Farewell Sunday

We SO enjoyed having our family be such a big part of our Farewell weekend.  Joanne and I had been assigned to speak about how to become more committed disciples of Christ.  Joanne did a great job on that topic and bore a sweet testimony and I tried to do the same.  I had a tough time not getting emotional as I looked into the faces of our children and their spouses and our grandchildren that we will miss so much.

It has been a tradition in our family for the closing hymn to be, "God Be With You Till We Meet Again" as missions begin.  It was sung at my farewell as a young man, and for Candice's, Will's and Tom's.  I had a hard time keeping it together as I looked at our family and sang the lyrics, "...Keep love's banner floating o'er you...God be with you till we meet again".

While it seems at some levels such a sacrifice to be so far away for 18 months, we know that we are called by a prophet of God to help build His kingdom on the earth.  As we serve with all of our heart, might, mind and strength in our assignment, we know it will bless our whole family.

Elan brought this giant sheet of plastic and made a Slip'n Slide for the kids.  The kids just kept at it forever. SO MUCH FUN! We just love having the space for everyone to play and enjoy each other. 

A family BBQ was a must and seeing all five of our children and Cassidy out hitting the volleyball was a lot of fun. Joanne even joined the fun a little later.

Darci put on her playlist and the singing began ... oh how fun it was to watch Tom and the girls belt out the lyrics as they were helping with dinner. If only the videos would post ... it was a sight to behold.

Joanne just couldn't contain the smiles as she watched the interaction. Thank you Cassidy for capturing the whole thing. 

And did we mention that the dinner menu was German themed? Brats, warm German potato salad, cucumber salad... so much good food.

And we celebrated Cassidy's 15th birthday with a yummy chocolate cake. Where are those pictures?

           

What is a family BBQ without Smores to top it off?