Okay? Okay.

13 months today!:) this month has been a crazy ride of ups and downs, that's for sure. i thought it was going to get easier... buuuut, i was wrong. it seems to be getting harder and scarier as the time goes on. you realize that after so much time, you begin to wonder if things will truly play out like you'd always planned. it's probably the worst feeling, but i'm doing my best to just ignore it.

thirteen months = thirteen letters 

to update Elder Cook, he is doing absolutely fantastic. he is loving helping and serving others just as he always has. he was made district leader and put into a new area, una, where one of the girls i talk with on facebook is from. he gets to baptize in the river in this area, and he loves that. he is amazed by the creatures he sees in brazil... like snakes, bats, and different insects :\ it freaks me out a little cause i need him to be safe, and he's a boy and thinks he can get close to take pictures (ahhh!) but over all, he's happy, healthy, and doing very well. i am proud of him. the internet connection is horrible, so our time to talk is very limited. sometimes he doesn't even get to write me. but i know he's busy and will write when he can. Joe's birthday was on march 26!! he's a big boy now ;) 20 years young. i can't believe it. i'm so happy he was born on that very special day. the world would be no world at all without Joseph Brent Cook :) i made sure to send a special birthday/early easter package.

UNA

Joe's birthday/easter package

the month of march was really getting me down and i questioned myself more than i should have on many things. i won't go into details, but i was feeling completely abandoned spiritually, physically and mentally. i have had struggles before... when i was 16-17 years old i dealt with major major depression and this past month, it felt like it was coming back. the only way i felt worth anything before was because joe made me feel so. with what has been going on this month however, it was like i was worthless again. there's a saying that goes something along the lines of... "isn't it wonderful when you find someone who can make you smile, but they also end up being the reason you're broken." (i could have totally made that up, which i did, but you get what i mean right?) all the people around me care for me and lift me up, i just wasn't feeling it at all. i also felt like heavenly father wasn't hearing my prayers. i was being selfish in this thought though, i realize. it's not that he wasn't hearing me, i just wasn't willing to hear and listen to him. i think i've been looking for answers that i want to hear and now what he knows i NEED to hear. i'm working on these issues and am trying harder to accept the will of god rather than painting my own picture. it's been hard. and i still struggle. but i'm trying.

i'm so grateful for conference!! what a wonderful weekend. i learned SO much and felt the spirit strongly. i felt like all the talks in this morning's session (sunday) were being spoken directly to me. here's what i loved and learned:
-----i loved President Uchtdorf's talk and his quote, "How much of life do we miss waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God for the rain?" how true is that? and if you think about it, without the rain, there wouldn't even be a chance for a rainbow! without trials and struggles in our lives, we wouldn't know the difference between joy and pain. there would be no opposition.
-----i also loved sister Jean A. Stevens' and her quote, "The gospel is not weight. it is wings. it carries us." i was so inspired by her wording on this!! so cheesy, but it literally took my breath away. (the poet side in me!) the gospel gives us more freedom and strength in the eternal perspective. it will carry us as far as we allow it to... even to becoming like our Master, Father and God himself.
-----next, Bishop Stevenson's talk and his idea of a "4 minute performance." this wasn't his quote but my own, "You only have 4 minutes, so what are you gonna do about it?" what are we going to do to run our race and claim our prize? we have checkpoints in this life, spiritual markers that help us along the way. i loved his quote, "The miracle of the atonement can make up for the imperfections in our performance." Christ has made up all the difference. because of the atonement, we are saved. but that doesn't mean we don't have something to do, something to give back in our performance to Him. we have to strive to do our best, for Him.
-----David A. Bednar and his idea/truck story of carrying our own load helped me put trials into perspective. it's so true that though they weigh us down, that extra load or spiritual traction gives us the ability to push forward... even when we don't realize that it gives us the power to do so.
-----President Monson's talk. oh don't even get me started! i loved his quote(s), "Love is the very essence of the gospel." and "You may forget your kind words today, but the recipient will cherish them forever." and "Blame keeps wounds open, only forgiveness heals." YES! the last quote struck me hard. having struggles, dealing with certain issues, and feeling like you yourself are to blame i think everyone has at some point in life) is difficult. but we have to be able to forgive ourselves for the mistakes we've made and will make. if we keep blaming ourselves, the wounds will never heal and you will never move past the mistake.
-----and then in the last session, L. Tom Perry's talk really impressed me. i loved his analogy about the "horse team" and how the driver is the Lord and the harness and bit are the spirit. i used to ride horses and it's true, if you barely tug, the horse will turn. if only we were always that sensitive to the voice of the spirit! basically, we need to be like horses!!!;) hahah

by the way, after conference, i made this picture and LDS General Conference shared it on facebook and it currently has over FOUR THOUSAND "likes" NOW! how freaking cool is that??

