David's Mission Celebration - 13 years

It's been 13 years since our favorite guy returned from his mission in Nashville Tennessee. I always try to celebrate this date because I think it's important and special. This year we surprised David with a shadowbox of all his mission memorabilia and homemade empanadas. I often try to make something as an ode to the Mexican/Spanish aspect of his mission. We had empanadas on our trip to NY and we loved them, so I thought I'd try them out on our family. We also made milkshakes and called them Missionary Milkshakes #themedparty

After dinner David sat with the kids and showed them all of the things in the shadow box. It was neat to be able to listen to him tell the kids some stories and share such an important part of his life. I love David and I'm grateful for his testimony and the sacrifices he made to serve a mission. It blesses our life over and over again. 

Happy Missionary Anniversary Elder Peaden! 

Elder Walker Comes Home!

My little brother, Elder Jacob Colvin Walker has been serving the Lord in the Edmonton Canada Mission for the past two years. We got to talk to him in May for Mother's Day and we've been counting down the days until his return!  

 We met up at the airport this evening and we were quite the bundle of excitement and nerves! 

And then, just like that - he was home! 

I'm so proud of this little brother of mine. He's always been an example of testimony, of seeking gospel learning by study and by faith, and of loving the Savior. No matter what trials came his way, he's made it a priority to stay close to the Lord and I'm grateful for that example. I know that serving a mission is a hard thing. It's a sacrifice, and an effort every day, and I'm grateful for Jacob showing the example of serving the Lord. And I'm really glad he's home! (And headed to BYU which is going to be awesome because he'll be so close. 

Welcome home Jaker-Baker!

Elder Jacob Walker

This post is an eclectic post about my littlest brother Jacob and the family events leading up to the day that he left to be a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Edmonton, Canada Mission. We spent a lot of time together over the last couple of weeks with our family as we celebrated and supported Jacob and his decision to be a missionary.  I'm so proud of him and how hard he has worked to be ready to serve the Lord - he truly is an example of a dedicated disciple of our Saviors. 

On July 12th, our family met up to take family pictures as it would be one of the last times that we would all be together for two more years. We got some wonderful pictures of our family, and soon after we were finished there - we headed down to Manti where we gathered together in the Manti Utah Temple as Jacob received his endowment. I absolutely love the Manti Temple; there is such a sweet spirit that abides there. It was a beautiful experience to have all of my parents children and their spouses together in the Celestial room. What a wonderful thing to look around and see all of my siblings, their spouses, my parents, and my husband gathered around me in such a beautiful room with such an amazing spirit surrounding us. Even more amazing to think that just over five years ago I was standing in the same temple, just having received my own endowment - the first of any of my siblings. Our family has grown since then and I'm grateful that we were all able to be there together. 

Of course, we left Lydia and Camille with a babysitter (shout out to Lauren Larsen Ezzel and her train table/pet cat who entertained Lydia the entire time) - so Jenna and Kevin left pretty quickly. And because we weren't all together when we left the temple - for some reason no one thought to take a picture. Not a single picture. Which is lame. However, we did take some pictures at Fat Jacks Pizza (now called Ray's?) where we ate dinner. Our lovely family, as well as a few pictures of Lydia being impressed with Matthew and Jacobs plate-spinning abilities and her attempts to imitate them. 

The following weekend we headed to Morgan to support Jacob as he spoke in church before departing on his mission. He gave a very powerful sermon on obedience and happiness. He is going to be an incredible missionary - I'm so proud of him. 

Oh, also, because we came up to Morgan for the whole weekend - we happened to make it in time for the Morgan Parade on Saturday.  I have to include these pictures because they are just too cute. Lydia loved the parade, she's basically a pro at picking up the candy (and there was a lot of it!), and we had a nice time sitting outside and chatting with everyone. Pretty much everywhere we went, people were calling to Jacob - he's well known and well loved. I'm sure those traits will serve him well over the next two years! 

 

 

The weekend was wonderful. We always love to spend time with our family. Jacob was set apart as a missionary on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning we met up for one last hurrah before we dropped him off at the MTC. We went out to lunch at Golden Corral (which Lydia loved, even though neither of us was feeling our very best - she saw this picture and said "my chocolate cake!") Then we headed to the Provo Temple to take some pictures of our handsome and wonderful missionary. 

 

I know that I've said it before, but I'm so proud of my baby brother. It's not an easy thing to leave everything that you know to go and serve the Lord in a place you've never been with little contact with anything you've ever been familiar with. But Jacob has already learned how to rely on the Lord. He is truly an example to me and I've learned much from his dedication and his testimony. I pray that he will be able to continue to rely on the Lord and that he will be able to show many people, through his words and example, the happiness that comes from living the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

You'll be amazing, Elder Walker, and we will be praying for you. We love you very much! 

