the big white envelope

So here's how it all went down.  

My papers are put through somewhere between the evening of Tuesday, April 26th and the morning of Wednesday, April 27th.  

After one week I am checking the mailbox. 

{which is a lost cause because calls don't come until after at least two weeks!}  

After two weeks on Wednesday, May 11 - A big handful of friends text/facebook me "Is your call here yet?!" I am now getting worried, because apparently my account online is supposed to tell me when they have received/sent the call.  After two weeks, all it says is "submission has been sent." I am beginning to have irrational thoughts about my call: 1} it's lost in the mail.  2} they haven't received it at all yet {which is actually a pretty rational thought, I have heard stories.}  3}  I won't get a call at all, just like David Archuleta and a friend of Ash Mill's / just like how I didn't get into BYU at first. 

{I know, really silly of me to think!} 

I skip to the mailbox and leave disappointed. I think, Ok, it's not coming for a long while. Brace yourself, it will probably come in another two weeks.  

Mom sees how bummed I am and so she says I should call the Church Office Building.  I say, "No way!  It's only been two weeks and it says online NOT to call.  But I do keep wondering why nothing has changed on my log-in page on the website... maybe Salt Lake doesn't even have it yet?!"  

She calls for me.  This is one of those moments where I am put in my place - I have always talked about not taking a no for an answer and here I am contradicting myself! 

My mom works her magic.  After being passed on to a few different people on the phone, my mom speaks to a lady who happily looks up my file and says that they have it.  YES! 

From this point I don't care how long they take to send it to me after knowing that my paperwork is in. 

Day 15.  Thursday, May 12th.

I go into work with my dad, and I am so busy preparing the good takes for him to edit his commercial that I don't think much of my big white envelope. 

At 5pm, I get a photo text from my mom. The way my phone works, it only shows the text first while the picture takes about five seconds to load - so I already know what "it" was when I read "I think it's here!"    I see a picture of "Sister Hillary Nicole Miller" printed on an envelope, and the church logo!

I call her, and she says, "I am sorry I couldn't wait any longer! I wasn't sure if you wanted me to stick it back in the mailbox for you to find."  

I am glad she told me, because I wouldn't have found it until 7:30 that night, and that might have been too late to round up family and friends!

I proceed to call and text my family that lives nearby and some friends from the ward to come over at 7:45. 

Meanwhile, Dad is relaxing in a salon chair getting his hair trimmed:

We race home {as fast as one can through Santa Monica and LA traffic}

with just enough time to pick up Italian food from Maria's Kitchen in Pasadena, and we pull up to find people already at our house!  

My buddy Jake Melton took some photos of the event, and Dad filmed me opening my call!

Dad looks up the Argentina flag after he stops filming and says, "Hillary!  Look at the shirt you are wearing!"  What can I say, I guess I knew before I knew.