Janae and I decided to make Emily's Sunday wardrobe a family matter. The three of us went through her closet and got creative. We thought if we took photos of all these outfits, then getting ready for church on Sunday would be a snap! This is what we came up with it. Check it out!
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A.J.'s been called to serve in the Las Vegas West Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has accepted his call and will devote his life to the serving others and sharing the good news of the gospel for 2 years. We are so excited, proud, and humbled, all at the same time. We love him so much and know he'll be a wonderful missionary. This is a kid who works hard, has a tender heart, and has an obedient spirit. We will so miss him. In 18 months, we have had an annual passes to Hampton Court Palace, which also included entrance to Kensington Palace, and Kew Gardens. And all this time, we have not made it out to Kew to explore. Emily and I took Grandma and it was well worth our time. It was a fun day out. We especially enjoyed the treetop views and Kew Palace (Home of King George III). A.J. started his first drawings for this petrol skateboard 18 months ago. A.J. attended Croydon College, where he was enrolled in an engineering program there. A.J. had access to a metal shop, and teachers, and tools that proved to be so helpful. When he first showed me his drawings I responded how I almost always respond, "That's nice A.J." Now looking back I wonder why my brain has so little vision. Why can't I see the brilliance from the beginning and be a bit more supportive. I've always said, I wish there was a handbook on how to raise an inventor. You know, how did Edison's mom do it? Did it stress her out that her little Thomas wasn't doing well in school? Did she ever say to him, "Hey Tommy, maybe you should leave my house alone and stop using things around the house to make that light thing-a-ma-jingy-thing you're always talking about!" Did she ever say, "It's not very realistic Tommy, go get a real job?" I've just wondered so often how she did it. It is just so cool, as a mom, for me to see what A.J. created! Not just in his mind, on paper, or in a model version, but in real life! I love this kid, even after the many days of pulling my hair out in the process! He's amazing. I'm not gonna say there wasn't blood, sweat, and tears involved here. So, don't scroll down if you're squeamish!
We loved having Grandpa visit us. It was a bit fast and furious. He came, he saw, he conquered! He was able to explore a lot of London, went out to Bath and Stonehenge, and went to Crete for a week. We are a beach family and the beaches of Greece were amazing last year, we just had to share it with Grandma and Grandpa. We think Grandpa liked it too! But without a doubt, he was ready to go home. He was packed and ready a couple hours early that morning, he pushed himself onto a crowded tram and made his way to the airport on his own while Jason and his mom took off for Jerusalem the same day. A bit Crazy! I knew the tram would be crowded in the morning. Grandpa was leaving the same time as Janae, for school. So I told Janae, you push grandpa onto that tram. She texted me that he didn't get on. I went to the tram stop to see if he was having any trouble, but he was gone. He must have hopped on the next tram. I'm sure it was stressful for him to push himself onto the tram that time of morning with all that luggage (most of which was ours he was taking back to the states for us). Thanks Grandpa! But Before he could go home, he took these girls to the temple. He helped staff our ward youth temple trip one night when Jason was out of town for work. UTAH !?! Our mission to the UK was a 2 year assignment. As much as Jason and I would have enjoyed extending it another year, the kids are a bit worn out from all their adventures. They long for "normal" (i.e. American sports, American food, American schools, and their friends and family)! We prayed to know what to do, and have had answers that point us back to the states, even without a job! But then, Jason's company asks him to move to Utah. It was one of three states we said to ourselves we'd be willing to go, so just like that, we gotta go! WITH a job!!!! UTAH?!!! Literally, jaw dropped, shocked! Not in a thrilled way, more like in a...THAT'S-NOT-TEXAS-way!!!! Gob-smacked!!! It isn't home. But it's not totally foreign either. We have family there and look forward to strengthening those relationships and building new ones. To our most dear Texas friends and family, I just don't know what to say? We expect to visit and stay close, but will miss you so much! We may have just left our hearts in Texas! To our new London friends, sorry but you'll have to deal with the loud American family for another 3 months. We won't leave until the end of July! There is not doubt that it's the people that you miss when you "complete a mission," not the place. Well, with London, it will be a bit of both. So our UK Mission isn't quite yet completed, but there is a deadline now. And that deadline has already made me appreciate the abundance of being here. Today. A.J. left the states as a Life Scout with just a couple of Merit badges to complete. While living abroad, we were concerned that we might not be able to come up with an Eagle project for him. Would people here understand, and let some teenage boy come in and help? Fortunately for us, in our ward was Head Teacher Jenny Adamson. She's the headteacher of Cortlands PRU. This is a small school for teenage parents. She mentioned that they have this courtyard that is overgrown, cluttered, and underused. AJ met with her and they came up with a plan to clear it out, refinish the furniture that was there, build some planter boxes to hide the AC equipment, and plant some flowers and a small tree. It all worked out beautifully. It was a fantastic opportunity for AJ. His biggest struggle was stepping back and supervising instead of just doing. He loves to serve and work with his hands, so he just wanted to do it all. But in then end, he figured it out and let a lot of people help out. Jenny shared with us that the students were so impressed that an 18 year old boy would do this for their school. She said everyone loved the final result so much that the kids even decorated it and held their prom night in the courtyard. What a great experience it was for us all.
This kid is amazing! A few of you might already get this. The thing is, when I'm trying to shove him into that square shaped peg, I can forget. But he just is! And so often, I feel for him. Can you imagine having creative, scientific, ideas all the time with no one intelligent at home with whom to share them? He tries, and I try, but I'm no Einstein, and he kind of is, therein lies the problem. Have you seen an episode of No Ordinary Family? There's a kid with a super-brain as a superpower. Visually when he sees something, he can see virtual blueprints, schematics, formulas, etc, of how things work. When AJ saw this show he said, "that's as close to the way my mind works as I can possibly explain. When it comes to how things work, I just see individual components all taken apart and I can picture how they all move and work together!" And he has innovative ideas daily! He comes to the kitchen table to draw them out. He'll say, in the middle of doing something else, "I just gotta draw this idea out so I can get it off my mind." And sometime during his day, every day, he sits down at that table to put down some mental notes. Throughout his life he's designed and built things. And with limited materials and know-how, he wasn't always successful. But while living here in London, he carefully designed and built a petrol skateboard. This picture of him was after doing some welding on it in the garage. He just needed some decent resources. Last year he took an engineering class and had access to a metal shop that was such a blessing. We have been so excited to see his success. And months leading up to it, we'd review his drawings, smile and shake our heads. Unsure, at times whether we should encourage him, or not. And in the end, Jason and I are beside ourselves, impressed at what he can achieve, and we look forward to what he will create in the future! We love this kid. |
Julie Tucker
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