Hermana Emma Joy Lee

In less than 24 hours this lovely lady, who is still my beloved wee babe, will be entering the MTC.

I adore her. I am so proud of her.

I loved every moment of my mission to Sendai, Japan. I felt joy, I felt adventure, I grew. I wish her all the same.

I cannot wait to see the woman she becomes.

Because when my children achieve things, it feels like I achieve things.

(1) Emma had a fantastic three weeks in London. She had some hiccups and small disappointments in the portion of the trip that she planned herself, but in all it was a terrific success and she saw and did a whole lot and she was ready to come home when it was over which I think is a good sign. And then, when she got home, she opened her mission call, which had been sitting here waiting for her for two weeks.

She's going to the California Santa Rosa mission. Her proselyting language will be Spanish, which she will learn in the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Mexico City. She leaves August 20, and I am so excited for her. This is going to be an amazing experience, and is probably just about perfectly suited to make her grow in just the right ways for what she wants to do when she gets back.

The world is such a different place than it was when I served my mission. There are mission pages on Facebook and she is already "meeting" other people called to the same mission, or going to the Mexico MTC at the same time. So cool. And the coolest part about the Santa Rosa mission:

"The California Santa Rosa Mission is the first mission in the world to have gone “global” to the four corners of the earth. Missionaries use mini iPads, internet access and skype to teach friends from far and wide. The internet and facebook are used to contact and teach investigators, strengthen relationships with members and contact less-active members."

I had heard about so-called Facebook missions, where a few missionaries in a mission might have iPads and be on the internet an hour or so a day to connect with people and to teach, but how exciting that it is every person in her mission! This, too, is perfectly suited to her talents and abilities. And it will make it so easy for us to communicate with her on preparation day (aka P-day, the day when missionaries are allowed to write home)!

So even though it is Emma's mission, it's really pretty exciting news for the whole family.

(2) Christian graduated from high school. Graduation at Wasatch Academy is pretty great. The student body is small (graduating class of 103) so they actually take the time for the headmaster to read a tribute to each and every graduate, written by their advisor. The advisor walks across the platform with them, stands next to them, and hands them the diploma. Friday evening, the night before graduation, was the final performing arts showcase. Christian and Libby both performed. (Libby ended up winning a cash prize for choreography. I think Christian should have won for his piano piece *objectivity is not my strong suit*, but another pianist won.) He'll be attending Southern Utah University in Cedar City in the fall, and I can't wait to see what he decides to do once he's there!

(3) Oh hey and I forgot to mention, Jackson was officially accepted at Wasatch Academy for next school year. I'll be down to three homeschool students next year. But I'm so excited for him!

Because you're all cats and I'm trying to keep the curiosity at non-lethal levels:

Exciting things happening at Casa Lee (aka News)

B lost his job nearly two months ago now. (If you want to add us into your prayer list!) Though he has been training at The Green PolkaDot Box for two weeks now, and that has the possibility of turning into full-time job. You'll just have to check back later and see!

Emma has purchased her plane tickets for London, and has found a small group of people she barely knows to stay afterward several days with and see more sights around the UK. I am out of my mind excited for her. She is amazing to do all this on her own!

Christian is awesome, but I literally can't think of anything new to tell you. He's precious. Is that news?

Libby stayed up so late all weekend, actively avoided doing homework, and started out her Monday exhausted and stressed with everything she has piling up this week. She does that sometimes, but I do adore her.

Jackson is like the Pied Piper for the younguns in the neighborhood. We actually had this adorable 7YO girl whose family just moved in a few months ago come to the door and ask if he could play yesterday. When she saw him she threw her arms around him and hugged him. That's Jackson. He's a jewel. WHAT WILL I DO WITHOUT HIM NEXT YEAR.

Ethan turned 12 in February and so moved from the kids organization to the Young Mens at church. He is adorable, how much he thinks he's a grown up now. And it's true, all of a sudden he is growth spurting for sure. He has grown out of 85% of the clothes in his drawers. For most of their lives Jackson and Ethan were nearly the same height, despite the 2-year difference in age. But two or so years ago Jackson turned up the gas and all of a sudden, almost overnight, he was a whole head taller. And he just kept growing. Well now Ethan's turned up the gas. He's doing his best to catch up to Jackson.

And Kyrie! I bought her some totally cute clothes for her bday in December, and they fit her great. Now, four months later, they look at least two sizes too small. I wish I could go get her some more. Fingers crossed B's training turns into salaried position soon.

Macklin got to participate in his first derby as a cub scout. Pinewood (car) derbies are always fun, but this was a space derby. He did not win. But he had a great time anyway, and that's what's important.

Whoops did I even comb his hair before going to the derby? Yikes. Good thing he's still adorable.

My big news (I guess?) is that I bought some dry ice and self-froze my warts. I Instagrammed one photo of a resulting blister:

I'm excited for the whole healing process to occur at whatever speed it does, so that when I finally peel away the dried up/withered top skin I can see if baby warts dwell beneath, or if I GOT THEM ALL.

Boring you to tears with inane details of my real life. That's my motto.

A lesson I learned years ago that continues to apply today

I should always represent myself in the best light.

Once upon a time we were refinancing our home. We've done it quite a few times since then too. But the appraiser who came through said a few things that stuck in my craw, about renovations we'd done not being up to snuff. It's a case of pride for me, and pride goeth before the fall. I emailed the loan officer about the appraisal, and (I'm sad to say) I kind of turned up the snark about a few of the appraiser's comments. I thought, this loan officer and I are getting along well, she knows me, she knows my attitude and will think this is funny. But of course, what I had with the loan officer wasn't a friendship; it was a business relationship. She forwarded my email straight on to the appraiser just as it was. He responded back with easily 10x the snark, justifying his position and making it exceedingly clear I had no idea about the arcane terms and valuations appraisers use. Which is so true. He made me look like a fool, using my own words.

And I realized, if I had kindly, as my best self, asked how he had arrived at that valuation, he'd probably have responded as kindly. Because as it turned out, he thought our renovations were very good. Just, you know, the house is really old and doesn't score very high due to age, and when I make period-appropriate renovations they're not going to look like I did them yesterday.

I am often reminded of that moment, of the time my own snark was turned against me to make me look foolish. Only three people even saw the email, but I still felt about an inch tall, and I had done it to myself. It's a good reminder for me to always be as kind (smart/thoughtful/wise) as I can possibly be, at my best—because it is nice when that kindness (thoughtfulness/wisdom) is reflected back.

Blaine teaching a civic lesson to the kids:

Their little minds are blown that we can't just print out money, or stick it in a copier and make copies that are legal.

Blaine: What would happen if everyone could just print money?
Jackson: Everyone would be rich!
Blaine: And what would happen if everyone was rich?
*pause*
Macklin: We'd all be happy!

Hahaha. The conversation continues in the kitchen as I speak, but I had to laugh at that.