THE CALL TO SERVE!!!

Wednesday was a very stressful day. I was up by 2:30am and couldn't go back to sleep. My mind was just a whirl with everything going on in my head. I hoped and prayed that James' mission call would be here and I wasn't sure what we were going to do if it wasn't. I tried to busy myself with cooking and cleaning all day. I was just so tired and nervous about this whole mission call thing. I went to check the mail at 1:00pm--just hoping that by some miracle it was there---but nothing. I tried to calm my nerves and cook all sorts of food for James and his friends. At 2:00pm, James called to see if I had anything for him. I told him that there wasn't anything and that I would let him know as soon as I could. As I talked to him, I walked out to the mailbox hoping that by some miracle it was there. I put the key in, and there it was---big and very white. I started to cry and told James that it was here. He started shouting "No Way! Mom is it really there?". Wow---my heart was beating so fast and I couldn't stop shaking. This was it, this was going to tell us where our son was going to be spending the next two years.
The rest of the day went much quicker. I was busy making food and calling people. I was so excited to have James home to reveal his mission call. Michael's parents and Janna were coming, many friends of James' were coming, also. James didn't leave Provo until 6:00pm and so he didn't arrive here until 7:30. He looked at the envelope and asked Keegan how much his postage on his envelope was. Keegan told him that it was the same. Right then I knew that James was going stateside. We all gave him our predictions of where he was going as he wrote them down on his envelope. He was shaking so bad and he got very emotional about opening it. He began reading it with so much emotion, I started to cry as I thought of the impact this letter had on all of us. He started reading his call and then read the words:
California Sacramento Mission--English speaking---MTC May 12. Wow---I just started screaming with excitement. My mom started to cry as we realized the connection with James being called there when Kelly and Darrell had served their previously in the same mission.
Our boy was going to California for two years to serve the Lord. We were so excited and happy for him. It was an emotional evening. James was happy---just in shock.
We realized that he had just nine weeks before going into the MTC. Wow--how exciting, he will finish school and then have only three weeks before the MTC.
We will have a missionary son before Kae Lee's 17th birthday. We have the call, now we just have to get him ready!!! This is so amazing--we are so thrilled!!!
Congrats to our James!!!