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! 

I Miss Us

I decided that I'm randomly going to start doing throwback Thursdays here on my blog.
(yaayyyy)

This is the second to last video we spontaneously recorded before he left. We were trying to act as each other. So, I was saying stuff Jared would always say, and he was saying stuff that I always say. Ignore the fact that we're just really weird people..

This is the very first video I ever made of Jared and I together. Half the videos were taken before we even started dating. The second song in the video pretty accurately describes how I was feeling at the time. This video also contains our first "on screen" kiss. HA, I totally laugh at it now but I was sooooo nervous to kiss him in front of the camera. You can see at 2:46 that he kinda says, "Forget the camera is even there" Oh good times. These are the good ole days here. So these are over a year old, all filmed in Hawaii.  Thanks for reading/watching :) Come on, you know you enjoyed it. Sometimes I go through and watch all these old videos on days when I'm really missing him. Videos have been my life saver.

Our Last Video Together

Before he left, we filmed one last video of us together.

The video speaks for itself. I miss him <3

See You in 2 Years, My Love

I am happy to say that Jared is officially in the MTC as of 4 days ago :)

I don't even know where to start. Jared's farewell was a week ago today. I remember him telling me how nervous and scared he was to speak in front of so many people. He told me not to expect anything good. But of course, he totally surprised us all. His talk was absolutely amazing and I'm sure everyone in the congregation felt the spirit just as strong as I did. Afterwards, we all went to his house and he said goodbye to some friends. Oh also, the day of his farewell was also  
St. Patricks day :)

That day was wonderful and happy :) We hardly left each others sides. We both knew he was needing to get ready to enter the MTC, but at the same time, we continued to act completely normal around each other. I'd walk away for a minute to talk to someone and he'd come over and say, "Hey, you were too far away from me :)" 

Then we had our last day together on Tuesday. It was amazing to say the least. I went over to his house and helped him pack some last minute items. We then played pool and made some yummy food. The weather was nice (thankfully) so we decided to go on a walk at a park we'd always go to during the winter. We'd go at night and buy hot chocolate and then go walk around the park. As we were walking he started talking about leaving and I told him he needed to stop because I could feel the tears coming. I didn't want to talk about him being gone. All I wanted to do was focus on my time left with him. After our walk, we drove to my house :) We decided to watch The Best Two Years outside with blankets on my trampoline as the sun was setting. It was perfect :) 

After the movie we went inside and sat in my room. We knew we only had 45 minutes left together. Jared said, "Come here, let's just cuddle for a little while. I know it's your favorite" so we did :) We didn't really talk, we just sat there in each others arms. We eventually started talking about our future, me waiting, his mission, and old memories :) He wanted to see me smile so he kept bringing up old memories from us together in Hawaii. 

Eventually the time came. It was 8:00 and he needed to go home to get set apart. I started crying, and I didn't even know what to say. We were hugging for a while and I said, "Any final words?" Jared waited for a second and said, "I love you. There's nothing else I can say" and then he started to tear up and by that point I was completely bawling. We stood by my front door for what seemed like a lifetime.   We had one last kiss, well technically 3. We kiss in 3's :) And then I said, "Sweetheart, you need to go.." so we walked to the door and I double pinky promised him that I'd wait :) I hugged him one last time. It was hard to get the words out through my crying, but said "You're going to be an amazing missionary." He was so emotional which was making it harder for me. So then he walked outside but just stood there looking at me. So I ran out and hugged him one last time and then stood in the doorway as I watched him walk away, realizing I needed to capture this and remember it forever. We did the "I love you" sign before he started to drive away. I came inside with my hand over my mouth, trying to keep my crying and breathing under control. 

This goodbye was SO much harder than it was with my first missionary. It's crazy. But I couldn't be more proud of my sweetheart. I know we'll both be blessed. I've come to realize that we were seriously created for each other and I love him more than I ever thought I could. Plus, I'm happy to finally consider myself a missionary girlfriend again :) Wish me luck for the next two years! <3

One Week Left..

