Our Lillie is back with us

We could not be more proud of our Lillie. She has returned from her mission!!  We missed her so much and know there were lots of very difficult and long days of talking to people who were not interested in God and Jesus Christ. She sacrificed a lot but we know she has come out the better for it. She is so sweet and easy going, fun loving, service oriented, always worried about others and helping them to be happy. We just love her. Kim and I prepared for her homecoming for weeks—cleaning the house, ordering signs and yard cards to welcome her home, making all her favorite foods!!  She deserves a hero’s welcome!!  It was very sweet to see her when she walked out of the gate at the airport!!

Our little family happy to be together again!!  We have missed her so much.

She looks so happy.  She knows she served well and did her best, and now is happy to be home!

Here we are waiting for her arrival from the gate!!

The outside of our home was excited to have Lillie back too!!!

The below email was sent by Lillie to people on her distribution list. Kim sent a sweet message to her in response to things Kim learned while Lillie was on her mission:

Also, my sweet mom sent an email in response to the one I shared last week. Since everyone was included as BCC, no one was able to see her response, so I wanted to share it here:

Being the last day of my Asian on a Mission, I thought I would add my own Top 10 as the Mom of Said Asian. So here is the Top 10 Things I Learned While My Asian was Serving a Mission…

1. It’s hard to say goodbye. 

I didn’t expect our sweet girl to go on a mission. It was never part of any conversation…until it was the main conversation. You would think having your child go to college in a far off land would prepare you, but it doesn’t. I knew whole heartedly, it was the right place for her to be, but actually saying goodbye that last night at home was difficult. 

2. Oh how the rules have changed!

So many of our phone calls included the saying, “when dad served his mission, the rules were really different!” 😄  The fact that we could video call her every week, sure eased the sad goodbye. In fact, we probably talked to her more on her mission than any other time! 

3.  My Asian is a tough cookie. 

Through all the challenges with new areas, new companions, medicines, lotions and potions, urgent care visits, dying (but not really),  uncertainty, and more, my little Asian stuck it out. She toughened up, and worked through it all. We are so proud of her determination  and resilience!

4. The strength of a testimony. 

Lillie shared how so many friends and members testimonies strengthened her as she served. I hope she knows how much her testimony has strengthened my own. After reading through her experiences, some silly and some not, between the lines were nuggets of pure testimony that gave me all the warm fuzzies I needed as a mom missing her girl!

5.  Growth motivated growth. 

Each email, each conversation, I witnessed growth in my little Asian. It was slow at first and then it skyrocketed. This movement made me want to grow and learn. I found myself studying more, reading scriptures more diligently, praying more earnestly. Hopefully we will all notice some growth!

6.  God is in the details!

There are too many things to share, but I will just say, when you have a child serving a mission, your eyes are opened to all the miracles, big and small, that occur on the mission and at home, with individuals and families. Noticing how God helps us work though any challenge is quite remarkable!

7.  God loves His missionaries!

Lillie served in the area she was meant to be in, serving with the people she was meant to meet. Even though there were ups and downs, we knew Lillie was being watched over, cared for and loved by Heavenly Father. I never really felt worried or terribly concerned for Lillie because I was reminded again and again that God loves His missionaries and she would be ok. You can’t get better reassurance than that!

8.  God’s time is the RIGHT time!

I have to say, this one is sometimes hard to swallow. I have been known to be a bit anxiety driven with God at times. However, while Lillie has served her mission, I have learned by her patience and by the Lord helping me to be more patient, that God’s timing is not just right, but perfect! GULP! Whew! Can’t say that’s one I have ingrained yet, but I am learning and trusting. 

9. Missions are miraculous!

No matter where you serve or if you thought you were a little successful or a lot, a mission is miraculous! I have seen too many people completely transform into better versions of themselves. How grateful I am to have seen such a transformation in my little Asian!

10. Saying Hi is WAY better than goodbye!

Tomorrow!  In less than 24 hours I get to welcome my little Asian home! I really can’t believe it, actually. I know she has served well and I am just overjoyed to have her home with us again for a little while. I hope you all will get to see my little Asian missionary soon!

Mom of Asian on a Mission 🌺

We are getting old!

I met Kim for lunch at her annual school zoo field trip!  The zoo in DC is sooooo hilly, that I decided to rent these electric scooters for us.  It made the day so much more pleasant for us!!!

 

Birthday Celebration for Kim

April 22!!  Birthday for Kim. We had such a fun evening together. We went to a fancy steak house we wanted to try!  It is owned and operated by chefs we see on TV. Haha. Votaggio brothers!!  It was fun!  The best thing was actually the dessert. Tableside bananas foster. A real classic. 