(Also, sidenote - I'm about 31 weeks pregnant right now. When Jacob comes back, he will meet his almost two year old nephew for the first time... and I will probably be pregnant again. Hopefully pretty close to the same far-along-timeframe as I am right now. Made us laugh.) 

My Missionary

Each January, I try to make some special effort to acknowledge and celebrate the day that David returned home from his mission to Nashville, Tennessee. Obviously I will take any excuse to celebrate this wonderful man that I found, but I especially want him to know how grateful I am for his faithful service to our Heavenly Father. Some years I am able to manage a bigger celebration than others, but I always try to make it a priority to celebrate in at least a small way. 

January 18, 2014, was the 8 year mark of David returning home from his mission. It's amazing how much the two years he spent on his mission have influenced the past eight years. There are some things that I believe that David really internalized on his mission and he draws on them to bless our lives each day. 

David has a solid testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He knows the importance of the atonement of Jesus Christ and strives to live his life worthy of that testimony. This blesses my life through his example, and true Christlike love. 

On his mission David learned to serve others and work as a team. I've never heard him say anything bad about any of his companions and I think that attitude is what makes him the perfect companion for me. He is constantly thinking of my needs before his own, and everything we do - we do as a team. 

David learned how to organize himself and others. He fulfilled many leadership roles, and took on much of the responsibility for making sure the mission was functioning well. He used a small missionary planner for the first couple of years that we were married (while we were still in school), and still makes sure that everything is organized and planned out to get the maximum results from his day. Sometimes I see him organizing something, or working out a plan in his head, and I can see how the skills he learned on his mission are benefiting him and our family. 

David was an Assistant to the President right during the time that the Mission President switched over. I'm grateful for the influence that these wonderful couples had in his life. Both President and Sister Lords, and President and Sister Sorber taught David what it means to live a Christ-centered life, and what it takes to make that happen. They were great examples to him, and I know that they helped him be a better missionary and helped turn him into the amazing man he is today. I think that our relationship is founded on the principles that made their relationships so successful and so full of Christ.

 I am so grateful for him, for his testimony, and for his missionary service. But more than that, I'm grateful that the things he learned on his mission didn't leave him when he came home. He kept those things close to his heart and has continued to develop them over the past eight years. He's strengthened his testimony, stretched himself to share the gospel, improved his understanding of what it means to be a companion and partner with someone, and continued to develop his character. 

Welcome home Elder David Peaden. The past eight years have flown by, and I'm more proud of the man you are today than I am of the one who walked off that airplane. 

Elder Matthew Walker

Two years ago this January - my little brother Matthew left on his mission to Morristown, New Jersey. On his way to the MTC, my family stopped by Westlake High School where I just happened to be on my lunch break. I was very pregnant and sad that I couldn't go with my family to drop him off, but I knew that he was going to make an awesome missionary. Fast forward to today. Elder Walker was set to return home at 4:30 p.m. in the Salt Lake City Airport.  It'a amazing how quickly time seems to have flown, while at the same time - thinking about the fact that Lydia wasn't even born when he left makes it seems like lifetimes ago.

Lydia is 20 months old and was SO excited to meet her uncle Matthew for the first time. (Okay I might be projecting how excited I was onto her.)  We picked up David early from work and headed to the airport with my family to greet Elder Walker and welcome him home.

We were all so excited (which I expected) and nervous (which I didn't expect). The weather was pretty snowy and his plane had been delayed for a couple of minutes. I feel like we waited for him for hours - because it seemed to take so long!  Melissa kept Lydia occupied while we waited. Melis was a good sport and let Lydia drag her up and down the escalator like a million times. Up and down and up and down. I think Lydia would have been happy to do that for the rest of the day. She loved it! 

 

We were waiting with four other families whose sons were all coming home from the Morristown, New Jersey Mission. It was fun to talk to them and find several connections we had with them. We kept seeing men in business suits coming down the stairs and it was killing us. When he finally came down those stairs - we (and the other families greeting their boys) basically exploded. Then we had to wait for them to walk all the way down the stairs before we could run to hug them. 

He looked so good - and we were so happy to have him back. I don't know that he felt the same way. He loved his mission and over Christmas had expressed that he wasn't really ready to come home. Regardless, we were excited enough for him. I was so excited for him to finally meet Lydia - and they seemed to hit it off quite swimmingly. (I was worried for a little bit that all of the noise and excitement was going to scare Lydia - but she was smiling and laughing the whole time. She loved it.)

Welcome Home Elder Walker. We are so proud of you and your example and testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You've done a great work, and we are excited to see what else your future brings!