I can't believe that one week from tonight, I'll be saying "see you later" to my best friend. It's really starting to hit me. For a while I'd just been excited to start spring break and be with Jared again. But now that spring break has started and we've spent time together, I'm finally starting to realize how quickly time is going. You'd think that I'd already know this since I've said goodbye to a missionary before. A little over two years ago actually.. But the thing is, It's totally different this time. I don't know how to explain it. I just know, this time is different. He's different :) Different than anyone I've ever known. 

It's 1:57am and I just got done watching The Bachelor finale. I know this is going to sound super cheesy, but just watching Sean pick Catherine and everything that happened, just makes me see how Jared seriously is the one for me. I used to watch shows like that and think, "Aw, they're so in love. I want a guy like that." I can honestly say, I have someone BETTER than that. I have a relationship BETTER than that. I was never able to say that before :) He's truly my best friend. He's my rock and anchor in this crazy life. He's the person I want to spend every day with. He loves me unconditionally and shows me in a million ways every day. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I could go on and on.

In the lyrics of our song it says, "When God made you, he must have been thinking about me." Those lyrics could not be any more true. He's the one. I just know it :) Now gone are all my questions about why, and I've never been so sure of anything in my life :) 

(our song = When God Made You - Newsong ft. Natalie Grant)

I'll Be Back :)

I just wanted to let ya'll know that I'll be back on this blog in 3 1/2 short months (aka Jan. 16th) :)

I was debating between starting a whole new MG blog for Jared's mission. But I decided on just keeping this one :) I'll slowly just start switching things over from the first missionary, to the second. 

Since I've been out of practice of being an MG since March, I've been planning all these amazing packages and ideas that I can't wait to share with you :) 

I just wanted to let you guys know that...

New Blog Address

Hey girls!

I know I asked you all for your email address so I could invite you to my new blog. Turns out it's only letting me invite like 60 people. And that doesn't seem fair. So I'm opening it up to be public again. Please feel free to go over and check it out :) It's what I'm using now as my main blog. Here's the address:

http://thestoryofusdesireeandjared.blogspot.com/

Hope to see you there :)

Jared's Mission Call To.....

For those of you who asked to be invited to my other private blog, but haven't been invited yet (sorry about that) I'm posting Jared's call on here :) Sorry, my other one is saying I've added too many people :( So I might just have to make it public again. Well see. Until then, here's Jared's mission call :) 

All I will say is... I'M SO EXCITED FOR HIM!!!!!!! :D
He leaves January 16th :)

P.S.

If you'd like an invite to my Desiree/Jared blog (aka my current blog) you need to leave a comment with your email address. For all of you who have already left your email addresses, you've been invited :) 

Also, thanks for all the questions! I'll be answering them all in a video that I'll make next Monday :) 

Ask Desiree :)

Hey everyone! :)

I'm still alive. This blog is just currently "under construction" because of the fact that I'm not exactly still a MG. I will be again though, but not yet :)

I've said this before, but I have a different blog that I'm currently using. It's mainly about my relationship with Jared. If you'd like an invite, leave me a comment.

I know some of you may have questions, so now if your chance to ask. I'll try to answer any type of questions as honestly as I can. You can ask me about what happened with Preston, anything about being an MG, relationship advice, anything about my relationship with Jared, his upcoming mission, etc... You can even ask what my favorite type of pizza is. I don't even care :) I have just gotten quite a few questions from people, so this is my chance to answer them. Leave a comment on youtube or here, and I'll answer them in my next video :)

I love you all!! :) 

Am I Still Waiting/Link to Other Blog

Everyone keeps asking me, "Are you still waiting???" 

Well, let me give you MY definition of waiting. 

Waiting: not getting married while your missionary is gone. 

