missionary

cannibal, kaicho, pioneers, cheesecake, need i say more?

July 31, 2015 — 2 Comments

Sorry for the past few days friends – I got a little spooked when I went onto my statistics and found some of my top referring sites were pornography (what the?!?!)

I found out it’s just a spam bot – that nobody was reading my blog from a porn site and my site wasn’t affiliated with them in any way. Just shut down to only private for a few days until I could get it all figured out. And now it’s all figured out and all is well!

We got WEDDING PICTURES! Expect a full, detailed post (or two. or three.) about that wonderful day just 2 months ago.

Let’s catch up a little:

24th of July was awesome! We got to watch the parade, hang out with family, and go to Lagoon! And YES we rode Cannibal – TWICE in fact! It was so much fun to be with family and have such a good time.

I love Pioneer Day because it gives me the chance to really think about my pioneer ancestors, and appreciate all they did to get me where I am today. Some people don’t understand or think it’s that important, but really it’s one of the most important parts of history, in my opinion. I will forever be so thankful for what those brave men and women did, so that I can be where I am. It made me reminisce on my Pioneer Trek experience from Young Women’s. We went up to Wyoming to actually walk the path that those pioneers did. It truly was so remarkable to walk where they walked, to see what they saw. It made me that much more grateful for my faith and those who worked so hard to make sure I could believe whatever I wanted.

Last week was filled with mission gatherings for Randy and I. Randy’s mission president came home, so we got to go see everyone at a BBQ and then go to the homecoming! Randy’s “dad” and others were so fun to hang out with and get to know better. 
And finally meeting Kaicho was incredible! I’ve heard so much about him, and he’d heard so much about me, that it was nice to finally meet. He just went on, and on about how wonderful Randy was as a missionary, and it was so amazing to get to meet him.
And finally. 2 months calls for a celebration. A cheesecake celebration! Randy and I spent one of our amazing wedding present gift cards to celebrate 2 months of marriage. Being with Randy has literally been a dream come true. It’s not always perfect, but it’s the best thing I’ve ever had and I can’t wait for the months and years ahead. If you’re getting married soon PLEASE message me with questions! There are so many things I wish I would’ve known, but didn’t want to ask. Please ask away!
Now I’m ready for a relaxed weekend with my love. 
Happy Friday everyone!

What They Won’t Tell You About Having Them Come Home

January 24, 2015 — 14 Comments

Ok dear friends, it’s time for this post.

Before I say anything else, let me start with this.

Randy and I are very much in love. Things are delightful, we love spending time together and having him home is the best thing in the world.

But having him home was also incredibly hard.

That sounds super ridiculous, right? I mean, we just spent 2 years apart, we should be OVERJOYED to be together again. And we were. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

We spent 2 years making new friends, meeting new people, living in two different countries, figuring out how to communicate with email and letters, growing up, making goals, having happy and sad experiences. And we got really good at doing all that. There were days when I actually LIKED having a missionary. It was never easy, but it got comfortable. Routine.

Then he came home.

We had to figure out how to communicate instantly, with words and tones and body language. Talk about weird.

I had to try and introduce him to new friends that knew a different part of me, and he had to introduce me to mission companions that meant the world to him.

I had to try to explain twerking (RIGHT?!?!?!) and why everyone is obsessed with Frozen.

He had to try to explain companionship inventory and couldn’t remember words in English.

So here are a few things that I wish I had known about having a missionary come home:

1. It’s ok to feel overwhelmed. They’ll feel overwhelmed, you’re going to be overwhelmed. Just enjoy what you can when you can. The overwhelmed parts will fade away soon enough.
2. It’s ok to fight. I think Randy and I were both so nervous about fighting that it only made tension worse. Couples fight! It’s ok!
3. It’s ok to not want to be together constantly. Randy and I loved being together, but for some people a little space is crucial! Don’t feel bad!
4. It’s ok to want to be lame. I felt dumb for wanting to stay in and cook dinner together instead of rushing out to parties and movies and dances. But honestly, it’s ok to sit down and chat for hours. I promise!
5. It’s ok to be different. I was so worried we weren’t adjusting the same way my friends, and their cousins, and their sisters best friends brother in law had adjusted. It’s ok to be different from everyone you see blogging and on Facebook!
6. It’s ok if it doesn’t work out the way you wanted. This is hard for so many people. For Randy and I, we’re dating and it’s been working out just fine. For other people, it doesn’t work or takes longer to get figured out. Sometimes things change and plans change, and all of that is ok.
7. It’s ok to communicate. There were some things that were bothering me and I didn’t want to bring them up, I didn’t want to offend Randy. In the long run, it’s better to have a conversation than a fight later.
8. It’s ok if it’s not ok. There are days when just straight up, having a brand new missionary in your life is hard. And it’s hard for you to be in their life too. Just trust me when I say that the bad days pass and better days are ahead! There are still perfect moments in misunderstood days, and it’ll all work out how it should.
9. It’s ok. In the end. It will be fine. That much is absolutely certain! 

So maybe that’s a downer, but I want it to be a glimpse at reality. Too many girls post that everything is 100% perfect right when their missionary gets home, which might be the case for them. For me, it was a little bit of an adjustment, one that I’m so happy we made and got through. But still.

Come what may and love it, right?

Happy Saturday everyone!