ii MEXICO !!

my little brother grant will turn 19 years old in december.
mormon boys typically go on missions for our church when they turn 19.
[maybe you've seen them around? they ride bikes and teach people about the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints.]

a couple months before your 19th birthday, you get your wisdom teeth out
go to the dr to get a perfect bill of health
fill out paperwork saying if you know another language, have family in other countries, etc etc
start saving $$ for the mission
and then you put these "papers" in the mail and wait to get a packet back, telling you where you will live for the next two years.
and TODAY his packet came!!

little granty departs february 24 to spend the next two years of his life in

TORREON, MEXICO!!!

coooool. this is not an understatement when i say this is the biggest news to hit our little family in the past few years. you can learn more about torreon here :)

when i was 19, pretty much every guy friend i had in college received a similar packet in the mail and ended up going all over the world -- japan, paraguay, canada, south africa, and of course even new york city and atlanta. [b went to germany, but came home two years before i even met him.]

so i guess you could say i've been around these missionaries and their letter-opening ceremonies many many many times before. but never my own BROTHER! typically you can get an idea of where they're going to go before they even open the envelope, but i really never would have guessed mexico for him, ever. and now that i know this is where he's going, i am so excited!

anyway. still five months before he leaves, still have the office and project runway to watch tonight and a kitchen to clean. so life goes on. but i thought i'd share the big news here first :)

p.s. feel free to ask any questions you have about missionary work...i don't think this is a very complete explanation of what they do!