And there's no way I'm getting married while he's gone. Jared still has his mission ahead of him. Everything is simple to me, but it seems complicated to everyone else. Which I understand. I'm focusing on my relationship with Jared and giving Preston some much needed space. He needs to get me out of his head 24/7 so he can focus on what's most important right now. His mission. Yes, we still send letters and stuff. But I'm trying to get him to focus on his mission while I focus on Jared right now. 

Then, Preston will come home and we'll see how much our relationship has changed. I have no idea what will happen when he gets home. But I'm open to whatever my Heavenly Father see's fit for my life.

Some of you girls keep asking me questions that even I don't know the answer to. But I'll keep you all updated :) thanks for following this crazy adventure with me. 

Girls keep asking me what my link to my blog about my relationship with Jared, so here ya go 

http://thestoryofusdesireeandjared.blogspot.com/

Also, some people say, "How rude, you have two blogs about two different boys" But really, they are just like journals for me. This isn't just about Preston and the other one isn't just about Jared. They're about different experiences in my life.

<3

My First Year Waiting

Summary of My Year from Desiree Moore on Vimeo.

I'm Still Waiting :)

I am so sorry that I completely fell off the face of the planet during the last 2 months. I used to be so good at blogging. But lately my life has been insanely busy. I do a lot of homework, yes. But when I'm not doing homework, I go to the beach or something. Sorry. 

I guess you could say I have a lot of explaining to do. But, I'll make it simple:

• I prayed. And I got the answer that after a year of not even looking at other guys, it's time to date.
• I dated some guys. It didn't really work out.
• I was about to give up on dating, but then I met Jared.
• He had a girlfriend back home in Utah, and I had a missionary, but we were both living on a little island out in the middle of the ocean. 
• So we decided to date.
• Him and his girlfriend kinda fell apart (NOT my fault)
• Then I changed my relationship status on facebook and the whole world fell apart. It's crazy how people react to a little change in relationship status. He never asked me to be his girlfriend or anything like that. But everyone here on campus knew we loved spending time together and whatnot, so we decided to be together. 
• So yes, now he is my boyfriend. 
• Yes, Preston is still my missionary.
• Yes, I am still waiting for him.
• I still write him every week.
• I send him packages.
• I email him.
• I love him <3

But I've only ever dated Preston. I know that I have something to learn from being in this relationship with Jared.

And I'll get kinda personal here for a second. I'm so excited to get married. But unlike most of you, I'm so scared of it. I am so freaked out to get married. There have just been so many happy marriages in my life that have ended in divorce. I guess you could say I just haven't had the best example (my parents are a good example, it's just other relationships) And I know that if I ever want to feel 100% ready to get married, I will have to have explored all options. I didn't want Preston to get home, and then we get engaged and had the "what if... What if I would have dated on his mission and fell for someone else?" I know, I know. What a terrible thing to even think. But my Heavenly Father knows me. He knows that I need to date, and get that feeling of, "Yeah, Preston really is the one for me". I've always known he's the one, but I am young, and constantly changing, so I need to continue to get that feeling. So please, don't judge the reasons why I'm dating. I've had to deal with waiter-haters but I really don't want dater-haters :( I love all you girls. Just know that I'm doing the best thing for me.

I am soooo happy with my life right now. School is going swimmingly, I love living in Hawaii, I get to walk past the temple every day, Jared is wonderful and treats me amazing, Preston is my missionary who I will NEVER give up on. I'll be there at that airport on January 18th :) and I have an amazing family back home who loves me. 

Sorry for the long post. I guess I just want to let you know that I am still waiting!!

I'm just focusing on me right now :) I want to be a better person for him when he gets home. Dating has been hard to get used to, but I know it's right.

<3

I love all you girls and I don't know where I'd be without you :)

ONE YEAR DOWN!

Feb 9th 2012

(I know that was technically yesterday.. but it doesn't matter)

Preston has officially been gone for one year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 We have now passed the halfway mark. And now he only has 11 months left because he comes home in January. Seriously, yesterday I was freaking out. I walked out of my house and went to school, basically looking/acting like this...