over the month, DIVERGENT also came out and i am completely obsessed. literally. i've seen it 3 times and counting. also, just the other day, i read "The Fault in Our Stars" in one day. anyone ever heard of that book? well, don't read it unless you want to cry for the rest of your life. (UGH!) seriously. i didn't expect what was coming at all and i completely lost it. i'm SO EXCITED FOR THE MOVIE, but i'll be in Fiji when it comes out. i'll have to wait a little extra while, but i am going to the theater by myself with a box of tissues. Okay? okay. -insert hysterical sob here- (p.s. i named my post after something special in the book. it gets me every time.)

selfies in the theater || DIVERGENT 

:( -sobs sobs sobs sobs sobs- :(

when you see this movie, you will not be able to breathe. ahhhhhh :'(

school is getting close to the end and i'm doing so well. i don't mean to brag but i have a 4.0 and i am so proud of myself. i wasn't my best in high school and usually didn't get near 4.0. but i've been keeping up in college and i consider that a huge accomplishment.

also this month, one of my dearest friends got her mission call! ALASKA BABY! seriously couldn't have been a more perfect call for her. she will be one heck of a missionary and i am so proud of her:)

Ohhh, we're half way there!!

absolutely cannot believe i get to say this.... but.... WE HIT 12 MONTHS TODAY! ONE YEAR DOWN BABY! YES! YAY! OH MY! SO EXCITED!
OHHHH WE'RE HALF WAY THERE! OOOOOHHHHH! LIVIN' ON A PRAYER!!!;) i feel like this song is so relevant right now. hahaha!
no seriously, if feels like he left yesterday, but it has also been soooooo long. i don't know how to describe time accurately. all i know is that i have officially made it over the hump and it will be easy peasy from here on out :)
tonight, my family is celebrating with a missionary cake (we had made!) and a movie! we'll probably watch 'the best two years' or something. we're gonna take pictures and then send them to my joe! hahaha i'll wear my 'missionary girlfriend' sweatshirt and everything! it's gonna be so fun!

ooooooh we're half way there!! ohhhh livin' on a prayer ;)

twelve months = 365 days = 365 rhinestones  

YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY!

twelve months = 365 days apart

FINALLY this pie is half way! 

twelve months = 365 days until i get to see him AGAIN!:)

emails with my cute boy have been so funny and adorable. just the other day, he was online and kept asking me to ask him a question. well i'm over here like, 'what in the world does he want me to ask?' after a few emails sent back and forth, i finally sent one back that said, 'do you still love me?'
his response:
"if anything i love you even more now.... forgive me of all my sins i have said or done to you or anyone else. i promise to devote all of my heart mind and strength to one cause and that is to be loving you."
OKAY. how CUTE IS THAT???? MY HEART! i almost died. he is so amazing to me! the conversation then went on for another couple minutes and he told me to ask him another question.... so, being funny, my mom told me to ask him "can i plan our wedding yet?";) he wrote back to me, "you just made my heart stop..." he then emailed my MOM and said, "hey mom-in-law, tell her she can go ahead and plan whatever she'd like!" hahahahahah!!! oh so funny. i love this kid:)

i found out that my last christmas box AND my valentines day box made it to him! remember how i was so convinced that my last christmas box was stolen? i mean, i sent it in NOVEMBER! but it made it!!! yay!!! he loved them he said. especially the valentines day one with the tie that i stitched the heart into.

last month i posted about an AB challenge that my friend and i were working on - totally finished! i didn't skip a night or anything. all in all i completed 2,625 crunches, 1,050 leg raises and 2,475 seconds worth of plank in 30 days. it actually toned me up a little. it probably would have worked better however if i hadn't eaten so much crap while doing it buuuuut, what do ya do?;)

my adorable little girl that i help nanny for just had a 3rd birthday! my little sister and i went to the birthday party on monday and oh my goodness, she is absolutely the most adorable little thing. also, the gift we brought was totally her favorite of the night! woot woot! we gave her a little mini princess tent thing, a new "fort-a" as she would call it. she carried it around with her and it was in every picture she took with someone! haha! so happy she loved it.

