Happiness

Happy Birthday, Ethan and Jonah! We’re so proud of the fact that you are out serving the Lord! New York and Idaho have been so lucky to have you! Jonah, you have only a little over a month left! Ethan 2 1/2 months left. How crazy is that? Time has both flown by and gone by super slowly. It’s been wonderful to talk to both of you each week and see your growth.  Jonah, you’ve grown from someone who didn’t like to talk to people to an Elder who can easily enter in and out of a conversation and also invite anyone anytime to Church! Ethan, you’ve excelled at teaching and working with other Elders. You’ve been a great example of someone who knows how to work hard and have fun!  We love you boys! Get ready, Arizona, these boys are coming home! 

  Ethan and Jonah- Elder and Elder Abbott- are doing so well on their missions! Ethan is currently serving on the Campus of BYU Idaho in Rexburg, ID serving 64 wards (student and family wards). He absolutely loves it! He loves being around people his own age, they teach a lot and those he teaches often want to get baptized because of the example of their friends. He’s become great friends with his companions- Elder West and apartment mates Elder Conway and others. He’s been Zone leader for a while and his energy and enthusiasm helps encourage the other missionaries.  Jonah is loving his area right now. He is in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He trained his last companion in Queens. He’s now loving seeing the Horizon and being District leader is a busy job! He works hard and finds joy in the work! We are so very proud of them! They work so hard and are increasing in their testimony through service, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and loving others. We love you tons and tons Elder ...

  Ethan and Jonah are doing so well! Ethan got transferred to the BYU Idaho campus in Rexburg, Idaho. There are two sets of missionaries working there and they ride scooters! He is excited to serve among so many people his age and is trying to decide if he should go there one day! He’s currently serving as Zone Leader so these next few transfers will be busy ones for him! We are so proud of him and love him a ton! Jonah is still serving in Woodside Queens now as a district leader. His companion Elder Toolbooth is from Guatemala which is Jonah’s favorite country so how awesome is that! He loves being in New York and while he wanted to get transferred, he’s excited to serve! We love you, Elder Abbott, you are doing an amazing job!

  Ethan has been on his mission to Idaho Falls for 365 days! He has had some amazing experiences and sure has grown into a stronger and more faithful servant of the Lord. We love him and we love the work that he is involved in!

School started yesterday! The kids first day of school went well! Asher is a Senior at Highland High School and Declan is in Fourth Grade with Mrs Yocklin at San Tan Charter School. Asher has a few challenging classes and Declan likes his class.  Elizabeth will be a freshman at Mesa Community College majoring in Conversative Biology and a Rosie will be at home with me. Ethan is currently in Blackfoot, ID for his 3rd transfer and Jonah is in Woodside/Queens for his 3rd transfer as well. They are both doing very well and we are so proud of them and their service to others and to the Lord. Josh is going back to school too! He got accepted to the PhD program of Complex Adaptive Systems at ASU. He can work on his degree while working at the same time. He is also teaching an online class.  I have eight piano students for this school year and I love each one of them! I enjoy teaching during the week. It’s going to be a great school year! I’m excited!! 

  Ethan and Jonah are doing great on their Missions! Ethan is currently in Blackfoot, ID and training an Elder who is headed to New Zealand but is waiting for his Visa.  Jonah is still in Queens (Woodside area) with Elder Critchlow. He loves it! It keeps him super busy and they are teaching a lot. Good job, boys! 

  Every Monday, on their Pday (preparation day), Ethan and Jonah get to FaceTime. The day starts out promptly at 6:30 am when Jonah calls Ethan. He does this every Monday. Often they call us several times that day- including at 2:30 pm when Asher gets home from school and can talk. It is so nice to talk to them! Sometimes they are walking to and from places like the grocery store or an outing. Often Jonah will show us the outside of his apartment in Queens and Ethan will show us how snowy it is in Idaho. I never realized how much snow they got! It’s so fun to talk to them and I’m so glad we get the chance to. Both are doing really well!