So instead of writing about how excited I was. I'll just show you the video that contains all my happiness :) Enjoy!

p.s. I really do love him more than the day he left. I didn't expect the first year to be so easy. I can't wait to experience this next year. There's no way I'm not waiting for him :)
You can't tell. But in this picture I was dying inside. This was taken on the curbside at the MTC a year ago from yesterday. I just really can't believe we've come this far :)

Merriest Christmas Ever!!

I will never forget this Christmas. It was the first year I actually "came home" for Christmas. It was the first year without my sweetheart. It was the first Christmas since I've lived in Utah where there wasn't any snow on the ground. It was the first Christmas I got to skype with him :) It was the first year where I wasn't too excited about opening any of my presents because I had already opened my package from him. And nothing beats his presents :) Basically... This Christmas was amazing. Here's a little view of it:

We got so much time to talk. I really am one lucky girl :) 

"Ok I'm gonna take a picture"

"Should I do this?"

"Yes. It looks great :)"

I opened this package in front of him over skype :) so he got to see my reaction. And let me tell you. I was freaking out. I got the one thing I've been wanting for SO long!! His name tag!!! I also got:

One of his ties soaked in his cologne <3

A memory card with 30 videos <3

An amazing light up glass keychain with our picture etched inside <3

A little scarf <3

A card with Hungarian money inside <3

And of course, an amazing letter <3 <3 :) :) 

I am in love with it :) and him :) he's seriously the best.

A few weeks ago Preston asked me to email him some pictures. So I said, 

"Of course! Here are a couple of my favorites. Am I allowed to know why you randomly need these pictures?"

"I just love you so much :) is that a good enough reason? :) Because you are the love of my life!! :)"

"Ok..."

But now I know why he needed pictures. For this :) :) ^^^ I freaking love it!!! Without fail, he gets me thee best gifts every year.

I wore the cologne soaked tie all day. Who wouldn't? You can't really see it but I'm also wearing his name tag <3

My sister gave this to me for Christmas. She knows me all too well :) 

Last but not least, the same sister gave this JB poster. I'm seriously so excited about it :D

Like I already said, I will never forget this Christmas :) Only one more to go before he gets home! And only 136 days till Mothers Day..... :) 

Here's a little thought on talking to him at Christmas. It was the best thing in the world. We weren't awkward, we just laughed and talked like he never even left :) And I mean waiting hasn't been getting harder as time goes on or anything. But it recharged my waiting battery 110% :) But for those of you who didn't get to talk to your boys, you are also lucky, in a way. I wouldn't say that I had a "post phone call crash" but as soon as hung up, a little piece inside of me felt as though I was back at the beginning. Cuz for those couple hours that I got to talk to him, it felt like he was home. And hanging up felt like saying "see you later" again. Of course I was still happy :) but it just made me miss him a lot more than normal. I'm fine now though :) In fact, I'm more than fine. I am so freaking pumped for this next year! I am so excited for the packages that I have planned :) I'm not worried that waiting will get hard during these next 14 months. Because I know it won't :) I'm living my life, writing him every week, praying for him every day, focusing on myself, and just having fun :) He's still on my mind 24/7, but that's just because he's always with me. Always in my heart. Which is why I feel like I can be happy, and enjoy everything that this next year will bring :) I just can't wait!!

Letter to Santa

I was at Chick-Fil-A last night and they had a table where you could write letters to Santa. So I wrote one and then put it in their little mailbox <3

His Mission Call Year Mark

Hello World!!

I know I have been completely MIA ever since August 25th. But here's the thing. I am 100% a picture blogger. If I can't add pictures into my post, it just makes me not want to post. Which is why you haven't heard anything from me. I'm still in China. And yes, I can blog, but the proxy that I use to get to blogger won't upload pictures. 

