SO MUCH WONDERFUL

I am so blessed...  and I don 't take the time to document it like I should...  So this post is an attempt to do so....

This is one of my all time favorite views!

I LOVE holding my grandson!

Our dear friends visited us from Colorado.

They are some of the best people I know.

I wish they would move back to Kentucky!

We love the Melansons!

Skittles loves his spit lama from the Bettenhausens!

Ready for church... with this cutie!

He's so dapper!

And I'm so in love!

My sister is beautiful!

And I love this picture of her and her husband from Gary's wedding...

(I so wish I could have been there.)

I count my sisters gorgeous daughters as blessings in my own life too!

Aren't they beautiful?!

And Sheila is "technically" mine now too since she lives with me!

On one of our walks we ran into this guy.

He was about 1 1/2 inches long.

Isn't he amazing?!

And this little fellow hitched a ride on Skittles stroller for almost an entire mile.

I loved him open and folded....

When Raisin showed up in my favorite color, we had to take a selfie!

Yellow Raisin hitched a ride.

We love playing Pandemic Legacy every week with our besties!

We won tonight....

Not sure Starburst helped us win, but we sure think he's cute on the game board.

These guys keep me happy!

I love their smiles!

Homemade peach leather (made with honey) is definitely wonderful!
Sheila and I processed  over 35 lbs. of peaches.

Yummmmm!

This is my happy place... surrounded by kids I love!

Five kids: Apple Pie, Raisin, Starburst, Skittles and Jelly Bean

Look at those adorable baby faces!

I still enjoy kidnapping my Bettenhausen  kids!

We went to see Dora, the Explorer: The Lost City of Gold.

Surprisingly, I LOVED it!

It was just the right amount of silly and wholesomeness.

One of my blessings is Kiara!

I love watching her "mother" her son.

She's a natural!

Often Scott and I joke about getting trained (when stopped at a railroad crossing)

or school bussed (when behind a bus on it's routes)....

So I laughed out loud when Scott send me this picture

with a text that said, "I got goosed."

My husband makes me laugh.

I'm so in love with this guy... AND

this guy!

We are still blessed to work at the temple every Tuesday night together.

My life really is full of a lot of wonderful!

SISTER DeGOOYER - WEEK 7

Hello!

I don't even know where to begin, so much good happened this week that I have been staring at a blank screen for about five minutes. As deliciously contradictory as that sounds, it is true. 

This week I got to wake up at four in the morning, sit in a car for an hour, leave mission boundaries, and visit the Idaho Falls Temple! It was all worth it. We obtained special permission from President to go to the temple with one of our investigators. We were not able to go inside past the small waiting room (Kentucky people, that temple may be bigger but the waiting area is less than half the size of our waiting room.) It was still a really cool experience, especially to go with Shiloh and teach her about what is done inside the house of the LORD. (We will get to go and do baptisms with her in 3 weeks!) 

On the same day as the temple trip, we had a mission wide conference. Which meant all 200 of us came across the corners of the IPM and gathered at ISU to be taught, uplifted, and edified. It was as detailed and enthralling as it sounds. What made it more, was the theme: Polynesian. We went on a trip to Hana, visiting all of the Islands along the way. We learned about the different cultures on each Island and how each relates to the gospel. We had true Polynesian food, a roasted pig being the highlight for me- it was so good! My biggest take away was the importance of Personal Revelation. I recently read President Nelson's talk entitled "Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives." I encourage you all to take his challenge to actively seek revelation for your lives. 

As a part of the mission conference we also saw Piano Guys, which was as incredible as it sounds. The biggest take away from that was how important prayer is. Both of them testified to us that the Spirit is our friend, and that he will help us if we ask and even when we don't ask. They talked about how many times they would get stuck while writing songs and they would immediately kneel, often before the prayer was over they would receive an answer. 

