Hang In There.

Package time!!

Yes, I thought it was about time that Matthew get an extra special piece of mail, packed with love from his Georgia gal. :)

Since he is nearing the close of his mission (having only 5 1/2 weeks left as I write this), I started putting together a "Hang In There" package I had found on Pinterest...

Well, there weren't a whole lot of resources so I had to take what I could find and make some stuff up on my own, which is perfectly fine because it's suppose to be your own special creation, and your missionary is going to love it much more when it's from the heart. :)

Because it is titled "Hang In There", the theme of monkeys and bananas tends to go with it. In fact, all of the other packages I saw on pinterest had a stuffed animal monkey included... unfortunately, I couldn't find any monkey.... disappointing, I know. 

Anyway, here is what I came up with!

P.S. It's ALL food, but that's fine because I know he will enjoy it. :)

The food.

I tried to stick with the yellow and brown colors (monkeys and bananas). The muffin mix is included because it is BANANA! And banana stuff is kind of hard to find in comparison to other flavors.

I am THE WORST at creativity! Especially trying to come up with little notes/saying to tie into all of the items inside a package. Needless to say, I gave it a try this time (for the first time), and they are extremely cheesy! Haha 

All packed away before the box decorations... I have to add that I had banana pudding and some Keebler cookies to put in here too, but there was absolutely no room. What's one of my favorite things about putting together a package? Eating the extra food that didn't fit inside the box!! haha I actually ate some of the extra AS I was making this!

The finished product-- decoration and all!

Feel free to take any of these ideas!

Happy Package-making! :)

L-E- double-T E-R --->What does that spell?!

One thing I have learned from being a Missionary Girlfriend is that nothing makes me happier than a letter with the name Elder Parks written on it! AAHHH! It's enough to instantly put me in an amazingly good mood. hahaha I love that man, so very much and it's so wonderful (and relieving) to read that he is happy, safe, and that he loves me and is thinking about me. Music to my ears!

All during work this morning, I was in anticipation of a letter when I got home, since it had been a couple weeks...what happened when I got home? No letter. (Insert disappointment HERE) Surprisingly, it didn't phase me a whole lot because I went on with my day. All of a sudden in the middle of dinner, my sister Rachel says "It's your lucky day!" and slides a letter across the table. WHAT?!!! (Insert big smile HERE)
Apparently, she had kept it a secret, even from the rest of the family for what had been about three hours. That's some pretty good self control right there, if you ask me. lol Needless to say, I am having an awesome day!

So, in honor of receiving one of those wonderful letters today, this post is solely dedicated to letters.
Here's to 2 months left!!!

My absolute favorite mailbox picture. :)

Postcards are fun too!

Above All Things I Believe in Love

It was about time for another post here!

So, we're going to start off with the best part and that, of course, is my dear missionary,

 Elder Matthew Parks. <3

He FINALLY got transferred a couple weeks ago, and what's funny is that he is back in Ammon, which was his first area out of the MTC. What makes it different, however, is that he has an English speaking companion. He will be finishing out his mission there.

Wow! Just about 2 months left!! CRAZY Time flies when you don't think about it all the time, and that's just the trouble... now that it's getting so close, I think about his return ALL THE TIME.

On Sunday, I began to think about his homecoming and what I wanted to do-- airport or no. I was frustrated because I was really struggling between the two options, not fully feeling persuaded either way. Amidst my worries, I posted on the missionary girlfriends pages on Facebook of which I'm a part, just because I needed some advice and opinion. Lots of girls commented what they would do in my situation. One of the girls said something about meeting him at a spot that was special for the both of us. I though that was a sweet idea, but didn't think much more about it. That night, before bed, I prayed for direction and inspiration concerning this topic. 

The very next morning, the idea of meeting at a special place came back to mind and this time it was like "Yeah! That's would be awesome! I'm going to do just that!". I mentioned it to my mom and my sister and they were all for it. I would meet him the day after he gets back so that he can have the first day with his family, without the stress of feeling like he has to balance the both of us at the same time. It will also fit both of our personalities so much better. Now that I have a plan, it's all I can think about and I'm just so excited for him to come home. I'm also really excited to tell him about this idea, but I will probably wait until it's closer to the time he comes home, which will end up being somewhere in September. AHHH! It's such a wonderful plan!

