Time for senior pictures

We went up to Snowflake this weekend and my wonderful, amazing, talented mother took pictures for me to send out with graduation announcements. We need help deciding which ones are best! And, in my defense, it was incredibly windy this weekend, which made it very hard to keep my hair from blowing everywhere. If you click on a picture it will take you to the website so you can see them bigger. Let me know what you think! Thanks!

Congratulations

One of our family's great friends just got his mission call! What an exciting time! Over the next year a lot of my friends will start to go out on missions. I can't wait! I have always appreciated missions and missionaries, but over the last couple of years, I have grown to really love the missionaries and the work that they are doing. Tyson is going to be a great missionary. I remember hearing about the experiences he was able to have on his "mini mission". He was so enthusiastic about what he was doing. I'm excited to hear about even more experiences that he is going to have over the next two years. He has been very important to our whole family. When we came on our mission, he was a support to every one of us. I relied on him for a lot, and he helped me through the transition of coming on a mission. We are all so excited to be a support to him and help him like he supported us! Congratulations Tyson! The Bassett Family loves you!

Jeffrey's Night Out

Even after several days of Easter Pageant, Jeffrey was still excited to go again. He was the only one who opted to head out with Mom and Dad Wednesday day night to meet with the missionaries before the pageant started. From 5:30 to 8:00 when the pageant starts, he was busy collecting autographs. His goal was to have an autograph from every Roman soldier. (I think he really just wanted to hold the swords, daggers and whips.)

He even made me get in a picture.

This is the man that portrays John the Baptist each year. (He and his new wife recently moved to our ward, but I don't think Jeffrey recognized him even though he sits behind the kids each Sunday.)

Not satisfied with that, he started seeking out the other cast members,

and even the random police officers. (Although this policeman doesn't sign autographs. Jeff didn't really understand that. He thought everybody signed them.)

Even missionaries

Of course, he stopped to shake hands with the different missionaries we saw. (He has an incredible repartee of secret handshakes with different missionaries. I don't know how he keeps them all straight.)

We went to Subway after the pageant for a LATE dinner. We had such a great time with Jeffrey, we decided that it would be OK for him to miss a day of school and come with us to Payson and then Snowflake the next couple of days. We had to leave at 5:00 am, so it was a little early for him. He slept most of the way (and his hair showed it), but when he arrived he was all smiles. He joined in on several of the elders trainings-some of the missionaries were using his ideas. He was eager to share his opinions. It was great to see my 7 year old holding his own teaching these missionaries!
After interviews-Subway again and on up the rest of the way to Snowflake.

Jeff had fun feeding the chickens next door to the bed and breakfast-but the best part of the week end was the bed dad made for him in the bath tub. When Mark first suggested it, he was joking, but Jeffrey thought the idea was a great one. He even made me get in and try it out. I'll admit, it was warm and cozy.

Let You Light Shine

I love enjoying the talents that others share. Like listening to the music of the missionaries at firesides. I'm glad they have the chance to offer those gifts while here. Other missionaries put their gifts on hold-hoping that academic/athletic scholarships and opportunities will still be waiting for them at home. These original pastel drawings are from one of the elders that has returned home and is using his artistic ability to help pay for school and support his new family. (You send a photo of a temple you have, and he returns original art for a small fee.)

Wouldn't you love to create like that? Not very many people think themselves creative, but watch this video from President Uchtdorf, be inspired, and then go do something!

The Perfect Mom

Have you ever met someone who you just knew would be a terrific mom one day? I had that experience years ago when we moved into the Antelope Ward. I was asked to substitute in a young women's class and teach a lesson on motherhood and eternal families to a group of girls I barely knew. I had taught lessons before, but felt particularly guided while preparing for that particular Sunday. All of the girls were great-but there was one that stood out that day. I knew the lesson I was teaching and the thoughts that I had been given were specifically for her. From her questions, I knew she'd spent a lot of time thinking about family and motherhood. I still remember the beautiful feeling I had as she talked; the impression that one day she would be an incredible mother. The time is here! Tiffany and her husband Joe are preparing to add to their family through adoption. I know they are going to be wonderful parents. Not long after that Sunday, I had the opportunity to be one of Tiffany's young women's leaders. I watched Tiffany grow up and learned to love her. Later, I also had the chance to come to know-and to know is to love-her mother, truly one of the greatest mom's I think I've ever met. Tiffany had a great beginning and looks forward to a glorious future.

