A note from the editor

I posted 3 new letters today with pictures. For some reason the Feb 11 letter is showing up before the 18th and the 25th. Be sure to scroll down to get all the news!

Holla- Feb 11

Hey Family Hey!!

How is everyone?! LOVED the updates and the emails from everyone! Totally made my day! Thank you for all the support and prayers and positive vibes our way!!

This week hasn't been too event filled. There were a lot of random meetings and things so it was hard to set up appointments and have mind blowing appointments with people, but that's ok, you need a breather every once in a while to remember how amazing it is!

We have loved being in a trio! I love these Sisters so much and sadly Sister King heads back to the Temple Square Visitor Center on Wednesday Morning so then Sister Steadman and I will be one our own. haha A little terrifying! Only because Sister Steadman and I are basically the same person and Sister King balances out our crazy. When we get all worked up or running too fast sister King brings us back to reality hahaha so we will have to work on that ourselves. But I know we will be great!

Fun News!! Ok so remember when I was in Shirlington and I was teaching a lady named Joyce!? Ok well I love her and On saturday she got baptized!!! And I got to go! I spoke on the Holy Ghost and Sang with Sister Berg "How Great Thou Art" it was beautiful, and I was "almost" in tears. but I held myself together! I was a very proud mamma! :) I love her so much and am so proud of her! She is terrified of water, TERRIFIED and so that was one of the biggest things holding her back. It took her a little while to get into the water and then once she got baptized her eye's were still closed and she had her nose plugged and she said, "Am I done?" hahahaha She's great!! So that was the most amazing news from this week! I loved it!

Also we met a kid that goes to the High school, his name is Norwin and we have been teaching him as well, and he came to chruch and loved it. All the boys just took him and took care of him. SO we were grateful for that! But yeah he is great as well.

Oh and Sister King and Sister Steadman both sing! And so we were asked to do a musical number and we Sang "Brightly Beams..." in a three part split, and it was SO much fun!! One of the members recorded us later at his house and so he will be sending that to you momma :) so many sure to share. And a couple members will be sending pictures as well.. haha I love this ward!

Welp, You are all amazing!! I love you all and I hope you have such a wonderful week! I am grateful to be a missionary and have the wonderful opportunities of blessing peoples lives that wouldn't have a chance otherwise. I am so humbled everyday by the amazing acts of service people do for one another, and how much God loves his children! If anyone is feeling sad or alone. First, don't. Second, if that doesn't work :) pray. The power of prayer is real. Ask direct questions and you will be answered. Repent daily and try to be better than you were yesterday, ask yourself how you can be more like Christ, and then try and change! I love change! It's the only constant :)

I love you all!!!

Sister Stones

Tender Mercies Feb 25

Hello Family!!

The Lord is so amazing with all of the wonderful tender mercies that have been coming our way! So on Sunday in Relief Society we talked about the Talk by Elder Eyring Where is the Pavilion and it was JUST what I needed. We have been having a really hard time finding people to teach, and most of the people... ok in reality... ALL of the people we have been teaching decided they were not wanting to continue so... We have gone back to the drawing board. I haven't felt like the Lord has abandoned us in anyway. But I could feel a distance and I for the life of me couldn't figure out how to get closer, all the prayers and studying couldn't do it. And then we had this wonderful lesson. Talking about ways we build our own pavilions between us and the Lord. That he is always there but sometimes because of our own desires and attitude we distance ourselves. And I can tell you as I was listening to the lesson I could tangibly feel my pavilion come down. I could feel the love of my Heavenly Father just encompass me and help me know that it was ok. That He loved us and to keep "planting seeds". Right now is the time for us to plant as many as we can, because of this amazing change in added missionaries there will be more here in no time! So the more people we are connecting to the gospel more people will choose to listen. And I am grateful! I didn't feel that we were going to teach a lot of lessons or that we were going to find lots of people to teach, but I felt that it was ok. And with training, there is some added stress of "needing" to know what to do. Let's be honest. ha I don't have any idea what I am doing. BUT I do know how to listen. and I am learning how the Spirit speaks to me and it is such a wonderful feeling.

So last night we had plans to go and tract all night. But as I was locking the door to the apartment I felt that we needed to go see some members in the ward, Sister Steadman still felt that we needed to tract and so we compromised. We headed to the part member family I felt we were supposed to see. and when we got there, they were eating and so we couldn't stay... I was a little confused why my impression was so strong. SO we prayed to see if their was more we needed to do in that area, and this warm swelling feeling just encompassed my heart and I knew we needed to tract. So we did. And we met the nicest lady! Her name was Camille! We didn't get a return appointment with her or anything, but we for sure planted a seed! It was so amazing! I just love how the Lord works! This is most definitely His work and as we listen and leave our own desires out of it and are humble we will be led by the hand!

I love hearing from everyone and I am so grateful for the wonderful family and friends that have been placed in my life! I wouldn't be who I am today without you!! I love the Lord and I am so grateful to be His missionary!!

Love always,

Sister Stones

 

 

Fun Story... We are the same person.. and have some of the same clothes... hahaha It's hilarious! and I apparently don't know how to button my own jacket!..... love it! ha

 

 

The members in our ward love us and got us valentines presents!

 

SHOUT OUT to Frank for getting me a valentines package!! With Disneyland Popcorn in it!!

 

oh and that's our district!

 

 

Change and Our Potential Feb 18

Hello my wonderful family!!

Happy Valentines day to you all! I hope you had such a wonderful week and day! SO this week has been a little crazy! We had a holiday on monday (libraries closed), exchanges on tuesday, and so here I am on Wednesday writing everyone!

We are on a little downward slope in our teaching pool, so it's been a little rough to try to find people to teach so you all have no idea how amazing it was to hear all of your missionary experiences! I am ok with the sacrifice so that you can all have some more blessings!! :) It's wonderful! PS Dawn and Mom you are my hero's!

We are trying to figure out different ways to be able to find new people. SO if anyone has any ideas we are open for suggestions! :) This message is just so important and everyone needs to have the opportunity to hear it! It will literally change their life! Literally! The blessings that come from fully allowing the atonement to change and transform us into who GOD needs us and wants us to be is just incredible! So why are we so afraid to change?!

My companion from the MTC loved this quote and I love it too and just wanted to share it! WE HAVE SO MUCH POTENTIAL!

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us.

It is not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

[Nelson Mandela's inaugural speech, 1977.]

LOVE THAT!

and I love change! If it is in the right source than we are changing to be more like Christ! And that is the whole point of coming to earth! To be like Christ. To gain a body, and to have experiences that will change us if we let them! We can be SO much more than we can even comprehend! I love my Savior! I am grateful for change! I am grateful for my amazing companion who lets me change! :) We are all capable of it. So let's help each other. Change for Christ. He did so much for us.

I love you all so much and I hope you have the most amazing Week!!

Love,

Sister Stones

Training and Miracles!! Feb 4

Yo yo yo!!

I am training ya'll and she is amazing!! Her name is Sister Steadman from Murry, Utah. She is sent straight from the Prophet aka she is 19! And I love everything about her! I am convinced she was actually sent to train me. haha I love her so much!! And we are SUPER similar it's actually kind of scary. haha She unpacked her stuff and pulled out some chewy caramels and peanut butter m&ms and said these are my favorite, I bought them for the flight over. And I just looked at her and started laughing and said "These are MY favorite!" haha It was quite comical! We are actually in a trio for a couple weeks till Sister King goes back to Temple Square. So we are having lots of fun! Trying to find and teach as many people as possible!

So because sister Steadman has just gotten out of the MTC her spirit is SO strong!! The spirit in our house is just amplified times 10 and I love everything about it! It's funny how when you get into a routine, you kind of get stuck. But you don't even realize it until something happens. I have been doing everything I am supposed to so I haven't noticed, just been "doin the routine". But now I realize I have SO much more to give and I have been loving it!!! And I have seen a difference even just in the work that we have been doing in the 4 days that she has been here! We are so much more prepared and so the Lord is putting prepared people in our path! It's quite exciting really!

We have had a couple amazing lessons because of it as well. We are teaching a man named Tyrone. He is 31 and I have always had a hard time reaching him spiritually. He is so not in touch with that part of himself. He kind of had a freak out a week ago and quite his job and all this crazy stuff, and he is now making more time for us to come and teach. And so we were talking about baptism and how important it is, that Christ, he being perfect set that example and we need to follow. And he understood and said that he would but not yet. That he wasn't ready to give up his "habits". Sister Steadman bore such a sweet testimony about the Lord and how He was helping Tyrone through all of this and he just ate it up! It was the first time in weeks that his spirit was being stirred. We invited him to pray and ask Heavenly Father if the Book of Mormon was true and if he would prepare himself to be baptized at the end of march and he was completely dodging it! He kept saying "Sister Stones you say it. I said last time, and I will say it next time." and I just folded my arms looked at him, smiled and said "Nope, He has heard from me all day, He want's to hear from you." I helped him know what to say and to ask direct questions and bowed my head and closed my eyes. Then he started to pray! And it was amazing... Truly amazing. The spirit just filled the room and as he was praying and after asking a couple questions he said "what is this feeling?!" and then kept praying. HE FELT HIS ANSWER! Amazing. And at the end he said, "I will try and be ready to be baptized in March" and then closed his prayer. We explained what that feeling was and that he could have that feeling every time he prayed and read the scriptures and came to church, That Heavenly Father had answered him through the spirit and.. yeah. It was great!

One more is Ross. He has been taking the discussions since 99 and his wife and kids are all members but he just hasn't felt he has needed to yet. And we taught him on Sunday during Sunday School because he was the only non member there so we told him could ask any question that he wanted to and he asked what the difference between the power of the holy ghost and receiving the holy ghost (we had taught him before but he had just gone to his nephews baptism and so he now had more of an understanding and was more open the the answer) so we explained it to him, and I bore my testimony to him. The spirit was testifying to him the truthfulness to what we were saying and he said he could see himself getting baptized, now more than ever before. He is beginning to understand, and his spirit is beginning to remember and it is now making sense. I don't know what is causing his soul to stir but I am just grateful for the wonderful opportunity to be apart of it. To get to watch the process of someone realizing their true potential and how much God truly loves them! I was so powerful.

I love you all and I know that is gospel is true, and I know with every fiber of my being that this is the Lords church restored to the earth. I know it and I am so blessed to get to share it. I have watched as it has transformed people just by the spirit working with in them. I love you all and I hope you have an amazing week! Till next time!!

Love you,

Sister Stones

PS. I still don't have a camera mine broke so, I am using sister Steadman's Pictures from when she first got here. Once I have a camera you will be getting lots of pictures again!! :)

 

 

Grace Jan 28

Hello family!!!

Oh my goodness I have had such an amazing crazy week! We had a bunch of lessons, and finding, and SNOW, and 20 degree weather, and a BAPTISM :) Fun times that is for sure!! :)

The weather has been COLD!! haha I am so grateful for my Eskimo jacket I bought on christmas eve! It has saved my life!! And being able to drive a car. But I personally love when people say, "Stay warm!" when you knock on their doors and I just want to say, "If we were in your home we would be! :)" hahaha it may or may not work. Maybe this week I will try it and I will let you know! :) hehe But yeah it snowed and we are teaching a couple of men and we couldn't go in their homes because their weren't any females their (mission rules, keeping us safe) and so one of them we taught him in the garage with the door open and the other on his door step, haha. Lets just say I am surprised I still have fingers and toes and they haven't fallen off yet, but hey we taught them and it was great!

Matthew got baptized!! Sister King spoke on baptism and I spoke on the Holy Ghost. It was so much fun to be there for him! He looked so great and so happy and he kept telling everyone, "It was Sister Stones' idea that I get baptized." and then I would say "Matthew it was God's idea I just opened my mouth and asked!" :) haha Love him, he's a hoot. Then on Sunday he was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! Oh lets just say I was a weepy mess the whole time at church, I was just super sensitive to the spirit and LOVE my ward we attend, so it was great!!!

Ok so I have been studying the topic of Grace in my morning studies the last couple days because I have been trying to figure out how to better explain how we are saved by the Grace of Christ. It is just such a misunderstood word and I wanted to know it better so I could explain it better when teaching so when people say, "I'm already saved thanks" and close their door on us, I can know how better to respond. There are two parts to grace, because Christ saved us from two different deaths. One being physical death, which most everyone knows about. He was resurrected so that everyone whether Good or evil will be resurrected and brought before our Father in Heaven to be Judged. The second death is spiritual death. Or when we separate ourselves from God or sin. Which is really hard NOT to do. haha because we are all mortal we sin. That is the one thing that everyone has in common. No matter who you are, what your job may be, or what color skin you have, we will all sin and so we all need to be cleansed from it. It's a fact, when things are dirty you clean them. And if we don't clean it we can't live with God. again. Another fact. SO. We NEED Jesus Christ. Everyone. He is our Savior the only way we may be able to live with God again, to have Eternal life. He has already paid in full, so he sets the requirements of what we do. And when we are following him and doing those requirements we aren't "paying him back" it's already paid. We are obeying because we love him. We obey because we want to become like him. And we obey so that we may desire to change, to rid our self of what makes us dirty so we may one day live with him again. So we may be comfortable in his presence. But we have to be willing to change, to make mistakes and to try again. I pray that I may be able to understand what I need to change about myself so when that time does come when I stand before my Father I can smile knowing that I have done all he has asked of me. That I have become who he needs me to be. I love my Savior. He is my redeemer and I am so blessed to be able to serve him. I know that his Church has been restored to the earth, and I love being apart of it!

I love you all and hope you have an amazing week!

Love,

Sister Stones

PS. Check our this talk!! It is amazing and will change your life. It's short and sweet and to the point. Love you all!

"His Grace is Sufficient"

 

Pictures!!

1.-Matthews baptism

2- dis is muh little friend! :)

3-Don't worry I ate 3 lbs of almonds... I got that for Christmas... that was my last handful :)

4-I am really good at parking

 

Heyo!! Jan 22

Hello Family!!

 

I have had such a week and only have about 10 minutes before the computer kicks me off at the library! haha race the clock see if i can do it. So I will print off everyones emails and write you all next week.

 

This week has been so amazing! On Thursday we had an emergency training meeting that I went to from 8-4 ha it was long, but amazing!! I was learning so much and taking notes like a mad woman! I am thinking I might be training soon... praying that I still have a little more time myself to learn the ropes before I have to teach someone else! But if that's what the lord calls me to do, you know i am more than willing to step up to the call!!

So quick fun story! First I love to tract! I think it is a lot of fun because you never know what you are going to run into! The sky's the limit. I think it's because Sister Rozsa loved to tract and so that's what I "grew up" doing! and because I am a people person. Well usually not much really happens out of it. But this week we knocked on a door and met the most adorable little family! They let us in and we taught them about the restoration and we are going back on friday to keep teaching them! So I will give you the update next monday! But it was 55 degrees outside so we were walking around knocking on doors, and God blessed us with a miracle! I love this work!

We have a baptism on Saturday! So hopefully I will have pictures with next weeks letter about matthew's baptism! :) Love him he is great! ok my time Is up! I love you family! I hope you have such an amazing week and I will hear from you all next monday!!

Love you!!

Sister Stones

SO MUCH NEWS!! Jan 14

Hello fam bam!!

Holy COW so much has happened on your ends!!

By the time I get home everyone is going to be married (Tell Arielle COngrats!!!), and having babies and moving all over the place!! I LOVE everything about everyone's news!!

Ava is B.E.A.U-TIFUL!!! I love her so much and want to kiss her cheeks and hold her all day long!! Momma you have my permission to do that for me when you go and see Dawn. Oh my goodness she is beautiful! I love her already! And sawyer and britton are so adorable with her, those pictures were to die for!

Nothing too exciting has happened this week on my end. The flu has attacked EVERYONE that's about as news filled as it gets. SO we didn't really see very many people haha because we would call so see if we could meet with them and they would hack up a lung and then say "I have the flu" and then I would say "That's the worst. Well hope you feel better, let us know if we can do anything, and let us know when you feel better." and that was that ha. Lame really, but it's ok. :) Just glad everyone is coming out of it! We did have some really great lessons with a few regulars! :) Like Tony. haha he cracks me up. I can't remember who I talk about but Tony is an older black gentleman. He loves his alcohol and cigarettes and says he can't give them up. We haven't even taught him the word of wisdom yet or the plan of salvation for that matter (because he is so caught on random little details). He just know's we don't drink or smoke. And I always say "With God anything is possible!" :) and he say's "I don't doubt that, I don't doubt that at all." haha and then goes on asking about the prophets credentials. haha Silly Tony. It's all click as we keep teaching, because he is open and searching for the truth. He just doesn't really know it yet.