And now for the other good part of this post... MUSIC! It's time for a "Favorite Music" update!

One Direction-- Best Song Ever

I am in love with the music from the movie Moulin Rouge, hence these videos. :)

Elephant Love Medley

Your Song (only when Ewan McGregor sings it)

Come What May (beautiful song!)

"Open When" Letters

About a month ago I heard fellow missionary girlfriends talking about "Open When" letters to send their missionaries. I finally decided to take the plunge and complete this project as well, and let me say it was a wonderful experience! "Isn't it just putting together some stuff into a package?". Well, yes, but it's not like going to the store and buying a bunch of material stuff (not that there's anything wrong with that, I do it all the time), instead everything that goes into this package is from the heart. You grow close to your Elder in taking the time to find quotes and write letters that correspond to the kinds of days he might have. I really recommend doing "Open When" letters-- they are lots of fun!
By all mean, mine are not as extravagant, creative, and artsy as other girls' are, but that's up to you.
So, here are pictures and descriptions of what I included in my "Open When" letters :

Open when...

it's been a hot day

you miss me

you are having a rough day

you need my love

you need a lift

you are bored

you are happy

you need a good laugh

just for fun

you get this

Open when... it's been a hot day

1 letter

Ice cream pictures

1 gift card to Chick-fil-A (for a milkshake or ice cream)

Open when... you miss me

1 letter

1 picture of me

1 quote

a fun picture :)

Open when...you are having a rough day

1 letter

Quotes

Star confetti

Open when...you need my love

1 letter

Lyrics to one of our favorite songs

Scripture/quotes

Cute mailbox picture

Heart confetti

Open when... you need a lift

1 letter

Uplifting church talk

Uplifting Mormon-ad

Scriptures

Open when... you are bored

1 letter

Word search puzzle

Fun questionnaire (I filled one out and sent it with his blank one)

Quote

Open when... you are happy

1 letter

A picture of us

12 Things Happy People Do Differently card

Open when... you need a good laugh

1 letter

Quotes

Goofy picture

Which is funnier...? game (it's a favorite of ours because we made it up)

Open when... just for fun

1 letter

Mazes

Some artsy thing I made with my hand :p

Application for a Returned Missionary to Date a Daughter of God

Open when... you get this

This envelope is simply for explaining how all of these envelopes work, so it just contains a letter.

Of course I sealed them all with my "I <3 My Missionary" stickers!

All packaged up and ready to go! :)

So, that is basically how I did my Open Whens. I felt like I came up with a lot of different stuff and when it came time to divide it all up and put things in their envelopes, I didn't have as much stuff as I remembered... Anyway, I'm sure Matthew is going to be able to tell the effort I put into, and the fact that it's a more "homemade" package will make it all the more special to him. I'm REALLY looking forward to getting the RM application back all filled out! That'll be exciting. :D

Monday Adventures.

Just a cute little quote that as so much truth in it. :)

On this beautiful Monday, I had the day off from work so I filled it with fun projects, including gardening and pinterest findings!

I decided this morning to try out the crayon art idea from pinterest, where you melt crayons onto with hairdryer onto canvas. I took step-by-step pictures as I work on it so that I could give feedback.

Getting started! By the way, this is definitely a project you'll want to take some time out for, because it's a slower process than I had expected.

In case you're wondering why this activity takes time... this picture sums it up. :)

Here are the finished products... I'm not as satisfied with how they turned as I thought I'd be, but I'm not very artistic to begin with. They also look a little better in person.

I tried taping a line of them to the canvas and then melting them, but they kept moving and sliding out of place, which I concluded was because they didn't have the papers on them.

Next, I worked on potting plants that I bought at Lowe's this morning. I had such a hard time deciding on only a couple plants since I go crazy about them-- especially flowers! Here is what I ended up going with.

Purslane and Begonias!!

So pretty!

AND, as I was cleaning up after my gardening session, I found this little treasure! It's kind of beat up, but still a great find. :)

My very first four-leaf clover! Aren't I lucky? ;)

In addition to these wonderful productive activities, I studied Macroeconomics (which takes me back to when I took Economics at Piedmont during my dual-enrollment days). Now I need to work on Statistics :p, exercise, and then maybe read one of my library books. It sounds like a good plan to me! :)

Now for a short video from one of my favorite movies: A Hard Day's Night!

