Dear family and friends,
Cheerio! It has been
a great week, and a very emotional one for me!
Monday night for FHE
we had our closing social with all the BYU students as well as our local
YSAs. We held it in the “cultural hall”
of the Methodist church! We had a Costa
Vida menu and a great night of visiting and laughing together. It was a hard evening as we said goodbye to a
lot of our BYU friends. We are amazed at
how, in such a short time, we were able to grow so attached to these 24
students! After most of them left, we
had the greatest amount of fun with those who stayed and did the dishes! We all crowded into our kitchen! I watched while 6 of them did the dishes and
found places to put stuff! I’ve had to find
some things, but they were so amazing to help and not want to leave any mess
for us to clean up! (This is a fun side
note!—one of our students, Ben Jacobs, father is the OB-GYN who delivered Asher
and Avery!—I didn’t find that out until I asked Heather about the doctor who
delivered Asher! I should have known as
I was at his side when Asher made his appearance!) Amazing how the world becomes so small!!!
We were able to visit a lot of our friends this week to
invite them to come to the ward summer party.
We enjoyed our district meeting with our missionaries. It’s always fun to have them stay for lunch
and enjoy their personalities and allow them to let their hair down a bit! We sure love these missionaries!
Well, Brad and I enjoyed our 40th Wedding
Anniversary this week on the 17th.
I can’t think of a better place to celebrate than on a mission together! We had several friends in the ward tell us it
is a ruby anniversary. Heavens, I didn’t
know that! In honor of the day, Brad
purchased two candy ruby rings for a total of £2.00! The mission has conditioned us to be
frugal!!! We spent the day visiting dear
friends, counseling with a troubled young man, I did yoga with a friend, we
attended a missionary correlation meeting and ward council, came home late and
had a bowl of cold cereal for dinner!
Sounds romantic huh!!!!! We have
scheduled a two day trip to London next week to go in to see Les Miserables. So it will be a belated anniversary getaway. I must say, I have grown to appreciate Brad
so much as I have watched him rise to the calling of missionary. He is amazing! He loves the people and they love him. British people are not so much a
demonstrative group, but Brad’s ready smile and open arms have made a real
impact on the reserved British here! He
has made an impact on the leadership here and they look to him for counsel and
direction on a lot of issues. The YSA’s
and the young missionaries adore him. I’m
so proud of him and grateful that he is my companion!! How quickly 40 years has gone. As I look back on those wonderful years, I
don’t remember so much the negative things.
I just remember so much of the good.
I have a picture of our children on our bedroom dresser, so it is
usually the first thing I see in the morning.
As I was looking at all of them this week, my heart swelled with
gratitude. We are far from perfect, and
we have made lots of mistakes, but I am so filled with love and gratitude for
all of you and the impact for good you have made in my life! I think of the fun, the laughter, the hugs, the
late night talks, and just the time together!
Thank you to a fabulous husband who is so good to me, 12 beautiful
children who are more precious than life itself, and 18 magnificent
grandchildren who are the light of my life and my favorite blessings!
I am truly blessed. 40 years has
been a fleeting moment in the eye of eternity!
I hope you know how grateful I am for all of you!
Sunday, we said goodbye to one of our YSA’s, John Ablett,
who is leaving tomorrow for the MTC in Provo before he goes to Nova Scotia,
Canada. I hugged him and the tears just
streamed down my face. Then later we
said goodbye to Madeleine Ary, one of our Cambridge students. She got her master’s degree and is now
heading to Washington DC to intern in the White House. (If you are so inclined to write a letter to
President Obama, do it now, because she will be the one to read them and
respond!!!) I cried as I hugged
her. I can see why service is a
purifying doctrine! As we serve, we forget
ourselves and truly learn how to love as the Savior loves!
I can’t express well enough how much I have grown to love
our Heavenly Father and His Son and the Holy Ghost. They are magnificent and so involved in so
many of the details of our lives. You
are all great! We love you and miss you
all! Have a great week!
With all our love,
Dad and MomGrandpa and Grandma
Elder and Sister Jackman
So sweet. You DO have a lot to show for 40 years of marriage! Love y'all!!
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