Today was the day he was CALLED TO SERVE

The white envelope came, with a $1.51 stamp on it....foreign mission call hint...the crowd gathered....nerves were tense...webcams were in full resolution for the magical moment...the one moment in time...the creme of all days...okay enough already...
Grant has been officially "CALLED TO SERVE". He will serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a missionary to....drum roll please...the Nicaragua Managua Mission....YAHOO...APPLAUSE....SHOUTS OF JOY....Spanish speaking....He reports to the Provo Mission Training Center on May 13th. (Not much time to get him ready after he gets home from school at the end of April.) The Lord isn't waiting an extra day to get him out. His availability date was May 13th. We'll keep you posted on the news. He will have a hard time sleeping tonight...WE LOVE YOU ELDER GRANT RUSSELL!

Today should be the DAY!!!!!

I hope they call me on a mission

when I have grown a foot or two...

...I have grown a foot or two!

365 missions worldwide

which will be the lucky one?

"One is the loneliest Number that you'll ever do..."

Do I hear a song coming on? Ahhh the days of Three Dog Night. Okay, enough remenicing. One day...only one day...Still waiting for it...

2 days and still counting...

This is exciting and at the same time... patience building... I'm sure Grant can hardly stand it...

Newest Member of the Russell Fleet

This is a sweet ride...

During the growing up years and into adulthood there are key moments in your life when you feel like you've made it. One of those moments is when you buy a car. We have been experiencing the learning process with Troy. Last year he bought a used car, which got him around Provo for a few months, got him to Boston, MA. but started showing it's age (like we all do) sputtering, and gagging at weather change, gas prices... politics? Well the time has come to move on...with Medical school just around the corner, reliability was a huge issue and the fact Troy now has to drive from Boston to San Antonio, TX. would be a challenge. Doing the handcart treck would take too long, bus wouldn't work...too much stuff to haul...so a new vehicle was the answer...ROAD TRIP HERE WE COME! After much research...(funny thing is that Troy does research for work...I guess it will be a huge part of his life always), both mom in Oregon via internet and Troy in Boston...he did the foot work wondering...should I do this...can I do this... do I have to do this...WHAT AM I DOING? Another growup moment. He took the car for a test drive...drove like a dream. Not to bore you with the details, except for the fact that dealing with east coast car dealers is definately an experience...and working the lending...ugh...(enough said). Troy is picking up his new used car today a black 2000 Toyota Avalon. This car will serve him well, hopefully get him through Med school and relieve worries about mobility. Yahoo...another "KEY" moment conquered...now if he can just get the car off the lot, he'll be good.

Wait for it....

Down to 3 days and counting...Where in the World?

Where in the World will Grant go?

Well, as Grant puts it, "I've waited my whole life for this!" I can ditto with- We've waited his whole life for this...among other things. Grant met with his Stake President tonight and the button was pushed, and the papers are in. It couldn't be a more exciting time for all of us. The days of filling out mission papers and snail mail are a thing of the past. We figure it will take around 10 days. We will be anxiously awaiting the call. Here's a sample of the next missionary from Medford, Oregon. He'll be awesome!

Elder Grant Russell...sounds good to me.

Rise and Shine...from the cotton fields of Arizona to the cotton snow of Oregon

More photos from today...

Rise and Shine

This is what we awoke to this morning. The snow was really fluffy and light. It looked literally like cotton. It hung from branches and fences like I'd never seen before. AMAZING! A far cry from being in AZ last week. BURRRRRIED IN MEDFORD...HA HA. Of course by this afternoon its almost all melted. Enjoy...

WAIT FOR IT....WAIT FOR IT.....

Anything of value is worth waiting for...

Most of you wouldn't know that BYU changed it's acceptance procedures this year. Certainly a change from our other children attending there. Sean applied in November and has been waiting to hear around February 27 or so. We received an email last week that they were notifying people as of Monday Feb. 9. Every day this week we've checked the emails....nothing. Last night as I prepared to shut down for the night, I did one more "get mail"...and there it was..."CES communications"...could this be it? Was this from BYU or some one else from church? As I clicked on the email, there it was...check your account for more information.

I headed upstairs to (get this) stop Sean from doing homework. I know, I know...it goes against everything we stand for as parents dealing with homework...LOL. I asked him to come downstairs for a minute. "Why?" he asked, "because there is an email I want you to see"....."NO WAY" he said. No sooner had I said it then he got up and ran downstairs. I don't think he touched the stairs on the way down. A quick log on and there it was ACCEPTED for fall 2009. Joyous noised filled the air as he said..."I've gotta call Grant and Tyler". He called them and shared the news. They were thrilled also (mind you now it is 2:30 am in Boston...so no call for Troy...and 12:30 am in Arizona...no call for Joy either. They got an email). Exciting times around here.

As I reflect on the many events of our lives, I am grateful for the countless blessings we continue to receive from the Lord. It's weird watching the tsunami of the empty nest approaching us... with joy and mixed emotions....I say....GO COUGARS!