In the Lord's Hands

Well, now they are both in the MTC and in the Lord's hands. I am truly honored to have the two of them serving in such a magnificent and unselfish manner. I will just have to keep reminding myself of that when my eyes are burning with salty tears!

Name Tags

Megan made all of us tags to wear. Mine said, "Be nice to me, I dropped my daughter off at the MTC today." Bridget's said, "Don't talk to me. I dropped my sister off at the MTC today. I wore mine around the rest of the day, but when people read it and offered sympathy, I would get all teary eyed. Sometimes sympathy isn't a good thing.

Good-bye

Saying good-bye at the MTC wasn't as hard as anticipating saying good-bye on the LONG drive to Provo. Matt did say as she walked up the sidewalk that if we could only have a video feed-we could watch both of them just like the Truman Show. Even if they were just sleeping I would love it!

The 'last supper'

She chose Old Spaghetti Factory in Orem. I had been crying almost all the way to Provo, but food seemed to make it a little better. We met Heather and the boys there and they told funny stories to cheer us up. Actually Megan and Bridget had been laughing all the way so they were already cheered up!

Officially a Missionary

Megan's setting apart by President Greg Powell. She asked him if she could record it and he said she could. When we got home we found out the tape recorder hadn't worked, but we all used our memories and compiled a transcription the best we could. We were all amazed at some of the amazing blessings and inspiration that she will be able to read over and over again on her mission.

Tired Feet from Shopping

On one of our shopping trips we were able to indulge in a pedicure. (thanks to the generosity of my kids for my b-day...)This was a first for Bridget and Megan and we had fun talking to the ladies giving us our pedicures about relatives and friends they had serving missions.

CHACOS!

This sign says the Desert Rat. It's a climbing, hiking, outdoor adventure store. We bought Chacos for Megan and a backpack for Josh. He said the MTC backpacks were too small. Megan's call said she could not wear sandals, but we kept hearing that she could. So we got in touch with the mission president via e-mail and he said he didn't know what Chacos were, but to make sure they were comfortable walking shoes! So at Bridget's recommendation she is taking them!

Ace Hardware has missionary clothes?

Can you believe we actually found missionary clothes at Ace Hardware? She bought a few cotton shirts and a couple of sweaters as she will be at the MTC in the fall and decided it might get a little chilly before she goes to the tropics!

Josh is Gone

We can't believe it. Josh has been at the MTC for over 10 days!! We haven't heard from him and know there must be some logical explanation. I am resisting the desperate urge to call the MTC to see what is wrong. Did he forget his home address? Does he have money to buy stamps? Is he just so busy there isn't time to write his mother? Josh, please write!

The Fashion Show

Here are a few of Megan's creations. She knows she will definitely be unique among the sisters in the MTC-hopefully the colors won't be too distracting for the other missionaries! She did take a grey skirt and a black skirt if they ban her colorful clothes!

Sewing, sewing, sewing...

Megan's shopping began at several department stores but when we realized most of the options were the wrong fabric and/or not the correct missionary style, we ended up at the fabric store. Even then the patterns needed altering for length or neckline which was very challenging. Megan is creative and persistent though and her wardrobe at the MTC will definitely be unique!

Tear My Heart Out...

The last hug at the MTC (actually I stole one more after this picture. I was really trying to hold it in at this point, but there was no hope for a picture without tears. Megan was ecstatic and just said, "See you in three weeks, Josh!"

Everybody hungry?

Josh chose 'Golden Corral' for his last family meal together. Grandpa and Grandma Mathews were traveling back to St. George from Logan and thanks to the miracle of cell phones we were able to connect with them and they joined us for this last event. Josh confided in me during lunch that he was starting to get nervous.

Setting Apart

Josh was set apart as a missionary on Tuesday, September 1st by President Greg Powell. First we all gave a tidbit of advice then he received a marvelous blessing including a blessing to be fluent with the language-"a fine accent and extensive vocabulary".

The beginning of good-bye

Josh and Megan both spoke in church on August 30th. A few friends and family members were able to attend. They both gave amazing talks, we had great food and of course... a few tears(okay, buckets of tears) Abe and I were the winners!

One Stop Shopping

Josh's shopping was easy. Christensen's has a package deal which included suits, shirts, ties, socks, shoes and they even threw in a shoe shine kit for free! Total time spent in the store-1 hour! Ah, the pleasure of shopping for an elder!