so I failed at everyday in may...

there have been some great happenings since i last wrote:

1- jude jonathon gardineer - born may 19, 2012

    perfect in every way.

first family picture - didn't really work out
(but at least they are all smiling)

one week old - still perfect :)

my cute grandchildren! all sweethearts!

2- mother's day. a perfect mother's day. i love my family.

cute, after the mission sandals! :)

3- hailey is out of school. i guess she is officially a senior! 

    (good bye maria carrillo pumas, hello bonanza bengals) sniff.
    sniff. 

    she is a great girl.

    she had a piano recital and choir concert the week before finals.

    she was awesome! (always smiling when she performs!)

    she is a musician at heart.

duet with a young man

front row, middle, red shirt

4- that's all for now. i have a lot of catching up to do here in santa rosa. life is good.

Everyday in May - May 12

racing for the cure. 

us. 

one hundred seventy eight missionaries.

getting to wear a survivor medal.

gratitude for my blessings.

next time we want all our family and friends to join us.

Everyday in May - May 11

Sacramento Temple

TEAM BUNKER!

Everyday In May - May 10

Have I mentioned how exhausting this week has been? I feel bad, but I went into the family room last night about 9:30 and told my husband that I needed a day off. (I feel bad because he is much busier than I am by far, and I am dying!) He told me I would need to wait until Sunday! :) He has no idea what my "to do" list looks like, of things I must accomplish by Tuesday morning. Maybe I can have a day off next Friday, the 18th! I am expecting a grandson anytime though, so I may not have a day off until after I get to go and help Kristen with the baby. I guess being with her and the babies will be like a day off, because they will be filled with such different activities. I am just a little. bit. excited. about those activities!

I promise, I am finished complaining...

Today was Zone Leader Council. This is the one meeting a month that I am in charge of lunch for @30. (that is probably why I was feeling exhausted last night. :) I love to come and eat lunch with them, just me and my boys. It is wonderful to spend a little one on one time with a few of them each time.

I love that I could tell you something personal and wonderful about each one of these missionaries. They are All pretty special! LIFE IS GOOD!

Everyday in May - May 9

This morning was President's chance to teach the new missionaries a little before he chooses their companions and sends them off to their fields of labor. I have to be honest, we have some GREAT new missionaries. I will have to try to follow them on Sister Alba's blog. I am thinking they are going to be awesome. I am very excited for them to get to work! :)

Elder Turk found his smile! President teased him and promised we would not stop until we got a picture of him smiling! He complied pretty easily! He is one of the GREAT ones I was talking about. He's a little quiet, but when he speaks, it is pretty profound! He will grow and change a lot on his mission. I am excited for this group of Elders!

Elder Edwards will be a great trainer. All but two of our trainers this transfer have been zone leaders in the mission. I hope these young ones know what great companions they have. :)

Everyday in May - May 8

Today we picked up our new missionaries. NINE ELDERS! I think this may be the first time we haven't had any Sisters. This is always an interesting day. It has to be one of the hardest days for our new missionaries. They are pretty tired and hungry by the time they arrive, but they are also excited and motivated to get on with it. I am sure this day tries their patience. From the above picture, can you tell if any of the missionaries are struggling? (Truth be told, they are probably All a little freaked out!)

Elder Turk was having a hard time finding his smile. It will be fun to get to know them a little better tomorrow during orientation.

PS - There is something wrong in Santa Rosa when my iPhone tells me it is experiencing the same temperatures as Las Vegas. Is this Heavenly Father's way of preparing me to come home? This feels pretty warm to me! :)

Everyday In May - May 7

Departing Missionaries - May 8, 2012

I LOVE these missionaries! I LOVE this night every six weeks when we get to have dinner with our departing missionaries and then a little family home evening. It is one of the best nights every transfer. It is a bitter/sweet time, because the missionaries going home have "got it"! They are well trained, inspiring for the other missionaries, happy, confident, hard working, they know how to listen to the Spirit, they easily love the people, they have matured and grown - both in the gospel and personally. They know what to do and how to do it. We are always a little sad to see them leave!

We start our family home evening by watching a dvd with pictures from the geography of our mission, and then personal pictures that they have all sent me, representing important things and people of their time here. We laugh and joke as we watch the dvd. Then we take some time "role-playing" their report to the high council. We ask each other questions about experiences and feelings and things they have learned. By far, one of my favorite parts! The Spirit is strong as we visit and the love we feel for each other and our Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ is oozing out of each of us. I love the things Jon shares with them (each time its a little different) and I love to be able to express my love for them and share my testimony one more time. I will miss these nights when we return home. We only have one more.

Since my posts have been a little boring (thanks Hailey) I thought I would share this funny card I received in the mail last week!

The inside says:

"I don't know what she's doing either. Must be some kind of ancient housewife ritual."

I loved it!!!

Everyday In May - May 6

Today we attended Stake Conference in Vacaville. I love Vacaville! It has always reminded us a little of St. George. It has a feeling of home to it. The people there are wonderful. We love President Bennett and his wife Melora. Elder Claudio Zivic and his wife Dina were visiting. Elder Zivic is just learning to speak english. I loved listening to him! He shared his feelings of the day he and his wife and three children were sealed in the temple. He still felt the emotion of the experience as he spoke. It really touched my heart. It reminded me how much I love to be in the temple. That is something I am really looking forward to when we get home. To be able to go to the temple weekly again! Happy Sabbath!

