sneak peek.

Guys, I'm coming back. Don't you worry. I just don't have much to say right now, hopefully I will soon. But here's some food for thought:

N has been out on his mission for ALMOST 6 MONTHS. Granted, it's more like 5 1/2 months, but still. We're/he's/I'm almost 1/4 of the way through.

WHAT?

Freak out session currently going on. I kinda can't believe myself.

the missionary, Mondays, + the Book of Mormon

I'll spare you the details by just telling you that this last week was HARD. Plain and simple. It was probably the hardest week I'd gone through since my sweetheart left. Maybe it was because Ben left? Maybe it was because I was over-stressed? Missing home? Missing my friends and the memories? Overwhelmed with the whole "I have 20 more months left of this... Crap." Either way, I cried a whole lot. But moving on. That's enough details. Just remember that I had a hard week.

I sent my sweetheart a quick and short email Sunday night just expressing my feelings. I wanted him to know right away instead of waiting for 2 weeks to find out I was having a hard time. That's the worst, honestly, not having immediate contact. I just wanted him to know.

So I sent him an email.

His reply a mere 5 hours later (3 AM my time) was incredible. It was happy. So happy. It was uplifting. It was loving. But most of all, it was centered around Christ and the Gospel.

One thing he said was: "Remember this: If you ever are struggling, turn to the scriptures. I promise that they will make things better. You'll find happiness through them. Try just opening up and reading a chapter next time you start crying. Remember that faith can give you hope, happiness, love, and can replace any fear or sadness you are feeling. He loves you. I love you."

Isn't this kid just incredible? He has the light of Christ with him, that's for sure. And although my despairs didn't totally dissipate, they were much made lighter and I ended up having a pretty good day, despite the rough and lonely weekend. After coming home, I opened up the windows to let the beautiful sunshine in, put some sweats on, and grabbed my Book of Mormon to read the assignment for the next day, 3 Nephi 13-14. As I was reading, two scriptures stood out. More like screamed at me that the Lord is there, watching out for me. A tender mercy, for sure.

3 Nephi 13:20-21: "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Now for you to understand why this is a tender mercy, you must know this: From day 1 of his mission, he has called me his Schatje. Dutch for "little treasure." Get it now?

Man, the Lord is watching out for me.

kiwi.

his new little name for me.

I can't help but giggle and grin every time I think about it. He's so cute. :)

presents, presents, presents

Disclaimer. This post is long. And cheesy. But if you're one of those who is interested in my life, please read. There are pictures! You won't be disappointed :)

GUYS.

I cannot even TELL you how happy I am right now!

So I took my first final today... the one I was most worried about. I was a little down until I came home and saw a surprise on my spot at the table...

Guess what it was?

A LETTER. But not any ordinary letter. It was thicker than before and I was rather surprised that I would even get anything on a Monday since he writes on p-days and I get them by Thursday. BUT. It was something that I did not ever expect to come. It was a birthday present! To me! Yes, you heard right. And I know, it may sound cheesy, but it was the best. And it wasn't even that much. But... he sent me 6 pictures!!! YES! 6! I cannot even tell you how happy that made me. I cried out of sheer joy and love while looking through them. He looks sooo good! And then he wrote me 8 little notes, kind of a timeline of our relationship. Starting from when he first started crushing on me. THE cutest thing ever. It brightened my day like you wouldn't believe.

Okay, enough of the mushy stuff.

So as many of you know, I'm putting together a 12 days of Christmas package for him. And I was waiting on one last thing... something that I ordered. It wasn't supposed to come until tomorrow and I was getting worried it would get to him too late. BUT. Lo and behold, the delivery man showed up tonight! And because of this, I scrambled to put everything together so I could mail it to him tomorrow.

I spoil the kid! So much! But I love every minute of it :)

Here's the package! And details to explain it:

So this is the loot! All waiting to be wrapped... I'll tell you what they are next! Refer to this picture to know what the things actually look like.

Now they're wrapped! Here they are:

1. Twirl-A-Tie. It's a circular tie holder that he can hang up in his closet! This was the thing I ordered. It was only 4 bucks! And got here tonight! Made my night :)

2. My mom's cinnamon n' sugar roasted almonds. They are to die for. And she found this cute tag on pinterest that says "reindeer poop" so we put that on them!

3. A rice bag. It'll keep him warm! And help any aches and pains and sick stomachs that he may have while away. My mom took the reigns on making this because she's the only one that can successfully navigate our dying sewing machine.

4. A bag of dried apples. I made those with my mom the day he left! So they're made with extra love :)

5. A mini missionary handbook. It has all their main rules and it's in a cool white case. It also has a place where he can put all his contact information in case something happens to him.

6. A tin of my mom's famous German cookies! There are German sugar cookies in the bottom and then almond cookies on top (you can see those in the above picture).

7. A Belgium flag tie pin! I couldn't find one of the Netherlands flag, so this was the best I could do.

8. Swedish fish!

9. Another tie pin. This one is a circular one that says his mission--Belgium Brussels Netherlands Mission with the Angel Moroni in the middle. It's about the size of a dime but cost me much more than that!

10. Flavor blasted goldfish. Yes. These things are our tradition :) He would ALWAYS bring a bag to me whenever I was sick or upset. The best thing ever. Some serious comfort food right there.

11. A wicked cool tie. I seriously love the colors!

12. And finally... a photo frame with a ton of printables. Some are from pinterest but a lot of them I made myself from quotes I thought would help him. I really like this picture and hope it's a good one to finish off the 12 days of Christmas with!

I also stuck little stickers that say "I love you" or "cutie" or "I adore you" on the outside of a few packages :)

Me and my partner in crime. But I can't forget my mom (who was in bed at this point) because she wrapped all the presents! Dexter, my little brother, chose all the number stickers and put them on each package.

D and our handiwork!

Directions and a little note :)

The finished product! I am so excited for it that I almost don't want to send it. I just wanna keep staring at it... I hope he likes it as much as I do :)

stuck.

Guys, I have no idea what to do.

I really want to send my mish a 12 days of Christmas package sort of thing, but have no ideas! And the internet is very limited in its sources as well.

Any creative ideas out there?

check it.

So, as you all know, I have a missionary! And some of you probably don't know too much about him and us, so check out a new page I made! It introduces him and us!

And look at the last picture first. It's the best :)

And if you want to get a glimpse of him and his personality, check this out too!

silly boy.

One of the last things he said to me was "Expect a letter on Tuesday!"

Oh boy, I thought. My very first letter!

Yesterday, I was antsy all day and for some reason pictured myself coming home to a letter on my kitchen table, on my place, with my name on it.

That didn't happen. And I didn't expect it to.

But it was supposed to come today. He said so!

I came home from work all excited, though my mom said the mailman doesn't usually come until after noon, and it was just about noon at the time. I slammed my car door shut and practically ran to the mailbox when I got home, just in case. I opened it. There was mail in there! Yeah! I sorted through it, and found nothing to me.

So the whole getting the mail experience went something like this:

Hopefully it won't be like this tomorrow.