Rain, Rain, Rain, I Don't Mind. :)

 

 

I love blogs, I really do, and I have had lots of fun starting mine and keeping it up (rather poorly, sorry!!). The one thing that makes it difficult is that I am not a very creative person... so, blogging can be difficult at times. I love thinking of a blog as a journal only in fun form. :) You get to put all of these pretty decorations in it to make it fun! Aren't blogs some of the most interesting and useful things. They are just great.

Wow, so where do I start.... it's amazing how in one month you can either have TONS going on, or you look back and realize that even though you were busy, there wasn't a whole lot of new things happening. Well, this past month I stayed busy enough, but it was mostly working and studying. Yeah, my life is kind of boring...

It really is easy to get down and discouraged when you feel like all you do is the same stuff every single day and before you know it another month has past. It's great when you're a missionary girlfriend (like me), and each month that passes is one closer to his return. But I've been thinking about time a lot lately. It's not something to just get through, and that is a concept I've had to learn for myself. We are meant to enjoy this life-- our time here on earth. Jesus Christ atoned for our sins so that we could experience true happiness not just in the life to come but right here in our everyday journey. It is up to us, however, to choose happiness and positivity, especially in a world that would have us think and feel otherwise. I am so grateful for the many blessings Heavenly Father continues to bless me with daily.

Matthew has 4 months left.... 4 months! As far as I know, he is still in Blackfoot and he is still DL. He was very consistent in writing almost every week for the past 1 1/2 months. Now I'm going on four weeks of not hearing from him. I don't think about it a lot. I think I have gotten used to the idea that he will write whenever he wants to, and so I write when I hear from him. I really don't know how things are going to go when he gets home. I had such a hard time for a couple months being okay with the idea of not knowing how everything was going to fall into place. Just these past few weeks of have learned that God really does have a plan for my life, and I know he is working in my behalf. He doesn't want me to be concerned over my future and worry about it. He will take care of everything and I am sure of it! :)

 

I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. ~Psalm 34:1



19 and Counting!!

 

 

 

Typical 24 Month Cycle

 

1-3 Months-- DIFFICULT!!! For both you and your missionary, remember to support him and let him know how proud of him you are...

4-6 Months-- Time gets ticking, you feel amazing once you hit the 6 month mark

6-9 Months-- Goes by pretty fast. Remember to stay close with your missionary, pray for him and write letters that are supportive and friendly!! He will need reassurance-- so will you!

9-12 Months-- It all slow down... But once you hit a year you feel like it's a piece of cake, until you realize you still have one more!

12-15 Months-- SLOW!!! That's all I have to say...

15-20 Months-- Flies by, you're motivated to stick to it..

20-24 Months-- Goes slower than ever, but you know you've made it and nothing can get in your way. :)

 

What you see above is what is known as a missionary girlfriend's Typical 24 Month Cycle, and as a missionary girlfriend myself, I can tell you that this is SO accurate! I am currently in the 19th month and it is unreal how the time is passing. I have started to get either an email or a letter almost once a week now. It surprises me every time because for months I had to wait a while between each letter. It's wonderful to hear from him much more often. I went to a Relief Society activity this Tuesday and it was putting together sunshine boxes for the missionaries (Of course I was there!!). It was so nice to help put together these boxes and I was surprised how many people were supportive of me and Matthew. That definitely made me happy. I felt close to my missionary while taking part in the activity. It was great!!

 

This week I read the talk by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, titled, "Forget Me Not". I had heard several people talk about it or make reference to it, but had never read it for myself. If you have not read it, you definitely should! Here it is! It's all about taking the time to notice the little things in life, which is something I know I can use often. I think I've been getting caught up in the busyness of my life that I often overlook all the many blessings that Heavenly Father is placing in my life.

 

 



 

 

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. ~Psalm 118:24

Have a wonderful day! P.S. I LOVE my missionary!! <3

 

 

6 months left!! Where has the time gone?

When it comes to blogging, I guess you could say I am definitely not the best at keeping up with it. :) Even if I have short posts, I should just blog more often, right?

