love Him with all my heart. And I know this year will be tough at times, but I know 100% that this is where I´m suppose to be. I can´t wait to continue to see the miracles that will happen in this next year.  I know this church is true with every ounce of my being. I know I am on the Lord´s errand doing His work.  I love you all with all my heart! Talk to you next week!

Love Elder Gurksnis

Some quick family pics before Elder Gurksnis headed out.

Letter from Elder Flygare

These will be the best three weeks that I will have in the mission!  Well we are in a trio again BUT with one of the best missionaries that I know! First look at the picture that I sent and see if you guys remember where you have seen this person!  Well his name is Elder Gurksnis... and he came back to the mission! He's from my group! I was so excited when president told me that he was going to be my companion! President told me that he was going to be my companion 2 seconds before I saw Elder Gurksnis. We were in a meeting with the leaders of the mission and he told me outside and then I walk inside the chapel and Elder Gurksnis was right there! I can't tell you guys how happy I am to have him as my companion!I hope that I can be a good example for him in these last two weeks so we can have success and so he can be excited for this next year to teach everyone that he finds and to baptize a ton of people!

> Also, this Sunday we were able to have 5 investigators in sacrament meeting! And out of these five people, one of them was someone that we taught just the day before.  The story of how we found her was that we were talking to someone on the street and we noticed that a man was passing by us carrying cement blocks, so after we talked to the person on the street, Elder Gurksnis asked if he would like us to help him with the blocks, and he told that we could help him, so we went to where he had all of the blocks and we had to take the blocks to his house which was like 80 steps of stairs to go down to his house because he lives in a ravine. So we helped him move 100 blocks that were bigger than the normal sized blocks and he and his wife then gave us lunch for free for helping them! So we then taught them and the wife told us that she was going to come to church with us so she came with us! The husband had to work so he didn't come.
> Well also this week I have been reading in Alma, and in this week I was reading in Alma 48 and it really impacted me what I read! Because this chapter is talking about one of my favorite leaders in the Book of Mormon and it's talking about Moroni!Alma 48:11-13 & 1711 And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;12 Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people.13 Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.
> In these three verses it talks about he is a man! A man of God! It says the word man 7 times in these 3 verses! and its really important that each of us, man or women can become like him. and why should we become like him? well in verse 17 tells us why,17 Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.
>
> If we are men and women of God like he was, we will see more miracles in our lives and we will see that we won't sin as much. We need to be converted unto the Lord like Moroni and we get a conversion through scripture study, prayers, fasting, and our family home evenings. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior.  I know that he showed us the perfect example that we need to follow.
> Elder Flygare

August 8, 2016 - From Sam

Welp! Im back. Crazy to be back after being away from Guatemala for over one year. First let me just say I´m doing great! I love being back in the mission. It´s really an incredible feeling.  My spanish is all coming back and I already feel almost back to my normal mission self.

President Crapo thankfully put me in a trio with two zone leaders Elder Flygare, who is my buddy from the MTC who is going home in two weeks, and his companion Elder Cardenas.  Our area is called ¨Quatro de Febrero¨ which is the name of the main colony we work in.  We have seen so many amazing things already.

The first couple days were some of the hardest days ever to be honest. I was a little homesick, but the anxiety I had from doing a complete 180 of my daily life was insane. I´ve never had anxiety before or stress like that and it was almost unbearable. The mission is already so different from normal life, plus a lot of the things I remembered about the mission had changed. The way we work and the weekly routine. Not drastically but it was just another thing that was different and made it more difficult. I definitely thought at one point that there was just no way that I could do this.

Wednesday night I prayed so hard. I just prayed that my head could clear and I could focus again on what I came back to finish and what I am to accomplish as a missionary. I prayed that I could leave all of my personal problems and focus on the people that I was suppose to be serving.  It was difficult, but then I read in the Book of Mormon Alma 7:11-12 ¨And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind. And this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and sicknesses of his people... That he may know according to the flesh how to succor (comfort) his people according to their infirmities.¨ 

Although those first 2 or 3 days I felt as if no one could really understand what I was going through, it was then that I realized, again, that the Savior always knows our pains and afflictions. He understands them better than we ourselves understand them. I woke up Thursday morning and all the anxiety and stress was gone. I felt totally back to normal and accustomed to the mission again.  I was honestly maybe the most thankful that I have ever been in my life, that God answered my prayer. 

There´s honestly so much I want to share with you all.  But my time is limited so I´ll end with one last spiritual thought.  I read this week as well in Mosiah 15.  Verses 7-8 prophecy of the Atonement and Crucifixion of Christ. It says, ¨Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up by the will of the Father... and thus God breaketh the bands of death...¨  

Jesus Christ did not want to suffer the pain that he suffered.  He asked His Father to ¨let this cup pass from me¨.  But he says ´nevertheless not my will, but thine be done´. One thing that I feel I can be proud of in these past few years is always trying to do what the Lord wants me to do. I knew how difficult it would be to come back but I know doing what I want to do isn´t how I become closer to my Heavenly Father, but by doing His will for me.  

I love Him with all my heart. And I know this year will be tough at times, but I know 100% that this is where I´m suppose to be. I can´t wait to continue to see the miracles that will happen in this next year.  I know this church is true with every ounce of my being. I know I am on the Lord´s errand doing His work.  I love you all with all my heart! Talk to you next week!

Love Elder Gurksnis

Some quick family pics before Elder Gurksnis headed out.