she's adorable!!!:) and you can see her new "fort-a"!

me, hailey and myrissa

nothing else to majorly exciting happened this month. february did go by so quickly. i've just been keeping up in school and work (and i actually am really proud of myself because i have maintained a 4.0!) yet it feels like i am doing the same things every day over and over and over. recently, i've had a few friends open their mission calls, and some have left to serve! it's so great to see all these amazing missionaries heading out. the lord needs them all so much.

time for a random paragraph. over one saturday afternoon, i was so insanely bored, i decided to take the time and draw a picture of the new Disney queen, Elsa. i am in love with the movie frozen! it comes out march 18:) yay!

at the beginning of march, i finished reading the Book of Mormon (in my personal study) for the 6th time. it truly amazes me how strong the spirit is while finishing such a book. i LOVE moroni's words at the end... he says that he "lies not" about the truthfulness of the scriptures. i find it so comforting that while writing the scriptures (i believe it was either mormon or moroni) one of them thought that his weakness in writing would cause a problem to those that would read it. he thought they would not fully understand it and appreciate what was being written. that is when the Lord comes in and says the weaknesses we are given will be made strong. it is so comforting to know and realized that the Lord actually does GIVE us those weaknesses with a purpose. He helps us become strong and allows us to eventually use those weaknesses to our advantage - sometimes to help other people - or to just learn and grow for ourselves.

i have learned and thought a lot about the atonement this week. my amazing sister missionary friend Mai sent me an email that nearly brought me to tears. she wrote: 
"I know that the Atonement is real. I've experienced so much feelings of inadequacy, fear, sadness, frustration, etc. I've felt those moments when there's no end, no light. No joy, no laughter. So much sadness your heart is about to explode. Then there's that empty feeling. That feeling of sheer exhaustion when you can't go anymore. But you can. You can through Jesus Christ. All things are possible through Him. He who knows your name. He who knows adversity, better than anyone. He who loves you beyond what you can even imagine. He who has felt and experienced exactly what you're going through and feeling. If I could have a minute with my Savior, I would thank him, if I could find the words through my tears of gratitude. If I had a moment to speak with Him I would cry and tell him I'll keep going. I will do my best. I would pledge to Him that I will keep going.... Opposition and adversity is a necessary part of life. How could we grow if we didn't have struggles? Missions have a way of highlighting all of the insecurities and weaknesses that we have. But it's only because we are becoming more like Him. How could we expect it to ever be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him?"

she inspires me so much. she's been struggling on her mission and then writes this. look how much she has grown! i love it. i would hope and pray that each of us can understand and realize the importance of the atonement in our lives. always remember that you cannot sink lower than the arms of the atonement can reach. Christ will ALWAYS be there for you. always. we are given trials to help us grow, and to help us reach our full potential. just like sister Mai said, there will be opposition and adversity... it's just a part of this mortal life. what we as children of God must do is prove that we can overcome these challenges with the help and strength the Savior provides.

month of love

happy february everyone:) it's the month of love! while it may be so exciting for all the women in the world who actually get to spend time WITH their man, all i have to say is....

hahahaha just kidding, just kidding! but it will be a pretty sad and a harder day for all the lovely MGs.

month 11 came so quickly! the new year is already flying by and i am grateful for that! i am especially excited that there is only ONE more month until we hit the year mark! ahhh! how crazy!

eleven months = eleven Valentines hearts :) 

elder cook is doing well. he recently just got transferred to a new area, one that he and his companion opened. they are both doing wonderful things :) remember how i mentioned a young girl added me on facebook from brazil last month? weeeell, ANOTHER one added me! and this girl was in joe's area before he just got transferred. he is still somehow able to visit her and help her when he can. i love it way to much because she sends me pictures of him the days he comes over! hahah she's the cutest! i guess joe shared my family story with her and told her about me. he told her i could help her, so we talk on facebook all the time! i answer her questions about the church, give her encouragement, scriptures or anything she needs basically. it's so awesome to think that joe and i are helping the same girl :) i am helping with his investigators!!!! it makes me smile knowing i can do that. that joe and i can work as a team, together, even 5,000 miles apart. <33

trying to be a show off ;)

