Sister Adcock

It's official! We have a missionary. We've had one for almost 2 weeks. On May 17, Melia entered the MTC around 12:24 pm.

I got back from Florida and we put all of our efforts into getting Melia ready to enter the mission field. She really, really wanted to go to the temple with grandma and grandpa. They'd been out of town. We were able to arrange a temple meet-up in Provo for Friday, May 12. My sister Karen was in town and joined us. We had a nice time and Mel got to ask grandma and grandpa lots of questions. I didn't realize how much it meant to her until she mentioned it in her farewell talk.

grandpa and grandma Hunter, Mel, and me (Karen was working in the car)

Many Crocketts were in town, so Saturday we met up with them for ice cream. We had so much fun visiting and spent so much time there that it became time for dinner. We just kept the party going and moved from Rockwell Ice Cream to Slab Pizza. Shauna Crockett was the bonus.

Connor, Shauna, Me, Karen, Allie, Mel, Elle, Kamiko, and Keenan

Sisters!

Mel spoke on Mother's Day. It was a perfect day. We invited friends and family to come to our house before church for breakfast. We had crepes, breakfast casseroles, and fruit. About 75 people came. I got to feed my mom and sisters and dear friends breakfast on mother's day. A little note about making crepes ahead of time. THEY STICK TOGETHER IF THEY'RE HOT. Yep, Mel and I spent lots of time making and freezing crepes with waxed paper layered between each crepe. Didn't work. When I went to separate the thawed crepes on Friday, it was obvious that it would have taken me longer to separate them than to make more. So we made more. It really wasn't a big deal. We made them, let them cool to room temp, then layered them with paper towel. That worked GREAT. We had nutella, cookie butter, whipped cream, strawberries, and bananas. We had just the right amount of food. Mysti Tupou brought some cut fruit and the Oswalds brought orange juice. Other than that, we just did it ourselves.

Me and my kids on Mother's Day

Mel gave a very good talk. I think everyone was surprised at how much she had to say. She was so poised and prepared. Keenan and I were both very surprised. We didn't know what to expect since she hasn't spoken in church in years, but she did great. A number of people commented on her talk. When she finished, Annie Oswald, who was sitting next to me, said "she's ready." Yep, she was. We stayed at church for all 3 hours since I teach primary and don't have a co-teacher. When I got home, I was surprised to see the kitchen clean. Jenny and mom and my kiddos had cleaned it for me. That was so great. I took a long nap, then we cooked Papa Murphy's pizza for Mother's Day dinner. A fantastic day. Oh, and my kiddos gave me 3 8-inch round cake pans, a cake decorating turntable, and cardboard cake rounds. I want to start making cute cakes and these will get me started.

Monday we all went out to dinner. I have found that the night before the MTC, the missionary can be quite nervous and not have much of an appetite, so we went to Cafe Rio on Monday as a family. Mel and I also worked on one last jumper for her to take. On Tuesday, Mel and I went down to the Payson Temple to do some sealings with mom and dad. That was really special and I'm glad Mel made time to go. We made final touches on the jumper. I wanted to tweak a couple of things so it didn't look homemade. Mel got set apart on Tuesday night at 9:30. That was a great experience for all. I took notes and typed them up for Mel to take with her. It's very easy to send your missionary off when you know she's prepared, the Lord is watching over her, and she's HAPPY. She will be such a joy to everyone. About JOY...Mel has joked that she wants "Joy to the World" on her mission plaque. We haven't discussed this with the ward, yet, but we hope it can happen. It's her favorite hymn and favorite "quote." Coincidently, when she was set apart, President Livingston mentioned more than once that she will bring JOY, to go forth with JOY, etc. Joy to the world, for sure. Or at least Joy to Arkansas and surrounding areas.

STREAK OVER. Mel and I were working on a 100 day streak. It ended too soon.

We had to get up really early to take Allie to the airport on Wednesday, May 17. She had already arranged to fly to St. Louis for Desmond's graduation. So they said their goodbyes early in the morning. Oh, side note...we drove to the airport in freezing rain and snow. What a day. We got back home and went back to bed for a bit. Then we got up and got ready to go to the MTC. Mel had to be there at 12:30. We met grandma and grandpa at noon at the Provo temple to take some pictures. Starlyn and Erin came to say goodbye and they were nice enough to take pictures for us. I had arranged for a couple of my pre-student teachers to teach my lecture and the TA's covered lab so I could spend the morning at home. It's what Mel wanted and it's a good thing I did it. I'm glad I listened to her.

This guy went with me to Bolivia. My dad bought it for me. It fixed a flat tire on a bus. Kamiko took it to Chile. It's now on its way to Arkansas and surrounding areas.

Mel doesn't have big hair. It's a tree behind her

Starlyn, Mel, and Erin

The family, minus Allie, who was on a layover in Denver

Grandpa, grandma, Sister A, Keenan, me, and Kamiko

Cute missionary with her grandparents

This is the jumper we made just before Mel left.

Allie joined us at the MTC via facetime

We got all our pictures, hugged, and got in the van. We got to the MTC parking lot a bit early, but they were directing traffic already. We pulled up the the sister side, unloaded our cargo, including Mel, gave hugs, and drove away by 12:27. I was at work at 12:40. We were all going to be OK. Everything is good.