Happy Birthday Elizabeth and Elder Peterson

I started out my 44th Birthday by going with Kefford to the Polls and voting. 

I got a lot of fun messages and pictures wishing me a Happy Birthday on our family group chat, they were fun to see throughout the day.

Rylee and Avynlea made me a Happy Birthday sign which was super cute.

Avynlea had her Senior pictures scheduled for this day so I went with her to do that and then after we were done we me Rylee and Kefford at Tin Roof Tacos for dinner. I love Tin Roof and always get two number 4's and a chips and salsa.

After eating we came home to have cake and open presents. 

I got new dishes that are so pretty and are from the Pioneer Woman collection, I love her stuff!

Avynlea had Kenedy on the phone who was joining in and watching the present opening

Kefford bought me an electric hand warmer which will be nice to have at those cold football games.

I was surprised with some new Jordans, they are the prettiest yellow color and I was so excited to open the box and see them. At first I thought it was a prank and Kefford wrapped up my white Jordans to prank me so I was really excited to open the box and see the yellow ones.

Kenedy bought me a cute Shacket, jacket plus shirt=Shacket, and I love it a lot , it so so cute and cozy to wear.

Heather sent me The Princess Bride boardgames and I am really excited to play that game, she is going up in a few weeks so we will have to learn it and play it together.

Elder Peterson and his Companion were invited over to the Harrises for his Birthday dinner, they fed them amazing burgers and gave him a card, a tie and some fun socks. I am so grateful for kind members who took the time to help Ryker celebrate his special day.

 

Avynlea Senior Pictures

Avynlea first got Senior Pictures taken by Kam Kelly, he does mostly videography but also does pictures. He is a friend of Avy's and was having a deal on pictures so we booked him for some pictures. I wasn't able to be there for the picture taking but Kenedy went and they had fun. Avynlea wasn't too thrilled with the pictures when she got them back so we asked Pheonix a girl who was on Avy's cheer team her Junior year and is now doing photography to do some pictures. Phoenix had an opening on November 8th, my birthday, so we went ahead and booked it. I was able to be at this shoot and thought Pheonix did a great job and took some really great pictures. She had me jump into a few of them for some Mother/Daughter pictures which was fun. I got a picture of Phoenix taking one of the photos and then the second picture down is a picture I took of Avynlea to make sure she liked the look of her outfit. We were using the Traverse as a changing room and we did not have a full length mirror for Avynlea to use.

Pictures by Pheonix Rae...

Pictures by Kam Kelly...

 

Elder Peterson Week 61

 Oh yeah. We did it again. We were conveniently at the office when TLC (training for new missionaries) was going on again. Unfortunately we didn't get a free lunch this time, but it was still awesome. I got to see Elder Frogley and Elder Paulsen and talk with them a bunch. I don't think I've seen Elder Frogley in a while, so that was a tender mercy. We also had a bunch of missionaries asking us for help with technology problems they have. Now, I don't mind. I really don't. But it gets a little old when people come to you with problems that you've explained how to fix many times already. *sigh* oh well. I enjoy helping people, so I just go along with it. This transfer we actually haven't been to the office very much. I've figured out how to do everything pretty quickly, so the only reason we really go now is so I can teach Elder Dodge how to do everything. I've also made a ton of tutorial PowerPoints, so he should be good for when I leave.

     On Saturday our zone did a large blitz where a bunch of companionships switched for a couple hours and we all went into the 3 Kingwood areas to try to find people to teach. Elder Colt and I went to the top of my area and walked around for 3 hours. It was a ton of fun because Elder Colt and I get along very well. He's actually from Kuna, Idaho (which is right below meridian), so we were able to talk about some places back home. We walked for a while and it was looking like we weren't going to find anyone that would be interested in meeting with us, until we met D'Angelo. This kid is walking around the neighborhood playing Pokemon Go on his phone and then he notices us and goes "Hey, are you guys from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?" We said yes and then he told us that he went to the Kingwood 2nd ward when he was really young, but his family doesn't go anymore. We talked with him for a while and had a cool conversation. He has had a really tough life and knows that religion is important. He told us about how he wants to learn more about God, because he knows it's important to learn about Him. We gave him a Book of Mormon and asked him to read Ether 12, which he agreed to do. D'Angelo is 13 and he is a super cool kid. 

     That was the only conversation we had with someone, but it was awesome. Elder Colt and I had a fun time working together, I'd be down to be companions with him in the future.

     Which probably means we won't 

     Yesterday we had the first lesson we've had in a while. We met at the church with a kid named Austin. He's a senior at one of the highschools here and he is a goliath. 6'8" and at least 300lbs. He plays football for his school (obviously) and apparently he's super good. We found out he is also a very spiritual guy. He has super good questions and we had a super good conversation with him. At the end of our discussion we shared a Book of Mormon with him and invited him to read it and pray about it. He actually seemed pretty excited to do so. We're praying that he won't get distracted too much and that he'll read it like he said he will.

     I think this is one of the hardest parts of missionary work for me. Watching people get so close to receiving that spiritual witness and then hearing that they "didn't have time to read" or they forgot about it. Not only is it a simple thing to do, read a chapter and pray, but it's soooooo important. Gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon is so important for people who are seeking truth. The answers to the questions of the soul are contained in this book and everyone is invited to simply look for it themselves. Find out for yourself if it's true! 

     I could go off about that for a while, but I'll spare you the rant.

     I know it's true, and I know ANYONE can know it's true. Only if they put in the effort and seek an answer from God. I'm so grateful to have a testimony of the Book of Mormon and of the restored church of Jesus Christ. My Savior means everything to me, I so desperately want others to have the same relationship with Him.

BTW, tomorrow is my Mom's birthday. Send her a happy birthday 

Until next week, stay cool.

-Elder Peterson

Two of these pictures were taken at a Halloween party we went to last Monday night. It was fun.

Broom Hockey

For Mutual they had a combined activity with the boys and it was broom hockey. My girls didn't want to go thinking it was going to be dumb and boring but they went and had so much fun! Kefford was there and he took some pictures of all of the action. Avynlea is in a Gray Weber State Cheer t-shirt and black joggers and Rylee is wearing a blue and gray sweatshirt and black leggings.

I think Rylee drew this side profile picture of Avynlea during church on Sunday, looks like Avynlea is not too pleased with how it looks.

Ashleigh's family all have November birthdays and instead of celebrating separately she made it easy this year and did one Birthday Party for all of them. She asked me if I would create the invite for her, I was a little sad knowing I wouldn't be able to be at the party but I did have fun creating the invite and it turned out so cute!

 

Day of the Dead

Heather gave me this cute Day of the Dead Lego girl and I loved putting her together and then loved even more having her on my ofrenda. She is so cute and is the perfect addition to my Day of the Dead decor. 

While at Disneyland I bought these cute Coco dishes just so I could use them during our Day of the Dead celebration. They also had bowls which I was really tempted by but ultimately I decided to get the plates. I did love those bowls though.

We celebrated Dio De Muertas by watching Coco and eating the favorite treats of our ancestors. 

Grandpa Max: Fig Newtons, Grandpa Farrell: Werthers, Grandma Marge: Almond M&M's, Grandpa Lutes: Pumpkin Bread, Grandma Lutes: Chocolate Cake, Dad: Pinwheel cookies and Grandma Ware: Popcorn Balls