Letter from Elder Flygare

These will be the best three weeks that I will have in the mission!  Well we are in a trio again BUT with one of the best missionaries that I know! First look at the picture that I sent and see if you guys remember where you have seen this person!  Well his name is Elder Gurksnis... and he came back to the mission! He's from my group! I was so excited when president told me that he was going to be my companion! President told me that he was going to be my companion 2 seconds before I saw Elder Gurksnis. We were in a meeting with the leaders of the mission and he told me outside and then I walk inside the chapel and Elder Gurksnis was right there! I can't tell you guys how happy I am to have him as my companion!I hope that I can be a good example for him in these last two weeks so we can have success and so he can be excited for this next year to teach everyone that he finds and to baptize a ton of people!
> Also, this Sunday we were able to have 5 investigators in sacrament meeting! And out of these five people, one of them was someone that we taught just the day before.  The story of how we found her was that we were talking to someone on the street and we noticed that a man was passing by us carrying cement blocks, so after we talked to the person on the street, Elder Gurksnis asked if he would like us to help him with the blocks, and he told that we could help him, so we went to where he had all of the blocks and we had to take the blocks to his house which was like 80 steps of stairs to go down to his house because he lives in a ravine. So we helped him move 100 blocks that were bigger than the normal sized blocks and he and his wife then gave us lunch for free for helping them! So we then taught them and the wife told us that she was going to come to church with us so she came with us! The husband had to work so he didn't come.
> Well also this week I have been reading in Alma, and in this week I was reading in Alma 48 and it really impacted me what I read! Because this chapter is talking about one of my favorite leaders in the Book of Mormon and it's talking about Moroni!Alma 48:11-13 & 1711 And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;12 Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people.13 Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.
> In these three verses it talks about he is a man! A man of God! It says the word man 7 times in these 3 verses! and its really important that each of us, man or women can become like him. and why should we become like him? well in verse 17 tells us why,17 Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.
>
> If we are men and women of God like he was, we will see more miracles in our lives and we will see that we won't sin as much. We need to be converted unto the Lord like Moroni and we get a conversion through scripture study, prayers, fasting, and our family home evenings. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior.  I know that he showed us the perfect example that we need to follow.
> Elder Flygare

August 7, 2016 - From Mom

Hi My Boy!  Oh how I miss you!  I have been DYING for Monday to come so we could ask you 100 questions and see how you're doing!  First of all...

1.  How are you doing?  Are you feeling good?  Are you getting adjusted? We all fasted for you today that you will feel peace being back on your mission and that you will find people to share the gospel with.  We pray for you many times each day! So many people, and mostly our family, ask about you everyday.  I've been sharing your pictures with our family and they love them.  I love the picture you sent from church with the little children.  It reminds me of a picture I saw (see above).  I love seeing pictures of you with the beautiful children in Guatemala.

2. Where are you?  I'm guessing right in the city... 

3.  How are your companions?  So excited you get to be with someone familiar (Elder Flygare).  

4.  How was it when you got to the airport?  Was it a good reunion with President Crapo?

5.  Have you talked with Pres. Crapo about returning by early August 2017? I got your BYU status deferred again so you are good until Fall 2017.

6.  It looks like you've been getting tons of rain.  Maybe even some storms.  Are you safe? Are you able to stay dry?

7.  Since you're in a trio, do you have a bed?  Where are you sleeping?

8.  How is the teaching and language going?  Are you back in the game?

I love your mission goals.  This is a unique and special time in your life.  You are on track to make the most of this time.  I'm so proud of you, my son.  Tears just roll down my cheeks every time I think about your strength and testimony and what you are doing. I know the Lord will save some of his most special blessings for you.  

I love getting those surprise emails with your pictures!  It totally makes my day.  Once you sent one right while I was on the computer and it made me so happy that I knew what you were doing right at that moment. 

It was a good week at home.  Weird because you're not here... I like being in your room sometimes because I feel close to you there.  So I cleaned your room since it looked like a bomb went off in it after you left:)  

Uncle David, Becky and William came over for a few hours on Saturday.  Its pretty awkward watching Dad and his brother talk about traffic and the weather for 3 hours.  I wish they were closer.  But it was still a good visit.  William is getting so tall.  He is a big kid.  Definitely autistic but I think he's doing much better.  He is actually very sweet and had great manners.  And since we didn't take a vacation this summer, we decided to go to Denver to visit Grandpa Tom and Gayle for a bit.  It is his 75 birthday this month so its a good time to visit.  Hopefully we'll get to take some adventures while we are there.  It's like Utah, there is so much to do there in the summer and the weather is great.  The temperature highs are only in the 80s.  We've had triple digit heat for 10 days straight now.  UGH! Can't wait to get out of the heat for a little bit. We're leaving Wednesday and next Monday when we email, we'll be there still.  Probably not a vacation you'll be too sad to miss... but we'll still miss you being with us. 

So many people asked about you today at church.  You have such a big crowd cheering for you and no one more than the four of us at home.  I'm getting your Instagram list ready so that when I have your first letter, I can send it to everyone.  

I wont make this too long because I want you to have time to write and give us the scoop!  Just know that I'm crazy about you... and I love you more than I could ever say.  You have my heart out there with you, Sam.  Take good care of it and take good care of yourself.  Take vitamins, get sleep, work hard, pray hard, eat as well as you can, and listen to the promptings of the spirit.  

I love you so very much!  I absolutely CANNOT wait to "talk" to you Monday morning.  

xoxoxo

mom