What a special night. A night I will always treasure!

I received an evite that read: "You were chosen by one or more of the activity girls as someone extraordinary. They see you as a light shining bright, leading the way. We wanted to have a night to honor you for being someone special in these girls lives. We hope you can attend and share a dinner with the girls and find out who thinks you are GREAT!"

Of course I RSVP'd that I'd be there! What an honor!

The awaited night finally arrived. I bought pizza for the family and headed to the church to enjoy a wonderful night and a yummy meal that I didn't have to cook! When I arrived, I was escorted to a table in the back that had a place setting reserved just for me! 5 darling young ladies joined me at the table and kept me company for the evening. Many other tables were set up around the room where other young ladies sat with their honored guests.

I was served a yummy chicken lasagna dinner, and chocolate cake! I kept asking who my date was, but the girls answered "guess, Sis. Angell, guess!" So, not wanting to leave anyone out, I guessed, "All of you!" "No, Sis. Angell, we want you to guess!" I didn't change my answer - I wanted them all to be my special dates!

Later in the evening, each young lady in the room was handed a special card. One at a time, they read the card aloud to their special guest. The cards were special tributes announcing who they chose and why they chose them. Each of the sweet young ladies at my table read their card to me! I was so overcome with emotion! My heart just melted! I felt so honored to be surrounded by such beautiful daughters of God! I am definitely smitten - each of these young ladies will always have a special place in my heart!

Thank you to the wonderful Activity Day Leaders that orchestrated this treasured night!

*Thankfully, I remembered to grab my camera before walking out the door! Believe it or not, I was the only guest that brought one! Our table had the funnest photo shoot ever! Enjoy!*

Me and my girls!

We Are Loving This Cake!

Fun with the camera!

Introducing my special dates.........

MELANIE

LEAH

ABBY

HALEY

CAMREE

Didn't I have the cutest dates ever!?!

I talked to Jeffrey today!

The caller ID displayed an 801 number. Was it BYU soliciting donations? No, it was Jeffrey! My first thought - is he sick? I'm not supposed to hear from him unless it's Christmas or Mother's Day! But he tells me he had to call because he won't be around for another P-DAY - in other words, he can't email me. What? He's leaving for Argentina on Monday! Wait a minute! He hasn't been there 3 weeks yet! No, I heard right. His whole district is leaving Monday. He and his companion are flying tomorrow to LA and back to get his visa. What an adventure! He wanted to make sure everyone was told to not send any letters or packages at this point, because he won't be there to receive them. "Dear Elders" must by sent by Saturday am.

So he leaves from SLC on Monday, Nov. 15th at 8:42am. If he has time beforehand, he'll give us a call. Then he has 37 minutes to switch planes in LA and be on his way to Buenos Aires. It's an all-nighter. He'll arrive at 7am the next morning.

When I asked Jeff if he was happy, he answered, "Extremely!" What a perfect answer to put a mom's mind at ease.

Bon Voyage Jeffrey! We love you!

Goodbye to Suwanee, Hello to Provo! The Adventure Begins! - Extended Version

This post will be very similar to the one on elderangell.blogspot.com, but it will have more details, and more pictures!

The last week that Jeffrey was in Georgia, was a busy one, to say the least. He had quit work already, but he wanted to say goodbye to his friends and past high school teachers, plus he did alot of last minute organizing and packing. He even helped Sis. Shumway teach an advanced math concept to the Math Team at NGHS! Teaching Math is his passion - next to playing the piano and listening to music.

He received many gifts and well wishes from family friends in the ward. The Ketchems treated him to his "last supper" - a sushi feast Shoji style. Yum! Thank you!

The night before we left for SLC, Jeffrey was set apart as a Full - Time Missionary by our Stake President, President Wood. He gave Jeffrey great counsel, which we plan to reiterate when needed. Before being set apart, Jeff sat in the car to hear one last song: "Sayonara," (Japanese for "goodbye") by Off - Course. But, to his surprise, he wasn't banned from music until he entered the MTC! Music will be one of the things Jeffrey misses most!