Snapshot of the rest of the week: We met a man named Bob who is pretty cool. We had dinner with second ward which meant we were able to go into the mountains. Someone brought us Cafe Rio. :) Soda Barn x4 (I tried their cookies for the first time and I really don't think that was a good thing.) Transfer calls are next week. Romans 8 is now one of my favorite chapters! Spaghetti dinner at Highschool, it was really awkward. Ward BBQ= deliciousness. I've been baptised for 11 years. 

I've said it and I'll say it again: I love you all! Keep reading your scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. Come Follow Me is pretty cool too. I wish you all a wonderful week, full of all the right challenges that will make you grow, and all the good moments too! 

Sister DeGooyer 

Mission Conference - President and Sister Southward

I got to see Sister Stichart again!  

Temple with Shiloh - she's the one in blue!

The Piano Guys

Polynesian Dancers at our mission conference.

11 years - baptism anniversary

(I remember the little girl in the picture!)

SISTER DeGOOYER - WEEK 6

Hi! It's been kind of a crazy week... I honestly didn't think I'd have time to email today. So it's lucky that I'm here...typing... with that said, it is going to have to be a short one today. 

This week I got to go on two exchanges. The first one was interesting. That is the best word for it. I was in a trio for the day, and lets just say trio's are kind of crazy. One of the Sisters bought me a soda which was nice. We also got to go to Kiwi Loco, which was amazing! A random person paid for us there, and so that was really sweet of her. I'm still trying to figure out what to do when people randomly give me things, it's kind of disorienting. I want them to know how thankful I am, but all I can do is say thank you and say a quick prayer for them. People are genuinely good! 

The second exchange wasn't a full day and night like normal, it was only a couple of hours but it was pretty stressful. It was me and another greenie, and we weren't sure whether we were supposed to be in her area or mine. We ended up spending two hours at a car place, so that Presidents car could get fixed. We painted rocks and got Wendy's frosty's. We jammed to Saturday's Warriors and talked about how much better the older version is compared to the new, so all in all not a terrible day!

We talked to a lot of people this week. We had three other sisters come and stay in our tiny apartment. We made brownies, we received brownies. I met a kindred spirit and a JETS fan! We had dinner with some of the nicest families- only one served us breakfast. ;) We finished off our music fast. We started running around the temple grounds in the morning for our exercise time. We watched a guy accidentally shoot himself with an epipen This week we were missionaries! 

This week I finally realized that I am a missionary. To some of you that statement might sound a little weird, but it is true. Sister Coleman and I were walking down the street, tracting, and I realized that I am a missionary. I've wanted to be one my whole life and now I am. I stopped walking and said "I am a missionary!" She laughed, but it was an exciting moment for me. I love being a missionary! It is rough and hard and so many other things, but already I can see that it is sooo worth it. People slam doors in our faces, but there are other people who listen. I get to talk about Christ ALL day long! I get to hear people's stories, and how Christ has helped them through their struggles. Being a missionary is so much more than what I imagined, so much more! I love it!

Everyone, the gospel is true! Faith is a real principal, and so rewarding. Grace is real! I use it every single day! I encourage you all to work on your faith, to use grace. Take advantage of the fact that you can go to the temple whenever you want. Y'all are so lucky, that is one thing I miss so incredibly much! Go to the temple! Read your scriptures! Pray, pray as if your life depended on it- for me it often does. I love y'all so much! 

Sister DeGooyer 

P.S. This didn't end up being as short as I thought it would...... 

We went on a P-Day hike with this awesome family!

And we discovered how beautiful Idaho can be....

"Whoever said Idaho wasn't beautiful?!" 

(Mom thinks these two gorgeous girls put Idaho's beauty to shame!)

I think Katia picked these flowers just for me!

Saturday night milkshakes!

This is what we do.

P-Day Red Robins Run

I LOVE and miss this beautiful girl!

But I'm sooooo proud of her!

