February 18th, 2015

Hey! Things here are going pretty good! How are yall doing? Yes I got my Valentines package, letter from Jessa, and email from Tom thanks so much!! The doctor checked out my heart and it is all working how it should. They think it might be a pinched nerve in my neck but we will get it figured out. Thanks for your prayers :) No I haven't seen or eaten any gators yet but I will let you know for sure when I do! Know that it is warming up they should start coming out a little bit more. I'm glad to hear that you survived your crazy week!! It sound like you had a lot going on. That is crazy that it is warming up so fast! Are you liking that or not? This week has been a pretty crazy one! since it was Madi Gras week nobody really wanted to see us but we still tried hard to see people and get around town. (Since there was at least 1 parade a day that cuts right through the middle of town and blocks off everything) But it is kind of a fun crazy environment. Yesterday we took our p-day and with our presidents permission we went to New Orleans to the "Zulu" parade it was crazy!! People were going crazy for beads and coconuts. It was a lot of fun to see and experience but you could for sure tell that there was a different spirit there than we were used to feeling. I am kind of glad that it is over now though so everybody will settle down and little and maybe be a little bit more sober hahaha I love yall so much!!! Hope you have a great week!!!!!!!!!!!! Love Madi Gras Mud

February 9th, 2015

Mi familia!! You guys are amazing!! It is so good to hear from you!!! It sounds like you have a busy week ahead. 137 crush pies and crush pops on top of that, that is a lot! Thanks for taking such good care of Koltin I love that kid!! And I wore my Bro. Leatham tie to church yesterday so I could think of him. He is an awesome guy!! Thanks for having a 6 months party for me it sounds like it was a good time! It feels like years since I have talked to you guys last. I really like it hear so far! My companions name is Elder Jones, he is a pretty cool guy! He is from Arizona and he is half black and half white. so I call him my Obama boy haha (I promise that it is ok with him) :) and we have a car so I can't complain. It has kind of been a rough week cause he really doesn't know anybody and I really don't know anybody or how to get anywhere but we have figured a lot out. It was quite the change not driving for 6 months and then driving for like 5 hours in Louisiana it kind of made me nervous but I caught back on quick. Elder Porter is staying in Covington and his new companion seems like a pretty cool guy. Louisiana winter is pretty much over it has been like 75 everyday for the past couple days so that has been really nice! You will never guess what I found in one of my suitcases when I was unpacking?! it was one of Jakes dirty socks!!!!! I reached in a pocket that I had never opened before and I found a dirty sock and so Kentucky program, it mad me laugh pretty hard. :) Things here are pretty crazy right now with Made Gras. There is pretty much a parade every night for the next 2 weeks. So how it works is that if the parade starts at 6 everybody who is on the floats wakes up early and starts drinking as much as possible before the parade so the can have a really good time. so we have heard a lot of comments from drunk people on these floats it is a lot of fun! I have been working on drinking more water that is what the mission nurse told me too. I have been drinking about 5 or 6 a day. I am going to the Cardiologist on Thursday so I will let you know how that goes. Life is good! I also went to my first Mass yesterday with one of our investigators, it was crazy! I love you guys so much!! Hope you have a great week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

February 3rd, 2015

My awesome family!!!!! I love you so much!! I am glad to hear that everyone is hanging in there and that you are finally done with concessions for the year!! I bet that Jessa rocked the dance floor she is one awesome little dancing chick!! It sounds like it has been a pretty good week. This week has been crazy but so much fun!! I am getting transferred!!!!! I can't believe that I am actually going to go somewhere else it is crazy to even think about that. This is my home and my people :) But I am excited to go and experience a new adventure! I am also follow up training in my new area so that will be an adventure! One of these days I am going to get 12 week right so I don't have to keep doing it over and over haha It was so cool to be able to meet Elder Cook and Elder Hallstrom they are awesome guys!! We had a great meeting with them and the whole mission! It was a lot of fun to be able to see everybody in the whole mission again! The people that we are teaching are really progressing now and I am sad to leave them, but I know that Elder Porter will take good care of them. I love you guys so much and thanks for helping this poor white trash kid make it through the last 3 months! I couldn't have done it without you! Love Mud p.s. It is a lot more fun and goes a lot better when mom and grandma help you pack haha

