Thursday, May 16, 2013

We received word yesterday that Luke arrived to his mission in Birmingham from the Preston MTC, and was assigned to the town of Stroud.  His companion's name is Elder Wood.!

Elder Wood and Elder Houghton

Oliver Wood?




We're huge "Harry Potter" fans at the Houghton home.  Thus, the news that Luke, in England,  had been assigned a training companion with the name of Elder Wood brings this to mind. 


Hope Luke learns to be a great "Seeker."  

Denise

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

2 Down, 3 to go!

Luke's off!  We dropped him off at the Sacramento airport at 4:00 this morning, and away he flew!  In the man time, we visited teh Sacramento temple last night and did some family baptisms before we took a few hours of sleep and then said goodbye.  Going to the temple was a wonderful way to spend our last day with Elder Houghton!
 In the mean time, on Saturday Mom helped put on a service project for our church, while Dad supported the girls at their VOL league swim meet!  Tess came in 2nd in the 500 free, and Marta finished 2nd as well for her 100 backstroke- dropping her time to a 1:05!

Our cousins the Murphys came up for barbecue and an evening of fun on Saturday... oh, and they volunteered to do dishes!
 On Sunday we spent the afternoon eating and chatting with extended family from California- Caitlyn's on the left, then Macky, Luke, and Jacklyn, with Riley laying on top!
 Sunday Luke spoke in Sacrament Meeting, and we had an Open House/Missionary Farewell in the evening- complete with ice cream sundaes, light sabers, and wrestling!
 After the party was over and the family had left, Luke got to work doing some serious sorting and packing.
Tuesday we packed the suitcases into the van, and headed down to Modesto where Luke was set apart by President Marshall.  Then we drove to the temple, and now we have come full circle back to the beginning of the post!

Life goes on with school, swimming, signing up for college classes, work, senior projects, cooking, church activities, band practices, parades, AP tests, and more!  We will miss our latest missionary, but we know that he is where he needs to be!

If you wish to keep up with Luke on his mission, his emails and any photos he sends will be posted on his blog at www.elderlukehoughton.blogspot.com!  Enjoy!