5-3-10 "America is my country, and Paris is my hometown"

First things first. Last week you asked for Sis. Tetreault's address, Mom. So here it is. Send my surrogate mother a little note to say thanks because she really does everything for us, along with so many others in the ward. But Sister Tetreault is special. She took us to dinner at Mel's Cafe this week, and in the midst of a lot of things gave us words of motherly comfort and advice. I love her. She and her husband went out of town for this week, but she called us on Friday to say she loves us. But she didn't really say good-bye to me, which I thought for a second was weird, because I surely should have been leaving Tomball. But no, she just said, "remember that it always turns out okay and I'll give you a ride to the doctor whenever you need." But, Sister Tetreault has the gift of discernment and prophecy. That very night when I was feeling absolutely sick over something, I remembered her words and instantly felt so much more comfort. And then the next night, when we got transfer calls, she was right then too, because I'm staying in Tomball for another six weeks. I'm very excited. I'm not ready to say good-bye to these people and this area yet. I know the Lord has something more in store for us here. My new companion will be Sister Mullins, who just served in College Station. In a way, it feels like I'm coming full circle, since that's where I came from. I don't want to get into the list of things that have been challenging for me in Tomball, but even with all those things, Tomball will always be my Texas hometown, and right now it feels like the longer I can stay here, the better. It reminds me of a line from Sabrina. She says that some famous guy says, "America is my country and Paris is my hometown." I would say, "Idaho is my country and Tomball is my hometown." I know, Idaho's not a country, but kind of, for the purposes of the parody. Sister Hoskins will be going up to College Station with her first companion, and she'll be on bikes again. She is very excited, and I'm excited for her.

Love the picture of Cody at the temple. Amazing. My heart is full. When I showed my companions, they both said, "Ooh! He's cute!" I agree. He looks very mature and happy. I love to see happy. And cute dress, Mom. You look amazing, too. It's crazy to think, but I really miss the Idaho Falls Temple. I wish I had been through it more than once, but there will be plenty of time for that soon enough. So, tell him that's my advice for him. Go to the temple often so he'll remember it when he gets into the mission field. I'm not sure how often missionaries in his mission get to go to the temple. I'm lucky, but most missions aren't like ours, going every six weeks.

Congratulations! We've made it to Mother's Day! I'll talk to you on Mother's day for an hour. I think that's another reason I'm excited about staying in Tomball. I really didn't want to call home from an area I didn't even know. This way I can spend all my time enjoying you. It'll probably be in the evening about 7 or 8 our time, so 6 or 7 your time. It depends on which hour I take and which hour Sister Mullins takes.

Okay. Funny story of the week. Yesterday at church, we were sitting in the foyer, waiting for a meeting to start. Bro. Hubnik from the ward walks out into the tiled entry way. I see a little gecko/lizard thing out there, just in time to see him step on it. The body separates from the tail, but both keep moving. The tail is wagging back and forth, and the rest of the body is slowly crawling away and then hesitating at different intervals. Strange. Wow.

I wish I had more to say. I'll watch for the mail. Thanks in advance. It sounds perfect. I'll talk to y'all soon.

Much love and shining,

Sister Whitney Mikell Sorensen