Thanks mom and dad!!!

I have the best mom in the world. If you don't know already, my parents are serving a mission in South Africa right now. It has been really hard on my mom to not be here during this crazy time for our family, but she has shown an incredible amount of faith by staying on her mission. The motherly instinct is to take care of your children and grandchildren, and protect them at all costs. The situation with taking my nephews into our home has been hard on me and Ryan of course, but also on my other siblings. My mom has had to suppress the 'mother bear' instinct to submit to the Lords' will. I swear my mom has had enough trials in her life, but they keep coming. I completely believe that only the strongest of character get delat the most difficult circumstances.
My dad has been incredibly supportive as well, and repeated on countless occasions that if they are really needed here, then they will come home to relieve the situation. I feel his sincereity even though leaving the mission would be one of the hardest things he would have to do. My dad was a convert to the Church, joined at age 26, so he never got to serve a full-time mission. That's all he's wanted to do. The minute I graduated from high school, he was ready to go, but becasue of the situation with my sister, and her somewhat dependency on my parents, it was 7 years later that they finally went. He loves South Africa more than almost anything else, and he especially loves serving the Lord in this capacity. So for him to be willing to leave the mission he has waited so long for is amazing.
Let's be honest, men are just not as emotional about situations as women. It's more black-and-white for them, pros and cons, logical analysis of the situation--but my mom has had the burden of empathy and motherly worry for all of us here at home. I can't tell you how much faith it has taken for all of us, but mostly my mom to trust that the Lord is in control, and he will take care of our family through all of this; that things will work out. At times it seems like things will never get better. But they are. Slowly but surely, things are happening that need to happen that will give our family normalcy and peace again.
In the mean time, my mom has wished so bad that she could help me here; somehow make my life just a littel bit easier. I have made the mistake of not holding anything back when I talk to her, and I have talked to her on some of the 'bad' days. One of my many woes was that I couldn't keep my house clean!!! It was hard enough before having two young boys, but now it was virtually impossible!!! I felt like I was always cleaning, but my house was never ever clean. ANd then I wouls get so tired that I would give up on it for a day or two, and then our house seriously needed a hazmat team to recover the damage. I'm not kidding, we had fruit flies. So embarassing, I've got to learn to filter!!!! Anyway, so she did me a huge favor and surprised me by hiring a cleaning lady! She worked with Ryan unbeknownst to me to arrange it and get it scheduled. He got our friend Shelley, and she did an amazing job. She cam two weeks ago for a deep clean and then again this week for maintenance. I'm not kidding it was the best gift I ever could have received. I don't even remember the last time, if ever, that I'v had my entire house clean at the same time. It smelled so good, and things were shiny!!! And it has helped me to feel motivated again. I actually feel like I can keep a clean house, and I really have. I have felt way more at peace and in control of my life. So, mom and dad, I just wanted to give you a big heartfelt THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love you both and know that things will happen in the Lord's time. Until you are home, He will give us the extra strength that we need. We will be ok. Just love your mission. It's your one and only chance!I won't complain anymore I promise. Enjoy yourselves and don't worry about us here. Hey, I have a clean house now. I can do anything!!!!