Marshall I. Land

Meet Marshall Ignatious Land
translation:   Marshall I. Land

The official guardian for our home! 

A couple of weeks ago we came home from church and this little fellow greeted us at the entrance to our garage.  Tucked behind his head was a little envelope with his name as indicated above.  How cute is that?!  I LOVE HIM!  We got a good laugh out of it and knew he had to stay - right where he was.  He will be our official guardian of our home while we are gone.  And don't any of you dare to move him!! I expect to see him when we return.

P.S. yes, we have identified the mastermind behind this antic!  Thanks, it meant a lot to us!

Shop 'til you drop!

Mission call + remote location = LOTS OF SHOPPING!
We were instructed that we need to pack all essentials, as we may not be able to purchase things there. That includes toiletries, several sets of clothing, umbrellas, flashlights, insect repellent, sun screen, etc.  You get the picture...  So, we have been shopping, and shopping. Whew!  When we came home the other day, Mike said, "I am SICK of spending money". And I agree, and my feet agree, too.  Most of the clothes get hung in the closet, and the rest get tossed into one of the suitcases. I think we've been to almost every shopping center in the valley and have even made some purchases online.
Here is Mike's (which of course looks more organized):

And here is mine:

 Here are some of the shoes I have found [starting to look like a shoe store here].  We were told that we would do lots of walking, and that we need to bring Crocs for the rainy season, which is about half the year.  I was excited when I found two cute pairs of Crocs. The Raspberry Mary Jane Crocs are my favorite, and most comfortable.  And everything was on sale!  Bonus!

 Here are some of the tops and skirts I have collected thus far.  Trying to coordinate colors....

We received our call!

Saturday, July 20, 2013.  The date that rocked our world! 

We have been called to serve in the Marshall Islands Majuro Mission as member and leader support missionaries for 23 months!!!!

Here's the story of that day.....

That morning it was my turn to go the the mailbox.  We knew the envelope would be coming soon from SLC with our assignment as it had been over four weeks since our final interview with President Porter.  It was my turn that day to go to the mailbox (yes, we were taking turns just to be fair).  As soon as I saw the big white envelope I KNEW that was it. I flipped it over and read the address; it said:  Elder Michael Anthony Becker and Sister Lisa Jean Becker. AAAAAK!  MY HEART SKIPPED A BEAT!  My eyes immediately welled up with tears and my heart began to race. I just stared at it for a minute in the middle of the road.   To be honest, I WAS SCARED!  Inside this envelope was our future for the next two years! We tried to conference all the kids on the phone, but Tiffany was nowhere to be found (we later found out she had been camping).  We waited for awhile (about 3 hours), but we couldn't hold off any longer.  Mike and I said a prayer that our hearts and minds would be open and ready to accept this call.  We opened and read it with all but Tiff on the phone. Wow! What a feeling! We feel so blessed! And, Mike, the lover of beaches, gets to take his Crocs!  God does answer prayers!  [P.S. Tiffany finally called a couple hours later after she came out of the mountains]

WAHOO!   We report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on 07 Oct 2013.

Time to complete the set

A few months ago, Mike and I decided to make the BIG plunge, and submit our papers to go on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  All four of our children served missions, so we figured it was time for us to add our name to the wall of plaques.  We raised four of the greatest kids on earth, they married amazing spouses, and we have seven of the most beautiful grandchildren, and one more on the way (no bias here, of course).We both retired early from our jobs from teaching [Mike]and Accounting [Lisa], and were beginning to get into a rut.  You can only go to Costco so many times in a week (a cheap lunch date!) and surf the net for so long without feeling a little under-utilized.  That's not to say that we didn't have other meaningful things to do with our days.  Mike was busy being the 1st Counselor in the Bishopric, and I was busy as the 2nd Counselor in the Young Women's organization. Both positions we love, love, love!  I was also thinking of starting my own business sewing purses and stuffed animals, as well as reupholstering everything in site.  But it's time to grow, and move on to something more meaningful. So, we put our faith in the Lord, started our paperwork, and took our picture.

The beginning!

The beginning of what, you say??  The beginning of the blog world, or whatever you want to call it.  I wanted to have a forum for Mike and I (Lisa) to share our life experiences with others, so here we go with this blog stuff!  Hopefully, I get this all figured out without having to call in the troops, and by that I mean my children, or anyone younger or smarter than me (is that possible?)! If other people can do this stuff, then I guess I can, too!  So, here we go.....