Uncle Nate

Uncle Nate has already been in the MTC for almost a month.  Wow!  And Lydia still talks about him quite a bit.  Right before he left we tried to spend as much time with him as possible, knowing that we wouldn't get to see him for two full years.  Knowing that little Lyds would be FOUR before he comes home and she gets to see him again.  That Sophie would be two, and essentially meeting him for the first time.   Helping Lyds understand why Uncle Nate isn't around because he's on his mission has been a good thing for the family.  Jon and I write to him weekly and plan to continue that until he's home.  We sing "I Hope They Call Me on a Mission" and "We'll Bring the World His Truth" at bedtime and talk about what Uncle Nate is doing, and when we're at Grandma's and Grandpa's we remind Lyds that Nate isn't there because he's preparing to share the gospel in the Netherlands.  Just the other day Lydia and I were coloring and she wanted me to draw Dada.  Then Lydia, then Baby, then Mama, then Uncle Nate and finally Dada again.  I love that she still thinks about Uncle Nate, asks about him (in her little way), and I know that she misses him.

Before he left we were able to go to the Zoo with him, the Heiselts, Aunt Abby, and Aunt Jess.  Lydia had a great time.  She loves animals.  She has a different favorite animal daily so the zoo was a wonderful way for her to spend her day.  She was fascinated with the elephants, thought the otters looked like snakes, and ran around like she owned the place by the time we reached the giraffes.  Sophie loved... Aunt Abby.  And being in the Bjorn.  In the past few days Sophie has revealed her cute little laugh consistently.  I've heard her laugh before, but now it happens often, and I love it!  It's amazing how much she sounds like Lyds when she's laughing.  I think Aunt Abby is still sending her messages telepathically, but that's a story for another day.  The Zoo was awesome.  And that evening with Uncle Nate was very special.  It's no wonder we all love him!  He is amazing.  Lydia went and hugged him probably ten times before and after he was set apart and then again when we left to drive home.  I was a mess.  I felt like I didn't get enough time with him and was so sad for Jon because he wasn't able to be with us for anything that day.  Nate looks up to Jon a lot and they have a great relationship.  We decided that driving down to Provo the next day- the day he entered the MTC- would make everyone feel better.  Jon would be feeling up to that, Lydia could give him one more hug, I would get a chance to talk to him a little bit more... So we joined in on a last family meal with Uncle Nate at Cafe Rios in Provo before saying farewell to him until June 2015.  It was perfect.  True, we didn't get to see him off at the curb outside his new home away from home, but we were there until the end and that was the best.  Uncle Nate is going to be one fabulous missionary.  In fact, he already is.  Uncle Nate, we miss you.