Who will the lucky child be that gets to join such an incredible family and have such a talented, sensitive and outrageously fun mom like Tiffany? I can't wait to find out! I pray it will be soon. Tiffany and Joe-good luck and congratulations!

When I saw this video clip, it brought back so many wonderful memories of when the Sacramento temple was being built, the open house, and the dedication. I can't wait to see it again!

What to do with a left over mango?

This throw together lunch was so good I didn't stop eating to take a picture-so you'll need to use your imagination. While rummaging around the fruit draw, I discovered a mango left over from our departing missionary dinner last week. I'm not sure whether the following inspiration was born of hunger or the mellow mood I've been in today (the kids went back to school this morning and Mark and I only have a few meetings this week, so it's my time to re-group.) or the beautiful mango, but it was delicious.
I pulled out the frying pan and grilled some fish (trying to eat healthy!) in olive oil lightly seasoned with an herbamare (an herbed season salt). Meanwhile I started cubing the mango and also some watermelon I had. (Flip the fish). Oranges are everywhere here-falling off the trees faster than we can eat them, so I squeezed half an orange over the fish and started chopping some cabbage (again with the healthy eating). When the fish was done, I set it aside and tossed some asparagus into the pan with a little more orange juice to deglaze the pan (and some water). While that was steam/sauteing, I chopped some cabbage and tossed it with the fruit. I added a splash of rice wine vinegar, 2 grinds of lemon pepper and a few dashes of tajin (with an accent over the i. It's Mexican fruit seasoning: ground peppers, salt and dehydrated lime juice.) The fish went on top of the fruit salad and the asparagus on the side.
This will be a repeat-I know my kids will love it. For a dinner, I'll beef up the salad a little with some baby spinach and almonds and add some couscous or quinoa on the side.
Aren't you glad spring is here?

Trust your team-mate

We have an awesome missionary named Elder Brucker. He's one that fits the term 'giant gentle'. One of the sweetest young men I've ever met, and he is a giant. Every time I shake his hand, I'm amazed that hands could be so big. Mark teases that he could play hop scotch with the states. Blessed with such a large stature, it's no surprise then, that he played football before he was a missionary. He shared a great football analogy the other day that I'd like to pass along (with his permission).

Elder Brucker played on the offensive line with a great team. They played well together, especially he and the teammate to his right. They knew how to work together. One day, that player was replaced. It was a player Elder Brucker didn't know and that didn't know him. They struggled to work together. They didn't trust each other and so each was trying to do their own job plus the job of the other. As a result, neither position was holding its weight. After a long practice, they finally sat down together to work things out. They came to the conclusion that they needed to trust each other enough to focus solely on their own part in the game. There was an immediate difference and success followed. Elder Brucker related that to missionary work (and we could really relate it to any commandment Heavenly Father has given us). We don't have to do it all, but we must do our part. We leave the rest to God. We express that trust in our Father in Heaven through prayers of real intent and He blesses our efforts. He used the scripture in 1 Nephi 3:7. The prophet's teachings in Words of Mormon 1:7 also fits well and here are a few more.
No one understands better or cares more about our success than our Heavenly Father. He is not only able to help us, but it is his chiefest desire to do so.

Buenas Noches

This is a picture of Amanda and I learning how to cook in Spanish together. Senora Holmes taught us how to make food from where she lived in Peru.

We made Causa Rellna and Palta a la Reyna. My favorite was the Palta a la Reyna.

When we were all done, we made lemonade. I had a wonderful time learning to cook.

Thank you Senora Holmes!

Thyroglobulin....undetectable

Technically, I don't know what it means, but in layman's terms it equals good news. There isn't enough thyroid activity to warrant another radiation treatment at present (and hopefully, forever.) It also means I don't have to do a month's worth of sending my body into hypothyroidism for other tests. Not good news....great news. That's what I brought home from my doctor's visit today.

Thanks once again for the support that we receive from everyone. The photo book my friends gave me when I left has a little caption that reminds me to look through it when I'm dragging. I don't have a lot of time to look through it regularly, but just seeing it reminds me of all the great people rooting for us not too far away. It helps bridge this temporary gap. We appreciate so much the prayers you offer in our behalf. We are doing great-and this only adds to our feelings of gratitude.

We love all our family and friends. A special thanks right now to Shanna and Jeff for caring for our house while we're away so we don't have to worry about anything. And to Stan and Randy and their families for the significant contributions they're making so we can be here. We recognize the sacrifices you are making and the responsibilities on your shoulders in our behalf and can't thank you enough. As you're gearing up for a busy and hectic spring, know we'll be praying for you, too.

We love all of you!