 

some things that have happened over the month-
my family and i went to disneyland! that was way fun. i was only there for a few days. my family flew out earlier than me because i had to stay and go to school. i flew out on a friday, and we came home that sunday.

i found out that KATY PERRY is coming to utah:) one of my closest friends and i (plus my little sister) got VIP tickets! that includes meet and greets with floor seats right next to the stage. ahhhhh! the concert isn't until september 29th, but we bought early just because. the public sale started at 10am on a monday and by 5:00pm that night, they were completely sold out! i tried messing around even just to see if i could get one ticket and nothing came up. it's crazy.

i've been busy busy with school. my classes this semester require a lot of time for homework. i'm taking math, history, english and a student success class. i enjoy them, but i hate them. at least they DO keep me busy, that way time passes quicker and i don't worry about joe so much.

i went and tried on wedding dresses with my mom a while back. it was so fun, but probably the hardest thing ever. hahah! i felt so bad for the lady who was helping us - her name was Barbie, by the way - how cool? she was so cute! i eventually narrowed it down to two dresses. at first, i thought i found THE dress. then i tried on another one one more time and i literally couldn't choose. they both had things that i loved. if one had a long train, the other had a short train. if i loved the long train, it had less lace. one was more vintage, the other more modern. one we'd have to alter a bit, the other we could leave alone. it was SO HARD! i asked my mom which she could really see me in and she said both. in the end, Barbie told me to go home and think about it. my mom was totally fine with actually purchasing one of the dresses, i just... couldn't decide. after thinking about it for a while though, i realized that buying a dress early might ruin fate or my karma or something. haha so i told my mom to forget it and that was that.
these are the two dresses that i couldn't decide on:

 

i sent joe his valentines day package! i am PLEADING with the Lord that this package gets there. his last christmas package never made it, which i am so bummed about, but this valentines day one has to. i put the cutest things inside.

 

i stitched the heart :)

also, i'm so excited because i saved a valentines day card that he gave me last year to open this year. it's my last "open when" letter though (that i got from him before he left) so it will be a bitter sweet moment to open it.

in other random news, on the first of this month, my friend and i started an ab challenge. i'm so excited to keep it up. so far it's been good. i've decided i need to start working out and getting fit. it's almost swimsuit season ;)

other than simple everyday life activities, nothing else really has been going on. life passes, ya know? there aren't always crazy exciting things to write about every month, but i do what i can to make these post interesting ;)

i've really been trying to focus on my Savior and Father in Heaven lately. i pause during the day to remind myself of the bigger picture. i think of the Lord and Heavenly Father and what they could be doing at that moment. i try to remember the sacrifices joseph smith, and those who followed him, made. i'm trying to be better. i'm trying to keep the spirit with me always. i've been studying my scriptures and from preach my gospel. since the beginning of the year, i haven't missed a chapter in the Book of Mormon! (i mean, i never missed reading a night anyway, but i've been reading the WHOLE chapter, no matter how long it is). i've also been trying to pray more intently in hopes that some of my prayers will be answered. i believe He hears me, most of the time. i just need to remind myself that i should KNOW He hears me all of the time. if that makes sense.

i'm grateful for this gospel. i say it often but that's because it's something that should be said. if anyone even reads these posts, and the only thing you ever remember, i would hope it would be that you know i love the Lord. i would hope you remember that i am grateful for the gospel and for the sacrifices people made to bring it forth. i love this work! i love missionary work! i would be nowhere without the love and support Heavenly Father and Christ give me.

"The Reason"

we have hit the double digits ladies and gents. i repeat, double digits. i am just loving how quickly time is flying by! 10 months today!:) almost a YEAR!

ten months = ten missionary pins :)

first of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! 2014. i can officially say joe comes home NEXT YEAR! wahoooooo :) so exciting. sorry to say, but i have not made any resolutions. at least i don't think i have, besides being kinder and more helpful to my family and others. (but you shouldn't need a new year celebration to do that)

so what has come of this passing month? of course, december is full of joy and love as we celebrated the Christ-mas season. our family's Christmas was beautiful. we spent the day visiting family mostly and enjoying our time with each other. i mainly got clothes and shoes as presents. my major present(s) was a family trip to disneyland this week and my Fiji HEFY Experience in june. i'm so excited for that to come up.

