April 26, 2015-The COUNTDOWN IS ON!!! 30 days and counting

When Lauren first left on her mission that first week seemed to last a century! Each day we wondered if we would ever get a letter. We spent our days wondering what she was doing at that minute and if she was happy. We watched her plaque in the hall at church go from the last spot at the bottom of the board to the top row, only 4 people to come home in front of her. After 17 months of AMAZING uplifting letters each monday, I can't believe she only has 30 days left. I don't spend my days hoping and praying she is happy, I know she is!!! She loves the people she has had the blessing of meeting and teaching. She loves her Mission President and his Wife. I cry at the end of every letter when she closes with, "By the way… Did I tell you I love being a missionary?" I actually find myself now surprisingly torn; SOOO excited to have her around and feel her sweet spirit, but a little sad to see this amazing experience come to an end. I will miss the Monday letters of wisdom, stories and her special message she always adds that helps us all try to be better people. I will miss watching her make the best of a bad situation, like the dog bite or the ear infections. I will miss watching Sister Lauren grow and learn through her trials and experiences but we are excited to watch her in the next phase of her life.  I am grateful she gets to take all the knowledge and the skills she had learned from her mission and use it in life, FOREVER! So for now, we will cherish every word of the next 4 letters, her last 4 of her mission!!!