I Hope They Call Me . . .!

It's been far too long that a ? filled water bottle has been my lead blog. And so much has happened in our lives (my excuse for not blogging) that I'll never catch up - so i'll just skip to our most recent exciting news (hoping to catch up on other events later - ha ha!) 

We have a missionary son again!!  You'd think after having two other sons get mission calls that I'd be used to the nerves, the anticipation, the WAITING for the call to come in the mail. Ha! After the papers go in the butterflies in the stomach begin! And this is our youngest child (oh, no - I can't start with the "my baby" stuff - i'll make myself hurl!) From the time they are Sunbeams a little boy learns to sing "I hope they call me on a mission when I have grown a foot or two!", but not until you put in the papers does the reality set it! I hope they call me on a mission - but WHERE IN THE WORLD will they send me???

Here is that boy - no MAN - Bryce C. Leininger, age 18 3/4, - dressed in missionary garb for the mission paper photo. But taking this picture is the easy part. It's the medical exams, dental exam, wisdom teeth (or tooth in his case) extraction, forms and more forms, Bishop and Stake pres. interviews etc. etc.  When the final signature is signed and the final button is pushed (everything on internet now) the wait begins - and compared to when things were all done by snail mail - it's really very fast. (we're just spoiled these days)
Finally the day arrives (and my pics are in reverse order as usual) and the call is in his hand. Bryce loves to torment us if he can. He let us get the envelope out of the mailbox  because he was at work - but if we even thought about opening it - well I will not tell you the consequences he threatened us with (they could keep him from going on a mission!) So we waited - patiently? until he came home from work. (holding the envelope up to the light doesn't work by the way)
Yes, his father was at the mailbox when the post man drove up to deliver the mail. Here he is proving that it has arrived and he is following instructions to NOT OPEN IT (feel it, steam it open etc. etc.) (Hurry and get home Bryce!)
Bryce does arrive home and then, as planned and in following a tradition set by his older brothers, Bryce takes the envelope and drives away to open it in private somewhere. This is probably exactly what I would do if I was getting a call - so I could adjust for a minute before telling everyone else - but for us!! It's like payback for the hot-chocolate torture on Christmas morning!(drink all your hot cocoa before you get to see what Santa brought!) Arggg - we can't wait to know!!!!
WELL . . .  He comes in the door  - he is excited, jumping up and down (good signs!) and loves that he knows where he's going and we don't yet!! Finally he reads us the call which has at the bottom Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley's name - probably one of the last groups of mission calls to carry his signature. It's wonderful! 

Here is Steve and Lucy's reaction! Hooray, Bryce is going on a mission to. . . . oh I'll carry on the tradition and make you wait until my next blog to know. (which will be right away and be on top of this so it's no fun!)