i must tell you about the wonderful event that happened on Christmas morning (besides family time and great presents!) right before my family was about to leave to visit my grandparents, my phone started ringing. i checked and it was joe's mom calling. i almost didn't answer the phone because i was too scared. ha! then i figured maybe it was joe's younger sister, heather (one of my best friends) calling to see what i got for Christmas. so i answered. i am so happy that i did. it was actually joe's mom calling to INVITE ME TO THE CHRISTMAS MORNING SKYPE CALL!!!!:) the invite was seriously a Christmas miracle in and of itself. his mother has always made me really nervous and she didn't like the idea of us dating before he left on his mission. she just wants him to be focused while he's gone. when she called me, i think i was silent on the phone for at least 10 seconds before finally asking, "are you suuuuure?" hahaha:)

i wasn't nervous to see or talk to my man, but to be there in front of his mom even though she invited me was a little strange. it's kind of a crazy thing, but it all works out in the end every time. when i first got there, his family was having troubles connecting to the skype call. whenever joe would call, he could see and hear us but we couldn't see or hear him. after almost 30 minutes of trying over and over, it just wouldn't work. the skype call stayed that way. he could see and hear us but we couldn't see or here him :( he would listen to what we would say and then have to type back on the skype system. i was so looking forward to seeing my missionary and hearing his voice, but in a way, i guess it was a blessing in disguise. it might have been harder on me seeing him. i would have missed him more after getting off the call. i sent him an email after asking him how he felt about it and he made me laugh so hard! he said when he saw me, he started punching the wall because he was so excited ;) i wish i could have seen him though. GAH! maybe mothers day or next Christmas?;)

this month has also brought much relaxation and more family time. i was so grateful for the break! i found out that i got a 4.0 my first semester of college! yay! i was so so so so excited. over the break, during our family time, we went to movies such as the hobbit, frozen, and catching fire (again). We also went to see some ice castles in midway, went to family parties, did a secret service, had nasty JCW's sandwiches (side note... there was a dead FLY in my sandwich. um, GROSS!) i was so sickened. just recently, my mom took me to the salt lake city wedding expo. it was so fun! i met with a lot of people about photography, wedding dresses, invitations...etc... i'm planning a wedding a year in advance? why, yes i am! thank you very much :)

we also had a bit of a scare during this last month. like i mentioned in my previous post, my dad was rushed to the hospital for severe pains in his stomach. after a million and one scans and being told it was many different things, the final outcome for dad's pain was his gallbladder. the doctors surgically removed it through his belly-button (WEIRD!) and it had over 200 stones in it. he also had a cyst on his pancreas that we didn't know for sure was cancerous or not, but again after tests and a biopsy, it came back benign. we were soooo grateful. truly a Christmas miracle. so many people prayed for us and the Lord answered our prayers. i'm so glad my dad gets to stay on earth, he has to much to do!

something crazy happened on Facebook a while ago. a beautiful girl added me as a friend but i had no idea who she was. later, as i was looking over joe's facebook (managed by his brother) i had seen the same girl was just added to joe's friends list. i started freaking out as i realized that this girl trying to add me was in joe's mission. she was from Brazil! i immediately added her and she sent me a message:) we began to talk about joe and how she met him. she told me that he taught her and her friends in english. she told me that joe told her about me which is how she found me on facebook. she said that he said i was his girlfriend, very beautiful and funny. my heart stopped! i was dying. she made my whole week! we've been messaging back and forth ever since. she asks me ways to say certain things in english (ex: in Brazil they write "kkkk" to get a smile, so in english, it's like "hahaha") and i ask her about portuguese words, the language joe is speaking:) i absolutely adore her and the whole situation. it's so fun!

emails this month back and forth with joe were adorable:) he wrote me a ton of cute things and even a poem about coming home to marry me. i wanted to cry. he makes me SO HAPPY! i couldn't imagine this life without him. he also emailed with my mom and he said the CUTEST thing today! he said, "i pray for your family too always. (well my future family maybe if you'll have me ;)) DUHHH WE WILL HAVE YOU!!!! hahah! i love him!

i've been working on a poem myself and i finally finished it a few days ago. i want to share it with you:

The Reason:

