so i guess i'm pretty spoiled...

because today I received, not one, but 2 cartas! We don't write as often anymore so when I do get a letter it's a huge surprise, sorta like a mini-Christmas. And in each of those envelopes there were multiple letters, one of which was written on 3 pass-along cards because he didn't have paper with him. I immediately sat down and read through those things as if I were losing my sight in a few minutes.

Omygoodness, omygoodness.

I love that boy.

And you know what? 

He loves me too. =) 

He is excited about marrying me! Me! Can you believe it?! I sure can't. I have definitely made my fair share of dumb mistakes and he knows all about them and yet...he still wants...me? How can this be? 

I am so blessed. 

In one of his letters he said "I was talking to a guy named Beto...the other day we got on the subject of families and whether or not we had girlfriends. I showed him a picture of you and he approves. But then he said something I wasn't expecting that was really nice. He told me, 'It doesn't matter how many guys she meets or goes out with. She is never going to find someone as good as you.' Made me feel really good. =)"

Well, Beto, you were right. I'll be honest, I like dating now that the time is right.

I like the lack of pressure that comes with casual dates.

I like the reassurance that comes after those dates telling me, they are great guys, but they aren't Seth.

I just don't get excited about anyone else like I got excited about him.

Like I still get when I get a letter or an email from his family.

So you're right, Beto. It doesn't matter how many guys I go on dates with during this next year, none of them will take his place.

Which reminds me: AZ boys are much more....aggressive than NE boys. It took Seth 2 years to come say hi to me. I was asked on 2 dates within the first 24 hours of moving to Arizona. Granted, Seth was younger and probably much less desperate for an eternal spouse. I'm just sayin'. 

Bringing me to another point...

Last night I got asked on another date.

I was actually driving behind him trying to leave the parking lot when he stopped the car, hopped out, and headed toward me. So, I rolled down my window. 

"Yes?"

"I know I don't know you very well yet...but I want to. What are you doing in 5 days? Would you want to go on a double date with me? You might have heard that I'm leaving on my mission soon but I wouldn't expect you to wait for me or anything." 

I can't tell you how tempted I was to say, "Good because I wouldn't anyway. I'm already waiting for someone else."

But I didn't want to be rude.

So instead I just smiled.

A Few Things:

1) My letter was returned. Apparently I have to fill out some stupid custom forms which I forgot about so...I'll be doing that tomorrow.

2)It's the day after Thanksgiving!!! And that means that the Christmas music can begin without a fight. I LOVE Christmas! I love the decorations, I love the music, I love the overall atmosphere, and of course I love the true meaning of Christmas. So yeah, I'm pretty excited about it. In case you can't tell.

                     a) Last Christmas I went with Seth's family to Indiana and it was amazing and I loved it. So, of course, I'll be missing him big time. However, I am excited to spend this Christmas with my family and get back into our old traditions. 

b)Yesterday, after filling my stomach with turkey and pie, we played paintball. And it was awesome and I forgot how much I liked it.

3)Left at 6 am and drove my brother, sister, her boyfriend, and our foreign exchange student to go to the Husker football game today. What's that you say? Why yes. As a matter of fact we did win. Thank you for asking. =)

4) No. I did not go Black Friday shopping. I am not crazy. I don't really like shopping in the first place let alone risking my life to do so. That's why I'm still here to write this post.

Got 'Er Done

I finally sent my letter/package thing today!! 

When he opens it he will find...

2 letters

2 paisley ties (his favorite pattern)

2 random notes

1 full memory card

It was too fat! I literally had to shove it down the chute. 

I would also like you to observe:

a)there is $2.50 worth of postage on that baby

b) how nicely it is decorated with random stickers...even though you can't really see that

(My personal favorites are the Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go stickers. I told him they were there to help his espanol in case he didn't know words like maravilloso and muy bien jaja...oh forgive my spanglish. I mean marvelous and very good haha.)

