Farewell for 18 months!

This is my last blog post before I head out on my mission. In fact, tonight is the night that I get set apart as a missionary!!! SO insane. I can't wait, yet I'm filled with nerves, anxiousness, excitement, and just feeling overwhelmed by it all. How grateful I am for this amazing experience. I know I will be stretched and tried, but I also have faith that I will have many joyful moments. The best part is that I know that this is what the Lord wants me to do. I have faith that He knows what he's doing.

Tomorrow we fly out west and begin our "mini" vacation before I enter the MTC on July 16th. We are going to meet up with the couple that were instrumental in my parents becoming members of the church, and they've been close friends ever since. I'm excited to meet them. It's nice to know that they will be out there in Utah with me for the next year and a half of my mission.:)

So, my dear family and friends, I'll miss you all! Continue to be the amazing people that you are and continue to live and love life. I'll see you when I return.:)

God speed!

What I've been doing...Part I

I went to the TEMPLE!!! It was so great to be able to finally go inside. Although a lot of it went over my head, I did leave with a stronger testimony of the power I had when I left. It is so beautiful inside. I honestly felt that it was the closest thing to heaven on this earth. Probably because it is. It was a gorgeous day which is so fitting because I the experience was equally gorgeous. I am really looking forward to going back a few more times before I go on my mission. (which is only about a month away!!!)

Here are a few pics that we captured from that day...(May 24th)

This was Jim talking to Dad who was sitting in the SUV...I love the pic of the temple in the background.

Eating lunch after I took out my endowments:

My parents and I: The girls (Lisa, Amber, Me, Sara Smith):

What I've been doing...Part 2

Last week I went to Pittsburgh to visit one of my best friends, Erin. I decided that since the price of gas is so astronomically high it would be cheaper for me to ride the bus. I haven't had a ton of experience with public transportation but after this trip I can honestly say I've had my fill.


The harrisburg bus station is dodgey to say the least. My bus was supposed to leave at 3pm and didnt leave until 4...and waiting there for that extra hour was rather unnerving, considering all of the strange and dangerous looking folk I was forced to be around. Just thinking about it makes me shutter. It is a miracle I arrived in Pittsburgh unharmed. Seriously.


Once I finally got to the Pittsbugh bus station Erin was there waiting for me, so it was nice to be among "friends" if you know what I mean. I had such an awesome week with her. She has a beautiful home, and I felt like I was staying at a resort! She has a lake in her backyard (pic above) and two adorable yellow lab dogs: Gert and Ben. They were gentle and kind, so I didn't mind being around them in the least.


Since I'm pretty lazy I'm only going to post a few pics of my trip, but if you want a full photo-journal account, go to my facebook and view my album.

Erin's backyard...there is a part of a golf course AND a lake on her property...

What a cute dog...
By the lake...

Out in front of her house...

Erin in the kitchen...

Driving to the bus stop to go home on Friday morning:(.

Driving in to the city of Pittsburgh...

Room Cleaning

Since the semester ended, I've tried to keep myself busy by totally deep cleaning my room. It's not that it's a total pig stye or anything, but I have bins of old papers from High School and even elementary school that I needed to go through and purge.

It is taking me way longer than I thought...But it seriously gets worse before it gets better. I wish I was like Samantha on "Bewitched" so I could just wiggle my nose and then magically everything would go into place and be perfectly organized! But that's definitely not reality.

Other than cleaning my room I am also trying to get to the gym way more often. I decided not to work for the two months before my mission, so that means I have no excuse to waste time.

My life is pretty non-eventful these days.:)

A Hate-Hate Relationship...

Do you know how some people say they have a love-hate relationship with someone? Well let me tell you, i have a hate-hate relationship with finals week. Whoever came up with the idea of having a week full of end-of-term exams was, at best, STUPID. So, while i am in the thick of this ridiculous thing called finals, I hope everyone else is actually enjoying their week and weekend. I won't be.

But, as I like to think of it, this is my last round of finals for about 2 years...which is crazy and WONDERFUL!!! Hallelujah!:) When I come back home from the mish I might be one of the oldest "undergrad" students at Messiah, but hey, who cares right?

Welcome Home, Jimmerooo!

So I am about to hit the hay (dad's expression for going to bed) but before I do I just have to say that I'm really glad Jim is home from his business trip. He got in on Sunday, and I'm so glad that now Lisa and Jim are reuinited and the fun can begin again!!

It was great getting to tell Jim where i'm going on my mission....he is seriously the LAST person to find out! And it was also nice to hear how excited jimmer and liser are for me, even if i am going to utah.:) I'm actually really excited for the adventure headed my way.

And the other thing i'm way stoked about is the fun fest this that will occur this weekend because jim and lisa are coming up to the homestead here in pa to PARTAY!:) No joke, mom and dad have already planned a food-filled weekend. So, watch out J and L, you better bring your "fat pants" because as dad says, you're gonna have to "let the belt loose" after the meals yet to come!

Ok folks, i'll sign off now. (clap clap) => that was me "clapping" off the lights. you know, like in the "clap on clap off" commercial with the old lady who is in bed and suddenly "clap claps" her lights off and then abruptly rolls over..... I know, great visual, right?!:)

NOTE: I do not really own the "clap on clap off" lights....it would be pretty sweet if i did though.:)

Mission Call

I GOT MY CALL!!!
Just two days after my last post (Saturday) I got my call in the mail! Me and Amber were actually out at the mall and my mom frantically called us to tell us "you're packet is here!" So we pretty much rushed home to rip it open.:)

Drum role, please.....

OGDEN, Utah!!!

"I'm goin' to Ogden!" You know the movie Singles Ward...when Dallin opens his call and he gets sent to Boise?! And he's WAY excited but all of his friends feel sorry for him?! Haha...well, i must say, for me it was sort of the other way around. I was slightly shocked and disappointed to be going to UTAH (of all places!) but everyone else has been SO excited for me. I think I just needed to let it soak in a few days. I'm still sort of processing it, but I am getting more and more excited each time I think about it.

Plus, I also came to realize that it doesn't matter where you go. It's really just about humbling yourself and doing and going where the Lord has a purpose for you. I've felt that particularly strong.

I leave July 16, which is a month later than I thought, but I think it will be great to have some time off from school and just be with my family.

So, YAY OGDEN!:) Mom said she is going to frame the letter...haha!!!