Not a day passes where I don't see your face

Every night and morning, you're my saving grace

Thoughts enter into my mind as I begin to kneel and pray

I then ask God if He will lead and guide your way

I wonder where you are and what you might be doing

I try to cope and understand with-out fully knowing

I see your smile and I see a man

I imagine you offer an outstretched hand

You invite him to listen to the words you feel to speak

And begin to express the feelings etched so deep

The gospel of Christ, the full and restored truth

With a prophet of God, called to bear the proof

Of two Heavenly beings appearing in the wood

Calling him by name, proclaiming that he should

Join no other church's, for in fact, none were true

Rather, each had a missing part and piece - or two

The Father of us all, that holy and celestial being

Gave direction unto man, and to those who were believing

Of a plan and a way, which comes only through (Jesus) Christ

And requires some effort so here's some advice:

The words of the prophets tell us what we should do

They're here to help - not only me and you

But everyone in this world can be part of something glorious

And must strive to give up the temptations laid before us

After sharing what you know and bearing testimony of the word

The process then starts and he begins to know the Lord

With each passing moment his eyes fill with tears

He tells you he feels something, a special feeling here

He points to his heart then looks up at you and smiles

You explain what it means and forget all your trials

Up until this point, some have seemed so near

Now in this moment they've all disappeared

The look on his face was the moment that you knew

That this was the reason you were called to do

The work of the Lord, to bring souls unto Christ

And to help others realize the Lord's eternal price

I continue to imagine what would possibly happen next

Knowing that you'd help this man because who you are reflects

Who you are serving and loving each and every day

Giving your all to the people God has sent your way

The experiences you will have will change you for the better

And the people that you meet will love you for forever

But don't let a moment pass without realizing where you are

Because everything that you learn will lead and guide you far

the poem was my way of imagining what my elder joseph cook is out there doing as a servant of God. he is helping and teaching everyone he meets. this poem gives an example of the reason he is out there. to find someone who needs the gospel in their life. 

i am so proud of the man he is becoming through Jesus Christ. i know he is growing into someone much better than i and i only pray to be able to grow as spiritually as he is. i've been studying the scriptures longer and harder. i have also been searching and studying Preach My Gospel. i love it! i take many notes and ponder the words i read. i love learning about Christ's church and how it truly is fully restored to this day. Joseph Smith saw what he saw. The Lord appeared and told him what needed to be done. i believe that and know that to be true. when the spirit testifies to you of the truthfulness, there is no way to deny it. i have felt that. i have felt the love of my Savior and the truth born unto me by the power of the holy ghost. i love my church. i love this gospel. being a part of such an organized church is a blessing to me. people of this faith, to me, are constantly striving to help and serve others. i love the love we have for each other. yes, i know we are all still human and we all make mistakes. sometimes people rub off on us the wrong way, but through this church, we are taught not to judge and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. i am trying my very hardest to help everyone and serve everyone and love everyone around me. no matter what their circumstance. i am trying to be like Jesus Christ :) 

i got this idea from another missionary girlfriend! i thought it was the cutest thing. i made this all by hand:) (well, on the computer obviously - but by hand) 

my cute boy:) i miss him very much

serving and loving everyone

my family at the midway ice castles

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year :)

MY MISSION BABY IS DUE TODAY!!!;) hahaha! oh my gosh, 9 months down, this is crazy! it's also mind boggling that since Joe left til now - that's literally how long it takes for a baby to grow inside of you. how cute:) i'm so excited for that day! i can't wait to be a mom. (hence, the picture for nine months!)

nine months = nine month belly... nooooot really. so i just put a heart ;) haha

so what has the month of november brought to me... well, to be honest... nothing toooo extreme. this month came and went so quickly i hardly know what to write.

i've been meeting with my bishop to discuss mission options. today actually, i am going up to the BYU campus to have a pre-missionary evaluation. i'm kind of nervous because i'm meeting with a therapist to discuss some issues and then all of my information gets sent back to my bishop. i guess this evaluation helps you know how well you would cope on a mission with certain issues you're facing... so we'll see.

the elder is doing great of course. loving every second of his mission. this past week he sent me an email though saying that i needed to go out and have fun; "date around." weeeeellllll. what he doesn't understand is that i was never that girl. even before meeting him! i seriously have no desire to go out with other guys. GAH! i know he's probably just saying these things to help me out and make sure i'm not just sitting around, but the thing is, i'm NOT just sitting around! hahah i'm way way busy all the time. with school and work and home, it gets a little crazy and i am totally fine "not going out." i hang out with girlfriends, and have plans with guy friends once in a while. i just don't like being told what to do i guess when i'm already set on something ;)

thanksgiving was absolutely wonderful this year! my family had plans to stay home - just the four of us - and my dad was going to cook a prime rib dinner, but my elders dad INSISTED we come to their home. so we spent thanksgiving with my elders family:) it was so great. there was tons of laughter, fun and yummy food. i loved it and realized that this could be the first of many more to come! it made my heart swell <3

this month i went and saw catching fire! you know, the new hunger games movie? OHHH MY GOSHHHH! i don't know about anyone else, but i thought that was the greatest movie i've basically ever seen. oh my laws! jennifer lawrence is an outstanding actress. i am in love with the movie.