But that is not the point to this post. This post is dedicated to the amazing missionary that is my boyfriend :) He has been gone 9 months, 1 week and 1 day. I was supposed to write about this on November 11th but I was on vacation. Want to know why November 11th is so special to me? It's the day my sweetheart got his mission call :) Which means... It has been over a year since he got his call. Now see, I don't know if I believe this. There's no way it's been a year since I saw him opening that envelope. There's no way it's been a year since I saw the look on his face when he saw the words, "Hungary, Budapest" and in honor of that, here is the link to the video of him opening it :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptGP69WRuPM

Now I really feel like we're getting close to the year mark :) and I know that once a lot of girls hit 7, 8, or  9 months, things usually start getting harder. Right? Well... Not for us :) I'm not even lying when I say we're only loving each other more and more with every day that passes. Which means, I know it's possible to not fall away from your boys. If any newer MG's are reading this, I want you to know that waiting really is possible, and easy sometimes :) Especially when you're as in love as I am :) 

Now that I've done this post about milestones. I'd like to throw in my countdown of the near future :) 

• In 31 days - I leave China, and come home for the holidays :) 
• In 37 days - It's Christmas!!! You know what that means... Skyping with him!! :)
• In 46 days - I hop on a plane and head to Hawaii to start school at BYUH
• In 83 days - It's his YEAR MARK!!!

I love life :) and my Elder Wright <3

6 MONTHS ♥

Am I really posting this already? Has he really been gone for 181 days? I'm proud to say that I have made it through the first 6 months of Preston's mission :) that calculates to 1/4 of his mission. Done. Gone forever :) Could I be any more happy? No :) (technically his 6 months mark was August 9th but I have been without internet for 2 days)

These 6 months have been some of the hardest months of my life - hands down. But they have also been some of the best. I have met some of the most amazing girls and created friendships that I know will last a very long time. I've grown so much and I'm learning more every day. I've learned to appreciate the little things that I never did before. Because really, the little things in life matter the most. But most importantly, I've never been more in love with Preston :) waiting isn't so hard anymore. It's still hard... But call me crazy - I actually enjoy it. We are both learning so much about ourselves during these two years. It's amazing to see both of us going through this together. 

I wouldn't be posting this right now if it wasn't for all the wonderful MG's. I don't know if I'd be this happy during this waiting process without them. So girls, thank you :) 

Also, I am happy to say that I haven't gone on any dates yet since Preston left. Some girls date, some girls don't. I always just said that I'd do what feels right. But so far, not dating has been right :) It's made my life so much easier. 

I'd like to end with saying that Preston has been the most amazing missionary. He is working SO hard everyday but he still makes time to write me every single week. He still makes time to make me videos and take pictures. He is putting in the extra effort to serve the Lord but also love me at the same time. And I love him so much for it :) 

I just can't wait for the next 6 months! I go to China in 15 days and I couldn't be more excited for the future :) 

p.s. This is what 6 months down looks like :)

I'm not worried that my feelings will change :) I love what one of my new favorite songs by Keith Urban says:

"But if anyone can make it, I'm betting on me and you

Just keep on moving in to me

I know you're going to see

The best is yet to come

Don’t fear it now; we're going all the way

Where the sun is shining on a brand new day

It's a long way down, and it's a leap of faith

But I’m never giving up, 'cause I know we got a once in a lifetime love"

I LOVE MY MISSIONARY!!!!

People are Faster than Letters :)

As most of you know, my boy is serving in Hungary. He teaches this English class over there and makes friends. Then, these friends add me on facebook. I guess he talks about me or something... :) Anywho, they are the nicest people. They take pictures of him and then send them to me. Seriously, too nice :) 

Yesterday I was talking to this lady he teaches named Bernadett. She's not a member, which is cool for me because I feel like I can help do my own missionary work when I talk to some of these people :) 

So she asked me if there was anything she could tell Preston for me. This is what i said... :)

Then she gets on facebook today and says:

My day is made :) 

p.s. I told her to tell him I'm sorry about Monday because that's when I fell asleep 7 minutes before he got online to email. It was the first time that has happened. And I felt terrible.

But I like to think that this is the start of a beautiful friendship :)

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.