January 26th, 2015

Oh my awesome family you guys are awesome! It sounds like you have had a pretty exciting week! Darn dogs always jump all over me too, it kind of makes you not want to have a dog haha Poor Josh he sure is a good guy!! It has been a pretty good week! It was a lot of fun to go on exchanges and have a little change of scenery for a couple of days. It was supposed to last until Thursday morning but Elder Trainer called and begged us to come back on Wednesday night instead cause he couldn't handle sweet ol Elder Porter any longer haha He is teaching us all a lot :) I hope you don't feel like I am always complaining about Elder Porter he really is a good guy with a good heart...he just is a different box of rocks. I know that God is still a God of miracles cause I haven't choked him yet hahaha And I have learned some lessons that I know will be good for the future :) I know I shouldn't stress so much I will work on being better. Things are going to be good this week I can feel it in my bones :) I love you guys so much!!!! Love Mud :)

January 20th, 2015

My family!!!! It sounds like you have had a busy week! I'm glad to hear that dad is feeling better!! My companion was sick with the flu this week too. I can't believe that Wade has lost 50 lbs. that is crazy! and that is crazy that they forget Seth too, poor guy. Yes I got my package thank you so much!! It is wonderful and Jessa did a great job on that pillow case! I kind of had a cool experience with that package. I was reading in Alma about how Ammon and his brethren bore their afflictions with patience, and I read this while I was sitting in our apartment trying not to go crazy. And I thought man it would be pretty cool if I got that package today, it would help me not go quite so crazy over the next few days and bam no sooner did I think that then the wonderful mail man knocked on the door and give it to me! Good really is in all of the details of our lives. It was cool to meet Elder Teh at Zone Conference he is a really cool guy. He talked to us a lot about exact obedience and he even quoted finding Nemo so after that I knew that he was my kind of guy. :) It was a pretty normal week here not a lot to report I just got to practice a lot on my nursing skills. and I learned that I am not near as good as mom or grandma! I love yall so much!!! I hope you have a great week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love Mud :)

January 12th, 2015

Hey my family! It sounds like you are doing pretty good!! I hope that yall are surviving school and that poor dad is still hanging strong in drivers ed. I can't believe that you guys got smart phones that is crazy! It seems like just yesterday we were helping mom learn how to use her very first phone! This week has been pretty good! We are having a ton of general authorities come in the next couple weeks so poor president Hansen is kind of stressing out. Elder Teh of the Seventy is coming on Wednesday, then on the 31st Elder Cook is coming, and then on Feb. 1st Presiding Bishop Stevenson is coming possibly with L. Tom Perry. He was talking to the Zone Leaders in MLC last week and he told them , "There are going to be so many General Authorities around here that you can't swing a dead cat in a circle without hitting one of them!" hahahaha You can tell that he is a good ol Idaho guy. Don't tell too many people that we don't want to get him in trouble, but I thought that was pretty awesome. :) Guess what I had for dinner yesterday? Barbequed raccoon!! I feel like a true Louisianan now. It was kind of like roast beef but it had a wild twang too it. It was also super greasy...but it was worth trying. Things are going better with Elder Porter, Maybe just because I am growing more patience... :) I do have to be honest with you though, yesterday I was eating some grapes and as I had one in my hand it just felt perfect to throw. My companion was clear across the room and before I even realized what happed there was a grape sailing across the room. haaha And it was so much fun that I threw the whole bag at him and we had a grape fight, it was pretty awesome! I'm sorry that I always throw things I need to work on it :) I hope that yall have a wonderful week!! I love you so much!!!! Love Mud

January 5th, 2015

Hey my family! I'm glad to hear that things this week were pretty good! Sorry that you had to go back to school today, I better get praying that you can have a snow day too. I hope that Jake and Melissa get feeling better soon. Jake needs to get healthy so he can get exercising haha I'm just kidding I'm getting fatter too. This week has been a pretty good one. New years eve we went and ate with a family,"the Haltermans" they are pretty awesome! We had prime rib, homemade French fries, and Chocolate Chip cookies. It was pretty awesome! Elder Porter didn't want me to wake him up at midnight, so I set an alarm for midnight woke up said happy new year and went back to bed. It was pretty exciting stuff haha I would like to tell you that I am proud of my patience this week but I am not. It is still a work in progress :) Me and Elder Porter had a "come to Jesus talk" and I wanted to hit him, but instead I went outside and threw a couple rocks and then it was all good. I'm not sure why throwing rocks makes me feel so good but it really does. Elder Porter is doing a lot better and Elder Dye is working on not being such an impatient slug, thanks for all of your prayers :) cause I need all the help that I can get! One of our investigators Mallory that had kind of backed off came to church yesterday, it was awesome! It is so much fun to be a missionary! I am sorry to hear about Sister Rossi she is a sweet lady. I hope that you guys have a great week!! I love you so much!!!! Thanks for being so amazing!! Love Mud :)