Muahaha! Probably thought i was sharing something juicy with you, didn't you?! Not a chance. This is just the shortest, last little clip I filmed before sending the SD card off to him. And you already knew I loved him so nothing new there!

An Evening With An Inspiring Woman

That's her with an old picture of herself. Beautiful.

Who is this incredible lady of which I speak? Well, folks, she is someone very special to me and I love her very very much. She's my great great aunt. She's 92 years old and her name is Helen. She truly is a remarkable woman. Her mind is sharp as a tack and she remembers dates and details better than I can at 20 years old. She still bowls and shoots squirrels out of her backyard with a pellet gun when they start to eat her bird food. That Aunt Helen of mine is one feisty woman.

I eat lunch with her at least once a week and I'm so grateful to have her living here in Lincoln with me! Well tonight I was suffering from another bought of being anti-social, so I decided to go visit her. We had a wonderful time! First we watched a volleyball game (she is the biggest Husker fan of all time, that's how you know she really is my homegirl) after which I helped her make her fingernails beautiful (her one hand is too shaky to do it herself). Then we ate some delish ice cream and her specialty butterscotch cookies as we played a few rounds of cards. I told her all about the latest package I'm sending Seth and asked if she would like to say something to him in one of the videos I was sending on the SD card. She is DEFINITELY pro-Seth so she said yes. (She only met him once but she really liked him and she asks about him at least once a month if not more. Also, I think she mainly likes the idea of me waiting for him because she waited for her husband as well but I'll get around to that.) That inspired me to ask her more questions about her Pete and I asked if she had any old pictures we could look at. So we went downstairs and got their wedding photos. She had a little wedding book/journal in which she'd written every detail of their 1946 wedding and as I looked through it I read them all out loud to hear. Inside this little book was the toast which one of her friends, who has since passed on, gave at their wedding and then again the same exact toast at their 50th wedding anniversary. The writing was too small for her to read, so she asked me to once again read that special toast to her. How could I refuse? It all made me so happy, but at the same time so sad. 1- I loved being able to hold those old pictures. 2- I loved seeing what she looked like. 3- It broke my heart to hear her tell of her loved ones, including her husband, who had almost all passed away.  

She continued to tell me about Pete and how she waited for him while he went away to war...4 years. Holy cow. And I thought 2 years was bad. When she reminded me she had waited that long she looked at me and said, "you have a ways to go to catch up." Haha I hope I never have to! I don't know if I could handle that long! Anyhow, she had one picture of herself waiting by an empty mailbox which she told me she had sent to him and said "I didn't get a letter today." Oh goodness, Aunt Helen. I know how you feel. So yeah, he got back from overseas and they got married and lived happily ever after and now he has been gone for over 10 years. Every time I think about her being without him for that long I just want to cry. I once asked her if she still missed him a lot...I already knew the answer. "Oh yes. That sort of thing never goes away. It gets better but..." The pain is duller now but it never completely goes away. In a sense, I knew exactly what she meant. At least I thought I did, but then I realized Seth had only been gone for 8 months and she's been missing Pete for 10 years. I am so foolish to think I know anything about how she feels. 

After our wonderful story time I had to go, i had been over there since 6:30 and it was now past 11. Before I left she told me "I was hoping you would decide not to go to Arizona...I'm really going to miss you." I walked over to her and gave her the biggest hug. "I'm going to miss you too. I love you, Aunt Helen."   "I love you too, sweetie," she said. 

As I drove away from her house with a promise of returning tomorrow after church, I said a thankful little prayer. I am grateful that I have her still on this earth with me. I am grateful for the wonderful person that she is and for all of the lives that she has blessed. "Wow, Pete,"  I thought, "You were one lucky guy to be able to spend your life with her."  Then a very distinct thought came into my mind: They're not sealed. He can't have her for eternity, at least not with the way things are now. And I decided right then and there, someday I am going to be baptized for her. And I am going to seal them together. No other temple work will ever make me so happy. (Except for possibly getting married myself.) I can only imagine how happy they will be finally being sealed! My goodness, I've never been so excited to go to the temple and I can't even do the work yet! Someday though, I am going to do it. And it will probably be one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. I can already tell.