The most fun thing about the night, aside from spending it with Kim, was since we were at a casino hotel, the MGM grand hotel, I told Kim let's play whatever cash we have on the slot machines.  I had heard that birthday people were lucky on their special day.  We put $42 in and we got back $103!!!  After a few spins that's what we got, and we cashed that in and left for home.  HAHA.

Another musical

Sometimes I help out with high school musicals in the area.  It is very fun.  I recently did Once Upon a Mattress with some friends from my orchestra.  The comductor is a member of the COSMIC orchestra.

Kim's Spring Break 2026

We decided to stay at home but go out each night to a fancy restaurant.  It was very fun.  We love eating out.  We had delicious Japanese food and Vietnamese food at very fancy places, Perry's and Moon Rabbit in DC.  We also went to see a broadway show at the Kennedy Center.  We missed our Lillie thinking about all the different shows we have seen with our Lillie.  We saw Chicago!!  It is amazing how good the real professionals sound!!  

COSMIC--Chamber Orchestra of Southern Maryland

I thought I would make a post about playing in my orchestra, COSMIC, Chamber Orchestra of Southern Maryland. I have been in it when Lillie left for college because I had more time. I have liked it a lot. Sometimes I think I should not be playing first violin. This is a pic of the first violin section. But it is fun to practice and learn the music. It makes me miss Lillie. For years I sat outside waiting for her, listening to her practice with her orchestras. And I thought could I play in an orchestra like Lillie??? But it has been such a great experience for me. I learn a lot from all these musicians. It’s a community orchestra so none of us are professional, but these people are actually really good. This weekend was our concert weekend. We give four concerts a year. It’s a long weekend, but fun and I always miss playing with Lillie.

Winter is here

Last week we had a big winter storm. It brought a lot of snow and ice!!  The sleet and ice turned everything into a big block of concrete ice. Everything was pretty much shut down for a whole week. We were pretty much stuck because I just could not shovel our driveway. It was too much. We finally had to hire a company to come and shovel us out. But only after three companies told us our driveway was too steep to shovel. So we waited a while until someone could do it. But before that I had shoveled a path up to the top and decided to rent a car until we could get our own cars out. But our walking path got crusted over with sleet and ice and we had to use these slip on cleats to walk up without slipping. It was crazy but we are out and about again—after a week of vacation in the house. 

December came and went

Time seems to go faster and faster.  Christmas just wasn't what it usually is without our Lillie.  But we know she is where she is supposed to be and we will have the Christmases we will ever want to have together after her mission.  She actually only has to spend one Christmas away from us.  She is doing well.  Cold, but well.  She is adjusting to all the normal intricacies of missionary work...long days of trying to talk to people about the gospel, companionship issues, both triumphs and set backs, and some health issues.  But overall she continues to do well.  One thing we are so proud of her is that she continues to play her violin for special musical numbers.  We are happy that she blesses the lives of people around her like that.

Elder Holland passed away this month.  I am sad to have learned of that.  It was ins 2010 that Kim and I met him and sat with him for hours as he called and set me apart as the stake president.  Though I have done things that I am not proud of since that day, I am always reminded with his words of how he could not imagine life outside of the gospel and that we can never give up.  I am trying to do that with Kim.

Kim and I spent the holidays at home...well, a staycation of sorts.  Landsdowne resort in Virginia.  About 2 hours away from home.  But it was so quiet and relaxing.  We ate at a lot of good restaurants, and enjoyed each other's company.  We also spoke with Lillie on Christmas and watched her open all her presents from Santa.  Something we have done since her very first Christmas with us, and it is always a joy to see her so happy with all the gifts from Santa!!

Christmas is all about music.  I continue to play with my symphony in southern maryland and play in an outreach quartet with the symphony.

Doing what we like doing best, eating good food...really good food.

Lillie Continues to Do Well on Her Mission

We are so proud of our Lillie.  She continues to do well on her mission.  We miss her every day.  She sent these pictures.  It is already snowing in North Dakota, and it is two weeks before Thanksgiving.  

And one thing we are so proud of her, is that she continues to play her violin!!  Growing up was a little bit of a struggle to get her to practice, but she DID it!!  And she is really good!!  She has a beautiful tone and makes us proud when we hear her.  She played in a recent stake conference on her mission.  We know it was so beautiful!!  She looks so pretty playing her musical number!!

Trip to Baltimore

Kim and I decided to take one last trip out of town before the fall started up. We actually went up to see Katy Perry on a whim!!  It’s been too long since going to a show like that. But we were surprised there were lots of people our age and older. And Kim and I knew a lot of pieces Katy Parry did. It was thoroughly enjoyable!!