Pour #3-- Halfway There!

Bill was there for the cement truck this morning! They poured the East side of our house (master bedroom and bathroom, office, and the East side of the front patio) and then a little piece of the North facing patio. They told Bill that there will probably be 3 more pours but not until after the 4th of July holiday next week. We won't be here to see it finished because we are leaving for Utah until the 11th tomorrow. They originally said they would finish around the 6th or 7th of July, so 3 more pours would put them finished right on the 7th! I'm not sure when the framing will start, either. Each step of this process can take a LONG time! But it's fun to watch the process!!

 

Pour #2!

I missed the cement truck AGAIN! They said it got there at 5am today... Today was the 2nd pour and we're supposed to get cement again tomorrow. Progress is being made!! They poured the other half of the garage today and a little over half of the front porch! The last picture also shows the electrical wiring for the in floor outlets... They finished that, so now the cement guys can pour the cement there too!

The First of Several Pours...

Most of the garage was poured this morning and it was already hard when I got there at 1 in the afternoon and boy was it HOT out so I didn't stay long... only long enough to get these 2 pictures and then I was out of there fast!!! We are on our way towards framing!!!

Be Better & Love Better! (Katelyn's Letter)

Hey y'all!

So this week has been pretty crazy haha. There are some pretty interesting people out in the world with funny new perspectives... But most people here are absolutely amazing! I've learned so much even from the wackos! It's been so cool to see the happiness that this gospel truly does bring to people and families!

Seeds of Faith:
Tiny's mom has come to church the past two weeks and said some very heartfelt insights in Relief Society yesterday. She talked about how in her last church she really had to work to see God because she was always looking over her shoulder feeling like others were judging her. However, at this church she can automatically feel God's love as soon as she walks in and she can tell that everyone is striving to be better and love better! Isn't that so awesome!!? We all have differences but even strangers can tell that we are united in our journeys toward our Heavenly Father and that fosters Christlike connection and service!

Now I know not all of us feel this way at church and that's really hard! I wish we all could feel so welcome and loved as Alberta (that's Tiny's mom). But we must stay faithful and take those experiences and not replicate them for others! Use the power of Jesus Christ to help you understand and love more fully. I love being able to take friends to church and feel that inclusion as soon as they walk in! Members have such a huge role in missionary work whether you see it or not!

*INVITATION*

Make church a uniting and welcoming experience for someone this week or invite a friend to church with you! Go out of your way to help others feel the Savior's love at church for it truly is a blessing to hear different perspectives and take the sacrament each week!

Funny (there was a lot this week)

An elder we were joint teaching with got completely sprayed by a hose.

A guy started talking about his jail time and showed us Jesus tiktoks so that was fun...

A woman we were teaching told an elder "If my fiancé and I don't work out, you're next elder!" Bahahaha oh and the fiancé was also there with us so mega awkward and funny!!

I was doing personal study this week and kinda kept falling asleep so to wake me up God spilled my water all over my desk and self haha! I was wide awake for the rest of the time. I blame it on God but I'm just clumsy heehee!!
We taught a lesson in a home that smelled so bad of urine that it burned our throats! The person had like 6 cats.

This loving but stern southern grandma kept telling us to eat the rest of the corn and pot pie (which was sooo good), so we single handedly ate a whole casserole dish of chicken pot pie and corn.

I stubbed my toe really bad and had to put frozen mangoes on it.

We were talking to a really high dude and he said that English was a spell haha and I ended up feeling prompted to give him a Book of Mormon so I guess he could do some crazy awesome magic with it haha!

Gratitude:
Jesus Christ's personal role in our lives
Family recipes (they are always the tastiest!)
The amazing USA and the freedoms we have!
Rain!

Volleyball (we played with Relief Society and it was sooo fun!)

Southern Vocabulary:
Fried Okra: A fried southern vegetable (I actually haven't tried it so I'll let y'all know when I do but people say it's good.)

Pictures

1. We went on exchanges with Sister McLellan!
2. Tommy and me trying to do the Asian squat (if you don't know what it is look it up its so hard!)
3. After we played games at the church we went to this place called Sheriffs Burger (SO GOOD) for Preparation day and took a picture w/ the cowboy hats:)
4. We had a watch party for "The Chosen" show about Jesus Christ!!

My Mom @ the Roller Rink-- A Family Search Surprise!

This picture is of mom when she was 7 with my grandmother Zina Palmer! I found this picture this morning on Family Search and thought it was so cute! Her family owned a roller rink and they both have their roller-skates on! 😊 The caption said, “Arlene got to be an incredibly good skater. She loved it when the teenage boys would twirl her in the air, on their skates.” This was in Calgary, Alberta, Canada around 1940.

