Emails Feb 17, 2014

Feb 17, 2014  Emily Smith

I sent a letter so one should be coming! P-days on holidays are always weird because Libraries are closed and we have to find somewhere else to e-mail. Things are going great in my new area! We don't have a ton of people to teach right now but we are working on building up the teaching pool and finding new people to teach! is Nic allowed to use Facebook? or did his family just put it on for him? man, no matter what season it is the worst weather ALWAYS happens on exchanges. once I went on exchanges and only had my little flats and one pair of tights and it rained all day long, by the end of the day I was soaked and night did not provide enough time for my shoes to dry so I was left with sopping wet shoes and tights for the next day.
you got five feet of snow? man I was under the impression there was no snow in Utah. You did not tell me Cooper has Croup, what is that?
You are taking the whole family to Florida this year? how fun! take tons of pictures and send them to me! I'm telling you what, the kitchen floor is the best place ever for a melt down. plus that is where you normally were so I just came to you! haha:) the other day I had a small break down and Sister Beeson did a really good job of helping me out and being a good listener, I am in good hands here:D
I use the GPS every day of my life. sometimes the battery is really terrible but I think any technology would have a rough time functioning to its full capacity in this cold. but I do take it in every night, I don't leave it in the car. The maps are good. plus Sister Beeson knows the area really well, so sometimes if the roads are a little off we can usually figure it out quickly.
I love you , Be safe in Florida!
With Love, Sister Smith





Feb 17, 2014  Christy  wrote:

I will be thinking of President Monson today. Not what's his name that supposedly runs our country. haha. The kids are just happy to have a day off school. I really don't like holidays on monday if I haven't got mail yet. I am hoping for a letter from you. How are things going in your new area? Nic put some pictures on fb of him with snow in the background. Braken sent pictures home too. He was out on exchanges and got hit with a snow storm. He didn't have a hat on, only earmuffs. He said his hair was frozen solid! Too funny. The picture of the house isn't the best. I was in a hurry to get photos for the insurance company. It is right across the street from Connie Gleave, (crazy cat lady I think you guys call her?) Dad and Morgan finally got to go snowmobiling up Wolf Creek. Five feet of snow. They were gone all day Saturday and today they are paying for it with sore muscles. haha. We are off to tool fair this week. I sure hope Lindsey and Cooper are able to go. I think i told you Cooper has croup didn't i? Any way his voice is so froggy, it's awful when he cries. He likes to Facetime (like Skype) us so we can see him play. Some days he likes to talk, some days he just wants to play and hear our voices I guess. Dad and Rick are taking a red eye flight wednesday night at midnight. Going thru Atlanta for a quick layover. The weather was awful last week in Atlanta, freezing everything. Tons of flights were cancelled. Hopefully it will be moved out in time for our travels. Me and the rest of the bunch are flying out Friday morning. The tool fair hotels are always so expensive, so we got Cindy to hook us up with one of her timeshares. You pay for them by the week, so I tried to get as much time there as possible. We will get there in time friday night for the big dinner (I hope) and stay one night at the Gaylord, then head to the time share on Saturday and stay til Wednesday. I am so nervous about Morgan missing so much school, but what do you do??? Pray for understanding teachers I guess.
I think I told you about having to teach Relief Society yesterday. The lesson was on strengthening and preserving families. I was so nervous, because there are so many different circumstances with families. I didn't want to offend anyone. There was a suggestion at the end of the lesson about dividing up into groups and reading and then discussing the section. I tried that with my lesson. There were three sections to the lesson and there are pretty much three sections people sit in in the RS room. So I gave them about 10 minutes to read and discuss their assigned section, then teach the class what they learned. I loved to watch the interaction with the people in the groups. I felt like they all talked and shared things within the groups that otherwise they might not have shared. I loved it. I felt the Spirit so strong. Hopefully everyone else did too. Allyson Mckee comes to RS now. It is so funny to listen to her, because she is so new to RS and doesn't really have any experiences with things we mostly talk about. But there is always something to learn, I think. As families, we have to fight to make good quality time for each other. Have good traditions and work hard to keep Satan out. He wants so badly to destroy the family. He can see the eternal importance of families. Allyson shared how she loves her mommy and when she is having a bad day how nice it is to have her mom there to listen. She made me think of you in her dramatic voice and actions of MOMMY! Then just laying on the kitchen floor having a melt down. It was funny.
Me and dad were just talking the other day about the gps. Do you still use it? I am not asking for it back, just wondering if it is working good for you. I tried to update the maps before I sent it and figured you aren't that far away from North St. Paul that the maps should be good. Well I guess I better be off for now. Gonna head to the gym and get a workout in for the day. I love you so much and continue to pray for your safety. Take care of yourself. Love you tons, Mommy xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox