Welsh Festivals-American Idol

So it is Friday, June 26, 2009,I am listening to Shalae sing karaoke. She is practicing for tonight for Malad Idol at the Welsh Festival activities. Well you know me I am giving her advice since I am such a pro at singing. LOL
Mark and I are really busy we need to go to Logan to get some things for family that will be arriving Saturday or Sunday. We can't wait to see them so I can write about them. Brynn stayed the night with us, it is such a joy to have her around. She comes up with the funniest things. Anyone or anything with Thomas in it she is a fan of Thomas. She is proud to be a Thomas.
The girls are finished with summer school and now they can have even more fun since they got that out of the way. But Brynn is playing softball and also involved with swimming. She can hit that ball. I love to whistle real loud when she is out there, she gets a big grin on her face.
I need to go to the store Allen Drug to have Shay perform for them to see if they have any advice for her.
SHALAE goodluck tonight sing your little heart out. You are always a winner because for one you tried out. It shows me you have faith in yourself. Have fun. Love Mom, Mark, and Brynn. And I am sure the Romo family and Brian and Lyndsie wish you luck.

Elder McKinley Email Spirit of God‏

From:Kody McKinley (elderkodymckinley@myldsmail.net)

Sent:Mon 6/15/09 6:36 PM

Sing: Lead Kindly Light Alma 40:30 ???

Reporting Week 3 of Transfer 6 (His new companion Elder Wall is from Heber he knows the Mairs. He was suprised that Micheal is serving a mission. I think we all were but he is doing good and loves it. We are all proud of him. Aunt Amy knew he would. She always told him "You would make a great missionary some day. You have the gift to talk to people and make friends with that some people can't; you have that personality like me.) In parenthesis Amy Added this, this was not in Kody's email.

So this past week was amazing: Damian & Tiffany Lee: This couple was married last January (that doesn't happen often). They haven't lived in the area long. Actually, Elder Dickson and I tracted into them last transfer and they were really cool. They were what I call "frosted flakes" (sweet but flaky) They would never set up an appointment with us. After a few times going over and nothing happening, we dropped them. Then this week I had the feeling to go visit some of the frosted flakes. As we went to the first person I thought, "why are we even visiting these people? I'm sure nothing has changed." The first guy did not answer. I thought I should not even waste my time, but for some reason I drove over to the next Frosted Flakes who were Damian & Tiffany. They have 2 girls: McKenzie(6) and Madison(4 and ADHD). We went and talked to them just like before. We found out that Damian was laid off. I bore testimony to him about the gospel and asked if they would like to come on a church tour. They accepted. That was a firstThey went on the tour and we used Michael and Kellie as fellowship. They wanted to find a good church to instill morals in their children. Tiffany started crying towards the end of the lesson and I handed Damian my scriptures and had him read Mosiah 18:10 (which is about baptism) and asked if they would be baptized on the 21st of June. With no hesitation Tiffany said, "Yes." Damian, "Yeah."It was a spiritually powerful lesson. All lessons are supposed to be like that lesson! They are the new and improved Michael and Kellie. They're married, they read the Book of Mormon chapters we give them (and actually have started from the beginning). They even are enduring despite the anti-influence of Tiffany's brother-in-law. Every time we go over they invite us right in. It amazes me how lame they used to be and out of nowhere they are into it. They love the Book of Mormon. Katie Iverson/Joey Mason: They both were confirmed on Sunday. I confirmed Joey in Adna Ward and Elder Wall confirmed Katie in Chehalis Ward. Katie is solid. Joey would be solid if his parents were. We are working on them. Juliette: She is the daughter of Arely who was baptized on May 24th. Juliette was supposed to be baptized with her mom, but Satan, thru her brother Merlin, stopped her from being baptized. We have met with her multiple times and she would say that she wanted to wait. I am not leaving this place without her being baptized. She wanted it so bad in the beginning and still does.Well Arely was baptized the last week of last transfer. Then the first week of this transfer Joey was baptized, then Katie the second week. Our baptism that was supposed to happen on the 14th Andrew fell off. I want to baptized every week of this transfer. Someone had to be baptized on the 14th. We set up an appointment with Juliette for after church. The goal: baptism that night. Patriarch Larsen was there because he is their home teacher.It was just like all the other lessons. When we brought up baptism she would go silent. We found out that she was going to fly out to Switzerland next Sunday for 5 wks. She had to be baptized before that. I can't remember what was said. The spirit spoke and she ended up saying, "Sabado." THIS SATURDAY!!! Sabado means Saturday in spanish. Brown's: UBC's baptism on for the 20th. Brianna (11) and Nathan (10) Iakopo (Jake) Tausa: Inactive Samoan guy who is way cool and has a non-member wife. We are going to start teaching her this week. We had 8 investigators at church on Sunday. These are all legite investigators. That is very good number. I have never had that many at church before. Chehalis is on fire. The spirit of God like a fire is burning.We did not baptize this last week, BUT we have 5 for this weekend! :-) Pray for Juliette's baptism that it will go through, and that Merlin will not interfere or find out. God is LOVE,ELDER MCKINLEY

Busy Summer

I am catching onto this but I am sure there is still a lot to learn. But it's coming with the help of my daughter-in-law and also the help from my husband. So you know what is going on in everybody else's life but mine. Well when I married Mark I moved to a new ward. So I am in the Malad Fourth Ward and the Bishop is brave he gave me a calling (a job in the church) not just one but two. I am the director over girls camp and also Personal Progress advisor. WOW can you say a lot of work and I mean hard work. Packing the girls up and taking them to the mountains. Did I mention the girls are between the ages of 12 and 18 that I have to work with and one of them will be my daughter. They know everything but I sure hope I can make a fun memory they will always remember like I did with my youth advisors when iI was younger. I hope to teach them the things they need to know to survive in the wilderness or just to survive their peers and the pressure. So girls camp will be July 9th thru the 11th. Please pray for me that I will not go crazy. LOL
Also I am excited for Jennifer and her family to come and be with us for the 4th of July and also to go to Lagoon. Jennifer is Mark's daughter, her husband Neil and the two children Jessica and Nathan. It is fun to get together so I can get to know them better and its also fun for Shalae and Brynn. And Grandpa Mark gets so excited he can hardly sleep before they get here. He loves to see his daughter and the kids, he would also like to see Neil. Neil is a good guy and a very very hard worker. Well I better go I have to go to work early so I can get off early to take Mark to the Doctor. He is having a small procedure tomorrow. They are going to stretch his esophagus and go down with a small camera and view his stomach and small intestines. I am not sure what that procedure is called. K thats enough I will report later.
I would like to add more to this my sister will be coming for the 4th of July also they come from Maywood, Nebraska. It is nice to be able to see my little sis and her husband that has been so good to me while I was single. He has been very good to my children and they love him a lot. We sure miss them now they live in Nebraska. They used to live in Pocatello. Shalae loves her cousin Tess and likes it when she comes and Trent we like seeing him but he has grown up. We might not get to see them very much.

Honeymoon/Vacation

Well I have not been on my blog spot for awhile, people have been giving me a hard time. For one, I am still new at this and don't have a lot of time to keep up with it. But I do enjoy seeing Jennifer's and Lyndsie's blog spot and seeing the kids. Mark's grand kids are really growing up and of course the best looking kids around.

We have a busy summer and hope to be able to spend sometime with the grand kids. We have accomplished a lot since we have been married. I really enjoyed our honeymoon in San Diego and the Baha Cruise. What a great time with family and friends. I never laughed so hard in my life. The people that went with us were Monte and Lajuana Thomas (Mark's parents), Joe and Euarda Daniels (family friends), Molly and Tony Whitman (my sister), Brian and Lyndsie Thomas (Mark's son), Annette and Verlin Williams (Mark's sister), friends Louie and Leslie Hanson, and Jennifer Putnam and her husband, also friends.

I LOVE MEXICO and the wine tour in Ensenada. (lol hee hee) We had a great time. In Tijuana, Lyndsie and I were a little nervous about being taken away as hostages. I had my cell phone ready to call, not sure who but someone.

Shalae and Brynn are finished with DANCE for the summer. We went to many events to see them perform. It was lots of fun seeing both of them smile and get better every new performance. Shalae is becoming an old pro at it. Brynn is in her first year. Shalae has been earning some $$ babysitting more since school got out.

Shalae is taking summer school 4 days a week for 4 weeks and so is Brynn. Brynn is very happy to have Shalae close by and to help her get home afterwards.

Mark is home for 4 weeks currently with a walking cast due to the damage to his ankle. Work won't have him there until he has a full release from the Orthopaedic Dr. I am trying to get him to accomplish stuff around the house.

Well, that is all until next time or till I have something exciting to write.