Matthew and I have made to the 18 month marker!! What a journey it's been so far. Overall the time has flown. Recently, I have been experiencing some rough patches with the wait, but I do believe Heavenly Father has helped me get past that and I am now recovering nicely. Matthew is still in Blackfoot. It is his longest area so far, and he absolutely loves it there (besides all the snow, that is).  Exciting news!! He is District Leader!! I am so proud of him. He is being blessed for his hard work. :) I feel blessed to being waiting for and supporting such an amazing man. I truly love him with all my heart. <3

I am now a Junior!!!!!! I am halfway through college, and it feels great! I had a goal of being a Junior by Matthew's 18th month and I was able to stay on schedule and finish up my Sophomore year in time. I cannot imagine doing college any other way. Being able to finish up in 2 weeks time what would normally be a 16 week, 1 semester class is so satisfactory! I wouldn't do it any other way. Maybe if I plan everything out just right and work even harder, I will be a Senior by the time my missionary comes home. ;)

Besides studying for tests, and working at Chick-fil-A, I am doing my best to love life. It can be difficult at times when you feel that your life is being spent doing two things- school and work- but I know that they are both important. I just get a little frustrated with myself when I do have free time and I don't do anything productive with it! EEErrrr! I'm still working on that...

Here is my latest finding in music! :)

Agnetha Faltskog (ABBA)-- I Won't Let You Go

George Harrison? I think YES!!

Okay, so I have a new founded love for The Beatles and their music. My favorite is George Harrison, so I looked through some of the songs he's made on his own, and these are my favorites! Hey! Sometimes you've got to just dedicate a blog post completely to music! :)

Got My Mind Set On You

Cheer Down

What Is Life

Beautiful Girl

Happy Listening!!

I love Sundays!

Sunday Favorites:

Going to church--playing piano for primary

Writing a letter to my wonderful missionary, Elder Matthew Parks

Going for a walk in the woods when the weather permits it

Taking a bunch of pictures

Listening to hymns

Planning out my week

Writing in my journal

Watching home videos

Reading blogs

Watching classic movies (The Sound of Music, Anne of Green Gables, Singin' in the Rain, Belles on their Toes, etc. Yes I have quite of collection of the old classics.)

Today I wrote a letter to Matthew-- part of it during Sharing Time in primary, and the other part while I was sitting on our unfinished deck, enjoying the beautiful weather. Writing letters outside is one of the greatest feelings. I could feel the spirit while I was writing, and being out in nature seemed to clear my mind from other unimportant things and allowed me to write what I felt was a uplifting, encouraging, and happy letter. The ideas of what to write about just kept flowing and it was amazing! I definitely recommend writing a letter outside next time, or just doing anything outside that you would normally do sitting in your house. It really makes a huge difference-- or at least it does to me.

I also went for a walk around our house, or in other words-- the woods, since that's what surrounds our house. We also have a creek that I took some pictures of as well.

This might not really go with the whole theme of Sunday, but I need to tell you what I got in the mail yesterday!! On my way out to go to work, I stopped at the mailbox and inside there was a pink bubble mailer address to me, from my Elder Parks. (Now comes the super happy feeling I felt inside), I got back in my car and took pictures of it, but I decided not to open it until I got home from work. Well, that wasn't the easiest thing since I worked a 7 hour shift, but I made it through, and when I got home and opened it, this is what was inside: a lovely letter, a huge Pokemon card, and a rear view mirror decoration that he had talked about making me for Christmas but didn't get it finished in time, so I guess he just saved it for V-day. On one side it has a picture of the SLC temple, and the other side has him with a scripture written underneath from Genesis 29:20--"And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her". It was absolutely perfect!

Ta-da! It's in my car now. 

Time to go to church-- I had to pose for a picture first. :)

I love Sunday outside time!

All comfy to write a letter to my favorite missionary. <3

"You don't take a photograph, you make it."

"I always make it a point to carry a camera with me at all times...I just shoot at what interests me at that moment"

Elliott Erwitt

New dress= take a picture! :)

Starting a new letter on the countdown! Month 16 has been going smoothly. 

Matthew will be getting this letter next week-- simple, but effective!

Gotta love Fridays... day off from work and running errands with two goofy siblings. :p

My awesome brother, my favorite all-star basketball player.

I'm pretty sure we're the all-star team's biggest fans and supporters. :) Go Habersham!!

Not a major difference, but I updated one of the walls in my bedroom with pictures of some of my favorite temples.

Maybe a letter today.....? We'll see.