^Some of my favorites. I can't believe I forgot to put the mailbox picture in this group!^

Aren't they just adorable in that photo on the left!?! The picture on the right she sent to him while he was overseas (you can see in the corner she wrote "I love you") and he kept it the whole way through the war and all through their marriage and now that he's gone she has it again. Talk about tragically romantic, huh?

Most important points of the night:

a) I can make it two years. She made it through four and she's still alive and kicking.

b) Once again, I am so incredibly grateful to have the gospel in my life and know that I can be sealed to all of my family, including my future husband, for all of eternity.

6 MONTHS!!!

Friday was Seth's six months mark. (As well as my little sister's 10th birthday.) Six whole months have already passed since he reported to the MTC! Can you believe it!? I can't! Each day seems to take forever, but the weeks have just flown by.  I need to add another picture to my photo count-up on the side...I just haven't gotten that far yet. Anyway, in honor of this wonderful 1/4 mark I will share one of my favorite pictures of him on his mission and pieces of the latest letters I've received.
"I miss you. Thank you so much for the letters that you send me. I love hearing about your life and knowing that you are happy. Oh, you make me smile. =)"  (Smile by Uncle Kracker was our first "song," by the time he left we had quite a few added to that list. Is it weird that I haven't been able to listen to any of them yet?)
"Just so you know, whatever happens after the mission even if you are married to someone else remember that I will always be your friend, your best friend. And Elder Haslam, Elder Plank, Elder Tagge, and I all say Hi. I love you, Sierra!"
"You are amazing! Don't forget to study the scriptures cada dia." I love how he still  looks after me. lol I also love how our letters are 100% Spanglish.

Also, I wrote a letter to his companion a while ago and I got his response.
I asked what kind of missionary Seth was and he answered, "He is one of the best. He is progressing very fast and he really knows how to teach the people. I am learning a lot from him and I've got more than 4 times as much time as he does on the mission. He is going to be a great missionary."

Then asked what stands out about Seth to him and he said, "I'd have to say the spirit he has with him. He always brings the spirit when he teaches and he always is following the promptings."

I told him that Seth always used to love pulling pranks on me and teasing me and asked if he did any of that to his companion. His response? "Thankfully he hasn't yet but I think he might be planning one out as I write so thanks for the heads up. I'll be watching my back and sleeping with one eye open now." Haha...Oh, Seth...

And last but not least I asked if I was being a distraction. I really don't know what I would have done if he would have said yes, but I needed to be sure because I don't want to hinder the work and keep him from progressing. I also told him to watch out for Seth because sometimes he does some stupid things. lol He's a smart boy, but he's a boy nonetheless and we all know their brilliant ideas aren't always super safe. His companion told me, "No, you are not a distraction. We missionaries need a lot of support and love because it keeps us going when times get tough. He is focused so don't worry. I'm making him work so hard he doesn't have time to get distracted. Don't worry I'm watching out for your Elder Ramsay and I'll make sure he comes back with honor."

Oh gosh. I miss that boy. Lately I've been slacking a little bit and it's hard for me to remember what it was like when he was here. I know I was happy and content when I was with him and I know I haven't had that exact feeling since he left, but I've forced myself not to think about it for so long it's almost difficult to bring it back to the front of my mind. Sometimes it feels as if this missionary girlfriend thing is just a dream. It truly feels like I have an imaginary boyfriend. When I look at pictures of him, though, I remember. When I read his letters, it comes back. And when I truly think about my life without him, I can't. I know this will all be worth it, I just have to do this six month thing three more times and I have a feeling these next three times are going to be much easier than the first. Halfway mark, here I come.

