Busy Summer in Italy!

Hey Everyone! :) 

Yes, I'm still alive. Just in case any of you were wondering. I realized I haven't blogged in forever. But I have a good excuse (kind of) I promise. 

I moved to Italy June 5th and have been going, going, going non stop since then. I'm working here for the summer as a tutor/camp counselor at English camps all over Italy, and will be moving to Austria next week until August 13th. But that's besides the point :) I've just been so busy. Today is the first day in a month and a half that I've had time to sit down and relax. I haven't even had time to send Jared letters. Yeah, it's sad. We've been communicating primarily through email. But honestly, I really miss getting/sending letters.

I have so much I should update, so many stories and experiences I could share, but that would turn into a massive novel I know none of you would read, lets be honest. So I'll stick with the important stuff.

• Jared had his first baptism on June 1st and was asked to be the one to perform the baptism. He was beyond excited :)

• Teaching English over here in Italy has done wonders for making time pass. Not only is time going by quickly, but I've learned and grown so much just by living here. The only downside is that I haven't been able to attend church because my host families don't like driving far distances and the churches are always far away :( But there's always a positive way to look at a situation. I have realized the importance of attending church every single week, and how big of a blessing it is. I will never take it for granted again.

• Call me a little 13 year old girl, but I love Cody Simpson's music, and this song has been on repeat recently. "Wherever you are, no matter how far, I promise that I won't give up on you. They say 'out of sight' means 'out of mind' but that couldn't be further from the truth, because I'm in love with you. I'm still in love with you. Even if there is an ocean keeping your heart from mine, that doesn't mean I'm not thinking about you all of the time. I'm counting the days till I see you, and somewhere I know that you are too" He gets us MG's ;)

• Yesterday we hit 4 MONTHS DOWN! I can't believe it :) The first three went so slow, but the fourth just flew by. And what better place to celebrate than Venice, Italy? :) I am seriously so blessed to be having this much fun while he's gone. I'm living my dreams and couldn't be happier with everything in my life :) Waiting isn't about "waiting" It's about growing, changing, becoming, having fun, traveling, making friends, fulfilling callings, working, developing hobbies and skills and ultimately, becoming who Heavenly Father knows you can become through righteous living. 

• Click here to watch my 3 Months Down Video :)

• Overall, I am so happy, and loving life. Jared is amazing. So dedicated to the work, I've never heard him complain, and he is loving the people. He writes the most loving emails, along with amazing stories and spiritual experiences. He never breaks the rules, and he's just basically the perfect missionary :) I couldn't have asked for a better boyfriend/missionary. I couldn't have asked for a better experience in my life. Waiting is hard, but amazing at the same time. We're both growing so much and I've seen it bless our relationship tremendously. Basically, I got this :) 4 down, 20 to go! 

Emails & Letters :)

I always knew that Jared would most likely not be allowed to email me at all during his mission. At least, that's what I tried to prepare myself for. I didn't want to get my hopes up. Low and behold, I woke up on the morning of his first pday in the MTC and his name popped up with an email from him! I totally freaked out :D

How lucky am I that the week he entered the MTC is the week they changed the rules about emailing? I feel so blessed :) I'm so proud of Jared. He's been in the MTC for 3 weeks now and is working so hard on learning the language and how to be a missionary. He's one of the most dedicated and hard working people I know. He's so obedient and follows all the rules. I know that being an obedient missionary will bless him in ways I can't even describe. 

On his second pday, I got his email in the morning and was happy about it :) Little did I know that I'd receive another email from him at 5:00! I was so surprised :) It's little things like that just totally make my day. Apparently he didn't use up all of his time in the morning and got to use the rest of it at 5:00. 

I was super excited this past week to tell him that I'll be living in Italy this summer :) He had no idea that I applied or anything. I asked him in a Dear Elder how he would feel if I did apply, and this is what he said, 

"I think you should definitely go to Italy if that is what you want to do.  I mean, why not?!  How cool would it be if we both could at least speak some Italian when I got back?  And I know you love Italy and you love teaching...It's the perfect combination :D Just follow your dreams Desiree.  Although, I am so glad you still asked for my opinion. That makes me very happy to know that we are still that close and you still consider me your closest and best friend...because you are definitely mine! :D :D"

<3

Now I feel even better about spending my summer working in Italy. I love that he's supportive and wants me to follow my dreams no matter what. That's just one of the many things I love about him :) To sum things up, he's loving it in the MTC but can't wait to finally start teaching in Italy. We're both happy and we love receiving letters from each other :) 

Back In Utah/Update

Hello all!!

I'm finally back in Utah after 5 months in Hawaii. Although I will be returning to Hawaii in 3 months.

It's been a long time since I posted... But here's why. 

Things were all crazy and dramatic in the MG group on facebook and people kept taking sides. Because of that, I decided to stop blogging for a while. But now I'm back :) 

This blog is not JUST about being a missionary girlfriend. I do recall there have been posts about Justin Bieber, my love for the food network, and other random thoughts. 

Now, a little update on my relationship with Preston: This week he told me that he thinks it would be best for him if we stop talking for awhile. That means no emails, no letters, no videos. It'll be weird not sending him weekly emails but I really believe it's a good thing :) It's time for me to focus on Jared and time for Preston to focus on his mission.

Alright, enough of that :) 

I don't really know what else to write about.. So I'll just insert a video :) 

Enjoy :)
   

Letters = Happiness

I love letters :) 

He's so silly :) I love it.
Wanna know something sad though? Last night I fell asleep 7 minutes before Preston got online to email. I. was. so. upset. with myself.
BUT, I got a letter today. Which made it better :) I still felt quite bad though.
Anyway, how cute is he? I love him a lot :) Every time I get a letter I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. He is so good to me :) If you don't have a boy this amazing already, go find one and make him yours :) You won't regret it.

Email Chatting :)

Vlog.... :) keep in mind that this was filmed at 3:30 in the morning... And it was also the first emails I'd gotten since he got to Hungary :)