Saying Goodbye

Jan 10, 2011 - After Christmas, Uncle Jeff was trying to squeeze in just about every activity you can imagine before he left on his mission. That included going snowboarding and he ended up breaking his arm! There was some question as to if he could leave as planned on January 11th and the answer seemed to keep changing. The Dr seemed to think he would be able to leave without a problem, so he kept to his original plan and went to the Bountiful Temple on January 5th. That weekend, he heard that he would probably be delayed a week, and possibly two since he still needed to have an x-ray done, so we put the plans on hold. Then, on Monday afternoon (Jan 9th), only TWO days before he was scheduled to leave, he finally got a phone call that cleared him to go on the 11th as planned! I think it was a huge relief for everyone, but also caused some stress to get everything ready to go. So, we rushed down to Layton to spend the night before he left with him.

The night before he left, we had a family dinner at Famous Dave's.
The fam The other side of the table... We are too big to fit into one shot! And Aaron came with us, too. He is pretty much family! Aaron is one of Jeff's very best friends and has been for a long time. My kids call him Uncle Aaron. He has the funniest laugh ever! Grandpa helping Logan with his word search.
Avery LOVES her corn on the cob!
Jeff and Princess Rylee - I don't think Jeff ate anything! He said he was too nervous. My mom gave Rylee this tiara and she insisted on wearing it to dinner. And everywhere else until it broke! Our soon-to-be Elder

After dinner, we hurried to the Stake Center and were able to see Jeff get set apart. It was really emotional for all of us, but he was given a great blessing and was able to share his testimony with everyone there. (Our whole family was able to be there, along with Aaron, Grandma's, and Bishop and Sister Butts.) We were all in tears! I never realized how hard this was going to be, but I was so proud of my cute little brother, too. We took a few pictures after the setting apart because we were going to go home for the night. But, being the baby that I am, I couldn't leave. I had to stay and see him off the next morning. So, we took some pics with Uncle Jeff and then ended up having a sleepover at Grandma's. The kids were happy to see Jeff a little longer, and it made me feel better to be helping and be there to see him off. I was a mess! Jeff and Logan
Jeff and Rylee
Jeff and Avery - After his setting apart, some of Jeff's friends came over to say good-bye and stayed until pretty late. He has some great friends who he will really miss! We all had some good laughs!
The next morning, it was time to get packing!!! We had to figure out a way to get everything into those suitcases and make sure he didn't forget anything important. We made it a team effort!
Because of all the confusion over when Jeff was going to leave, my mom didn't ever have professional pictures done. With his broken arm and his wisdom teeth and all the delays, we never knew what was going on. So, I took a few the morning he was going to leave. They aren't professional, but a few turned out pretty good.
I said this one was my "field is white and ready to harvest" picture. Everyone made fun of me! I'm a nerd... I know!
Our handsome elder ready to hit the field!!!

Then it was time for a few (or a lot) more pictures and to say good-bye to Elder Boman since not all of us could travel to the MTC. It was hard to say good-bye but we know he is doing the right thing and in the right place! Our family with Elder Uncle JeffMy kids each have a really special relationship with their Uncle Jeff. I think that is the biggest reason it was so hard for me to see him go. They will be so big when he comes home. I am so glad they can write to him and the he is able to write to them as well. They are sure going to miss their Uncle Jeff! He is such a great Uncle!!! They will love writing him letters and they pray for him every night. They are so proud of him and we are grateful for his example!Jeff and Princess Rylee - He is so sweet with her! He will play Princesses and Dressup and totally spoils her.
Jeff and Avery - Avery doesn't really love just anyone. She takes a while to warm up to people. But, she does LOVE her Uncle Jeff. He can make her laugh more than just about anyone.
Uncle Jeff and Logan - They are good buddies and they love to talk and play sports together. Logan pretty much believes whatever Jeff says and loves all the teams that Jeff loves.
My little brother and me - He is an ELDER and a good 4 inches taller than me now! But, I was about 12 when he was born and it is so hard for me to see him go. A part of me feels like I helped raise him because I have seen him grow up so much. I don't know what I will do when my boys leave on missions...
Jeff and Darren - I am so glad that Darren served a mission and had such a good relationship with Jeff. He helped him so much over the last couple of months. He gave him lots of advice and encouragement and I know Jeff looks up to him a lot.
Jeff with Grandma and GrandpaThe brothers- Dean, Jeff, Brad and Kyle - These are some of the best uncles ever! My kids are so lucky!
Jeff with Heather and Ethan
Jeff and Logan being silly
Avery telling Uncle Jeff a story
Hugs good-bye
We had to head home to get Logan to school and Darren had to work in the afternoon, so we left and the rest of the bunch headed to the MTC. Here are all my cute brothers at the Provo Temple before dropping him off.
And here is our Elder at the MTC, officially starting his mission!!! Cute Rylee wrote this in her journal when we got home after seeing Jeff off. I thought it was just about the cutest thing ever! I copied it and sent it to him, too. It says, " Jan 13, 12 (with lots of backwards numbers...) i WANT MY UNCLe to Be A GOOD MissiONARY. i WANt HIM to Be SAfe oN HiS MissioN. I SAY PRAYERS FoR HiM."
The picture is her and him. I love the spiky hair that she makes for boys and the sideburns and the large ears...

I really had a hard time seeing Jeff go. I didn't expect to be so emotional! Jeff has been around our house so much over the last six months and is so close to my kids. He hasn't been going to school or working very much, so he would come and hang out a lot. I could call him for favors all the time and he would make the hour drive just to help us out. He is so much my "little brother" that it is so hard to see him grown up and let him go. He was only about 9 when Darren and I got married, so he has changed so much and it is so different than when my other brother left who is closer to my age. When Dean left, all my friends were also leaving and coming home and I didn't have kids yet that I worried about missing their uncle. And I was planning my wedding and pretty preoccupied. I was sad and missed him, but it was just different. I am mostly sad for my kids and for the things that Jeff will miss... like their birthdays and Logan's baptism and things like that. But, I know that he is doing the right thing and I am so grateful that he is setting that example for them. Logan talks about being a missionary all the time now. Writing letters and sending him packages has been so fun and they all say the sweetest prayers for him! We love our Uncle Elder Boman! And we are counting down the months until he comes home!