MGs Never Give Up

*Sigh* Still no mail. Every morning I run down the stairs and see if I have a letter and each morning I don't dad says, "That dang boyfriend. He must not love you. You'd better just dump him and stay with me forever. Your ol' dad will take care of you." I tell him thanks, that's both tempting and comforting. Then I tell him he can still take care of me since I feel like I have an imaginary boyfriend anyway. Of course he's just kidding, my whole family loves Seth. I'm just his oldest daughter and I'm sure it's a daddy thing, he just wants to hang on. Sometimes when I leave to go back to college he just stands in the doorway and watches me drive away. It breaks my heart every time. Anyway, back to the mail. The last letter I received was dated over a month ago.  =( So, to ease this depression, I decided to look through some old letters! Here are some of my favorite parts:


"Thank you so much for always being there for me. You truly made this last year and a half the best of my life and helped me become the person I am today."

"My favorite quote 'The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence.' Before my mission I always thought of that as referring to sports, school, etc. but now it refers directly to my mission. Also the commitment to excellence that I had in having the best girlfriend in the world led me to you and I know that you are the best that there is. I cannot wait for the day when I know that we are together for eternity."

"Each time I go through the temple my thoughts drift to the day when we will be going together."

"Do you remember that pink tie I had? Well apparently a lot of the Elders want to trade me for it, but I won't trade it with anyone because that tie has some of your mascara on it."

"I cannot wait to hold you in my arms and be beside you again. I love you with all of my heart! I miss you, babe, but I know this experience will make both of us better. Quiero que sepa que te querre con todo mi corazon por siempre. Yo prometo."

"June 1st at 12:02 a.m. is the anniversary of the first time I ever kissed you so it's the 2 year mark for that event in our relationship."  (We lived in two different time zones even when we we're dating so after this had happened...much later...he told me that our first kiss took place on June 1st my time and May 31st his time. Pretty cute huh?)

"Guess what? Since your letter went to the apartment of my district leader (we don't have a mailbox) he told me that it was his duty to make sure I was dating someone worth the time it takes to write letters and the money it takes to send them. After I showed him the pictures you sent he just said 'Well done, sir.' And then he told me that I need to do everything I can to keep you he even said that I need to write you more because I need to take care of you so you are not married when I get back. I agree with him because you are everything to me! I love you! I always will."

"I've been thinking all week of what I was going to write you this week. I thought I would start with the most important thing to me, which is that I love you. I can't wait to tell you that face to face again."

"Every once in awhile I get to kiss you in my dreams. Those are my favorite."

"Yesterday, I got to wish at 11:11 a.m. and you know what I wished for? The same thing I always do. That after I get back from my mission I will have the opportunity to spend an eternity with you."

"While I have been on my mission I have really come to appreciate the time we had together and the person you are. I miss you. I miss being able to just talk to you about anything."

"Justin Bieber is just getting popular here. Lucky me."  You can tell he's a huge fan lol

"I was just thinking about how after a fireside I kissed you on the sidewalk outside the stake center and told you that I loved you for the first time. You were so happy you skipped across the parking lot. After that on my way home dad wasn't too happy with me and told me it wasn't appropriate to kiss you outside the church,  but I was too happy to care."

"I miss my best friend."

"I have pictures of you in my scriptures and on my desk. I show them to whomever I can. I pray for you every day. I catch myself thinking about the things we are going to do or how I am going to ask you to marry me. I love thinking about that. I love thinking about you in general."

"Thank you for being in my life and being my best friend. Thank you for the letters that you send me. I love reading them, I read them over and over again." I do that too. =)


One time he sent me a bunch of little squares of cut up paper, each with a number on the back. After I put them all in order and glued them down, this is what I got.

Gosh I love this boy. =)

You know what? This did help. I feel better already and there's always tomorrow right? Because I guarantee you in the morning I'll be sprinting down those stairs again. That's one thing about us MGs...we never give up.