Big News

This was a big week in the lives of our family! Garret got his mission call, Ben and Becca found out what they are having, and Merrick decided he is a grown-up. Here is a round-up of all the big news:

Big piece of news #1-Garret got his mission call. He has worked really hard for the last year to save money and has planned to pay for his whole mission himself. This past week his call finally came and we all (Jeremy, Merrick, and I in Oregon and Jensen in New York) got on the phone for the big announcement. His is going to be going to Tacoma, Washington, Spanish speaking. We are so excited to have him so close, it will just be hard to resist the urge to visit all the time. He is going to be a great missionary and the people of Washington are lucky to have him.

Big piece of news #2-Ben and Becca found out what they are having. It turns out that most of the family was wrong and they are having a BOY. Just for the record, Jeremy, Merrick, and I all thought it was a boy, but we were outnumbered 15 to 9. They had a big reveal party with blue and pink cupcakes. They told us there was something in one of the cupcakes that would tell us if it was a boy or a girl and that whoever found it got to make the announcement. We all tore in and soon Lauren was screaming. She had found a blue butterfly in her cupcake.

Big piece of news #3-Merrick has decided he is a grown-up. Okay, this really isn't anything new and is not really the same caliber of news, but I really just can't help but talk about it. One day this week Merrick decided he wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. Not only did he want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but he wanted to make it himself. I don't think it is a big secret, but I don't really like messes so the idea of Merrick making his own PB&J kind of freaked me out. It turns out he actually did a great job. I don't know how it happened because just a few months ago he couldn't eat a PB&J without making a huge mess (you all saw the pictures), but now, like I said, he is a grown-up and can make his own sandwich. I am not sure what happened to my baby, but I am so proud of the big boy he is becoming.

It has been a crazy week with lot of big new and announcements! We are so proud of Garret and so happy for Ben and Becca.