So...this last Thursday (11 Feb. 2010) I proposed to the angel - Rachel Watson! The surprising thing is that she said, "Yes!"

The story is a good one. I took her on a scavenger hunt, because she asked me one time to write down all of our fun memories and inside jokes, just in case we forget them in the future. So, I left a note on her doorstep with the first of many memories. I told her to get her coat on and to bring her cell phone to the place where that memory was made. From there, Melinda called Rachel up and mentioned that she should go to Denny's. This was one of our first dates - hot chocolate at Denny's. She came there to find the same lady that served us who gave her a rose and a second memory/clue. Rachel's mom picked her up and took her to a parking lot, where Rachel taught me how to dance the Foxtrot. A present was on the ground with a CD on top of it. She listened to the CD (and skipped around a bit to find the clue to open the gift). She finally opened the gift to reveal...a box of tissues! The note said, "Well that was anticlimactic!" She knows how weird I am, and she goes along with it too.

Finally, she was led to her grandparent's house, on the second floor. There were some of her favorite flowers (thanks to her mother) and a 4-page letter from me. At the end of the letter, it said to go back down the staircase for her next clue. When she came to the top of the staircase, she saw me on the bottom floor on my knee. She ran down - I proposed - she said, "Yes!"

That is our story and we are sticking to it. Ü Ü Ü

We are getting married on the 22nd of June, 2010 in the Salt Lake Temple! We are so excited. Put it in your calendars - 6/22/10. It is easy to remember: 6 + 2+2 = 10. Ü

Love you all! We are so happy and I'm excited to bring in another 'Free' to the family.

Love,
Mike

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"You can count the seeds in an apple, but you can’t count the apples in a seed."
Luciano Cascardi, "Preparing for Your Spiritual Destiny" - CES address from Elder Neil L. Andersen

I was just reading the CES address from Elder Neil L. Andersen and came across this quote. It is so true!

Many times we act on the guidance of the Lord, the promptings from the Holy Spirit, and see the immediate results. These results can be big or small and many times, they may seem insignificant. But the Lord prompted YOU to do something with the apple. You saw the results - the seeds within the apple. As those seeds are planted and grow by faith, even greater blessings come as a result. The Lord always blesses us as we strive to follow Him. Not only does He bless us with little seeds, but with orchards full of apples.

You never know how the Lord will bless you, but rest assured, He gives us what we need with increase.

I love the Lord! I love you all! Listen to the promptings of the Spirit and do what is right. That is what our ancestors have done, and look at our big free family orchard.

-Mike Free

Saw these pictures and thought they looked so similar I had to share!

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We had some portraits taken at the temple. Check them out here.

Here is some more info on Melinda's homecoming.

Here are the streams (sorry they were broken up in mulitiples...but I have included a brief description of what is in each one)

Part 1 - On the road discussions before we get there
Part 2 - First sighting and hugs!
Part 3 - More hugs and interviews start.
Part 4 - Discussion in the car on the way home.
Part 4 - Discussion in the car on the way home.
Part 5 - More car discussion & first Lithuanian.
Part 6 - Poll questions flight story begins.
Part 7 - More on the flight and Sister Gubler.
Part 8 - Finish story arrive home.
Part 9 - First view of the sign and family picture.
Part 10 - Final clip of stream and good bye's

Here is Melinda's Mission Report in Sacrament mtg.

As many of you know, Sese Melinda Free has just returned from Lithuania. We hope you enjoyed the live broadcasting video from our Dad...it is so cool to be able to watch it live! We figured that another video wouldn't hurt. I am pretty sure that my Dad will post Sese's talk as well.

It has been such a joy to be with Melinda! Hope you feel that joy from this video!

-Mike Free

P.S. This film was shot on my mom's camera by Adam and Mom. I just post the videos.

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We are so excited to have our whole family together for the first time in over two years!

The first to arrive is Becca. She lands in Phoenix Sky Harbor at 9am on Friday the 18th. I will be going to pick her up. I am going to test out ustream.tv to stream live audio and video from my iPhone to the web so you can all watch.

So go to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/lovebeingadad at 9am tomorrow morning and you should see a live video feed of Becca in the airport. You can go there early and see some clips I took at the Mountain View Holiday Dinners and Andrew's band concert.

Then at 10pm the main event. Melinda is to arrive at 10pm. So be sure to check out the site. The third and last leg of her flight will be coming from Chicago, American Airlines Aa1733 (if you want to check if they are on time).

Here is a video of our family on iChat. We were choosing names for Christmas, but had to spice it up a bit. Enjoy!

Last night the kids got together to draw names for Christmas. So we used the fine Apple technology (thanks for your computer Dave and Kristin and gang) and linked Mike and Becca and Joseph and Elizabeth together.

It turns out there is an option to modify your video sharing and of course we all did. We were all laughing so hard Diana got a headache!

We are weird and loving it. Here are a few pictures posted for Sister Free so she can decide if she really wants to eventually come home to us!

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Check out this video of a totally amazing pseudo mobile grandson...

Lots of fun things in the last week. We started with a cold morning. Lots of swimming and Halloween and more! I also posted a video of the last 40 yards of Nate's swim and Adam in action. You can see it here: http://lovebeingadad.posterous.com

Melinda appreciated all the input and she and her companion chose the River one.

Thanks for all your input. Here is what the final card looks like.

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We are going to send some cards to Melinda to pass out to her friends in Lithuania. But we need some opinions. Please look at these three options and vote on which one you would like the best. Once the image is chosen we will make the text better. So look at the images and not as much as the text. Vote quick, we need to get them printed and sent! Choose "Ocean", "River" or "Field".

Thanks!

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