News about Bobby...

I try to post a weekly update of our son's emails to this blog so he doesn't have to mail out massive mailings and you all can come here to read up on his current well being and adventures as a LDS missionary. Tuesdays are his P-days (preparation day) and is when we get his emails. So when I'm on top of things by the next day or so I have it posted.
This week we also received an email from the Rider family whom Bobby was working with in his last area. He got special permission to go back there to attend the temple and be a witness for their sealing on the 17th. I've included her letter to us and a few pictures to share. It's wonderful to see such happiness and know our 'Bobby' was apart of it!
Love ya SON!

Here is Sister Riders email:
Hi Sister Jones;

I wanted to let you know that we were able to attend the Salt Lake Temple on the 17th. It was absolutely wonderful. We barely made the date because I had to wait for my sealing cancellation. It arrived on Friday the 13th. Definately a lucky day for us.

We were especially blessed to have your son with us. He is truly a blessing to our family.I'm sending a few photos. All I can say is "Thank you" to you and your family for the sacrifice of having your son so far from home.

Tammy Rider & the entire Rider family

Mr. Green Thumb

Spring has arrived and summer is trying to bud her way into our weather patterns which means it 's that time of year again...the infamous planting of the garden!
Last summer we let the garden plot sit for a season due to Rob's busy work schedule on the slope, and me and the girls were out of state. So when he went to get the soil ready, it was a big mess! He ended up renting a rottotiller (since ours was broken) and spent a good part of a day preparing the soil, digging through almost 6-8 inches of sod & weeds. It's amazing how fast the land tries to reclaim itself without constant tending to.
We also have two long rows of raspberry bushes along the one side of the garden and Rob found shoots off those all the way to the middle of the 25' x40' garden area. He promptly gave the raspberry bushes a 'crew cut pruning' and dug up all traces of weeds and such to make his cute little rows for his seedlings and seeds.
excitedly Rob went to the local Wagon Wheel store to purchase the seedlings he wanted and dug out his seed stache to plant from, but...........
There was so much to do in the past few weeks that finding time to actually PLANT the garden seemed to slip by, day after day, Rob was so frustrated! So finally, just days before flying back up to the slope for work, he snuck out to the garden, (after already putting in 10-12 hours of other work) he'd start digging away and planting.
I would watch him from the girls back room window TOTALLY engrossed in his hobby, content and happy to be playing in his DIRT. He'd come in exhausted, stained with black knees and hands but content.
How my man loves his dirt! Now the trick will be to keep watering and tending to the precious little green things till they are big and strong and we can EAT THEM in the late summer and fall.
To all the Green Thumbers out there...we wish you plenty of RAIN, and lots of SUNSHINE to nourish your efforts!