Email from Mom: Sunday, January 15, 2023

To: Christian.garcia@missionary.org
Date: Sunday, January 15, 2023
Subject: Middle of January?

How in the heck did we already get 15 days into the New Year of 2023 and how it is already half way through January?! Holy cow...I think the whole 'slow down time' thing is becoming more and more real with every blink of my eye. :)

How are you? How was your week? I know we chatted on Messenger but it feels like forever since I have 'talked' to you. Maybe because I didn't get to face to face talk? I dont' know but it feels like forever and I can't wait to hopefully have technology work out in favor tomorrow. (Fingers crossed)

I loved seeing the new photos you put on your drive. I love love that you and Elder Meline were able to reconnect and get to go on an Exchange too. I know how much you look up to him and how much he has taught you. I love that as a missionary you are constantly learning and that opportunities come into play where you get to be with someone like him to keep on learning from him and his example. I will admit though that the 'art' stuff you posted is kinda freaky! The face that is hanging in the tree and then the one carved in a rock? I had to look twice to make sure the one in the rock wasn't just a mummified human!!! Freaky weird. And on top of all of that? The Voodoo stuff is just mind blowing to me. Stuff I remember learning about in school and yet you are seeing it play out in real life every single day. Weird weird weird.

Things here have been good. It has been a pretty chaotic week and we have had a lot of adjusting to do but we are working through it. Tyler came to me on Monday afternoon and was a mess. You could just tell he was all torn up on something. Turns out that work is not going well. At all. He and I have admittedly been lackadaisical when it comes to 'going to work' every day but we have trusted that Tracie and the rest of the staff have been working hard. Lesson learned...we have pathetic employees who do the bare minimum and instead of coming to Tyler and saying hey...there seems to be a problem, we aren't selling anything, they just keep milking a clock and getting paid to do literally nothing. So...as Tyler tried to talk to me it was clear that we not only needed to step in and make some immediate changes but it was going to also be an appointment being made to get Tyler into a Dr to deal with some anxiety, clearly some depression, and what I have always believed to be an underlier...adult ADD. (Please don't share with anyone that I have told you this as it would be unfair to Tyler. It helps me to be able to 'talk' it through as I catch you up on our week here) I got an appointment made for Tyler for Monday (tomorrow) and have made certain he takes one of my anxiety meds at the start of the day so that we can work together to get things rolling back into the positive again. This has been a very trying week to say the least but it has also been good. Perhaps a blessing in disguise from the Lord reminding us that we need to work hard every single day, even if things are going well. (Just so you know, that is a hard lesson even at 43 years old)

I had a couple of nail appointments this week, cancelled my own nail appointment in order to save some money, have been sitting in my office chair working on new designs for shirts as well as for a few new Etsy stores that we are in the process of building in order to get opened, and still trying to wife and Mom as well. We did take a much needed break on Friday. I think I told you about the 2 couples that we essentially 'picked up' one night at Handels with the Millers? Anyways, if I haven't remind me because it is hilarious but if I have then...well...we went over to one of their homes and had a game night. It was so much fun and the game we played is basically spoons. Only this was called 'Bones'. You had to match 4 of the same dogs in your hand of cards and when you had them you grabbed a wooden bone off the table. Here's the rules though...the dealer deals the cards and you cannot look at them until the dealer has "barked or woofed" twice. If you get caught looking at your cards, anyone around the table can slap you!! And let me just say that there was some slapping that went on. It was so freaking funny. So once you pick up the cards, the dealer then 'barks or woofs' when it is time to pass a card. It is so funny to just be waiting for a woof to come out of someones mouth. Now, when you go to grab a bone, you can also shove the rest of the bones across the table so they go flying and the other players have to then chase the bones in order to secure one for themselves so they don't get a letter (you spell Bones like when you play Horse in basketball) and on their way to elimination. We ended up racing around this kitchen and into the living room to chase bones and it was awesome. I am sure the kids who lived in this house were like "Mom and Dad, who the heck are these people and why are they all so crazy?!" I will be sure to put down that the final two were myself and Jason Miller. I ended up winning in the final round and holy cow was I sweaty! So much running, so much laughter, and so much fun.

I did Brooklyn's nails yesterday (full set of acrylics! I feel pretty good about them and love that she let me take the time to do them) and then she went ice skating for a bit with some friends. Then she went to hang out at Lily's house and stayed out until 11. She went and got food and fizz after ice skating and by the time we got home she was hunched over and not feeling so great. I gave her a spoonful of Pepto and she grabbed a Sprite and headed up to bed. I haven't seen her yet this morning but it is also not even 9 quite yet so we will see. I told her if she wasn't feeling well she could stay home from church. It is a holiday weekend (Martin Luther King) so I kind of feel like it should be a holiday weekend for church too. Tyler and I do have our Stake temple recommend interview this afternoon at 2:45 but we can make that without going to our ward. Sometimes a little extra 'rest' is good for the soul right? We don't have church until 10:30 and I will more than likely attend at least Sacrament meeting but I don't know if the other two humans living here will be in attendance with me today.

