Goodbye Sister Lyman

Sister Lyman is going home as she has completed her mission. She's been in our ward since last October and in our home so many times that we think of her as one of our "kids". When she first began coming to our home, she seemed really shy, very quiet and don't make a lot of noise. However, since she's been coming to our home, she seems to have become very comfortable with us and become very special to us.

I usually keep a flannel comforter on the couch which I wrap up in while watching TV because it is so warm and cozy. Sister Lyman got to the point that every time she came to our home, she made a beeline for the couch and wrapped herself up in that comforter. Phooey to anyone else!
She had recently been suffering from a winter sickness and was even given permission by her mission president to stay at our home for several hours one day to recuperate while her companion, Sister Merrill, went out visiting with our Relief Society president. We washed her clothes, provided Thanksgiving dinner, some Christmas cheer, a New Year's Eve "Pig Out Party" until 9:30 (permission granted again) and fed numerous meals - even her "Last Supper" before leaving. Her request for her last dinner was chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, spinach salad, flaky biscuits and Hershey pie.

I, we, love Sister Lyman and appreciate the sweet spirit she brought into our home. What a wonderful young woman and how blessed we were to know her. We do get to see her again in a couple of weeks when we'll attend her homecoming in her own ward. Then she will be Alisha!

This is Sister Merrill. I took this picture to show her eating some fresh spinach salad that I had prepared. A couple of weeks ago, I'd made some and she turned her nose up and said she didn't like spinach salad. I told her that she hadn't eaten any of mine and she needed to try at least a bite of it. She did and the rest is history - she loves it now. See her plate?!?! Way to go Sister Merrill! Your mother would be proud of you.

(You can see we spared no expense when it came to decorating for our "We Love You" last supper for Sister Merrill).