Officially Elder Angell

Friday morning, we cooked pancakes for Jeff's final breakfast, and the kids reluctantly said their goodbyes and headed for school.

He said his own goodbyes to one of his closest companions, our baby grand.

Jazzy gave him last minute kisses.

Greg and I went with Jeff to SLC. The Nelsons graciously volunteered to have Nick, Megan, and Jazzy for the weekend. Once we arrived in SLC, we rented a car and visited family on the way to our final destination for the night - Spanish Fork with Greg's parents.

We stopped in to say "Happy Birthday" to Uncle Ron. (Grandpa Cluff's oldest brother)

Had to stop by to give the big bro a hug!

Cluff Cousins - Jannika, and Derek & Ariane

The next day, we watched BYU beat WYOMING! Go Cougars! We walked to the stadium from Michael's apt. and we were drenched by the time we got there. But it cleared up just in time for the kick off!

All decked out in our ponchos!

Don't we just look lovely!

That night, after we cleaned up, we grabbed Jannika and drove 3 1/2 hours south to Hurricane to spend a night with Lauralee's oldest brother, Scott and Family. While there, we had the added bonus of attending Ethan Gali's Missionary Farewell in St. George! Ethan was called to the Colorado Springs, CO Mission.

On Tuesday, we packed up and said our goodbyes to Greg's parents,

took pictures with Jeff at the MTC,

treated Jeff and Michael to frozen yogurt,
gave Jeff our final hugs,

and left him in the care of Michael. It was so hard to watch them both walk off towards campus and wave their last goodbyes.

Jeffrey attended classes with Michael on Tuesday and visited a few friends from his freshman ward. He stayed at michael's for the night. On Wed. morning, he attended one last class with Michael, and packed up his final time and waited for Grandma and Grandpa Angell. They took him to lunch at Cafe Rio, and to the temple for pictures.

On Wednesday, October 27th, at 12:45pm, Michael, Grandma and Grandpa Angell dropped Elder Angell off at the MTC. There was a line of missionaries waiting to welcome him and all the other new Elders.

Dropping off at the MTC. Bye Elder Angell! Go Forth With Faith!

Welcome to the MTC!

Jeffrey's 19th Birthday!

Jeffrey finally turned 19! This means the anticipated adventure begins! We started with a trip to the temple, then his Missionary Farewell Talk, Open House, and then off to the MTC! Enjoy the photo journey below. Future posts about the MTC and Argentina will be on his missionary blog: elderangell.blogspot.com.

For his birthday, he enjoyed alot of sushi and seafood!

His presents focused around Mission Prep and Music.

Nick gave him a completed Pedigree Chart.

Megan hemmed up his temple pants.

Mom and Dad provided misc. items needed for his mission: first aid kit, sewing kit, shoe shine kit, medicines, alarm clock, repellent, etc.

He also received a Piano Classics Book as requested, and a Boston CD.

He requested a white cake with vanilla cream layers, and white frosting.

Jeffrey received his endowments at the Birmingham, AL Temple. What a wonderful weekend! Dear friends shared in this special occasion: the Ketchums, Nelsons, and Moores.

Jeffrey gave an amazing farewell talk. His topic - D&C 4 - Missionary Work. He did a great job expounding on this chapter using multiple scriptures from all of the standard works. I knew then that he was ready for the mission field. He ended his talk with the following musical number that he arranged himself. I wish I could have recorded the original because it was very heartfelt. He best expresses his emotions and feelings while he plays the piano.

We recorded this version after church at home.

That night we had an Open House for him so friends could come say goodbye and express their love and support. I wasn't very excited to host an open house because of the work involved, but with the help of my dear husband and wonderful friends, it turned out great!

Over 100 people came! He sure felt loved!