Weather update has it as follows....this week has been quite nice really. We had a couple of days in the low 50's but there was wind so that made it colder than 51. Most of the snow has melted and we have had rain again all afternoon and over night last night. We still have some snow and some of the rain dusted the top of the lawn with some light snow but the stuff that is blowing in the wind out there right now is just moving around and melting before it actually hits the ground. The weather people and my app says it is going to be crappy cold and snowy all week long though....everytime we get a tease with the snow going away and then it comes back and wrecks havoc all over again. Seriously so over Winter.

This week should be a good one. Tyler has his appointment and hopefully will start a new regiment of some meds to help balance him out. I am honestly unsure of how to feel about any of it. I don't know a different version of him other than all over the place going a hundred miles an hour. He deserves to do whatever he can to allow his brain a break and to slow down but it scares me some. I just don't want to not recognize him you know? That could be a huge change for him in life to be 'balanced'. Time will tell. I will just be certain to keep him in my prayers for sure. B has Monday and Tuesday off. The holiday plus end of the Quarter. I cannot believe we are halfway done with 9th Grade! I am almost finished having a kid in the Middle School and I will NEVER have to do it again! This is a huge win!!! She ditched Spanish in order to have Seminary on her schedule and she is so excited about that. Things with Mr Workman have been hard and he has had some come to Jesus lessons taught to him with a few of the female students in class with B and she is just over the drama. She also really is enjoying Seminary which is a win and I am so grateful for. I am going to go to lunch with Heather Smith (Kaden and Seneca's Mom) tomorrow and catch up but I am also going to ask about her pricing for wedding invitations. She is an amazing creative designer and so maybe someone Kaitlyn and Eric could use? I thought I would at least ask and then pass on the information for them to do what they want with it. Tyler flys to LA for a work show on Thursday and will be home Saturday. I think it will do him (and me) some good to have a break from here. He needs to step away and just do something other than pace back and forth and 'talk'. I need him to get to the action part of life. He can talk all the things but something has to finally give in order to do you know? Maybe with a few days away he will come back charged and ready to go to work instead of just chat about it. That is my hope.

Kaitlyn and Eric took Tyler and I to meet with a gentleman named Kelly. Akaela does catering for him and has for almost 20 years. Anyways, she said he would be a great place to look at for all things wedding. We sat with them and they ended up choosing him to do pretty much a huge chunk of the day. Kelly will take care of decorations, the DJ, the send off, setting up and taking down, providing tables and chairs, catering of the food, and he even gave Kaitlyn some great contacts in order to get flowers, a dress, and a cake at a discount. It is so nice to have so much done by just one person rather than having to work with a handful of people who are doing things here and there and then making sure they all could work together you know? This will make it so that Kelly knows what is going on and he will execute it to make it fabulous. I think Eric may also have him cater the lunch after the temple sealing at the house as well. I don't know for sure but he and Kelly talked and he took a picture of what Kelly offers so he can talk to his Dad about it. Side note, a guys side and cost of a wedding is CHEAP! Would be much easier if I only had boys. ;) HA HA HA...but speaking of wedding....Eric is planning to propose on Tuesday. The 17th is a marker day for them I believe for when they started dating. So Tuesday would be like an 'anniversary' of another month I think? Anyways, that is why June 17th will be a wedding day as well. The ring he has purchased for Kaitlyn is BEAUTIFUL. She is going to flip her shizz when she sees it too. I am so excited for her and I really like Eric a lot. He is just so good to Kaitlyn and he does anything and everything in his power to keep a smile on her face. It's funny talking to him. He realizes that there can be no selfish in a marriage and that it is a give and take. He also recognizes that marriage is work and that you have daily obligations in order to do your part. He is just so much more mature than anyone Kaitlyn has ever dated. She has no clue that he is proposing this week and it has been such a hard secret to keep! She even came up to get her nails done this week and I was all "when you choose your designs do you take into account that maybe you will get engaged?" and she was like " No, should I?" Dude...it was SO HARD to not just say...let's do these nails instead because they will look so good in a 'I said yes' picture! But I didn't....I just told her 'not that I am aware of but that I just wondered if she thought about it at all.' I don't know how Eric is planning the proposal or what he is doing but I hope that if we don't get invited to be a part of it that someone has pictures he will be able to share with us. I can't wait to see her happy on her face. (I will send you a pic of the ring he picked. His sister went shopping with him and was happy to do the trying on.)

Life is getting exciting around here with school coming to an end, Kaitlyn and Eric planning to get married, you have 142 days left on a mission (if you come home in June and not a transfer early...any news on that?), and new directions with work happening too. We really do live a blessed life and one that I am sure grateful I get to be a part of. With you having such a small window, we need to start thinking of what your homecoming will look like. You will have the choice of asking someone to speak with you or just having the Bishop choose someone to speak with you. Do you have any thoughts on this? Will you send out a final email with your homecoming details or will you need me to send something? Will you want something at the house after Sacrament for people to be able to come by and say hello? Just trying to get my ducks in order so that we don't miss anything. (I am also currently trying to plan Brooklyn's "GOLDEN" birthday for next month....any suggestions on that to make it amazing?) Think these things over and let me know deal?

I am proud of you and all you are doing. Keep doing your part and working hard and I know that the Lord will bless you and your companion as well as those in your area of Dassa. What a blessing it is for you to be in the shoes you are in to be seeing the growth of the Church in such infant stages. I have loved being on the sidelines of this and learning myself. You are making a difference and you are touching lives. Not just in Africa but here at home as well. I love you. Have the best Sunday!

Mom