Mom and her two brides.
All the kids and their spouses with Mom in front of the temple.
Sara and Daniel in front of the temple.
Mr and Mrs Anson Hooper
Happy Grandma with all 14 grandkids!
Hermana Callan with the parents of missionaries.
Fun with the daughters!
Dear Family and Friends, August 17,2011
The last week was so full I didn’t have a chance to write. The week was full of finishing up preparations for the weddings and attending bridal showers and other fun gatherings. A ward bridal shower was held for Laura one evening and it was nice to see many ward friends there who came to wish Laura well. Saturday there was a family shower for both Laura and Sara and we had a nice time visiting with family members.
On Tuesday some parents of current and future missionaries came to the house for a little get together. Some of the missionary Moms had connected on facebook and organized the whole thing. Parents of 15 missionaries came and it was fun to meet some parents of our wonderful missionaries. I wish I could have met all of our missionaries’ parents!
Friday our daughter Sara received her endowment in the Bountiful temple. We had a nice day there with her fiancé Daniel and his family and all of our children who were in town along with Mark’s parents.
Sunday Jenny and Brian blessed their new son Eli. All of our family had arrived for the weddings so we had a nice day together celebrating the blessing of Eli!
Wednesday we were in the temple in Bountiful again as Laura received her endowment. Her fiancé Anson and his parents joined us along with all of our children and Mark’s parents. It was a special day as all of our family(minus Mark) was together in the temple. What a wonderful day!
Thursday was Laura and Anson’s day as they were sealed in the Bountiful temple. Anson’s parents hosted a nice luncheon afterward. It was so wonderful to be with all of Anson’s family that day and with all of our children and their spouses as we shared in the wonderful events of the day for Laura and Anson!
Friday we were back at the Bountiful temple for the sealing of Sara and Daniel. We had another wonderful day with all of Daniel’s family and our family sharing the happy event! After a nice luncheon hosted by Daniel’s family we all got ready for the double reception held that night in Farmington.
We had so much fun greeting family and friends who had come to greet the two happy couples. People are so kind!A few missionaries who had met Laura and Sara last year when they came to Paraguay came to the reception and that was a sweet bonus for me!
It was so fun to see how each daughter was able to put their personality on their weddings and at the reception. It felt a little strange to be there without Mark but we did the best we could without him. He had prepared DVDs for each couple with some counsel and advice and well wishes that they watched and listened to the day before the girls each were endowed. He also spoke with each daughter by phone before their sealings and skyped with each couple the day after the marriages to share in the wonderful time. We are grateful for the technology that allows good communication. We are both so grateful for the good young men our daughters have found. I was able to spend a good amount of time with Anson and Daniel and we love them both very much already. It was so evident that both couples are very happy together and very well matched.
One sweet part of the sealings that we appreciated was that both sealers had served as mission presidents and both had missed weddings of their children. They had a little extra empathy for the situation of Mark not being there and it really was a tender mercy for all of us.
The girls and their husbands left for their new homes Saturday and Sunday and then I had a couple days before I flew back to Paraguay. It was so nice to be home with all of the family and share this wonderful time with them all. Mark was busy in Paraguay with all the normal wonderful missionary things. Saturday he was able to be in the temple in Asuncion with a family who was being sealed and a young man who was being endowed. It was sweet that he was able to share in the wonderful temple ordinances with members of our ward in Paraguay as his daughters were in Utah receiving their ordinances . It is good to be back in the Paraguay and in the mission where I belong right now. We are so grateful for the wonderful events of the last few weeks. We know the sealing ordinances are real and vital for our eternal progress. We are grateful we are here helping other people find this wonderful gospel that brings us and our family so much joy. We are grateful for our sweet family and all they have done to support us and work so hard to support Laura and Anson and Sara and Daniel at this important time in their lives. Jenny and Brian especially have done so much to accommodate everyone during the wedding. We are so blessed and recognize the goodness of the Lord in our lives. Until next week!
Love , Mark and Sandy