OH I just thought of some HUGE news!! Remember Joyce from Shirlington?!?! She is getting baptized!!! I got a text from the sisters there and jumped up and down and about cried! She is so amazing and me and sister berg are going to sing at her baptism!! She has my heart and I love her!! So many wonderful people are entering into the covenant of baptism and I am thrilled!! How amazing it is to be able to make promises with our Father in Heaven for him to bless us even more abundantly than he already does!! I love it!

Oh and I have been reading Jesus the Christ!! It is AMAZING! Oh my goodness I am just soaking it all up. I have to kind of read it just quick because the vocabulary used is FAR too advanced for my little simple mind to understand haha so I get the gist of it, but the more I read the more I understand! And. it. is. amazing!! And yes it may or may not be the largest book I've ever read. It is the width of my face! But SO worth it!! haha. I love it!!

hmm.... what else? I just love everyone!! I love you all and I miss you and I pray you are all doing wonderfully! I am in 3rd Nephi right now in my book of mormon reading, when Christ is teaching the people in the America's and I am just in awe at his love for us. He just day's before suffered and died for everyone of these people (including us) and then is their teaching them, healing them, and loving them unconditionally! He looks past their shortcomings, and forgives them. He has paid the price and knows them personally. I pray that I am able to use the atonement to become a new person everyday! Striving to be more like my Savior, more kind, charitable, and understanding. He is the ultimate example and I am forever in gratitude and awe of his wonderful and amazing sacrifice. I am just beginning to scratch the surface at understanding just what the atonement encompasses and I can't wait to let it change me. To be the daughter that He sent me to be. I am a daughter of a Loving Heavenly Father. I know that I can overcome anything I want to change about myself and allow the atonement of Jesus Christ to work in my life. I love you all, and I pray that each of you takes time to listen when you pray tonight. Recognize just how close the savior is to you. He loves you and know's what you need! We just have to ask, seek, and knock. Aka ACT! This is a gospel of action. The blessings can't some until we have put in our own effort, but once we do they WILL come! I love my Savior!

Come what may and love it!

Love,

Sister Stones

Holla! Jan 7, 2013

Hey family hey!!

I love you all so much and I am doing great! I don't have a lot of time! We still have to go shopping for food for this week and my brain is a little fuzzy! I woke up a couple days ago with a cold and my mind has just been fuzzy ever since. It's been a little hard teaching lessons and things of that nature, like being a missionary, haha because my mind is just so much slower than I want it to be.

Sister King and I are doing wonderful and seeing lots of miracles! Our investigator Matthew (used to have bright green hair) is getting baptized at the end of this month! He is so great and we are so grateful to be teaching him! We are teaching a man named Tony who I love teaching because we are just real with him. We put him on date for the end of January and when I reminded him he said "You mean to tell me you think I will be a mormon by the end of this month?" I said "Yup because God can do anything." and he looked at me started laughing and said, "you know you are right." so we are going to try and see him 2 times a week to really help the spirit influence him and help him recognize the truth. We taught the plan of salvation and we only got to the first little part because he was so into the lesson haha I love him. We have had some really spiritual lessons with some other people investigating as well. Ross is a man who's wife and 3 kids are all members and he has been going to church for the last 20 years and has been taking the lessons since 99 but has a hard time committing. We invited him to pray and look at a calender and choose a date for himself and he said he would and then when he was praying and closing the lesson he asked Heavenly Father to help him know what he needed to do. The spirit was so strong and he got choked up. And of course I cried, but that's just what I do. haha I love teaching such wonderful divers people!

Welp we need to get goin! I love you all! And I am so grateful for you all! My camera broke this week and so I don't have any pictures but I will hopefully get one next monday and you will get to see all these wonderful people!! :)

Love you all so much,

Sister Stones

PS. I challenge everyone to bear their testimony this week to someone about the gospel and the write me and tell me all about how you felt and what you learned!! LOVE YOU!!