Most of the missionaries serving in the Vacaville zone.

Everyday In May - May 5

We spent Cinco de Mayo in more meetings and then traveling home. This morning we were joined by the Area Authority Seventies over the California and Hawaii areas. There are nine of them and they are really wonderful men! Hailey joined us as our meetings ended and had lunch with us. She got to see Elder Kearon again (he is her biggest fan) and met his wife Jennifer. They are heading to Frankfurt, Germany for their new assignment. It was nice to say good-bye and good luck.

All I wanted was a nice picture with the Dalton's (Hawaii Honolulu Mission) and the Kearon's. Look what I got. BOO! I did a great job for Sister Cook - how did she mess it up so bad? Oh well! Happy Cinco de Mayo! 

Everyday In May - May 4

Today we were in meetings from 8:00 - 5:30. We were instructed by Elder Maynes, Elder Kearon, Elder Alonso and Brother Tracy Watson of the Missionary Department. We have a lot of insights to share with our missionaries. It is hard to believe we only have such a short time left here with them. 

As always, my favorite part of the seminar is when the Sisters break out for an hour and a half to share testimonies with each other. This time Sister Maynes had asked us to share how our relationship with the Savior has helped us as we have been serving in our callings. It was a tender experience to feel our Saviors love as we shared experiences and testimonies. I have grown to love these Sisters over the past few years. I looked at the new Ensign today and saw that the new second counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency was one of the wives that was serving in the area when we started, Sister Reeves. I have such fond memories of her. She is really a wonderful woman!

Anyway, today was a wonderful day! I am exhausted tonight! 

Elder Richard J. Maynes

Elder Patrick Kearon (I really love him!)

Elder Jose L. Alonso

Two pictures of Hailey and Brynn at Disneyland! They had a fun day!

Everyday In May - May 3

(ok. so i cheated a little on writing everyday. i have been busy.)

Today, Jon, Hailey and I flew to Ontario, CA (then drove to the City of Industry/close to LA) to attend an Interim Mission Presidents Seminar for the North America West Area. There are seventeen Mission Presidents and their Wives here, sixteen serving in California and one from Hawaii. It is the first time in three years that we have all been on a plane together. It was fun to have Hailey join us! 

When we arrived at the hotel, Brynn Hewitt was there to take Hailey for the night and then Friday they are headed to Disneyland. What a TREAT to see Brynn! She is such a wonderful person with a very pure heart! We love her like our own daughter!

We started the seminar at a dinner tonight. It is a sweet experience to be with these other Presidents and their wives. It is good to feel support from others that are trying to do the same work you are doing. It always gives me a boost!

Everyday In May - May 2

Sister Charles (Arkansas) & Sister Liston (Utah)

I spent my lunch 45 minutes (we didn't have a full hour today) with these two sweet Sisters. We met at the park and had a sandwich together. While we were visiting one of the Sister's said, "What if we had mother/daughter missionary companionships?" It made me laugh, and then it made me think. I have decided it would probably take all five of us Bunker girls to make one really good missionary. Each one of my daughters has gifts and abilities that are unique to just her. I think with all five of us we could keep each other on task; staying fit, being prayerful, being friendly, boldly testifying, talking to everyone, feeling the Spirit, never giving up and being happy while doing it all. I think my job would be head cheerleader. The thought of it exhausts me, but I had fun dreaming about it all for awhile.

Last man standing is our (Jon and I) new favorite TV show. It is on Tuesday nights on ABC 8/7C. I highly recommend it! It is funny, clean and it makes me feel good every time I watch it. Totally my favorite night for unwinding just before bed. Try it, you'll like it!

Every Day In May - May 1

I have decided to try to blog everyday in May. Anyone want to join me? I am hoping to record a little better my feelings and all the happenings as our time flies by until the end of our mission.

Today is the day President and his Assistants begin to plan for transfer day next Tuesday, the 8th of May. We will be receiving nine new missionaries that morning and eight will be departing (with two more the following week). Hence, a chain reaction of missionaries called to train, missionaries changing companions and missionaries changing areas. If my missionaries had access to this blog, they would be all about trying to enlarge this picture of the transfer board, so they could know what is happening to them. Some feel quite anxious anticipating transfers and I must tell you, I don't really blame them. Once they find out, usually they are OK with the change, but the anticipation just about kills some of them.

Details to look for in the picture. (click on it for a larger view) 

*Cards that are upside down are the people that are moving to a new area. 

*A "T" means that missionary will be training a new missionary, but we won't know which one until President has met them all, interviewed them and prayed about who should be with whom. 

*Toward the bottom of the board, is the "bull pen". :) Missionaries that need a change, but haven't been assigned yet. 

I can testify that this is an amazing process, and with the Lord's help, it all works out every transfer. I know that the Lord is in charge of where his missionaries are assigned (which mission), what area (which ward) and which companion. It is manifest in one way or another each transfer. Something will happen that we couldn't have known about prior to the change, that is very clear, the missionary was assigned to their area or companion, for a specific reason. It is a miracle to watch Him direct His work so perfectly.

Just a cute picture of the President at his desk. I brought them lunch today, so they wouldn't waste time while they are working on the changes. He tweaked his back yesterday. He had a rough night. I am not sure how he is sitting in that chair. I am praying he can get relief without a trip to the ER.

The yard at the mission home is AMAZING! Always. Always. Always, there is something beautiful blooming.

these buds are huge, and then when they bloom they are incredible!

HAPPY MAY!