Christopher is back!

After a long absence from the blogging world, Chris is back! However, he had to create a new blog because he couldn't remember his user-name and password. His new blogs can be found at www.topherbillyboy.blogspot.com. Enjoy!

Mission Calls

As many of you know, I am the head cheerleader for sending out missionaries. I feel sorry for those who never get the chance to experience so many things that others will never completely understand unless they become missionaries themsleves. I have been home almost two years and I still think about the people and lessons I learned on a daily basis. It was such an amazing gift to be able to go serve the Lord all day every day for 18 months. Besides the wonderful joy of helping others come unto Christ, a mission prepares you to work hard in school, to start a career, to become a good spouse and parent, etc.

Just last week I found out that one of my ex-coworkers has decided to not go on a mission. It broke my heart because I know that he is a good kid, but at the same time, if you don't go into it full-hearted, then it's best that he not go at all. I just feel sad for him because of all the wonderufl experiences he's going to miss out on. Who knows, maybe he'll pull a Derek: he will be turning 24 next week and he just left on his mission this year.

Last week I was invited to go see Gregalo (Greg Sanderson--Mary's ex-boyfriend and my ex-coworker) open his mission call. I was touched that he invited Chris and I. He has become like what I imagine a little brother would be like: likable, but really obnoxious at the same time as he knows all the right ways to push my buttons! Anyway, Chris, Mary, and I went over to his house as did another 30 of his friends to watch him open his mission call. He is going to the Riverside California mission (I guessed California, so I won $4!). A mission will be great for him, and I think he'll do a great job.

My sister-in-law Lara is planning on a mission too. When she announced that she wanted to go, I was extatic! She will make a wonderful missionary. She has already been doing a great job here at home; one of her good friends Zeb, who is pretty much part of the family already, will be baptized this Saturday morning! Last night she opened her mission call. She will be going to the Canada Alberta mission. How exciting! I just hope all the elders don't fall in love with her. She is absolutely gorgeous and super friendly.

Sometimes I get a little passionate about this sort of thing, but seriously, if any of you are thinking about it, just do it! You won't regret it!

The Spiders Go Marching Two By Two...

So it's finally starting to really feel like fall. The leaves have all fallen from our trees and I get to wear sweaters everday! I love sweater weather!! The one thing I don't like is the fact that all the bugs are trying to find refuge from the cold and come inside our house! We've already had a mouse problem. We set out tons of traps and poison, but our mice are so smart and moved the poison blocks around and ate all the peanut butter off the traps withouth setting them off. We're finally seeing fewer of those annoying devil bugs, aka boxelder bugs. I am scared to walk around the house barefoot because their dead bodies are all over, and live ones are still flying around. But the absolute worst thing in the world are the spiders! Last Saturday we cleaned up our house (we've been so busy that cleaning is the last thing we want to do), and the next day I found an enormous spider on my wall! Luckily I have a wonderful husband who doesn't mind killing spiders for me, so he got rid of it. The next day, there was another nasty one in our big bathtub! When I found it, Chris was at work, and we're out of bug spray that kills them from a distance (that's my favorite way to kill them!), so I just left him there. While I was at school later that afternoon I called Chris to have him kill it, but it had disapeared! Luckily when we got home that night he was back in the tub where I had seen him the first time (or was it just another spider and the original is on the loose somewhere in my closet?!) so Chris killed it. Then this morning I got up and found another big spider in the bathtub and a second one on the wall! Don't they know that they are in our house and they don't belong?! I'm really getting tired of all these creatures moving in! Grrrr.... I know all dogs go to heaven, but I hope that spiders go elsewhere!

Too much on my plate?

Ok, so I'm sitting here at the U's Marriott Library thinking about maybe starting my midterm paper I have to write that's due at midnight, but I just don't want to do it. I feel like my entire life is homework, and as soon as I finish one project or paper, I have a whole stack more waiting to get done. I'm taking 21 credits, working 10ish hours a week, and somehow I'm still alive! We're more than half way done with the semester; in fact, we only have about five more weeks to go! If I can make it through to the end, my reward is a nice relaxing cruise to Mexico in January. We're going with Chris' family as a last Taylor family fling before Lara goes on her mission. Anyway, I think I'll survive. Actually, my classes aren't incredibly difficult. Come to think of it, my last terribly difficult class I had was my first semester in Virginia: Biology at 8:00am. I guess I'm doing alright now because I'm into my major and enjoy all my classes.

Next semester will be another heavy load: 19 credits. However, I will be taking two telecourses and one online course, two of my other courses are only once a week, and then I just have two others twice a week. That means that I only have to go to campus Tuesday, Wednesday evening, and Thursday. It sounds like a fabulous schedule to me! My plan is to finish all my classes by the end of next fall semester, and then in the spring I will be doing my student teaching (that is if I get into the teaching program). So that's the plan! Just call me Wonder Woman!