lately i've been super stressed because of school. all of my final tests, assignments, projects and papers are coming up and there's SO MUCH to do! might i mention i am just about the worst procrastinator in the history of the world. not okay. well through all this craziness, we had a relief society lesson just this past sunday about hope. a quote was said and i absolutely loved it:

 Hope can be the anchor to our soul in the storm of a raging sea

if that isn't comforting, i don't know what is. hope is comforting. it is something that we gain which allows our faith to strengthen. once our faith is strengthened and we have hope, charity is gained. i am striving to achieve these qualities within myself because these are three of the things the Savior had and still has. He is our source of strength in the toughest of storms. i am so grateful for my Savior - His constant love and support. i fail Him so many times, yet He lifts me up and says "try again." He is so merciful as is the Father. how blessed are we to have such loving Gods?

my dad went into the hospital about two days ago. he was having major pains in his stomach. he thought he could handle it but decided otherwise. mom rushed him to orem and they got him in a care unit of some sort. people under 14 weren't even allowed on the floor (so my little sister couldn't visit). turns out after a million and one tests, scans, and ultrasounds he has some kind of stomach infection. also gallstones. they gave him some medicine for it and plan to treat it soon, not sure when, but he was able to come home last night. he is still in a lot of pain which stinks :\ hopefully the medicine will help. 

Christmas is coming! my family has this crazy tradition of decorating the house outside to the max. we have blow ups all over the yard, our trees are like temple square trees, completely covered. it's actually pretty cheesy but the neighbors love it and people come from all around the neighborhood to see it. it's fun.

as Christmas approaches, let us all go on in the spirit of the Lord. He is the reason we celebrate CHRISTmas after all. remember the babe born in a stable, lain in a manger to sleep. He was born into the humblest of circumstances; nothing extraordinary. nothing fancy. mary and joseph looked at their infant, the Savior and Redeemer of the world, knowing who He was but not quite understanding who He would become. the Savior is Gods Only Begotten Son, a gift to this world... a sacrifice. the Saviors atonement is for ALL who use it. so use it in your life and appreciate what the Savior went through to help us obtain celestial glory. we owe everything to Him and our Father in Heaven. 

Merry Christmas everybody & Happy New Year! 

see you in 2014 with DOUBLE DIGIT months!;)

catching fire with my little sister

sista love

all of the blow ups outside my house! told ya we go crazy ;)

Merry Christmas - from the thurmans :)

i'm falling even harder...

8 months today:) so happy and so excited that my missionary has made it this far. i know for a fact that he won't give up. he will endure to the end because that is what The Lord has asked of him. i have never met a more dedicated and faithful man. it amazes me how Heavenly Father can transform a boy into a man by helping him love and serve others. A MISSION! he just got transferred yesterday for the first time in 4 1/2 months! he's in Salvador now, closer to the post office! YAY! hahah i can send letters:) in his last email he had mentioned that he and his companion were leading the mission. their district also reached a goal of 1,000 baptisms. i'm so PROUD OF HIM!!!!!!!!

 eight months = eight stars i used to surprise him one night

the cute blondie is mine ;)

this beauty was holding the flower up to joe's camera as if to give it to ME :) 

she's SO CUTEEEEE! 

the past month has been CRAZY wonderful:) where to even begin? i spent a ton of time this month with my elders family. his father (my fathers best friend) and his sister and brother in law came up to our cabin to go elk hunting. they spent about 2 weeks in all hunting, shooting and gathering the meat. it was so fun being up there with them. their presence makes me so happy, not only because they're my man's family, but because they welcome me as if i were already one of them. it is a feeling unlike any other to know you are welcomed into another family. especially such an important one.

