Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Bret Is Home, Yay!!






It's hard to believe that two years have passed and other than the holiday's, I can honestly say it has flown by. 19 years old is a difficult age and it seems like so many of the youth of the world get lost at that impressionable age. I know because without the discipline and structure of the Marine Corps, I have a pretty good idea I would have spent many years lost and confused with what to do with my life. I wanted my children raised different than I was and I wanted them to grow and mature in a safe and stable environment. I want them to be happy and make correct choices in life, to be good citizens and to be people that will make a contribution to society. It would be hard to ask anymore of them.

Bret has always been a wonderful son and it was no surprise when he came to the conclusion that serving a mission would be the right thing to do at 19. I couldn't have been more pleased. Putting education on hold for 24 months is difficult, but the benefits from serving far outweigh the challenges that result. He is now fluent in Mandarin, has made eternal friendships and has come to love the people of Taiwan. I was still muddling my way through life at his age and seeing your children excel beyond where you were at that stage is a very real, parental payday!

Welcome home Bret boy, you've been missed more than you know!

3 comments:

Summer said...

So happy for you!!! That is awesome! I love the pic of Kylie hugging him. So cute!

Yvonne said...

I can totally understand what you wrote as a Father. That's the most important reason when I decided to be baptized last year. I also hope that my little girl will grow up in a great envirement and have correct guidance from church. You can be so proud cause you have such great kids!

Nicole said...

Welcome home Bret! How fun to have the whole family together for a while. Thanks for letting us trash his room - we had fun