Preparing

Receiving his call while still in high school definitely made things interesting. It was hard to switch gears between high school stuff (ie. prom, graduation etc) and preparing to go on a mission. I watched Braydon struggle with balancing still being a teenager and just having fun with preparing mentally and spiritually to be a servant of the Lord for two years. Not an easy thing but I believe he handled it VERY well. He was so excited and looking forward to his mission that he didn't seem to feel like he was missing out on anything. With the mission age change he had to wait to graduate and turn 18 before being ordained a Priest or going through the temple which gave us about 2 weeks to get all that done before he left for the MTC. I had moments of panic but for the most part just tried to have the attitude that it was all going to come together and work out fine! I appreciated so much how easy going he was with the whole process and how he just went with the flow and enjoyed each thing as it came. I relished every minute of our suit shopping and mission shopping dates. Any chance we had to spend time together and to talk about all the different aspects of a mission, and different scenarios and challenges he might face. That time and those memories are truly priceless. I loved that he would surprise me at work and bring me lunch. We went to movies and had get together after get together at out house. We took a couple road trips that were super fun! April and May basically just flew by! High school graduation and Seminary graduation were the middle of May. He went to Cali for a job for a week and when he got back it was time for our Stake Pioneer Trek which he was giddy excited about! It was such a blessing for Eric and I to have been able to go and participate along with 3 of our 4 kids. It was a special few days. Braydons 18th Birthday was Sunday the 9th, the day after we got back from Trek. He was ordained a Priest that evening and then we had family and a few friends over for ice cream sundaes to celebrate. It still seems surreal that my baby boy is 18 and going on a mission.