Sunday Luke Cuteness...

Luke is getting so fun to watch! He gets to a sitting position all by himself now! He's got some awesome flexibility and often looks like he's doing the front or side splits! Hahahaha!!!

A Day @ the Water Park!

We had so much fun today at Hurricane Harbor! It was completely unplanned but it all came together to be such a fun afternoon/evening together!! We got season passes too, so we'll be able to go back a lot this summer... we all had a great time-- especially Luke! He LOVES the water!!

The Cutest Little Blue-Eyed Blonde 7 Month Old EVER!

Here's what Megan said about Luke @ 7 Months: "7 MONTHS!! Time is flying by. Luke is starting to crawl and is very busy. He is always looking for things to grab and play with. He is also a food monster and finds a way to steal any food we are eating. He is the sweetest baby and smiles all day long. Him and Tucker are best buds (except when Tucker steals his food). Luke has made our lives so much better. We are so blessed and feel so lucky."  We feel so blessed and lucky to have him too!!

Birthday Fun with McKenzie!!

So for McKenzie's birthday, she wanted to go to Mimi's Café for dinner and then come home for cake and ice cream (and Root Beer Floats for Todd) and presents... then we watched the final episode of the Obi Wan Kenobi Season 1 series. It was the perfect day doing what McKenzie LOVES! (It was also so much fun to watch the Obi Wan series every Wednesday night together for the last 6 weeks!) AND she got her confetti cake with Cookies 'n Cream ice cream... does it get any better than that??? Nope!!

Act and drink a milkshake! (Katelyn's Letter)

Hey y'all!

Lots has happened this week! I forgot to mention the area I'm in is Anderson which is north west of Columbia! Tiny got baptized and confirmed and gave an INCREDIBLE testimony! His mom wants to come to church now too! Fathers Day was so good and we had 5 friends come to sacrament which talked a lot about God being a father which was perfect for new people! I love the roles that fathers play in raising and teaching their families about our Heavenly Father and thank my own daddo for being such a great one:)

Seeds of Faith

OK so a theme for my personal study this week has been faith and trusting in God! Part of trust means acting on the promptings (or "bings" as my mission president calls it) that we receive from our Father in Heaven. So one day I decided if I get one I am going to ACT. Long story short I got a bing to stop at a random house and we met a lady named Gale who had just been in a car wreck and totaled her car!! A single tear came down her face as she told us and I then got ANOTHER BING to ask her if we can pray for her! She thought that was so sweet and invited us into her home where we talked more and Sister Thompson gave an amazing prayer! She was crying when we all said "amen" and we all gave her hugs and she said she really wants to see us again so we will be teaching her this week!

All y'all should ACT ON BINGS. And then more will certainly follow and you should act on those too! We have no idea what everyone around us is going through but GOD DOES. Be His hands and trust Him to guide you to the people you need to love! Don't just settle for one bing because if we had done that then we wouldn't have been able to pray for Gale and help her find more comfort through her Savior!

*INVITATION*

Take one day this week and pray and go out of your house for nothing but the specific purpose of acting on the spirit or bings that you receive! I promise that God knows all the people that will need you and your heart that day!

Funny

-I ran headfirst into a bookshelf after realizing I had the spiritual thought for a zoom meeting and going into a frenzy to find my phone so I had a big bump on my forehead as I shared my scripture! We all were dying laughing.
-In our first lesson with an older man named Hal he asked if he can still have his milkshakes with the Word of Wisdom (I would be concerned too if I couldn't have milkshakes)!
-I found a little squirt gun at the MTC that we've been attacking each other with. (It's also nice to have for comp studies outside in the humid heat.)

Gratitude
- wild flowers
- HUGS
- the Book of Mormon (its so BOM heehee)
- FATHERS AND MOTHERS
- pretty and relaxing drives
- music!
-the Plan of Salvation that allows all of us to be happy and reach our full potential!

Southern Vocab
Fixin': getting ready/preparing to do
Ex: "We're fixin' to go pet some cows."

Pictures
1. Found this little froggy on our first night here!
2-6. My first p-day my zone hiked to a really pretty water fall and went to an old mining tunnel!
7. P-study prayers be like...
8. We were especially giggly this day <3
9. The infamous squirt gun:)
10. Sister Toomer and I found some itty bitty nursery chairs!
11. We got some AMAZING pizza with our member friend Alexis!
12. TINY'S BAPTISM WAS SO GOOD!