one month

I have one month left before I leave for my mission!

It is starting to sink in.  Every time I am with my cousins, playing games with my family, or hanging out with ward friends I become really nostalgic and sentimental thinking back about all of our good memories we've shared.  I am going to miss everyone so much. SO so much.  I wish I could bring everyone along with me so I could share this wonderful experience with them! As of now I have three friends who would like to sneak into my suitcase.  Any more takers?  

I thought that around this time before my mission I would feel a little panicked about all the things I need to buy and tasks I must complete before I leave.  Instead I just feel this great need to just be with the people that I love.  Unfortunately there is not enough time to have nice long heart-to-hearts {as I like to call them} with my favorite people. But I am doing as much as I can as I am now done with work {except for one really exciting project - shooting my friends' wedding this Saturday! woot!}

18 months. A year and a half.  September 2011 - Spring 2013.  Wow. 

I am trying to imagine what Argentina will be like. I daydream about it often:

Answering people's questions about Joseph Smith, The Book of Mormon, and the temple.

Speaking in Spanish 24/7 {I can't wait!}  

Eating steak with chimichurri sauce.  

Having a companion. 

Watching people's lives change. 

Service. Non-stop service.

Talking to anyone and everyone on the street or bus.
Living in a modest apartment with unreliable appliances, 

killing cockroaches, 

and praying to never encounter large furry spiders.  

{Don't worry, I've already had a nightmare about that.}

Steak.

Walking in the rain. 

{Call me silly, but I love the rain. I am convinced that I will still love it after walking in it constantly on my mission! You can hold me to it!}  

Steak. 

Keeping my artistic hunger satisfied with cute sister missionary outfits, hair accessories, and hair styles. 

{This girl is about to become the girliest she has ever been. Get ready!}

Dulce de leche. 

Walking on a dusty trail beside a corral of horses. 

Gauchos.  

Kids speaking in "vos".   

Pronouncing words with "y" "ll" or "rr" with "j"/"sha".  

Seeing miracles happen everyday.  

I am starting to think what it will be like when I see my little cousins in 2013. How many inches will they grow?  Will they have lost all of their baby teeth?  Will the littlest ones remember me?  

And my sister!  My buddy Brandon was teasing me the other day and said, "What if she got married while you were gone?" I didn't laugh. I got kinda freaked out at that idea.  Em, don't even think about it. 

And my G7ers - will they still be there when I get back?  Will a lot of them "graduate" and be married?  {I have a guess that two of my girl friends will be engaged soon : ) }  Will they go on to get master's degrees?  Will they move?  Will they get amazing grown-up jobs? 

  I know a lot will happen while I am gone, but I am looking at all of this as a exhilarating, breath-taking adventure into the unknown for everyone! 

Newport Temple, with my parents, Emily, and my cousin Heather after receiving my endowments.