Brandon is reaching the waning weeks of his mission and I can tell it's a bittersweet time for him. This week's email from him closed with: "9 weeks is so close and I don't want it to get any closer. Do I really have to put Jamaica behind in so short a time?" I love that he is totally immersed in his mission and the work there, and the people he's come to know. I feel the same way about his mission ending: I'll be glad to have him home again, but I've also been so content knowing he is in Jamaica, making a difference in someone's life.
The flip side for us at home, is that Cameron is reaching the age for his mission, and has been getting preparations and paperwork done for that. Yesterday was a milestone moment for our family, as Todd ordained Cameron an elder (the office in the priesthood that is held by missionaries). He is one step closer!
Fortunately for this mom, the Church has a nice little line in the paperwork called the "availability date"-- the day the young man is available to report to the Missionary Training Center. This can start on a young man's 19th birthday. However, we've gotten Brandon's return itinerary, and he will be home on May 5th (Cameron's birthday is the 4th of May). So to have a bit of a cushion, we put Cameron's availability as June 1st, and then at least we can have a chance to take some complete family portraits before I have to say goodbye to him!
So here are a few of our photos from yesterday, just after his ordination. I would have loved for Brandon to be able to stand in on the ordination, but he's a bit far away! Here's the kids together, rocking the whole black and white polka-dot look. If you look carefully, you can see Christ looking over their shoulders!
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