Making Our Mark

Mission preparation were in full force
when we arrived. 

My parents made list after list after list since February.
I think they filled 3 yellow legal pads.

They pruned the orchard and ornamental tree
and then burned the limbs over 3 plus weeks

falling into bed exhausted.

They had a yard sale over 3 weekends.

They took donations to Deseret Industries.
They gave their children all the things they've been storing for them.
They went through every nook and cranny of the house.

My sister came and stayed for one month to help my Mom.

In their cleaning out, they found a mouse family.

The mouse family had to relocate.

So many other things happened and were crossed off the lists.

 One of the last things was pouring a few patches of cement.

They invited all of us to put our hands in to remember.

My brother helps Miss Liv by making her mark.
Miss Liv is wonderful!
She makes an impression on everyone that meets her.

I remember as a child how exciting it was to put my hands

in wet cement.

I was making my mark in the world so as to not be forgotten.

Underfoot watches how his Dad does it.

We've never done it before in our family.

Sweetheart helped Underfoot.

Hurricane was eager to put his name in the cement.

He grabbed the screwdriver and was focused.

He got to make his mark with screwdriver.

I'm a little too tight wound to let him just do it on his own.

Big D places his hand.

My Mom turned her wedding ring around to make the impression.

She wants the world to know she's married.

The funny part is that she is being proxy for my sister in this picture

who wasn't there because of living East of the Mississippi.

My brother served as proxy for Dr. S, my brother-in-law.

But when he made his mark he used the opposite hand.

Auntie R attempted to make a heart with her and my brother's hand prints.

If you look at it from the other direction, it is totally a heart.

Big D caught a butterfly during this process.

Auntie J loves butterflies.

She held onto the butterfly as it stayed on her hand.

We commerated the beginning of the mission by making our marks.

Over the next 3 years, we all hope that many other marks will be made.

For each of us.