i got called into my bishops office. whether by coincidence or by inspiration (inspiration duh;) we talked about a mission for myself. i told him i was still in the process of deciding. he gave me some advice that really helped. he said to write down the pros and cons of each choice, pick one and then earnestly pray if it is right. so i did that. honestly, i think Heavenly Father is testing me with patience because i believe he is telling me to wait. i think a mission would be a wonderful thing for me to experience. i would love to serve and help others, but i just don't know if that is the exact plan He has for me. Still waiting it out... but... as of now, i believe i am supposed to stay home and wait for Joe :) my greatest desire is to become a wife and mother. waiting for my elder is the beginning process to that and i feel this is right. i am so excited!

another interesting thing that happened this month... ummm, a boy asked for my number. can you imagine my face???? i am scared to even recall what it may have looked like :\ oops. well, i gave it to him and he called me within the same week. he asked me to go to a dance but i had work and told him i couldn't go. i didn't want to be rude though, so i told him if he ever wanted to hang out we could. now the plate is in his hands and he hasn't called since. so we'll see if we ever hang out.

I LOVE FALL!!!!!!! the trees changing color are one of God's greatest creations (in my opinion). i absolutely love the weather and feeling in the air. it's so beautiful. tis the season... i'm falling even harder in love ;) even though it's fall, i sent all of my elders Christmas packages and a letter within this month:) i mentioned in an earlier post that i would describe what i did in each package briefly:
each one had a theme. the first package was themed "J" for "Jesus" Christ. everything within the box was Christ centered. pictures, poems, conference talks, and i even typed up some Christlike teachings that he can apply on his mission. the second package was themed "O" for "others" and serving. i got a whole bunch of items for my missionary to give away; bracelets, necklaces, chap-stick, shirts, ties, puzzles, stickers, pictures... small little things like that. the last package was themed "Y" for "yourself." i put all of his presents in there. a shirt i made him, pictures, a tie, 2 little tie pins, a CTR ring and a few other small items. when he opens all of these packages and puts the themes together, it will spell out JOY:) the only way to obtaining full joy over the Christmas season, and all year round, is to focus on Jesus Christ, Others, and then have a little time for Yourself. i just checked the location of the boxes the other day and the tracking said they made it to Brazil:) i'm so grateful and so happy!!! also excited for Joe to get these packages so he can start giving all the stuff away!

i've gotten into a major habit of indexing for the church. i seriously did over 500+ names in 2 days. i spent 5 hours doing it my first night. soooo obsessed haha:)

i've been working on my photography. one of my best friends (joe's sister) asked me to take her senior pictures!! it was so fun. she's such a beaut!

if you like what you see, feel free to email me at myranda.thurman@hotmail.com, if you or someone you know would like pictures done and want more info.! 

here are a few: 

my father and i decided that we are going to do a 2 week service project with an LDS organization called HEFY. we are going to travel to Fiji and help work on building a school and other facilities for young children. we are planning on going June 2014. i'm SO EXCITED!!!! 

on Oct. 26th, my friend Mai Hong flew in from Hawaii to stay with me before heading to the MTC on the 31st. the funny story is... we met on the FB missionary girlfriend page!!!! crazy right? long story short, we got talking a whole bunch through messaging and became super close friends. when she mentioned coming to Utah early to find some winter clothes, my first thought was "stay with me and i can take you shopping!" i asked her if she had a place to stay and she hadn't found anywhere yet. after lots of discussing and our moms communicating back and forth, Mai came to my house:))) i never knew, honestly, that i could love someone in such a short amount of time. we both felt like we'd known each other our whole lives when in reality, we knew each other for maybe a total of 2-3 months before she visited. the first time i met her was the day we picked her up from the airport. Mai became one of my dearest friends. she is like a sister to me! her visit (along with her family that joined us later) was definitely one of the highlights of this month. 

we took Mai to the roof (temple square) for dinner

and last, but definitely not least, the other day i got the most wonderful, thought out and "grown up" letter i think i've ever received. it was from my joe and he is SO MATURE!!! i can already see a huge change in him. it's not like he wasn't mature before, but truly his mission is shaping him into the man he is meant to be. his letter told me all of his goals and ambitions within the church. he mentioned how my example helped him become the worthy priesthood holder he is today.. :') it was a very very touching letter and i am so grateful to have someone in my life who is so faithful and dedicated and smart and loving and kind and and and ;) i could go on for pages. i know that i want to marry him. he is far above myself. he is far above anyone i have ever met and makes me want to be better. he makes me want to strive to be more Christlike just to match him and who he truly is. i love him so much :)