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE!!! 12-31-12

WHAT IS UP MY GOOD LOOKIN FAMILY!!?!

I LOOOOOVED seeing everyone!! I literally felt right at home, everyone talking all at the same time, kids yelling and crying and whining in the background, everyone cracking jokes/not paying attention, malfunctioning computers. mmm paradise! hahaha I love it so much! Seriously I cried when I saw everyone, and cried for like .2 seconds when I had to say goodbye, but was totally fine and went on my merry way. haha SO many tender mercies! I love this area, I love my companion, and I love the members in our ward. Everyone made sure we had a place all day so we weren't ever alone. :) The Adam's family took great care of us and are such wonderful people! They feed us all the time and they love the missionaries so much! After I talked with everyone we went to another family's home to their "Second Annual Talent Show" haha they are a riot! We sang a christmas song to join in on the fun. Ate guacamole (delish) and their daughter got us footed pajama's!! Say what?! I was so happy! I had been saying how I needed to get some and there they were! haha Don't worry I've worn them every night, they keep my reeeal warm. haha. We talked with Sister Kings Family and then had dinner with another super cute family in the ward. All in all It was a wonderful day! OH an Darlene (from my first area, who has my heart) called from the shirlingtons sister's phone and wished me a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! aahhh literally putting a cherry on top of a wonderful day! SO many tender mercies, I love my Heavenly Father! He takes good care of me.

On top of that we have had a great couple weeks! My new companion is Sister King! She. is. amazing. She draws, and sings, and knitts, and is really great at sharing the gospel! She is from the Temple Square mission but is on her outbound here for a couple months and I love having her! This week we have been doing a lot of knocking on doors and going through our area book to try to find new/more people to teach! And it has been a hoot! It is freezing and most of the time it feels like I am walking around with nubbs for feet because I can't feel my toes, but it's totally worth it! We met a man the other day while tracking, his wife passed away a month ago and he was SO willing to let us come in and talk with him. I gave him a Book of Mormon to read and told him a little about Gods plan for us and for our families and set up a time to come back and teach him (we couldn't go inside because their was no female home, safety reasons), but he was so thankful and so humble and my heart just broke listening to him, but as we walked away the spirit filled my soul with Joy! We are going to teach him and he will get baptized! Then he can do his wife's work and when he goes through the temple he can be sealed to her! And if his boys (13 and 22) learn with him they can all be sealed as a family in the temple! I love this gospel so much! I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth! The same one he established himself. He is still at the head and he is still leading and guiding us! I know that we have a prophet on the earth to lead us, and as we follow his council we can be blessed and receive comfort in this world of turmoil! I know that the authority of God, his Priesthood Authority, has been restored so we can perform the saving ordinances required for salvation. I know that my Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for me... and for every person who has and who will live on this earth, so that we can overcome anything life throws at us! And I know that it is only through Him that I will be able to live with my Father in Heaven again! I love my savior, I love this gospel, and I love being a missionary, to share even with one person the wonderful gift God has given us. Hope.

Let us go out and share this hope. Think of the people that you know that NEED this gospel but "don't know how to find it". Be that chain be the link that helps them come back to the fold, there is one shepherd and he needs us. I love this season and I pray to keep it with me all year! Make a new years resolution to share the gospel more. Open your mouth, be an example, stand out of the crowd, be the light in the darkness! I love you all so much! You are in my prayers and I hope you have a wonderful New Years!

Love you,
Sister Stones

Picture Descriptions
1 and 2- I LOVE US!! We danced around the house in them :)

3: Free Cafe Rio Christmas Eve (members behind us in line bought is for us! they were so kind!)

4: My winter coat (and my fat kid smile haha)

5: Christmas presents

6: Jonathan's Street, and the next one down is Fantasia St. (don't worry theirs also a windsor way, a sandys Ct)

7: CHRISTMAS TREE

8: me and Curtis :)

9: Me and Sister King

10: We glued together a little gingerbread house :) hehe (sister Merkley Sent me a package with a bunch of decorations in it!)