Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Saying Goodbye.....For 2 Years

Today was (Little) Uncle Ben's big day! He entered the MTC to serve the Lord and the people of Chile for 2 years. We are so proud of him for making the decision to go and are excited to hear about his time in both the MTC and Chile. He reported today at 1:15pm.  We met for one last big family lunch before sending him off.
Eric wasn't able to go to the MTC with us, but he met us for lunch and said goodbye to Ben there. 

 When did all of my little brothers get so tall? It is hard to say goodbye and see them grow up and go away, but I am so thankful that my kids have had wonderful examples of good missionaries to follow. Adam keeps reminding me he only has 11 year left....

 Gillian, Ben, and Matt
Katy, Ben, and Andrew
 Dad, Ben, and Mom
 
Kevin, Ben, Amy, and Symphony

Once upon a time, we were taller than him....
 So proud of our Beany Boy! He will be a wonderful missionary!


We did the traditional-all pile in Mom and Dad's van to drop him off. We always joke that we look like a clown car at the MTC cause people just keep coming out of the van. I tried to get my parents to rent a 12 seater for the day, but they didn't go for that. 
We stopped at the curb (spot #4) and said our quick goodbyes. They gave us a strict 2 1/2 minutes to do so.
 My kids love their Uncle Ben. They will all be so big when he get home. He will miss Adam's baptism next year, but will hopefully have one of his own that same day in Chile. They have big plans to write him a lot of letters and color him lots of pictures. I have already thought of like 4 things to tell Ben and then realized I can't just text him anymore. They will all have to wait for a letter. I told Adam we would send Uncle Ben some treats and he wanted to break a world record and send cookies to every missionary in the MTC. I'm glad he has such confidence in my abilities, but that for sure won't be happening!!










We love you, Elder Lemley! See you in 2 years!!