A blog without pictures

Last weekend Shawn flew over to Seattle to meet with a couple of doctors on Saturday.  He planned to fly into Boise on his way home, but because he would get there so late at night, he told me that he would be driving home early Sunday morning. Luckily that's the first time that he's ever been gone on a weekend, because frankly I didn't enjoy it much.

So there I was not enjoying it much on Friday night, while he was enjoying an evening with my brother Nathan and his family, when suddenly I got a telephone call.  It was the stake executive secretary wondering if he could meet with Shawn and I at 9:00 on Sunday morning.  I explained that I wasn't expecting Shawn until 10:00, so he said he'd have to talk with the stake presidency and get back to us.

 I called Shawn because by that time he was heading back to his hotel, and we speculated about what they could possibly want. Shawn told me everything that the Stake Presidency is over, and we decided that it wouldn't be any of those things.  Then we remembered that Stake Conference was going to be this coming Sunday, and decided that they must want us to speak at it!

 Sunday morning, Shawn made it home in time for his Young Men's presidency meeting, and he said that he began to feel a little bit uneasy because the members of the bishopric were there and they were all grinning at him.  I met him there right after his meeting, and we went in to meet with the Stake Presidency.  There was just one member there at first, and he made a big deal about getting the other men together.  When he took off to do that, I asked Shawn why it was so important to have all of them there, and he told me that he was getting some different ideas about what this meeting was all about!

Anyways, he was called to be in the bishopric, because one of the members of the bishopric has been battling cancer and isn't doing too well.  We learned about this calling about fifteen minutes before church started, they announced it in sacrament meeting,  (we hadn't had time to tell the kids and their faces were classic!) and then wanted Shawn to be ordained and set apart right after church.  Shawn wanted his dad to ordain him, and after calling him between every meeting was finally able to get a hold of him just in the nick of time.

I think that Shawn is really going to love this calling - he will be over the Young Men and scouting and really enjoys both.  I am excited for him and anxious for myself.  (I hope I can handle sacrament meeting and more time parenting - on my own.)

I recently saw this quote: "Welcome the task that makes you go beyond yourself and you will grow."

 I think that I'm in for some serious growth myself from his calling!  I already thought that I was going far beyond myself with all of his traveling and being on my own so much. Now, on some of the days that he was normally "home for sure", he will be gone with his calling. Luckily, a bishop's counselor doesn't have nearly the demanding job that a bishop has.  I'm sure that we will all be just fine.

One of my favorite memories of the day was talking about the surprise of it all as we all drove home from church.  I brought up that we would have to sit more strategically during sacrament meeting with an older child beside each younger one for the inevitable time when I would be leaving the meeting with Abe. I looked into the back and saw Kami in tears.  At first I thought she was upset about something that I'd said, but when I asked her what was wrong she said, "I'm just so proud of dad!"