A LEGACY OF LOVE

24 YEARS!

It hasn't all been easy... but it has definitely been worth it!  Everyday is an adventure.  And everyday I know I have someone on my side.  And everyday, I would say "YES" again!  I'm grateful for my eternal companion!  I'm grateful for his humor, his strength, and his insight!  He is my rock!  He makes me a better person!  I can't wait to spend eternity with this guy!

(This is the very first tie I got him!)

SISTER DeGOOYER - WEEK 5

Hi again, it's me! Another week later, and another week wiser... at least I hope. 

There were a lot of good things that happened this week. I got to go on my first exchange, which was super fun! I got to head over to Pocatello for my exchange. You may be thinking, "Hold on, I thought you were already serving in Pocatello." The answer to that is a determined yes, while I am serving in Pocatello right now, I am serving in the Highland portion which basically translates into: the place where most of the rich people live. So all day everyday I get to walk up to these castles and knock on these gigantic and beautiful doors. It also means that you are being recorded every time you knock, ring the doorbell, or step on a porch... fun stuff. Anywho, for exchanges I headed over to Poky West, with Sister Worth. Poky West is an area that is on fire, we taught two lessons the day I was there AND we made three contacts. Sister Worth started off the day saying that miracles happen on exchanges and we definitely saw some! I enjoyed getting to know a different area and new people, but at the end of the day it was good to come home. I don't think a place is truly home until you leave it and come back again. 

We started a music fast this past Friday. Elder Damms (one of our district leaders) decided that as a district we needed to do it and so I am starving from music until next Friday. Anyone who knows me knows that music is my love, and so it has been a little difficult. I didn't realize how much I randomly break into song until we committed to this fast. It's been a good experience though. We listen to Conference talks and we tell stories, which is fun!

Yesterday we met with Shiloh again and discovered that she not only kept her commitments, but she did more. We challenged her to read 1 Nephi 1, and found that she had read clear to 1 Nephi 12. She recounted Lehi's vision and talked with us about what the fruit represents. It was really neat! She has decided that she wants to be baptized on September 7th! Shiloh's story goes to show how much members and their invitations matter! 

It rained FIVE times this week!!! I absolutely loved it! The first time it rained this week, it was during the time we had set apart to tract. Sister Coleman and I ran out into the downpour declaring that we would be blessed for our efforts. While we didn't meet anyone who was particularly receptive, we did meet some people who were willing to hear us bear our testimonies of Christ!

Sister Coleman and I are endeavoring to make this area bloom, and so we are scheduling regular appointments with the leaders in all of our wards. We want to help these wards as much as we can. In this area people know us, they know what we represent, and often times they don't want to hear it. The members are so dedicated here that they talk to their neighbors often about religion and extend frequent invitations. When the non-members see us, they either are really kind or they quickly shoot us down...or both. So Sister Coleman and I are trying to figure out ways that we can be helpful to the members and ward in sharing the gospel. Part of our purpose as missionaries is to help the ward with their mission plan; I am excited to see where this new avenue takes us. 

In my studies this week I tried to really focus on the Spirit. I started reading the Book of Mormon in the MTC with the purpose of looking for the Spirit within the scriptures. I underline anything that has to do with him, his influences, the gifts of the Spirit, etc. This week I got the impression that I should be doing more. So, I have started to go back and read what I've underlined and record what that particular passage/verse tells me about the Holy Ghost. It has been an interesting study and I feel that I have learned a lot. The first insight I found was in 1 Nephi 1: 7-8; from these verses I deduce that the Spirit makes you tired. ;) 

It's about time for me to sign off, but I wish y'all a wonderful week. My scripture for the week was D&C 4:2. I love you all! 

Sister DeGooyer 

"We got Lysol from the housing coordinators!!!  I was so excited!!!"

"My sister got me pizza because she is literally the best human being ever!"

Exchanges with Sister Worth

Sunsets in Idaho

Katia loves them!

One of the members bought pizza...