Isaac's mission call arrived!

I left for Space Camp knowing that Isaac's mission call was probably going to arrive while I was gone.  On Wednesday, I received a text from Isaac saying that he'd checked the mail and nothing arrived.  On Thursday at lunchtime, he called to tell me that he had checked the mail and was holding the envelope in his hands...  what an emotional moment for me.  All these years of raising him to serve a mission someday...  and here it came at last.  He didn't want to open it all alone, and he didn't want to wait for his sisters to get home from school (or for Josh and me to get home from Space Camp Friday night) so he went over to Aunt Becky's house and opened it with her and 5-year-old Elyse.  He read the call to me over the phone, and when he calmly read "Ukraine Donetsk," I was just blown away.  Then I said, "Are you serious?  Hand it to Aunt Becky and have her read it so I can be sure you're not joking."  But he said, "MOM!  I'm SERIOUS!"   And I realized he was.  Then I got off the phone so he could try to get a hold of Dad (who's out of town), and I just sat there on a stump outside the Space and Rocket Center and just cried (with happiness and gratitude, of course, but also with a little concern over the safety of this mission...).  Then I made a few phone calls.  My mother-in-law had an interesting comment when I told her:  she said she knew 2 boys who served in Ukraine and both were beaten up so badly by gangs that they ended up in the hospital.  I got a hold of my mom and sister, then Lyrad called (he served his mission in Minnesota and is thrilled for Isaac).  By the time we arrived home the next evening, Isaac had already learned the Russian alphabet and how to pronounce Russian words.  He's definitely got a knack for languages, and hopes to be fluent in 7 languages in about 5 years (he hopes to add Russian, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese to his English, French and German).  He has a job flipping burgers at Whataburger, but in his spare time he's reading "Anne auf Green Gables" and "Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen" in German, beginning Russian books, and a novel in French.  And spending plenty of time on Facebook and Youtube, listening to country music and watching "Masterpiece Theater" movies.  He reports to the Provo MTC on October 10.  It's great to have him home and to have his mission call here!