Happy Birthday Elder Turley!

 Jordan's 21st birthday is on July 19th! Woohoo! Since my Christmas package mishap, I made sure to send this one a little earlier. But I ended up only giving it a month and a week because of procrastination... so hopefully it gets there on time! The guy at the post office told me it should get there within two weeks. Yeah right, post office man.
Shopping for a missionary is actually extremely hard, I have found out. First of all, they don't really need much. Second, there aren't many things that A) travel well, B) a missionary is allowed to have, and C) a missionary would even want or have time for. All Jordan ever asks me for specifically are "cool skinny ties," which I don't feel like I am in a position to pick out. I don't know what's cool when it comes to ties.
So for Jordan's birthday this year I decided to make him a "birthday in a box!"

I wrapped the inside of the package with birthday wrapping paper. I wanted it to look all party-ish. :)

I sent him a confetti cake mix, frosting with sprinkles, and candles that spell out "Happy Birthday!" I also sent him a little blue ribbon that says, "Birthday Boy". And I am going to make him wear it/make it all and take a picture for me. :) I also got him some french toast Goldfish that I know he is going to looooove. He loves french toast. :)

I covered the whole box in birthday confetti. Does it look party-ish enough??

I also made him a birthday book. I got all his family, all my family, and our friends to hold up signs that said, "Happy Birthday Jordan," "Feliz Cumpleanos," and "Happy Birthday Elder Turley."I even added a picture of my family's kittens with a sign that said "Hope you have a "PURRFECT" birthday!" (Jordan and I are the pun masters. Haha) The book turned out really cute and cool, I think he is going to love it! :)

I wrote a little birthday love note on the inside cover :)

Jordan's parents

The front cover

Happy Birthday, love of my life. :)

Valentine's Day

Sending packages to Mexico gets really expensive, and it also takes a long time to get there. Jordan didn't get his Christmas package from me until the end of January, so that kinda defeated the whole purpose of a Christmas package! Jordan and I never did gifts for each other on Valentine's Day anyway, we would just go on a fun date. So for Valentine's Day this year I decided to do something different for him.
(Yes, I procrastinated this til the very last second.) Last night, I got 5 or 6 different outfits and made my little sisters Brooke and Bailey come with me to find letters to spell out "I love you". We used the "I" from and Ihop sign. The "L" was from a Walmart sign. One "O" was from the word "STOP", printed on the street. The "V" was from The Smurfs 2 poster. The "E" was from a Chase Bank sign. The "Y" was from the Wendy's sign. The second "O" was the big circular hole at Target. And the "U" was from the Buckle store.
It was late, windy, dark, and absolutely freezing, And Brooke and I got stabbed with a bunch of thorny bushes while taking pictures for the "L". But it was fun and I think it turned out really cute! I was also thinking you could also do this idea for "Happy Birthday" too, or any other holiday if you really wanted to.

Five Easy Ways to Show Off Your Missionary!

Paint your fingernails or toenails as the flag of the country your missionary is serving.

Buy a ring with your missionary's name on it! I bought mine for $40 (kinda pricey) at www.mynamenecklace.com. I found other cute ones on Etsy for $12.50 at www.etsy.com/shop/ZennedOut. I wear mine on my wedding finger. Yes, I am SET on Jordan. Haha :)

Buy or make a T-Shirt representing the state or country where your missionary is serving.

Make a "missionary wall" in your room. Include pictures of the two of you, pictures from his mission, and his countdown chart.

Ask him to send you a keychain from the state or country he is serving. Put it on your keyring!

Adventures in Mexico!

Jordan's first trainer, Elder Nielsen

P-Day, eating GIGANTIC tortas.

Jordan flooded the baptism room! Hahaha :)

Being a goofball with the Popo Volcano!

Eating grasshoppers. Sick.

One Year Down!

One year ago today, my love left on his mission to Puebla! I really cannot believe it has been a year already. We have both been through a lot this past year. We have learned and grown and become better people. Jordan's mission is such a blessing to both of us, and we have truly grown closer in the spirit and in our love since he's been gone! Time really does go by quickly, even in the first year. The second year is going to fly!

ONE YEAR DOWN! WOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!! :)

Love my missionary :)

Burning a shirt to celebrate one year down!

Girls Waiting For Missionaries

It seems like every time I tell someone (mainly returned missionaries) that I am waiting for a missionary, all they do is give me crap about it. I have heard: "Boys don't focus on their mission when they have a girl at home," "You'll both change so much in these two years that you won't be compatible anymore when he comes home," "I hated my companions that had girlfriends on my mission," or flat out "I think it's so stupid when girls wait for missionaries." (Yep, someone gave that reply after I told them I had a missionary. Real nice.)
So with all that negativity and flat out rudeness, I LOVED this talk by Vaughn J. Featherstone about girls waiting for missionaries.

Missionaries and Girlfriends:
Taken from a fireside by Vaughn J. Featherstone
Question: Is it good for a fellow to leave a girl behind?
Answer: Is it good for the sun to shine?

Have you ever heard of mission calls telling all missionaries to get rid of all girlfriends? Do you think that you could be a better missionary if she were there to help you? I think you could. Most of my best missionaries during the three years that I served left a girl behind. You notice that I said "girl" and not "girls." There isn't time for more than one.

Of course the first duty is to the Lord's work, which you have been called to do; second is to your family, and third is to the girlfriend. This you should always remember.

I always interviewed all missionaries as they entered the field and one of the questions I asked was, "Do you have a girlfriend at home?" If the answer was yes, I would say, "Can I have her name and address, and would it be all right if I wrote her a letter?" Of course this would scare the poor fellow to death--then I would bring the color back to his face by telling him I only wanted to write her a letter and tell her how lucky she was to have the opportunity to share this mission for the next 24 months with one of the Lord's chosen servants. If she is faithful, her testimony would become stronger in the gospel because of it... along with a little more advice that I will touch on later.

Young men, do not ask a returned missionary for advice on this subject. For if he has been jilted (or dumped) should we say he's giving out poor advice? Pray about this together, and if you feel that you can do a better job, then go ahead. There's nothing wrong with it. It is better to have support than to go out there wishing that you had it. This is more frustrating than worrying about a "Dear John," and believe me, there won't be one of those right in the beginning. The Lord always answers prayers to those who honor Him.

Have an understanding with your parents so they can encourage her and make your girl happy by showing they have faith in her and love her. Let her parents know your plans, and in most cases they will stand by her when she gets lonely. If you show them respect, as well as the girl, they will be behind you all the way.

Write her once a week or more. You can almost always write two letters a week on P-Days. There is plenty of time if they're not books. Tell her about your mission and experiences, let her live your mission with you through your letters, and send her a snapshot once in a while. Yes, you could let her make a scrapbook for you. Mom is not going to have time and both of them would love that.

Remember that behind every successful man, there is a good woman. So why shouldn't it be good to leave a girlfriend behind if you feel that she is special? Forget that old story of "24 months is a long time." I have known girls to wait two or three years. Also forget the story that you will change a lot. You will only if you make yourself scarce in letters, etc. You will only change in the fact that you will be more mature and have a greater testimony and mind.

Now girls, make sure that you do things that will help you grow along with the missionary. Study the gospel; stay active in the church, pray often--morning, noon, and night. Watch out for those lonely returned jilted missionaries. You're not in a hurry to get married. At the very most you will be 22 and a half when he gets home, and that's about the right age to start thinking about marriage.

Write happy letters every week. Let him know that you still care. He will be looking for those letters even if he is really busy during the week and on P-Days. Yes, you could send him a snapshot of yourself. He would love that. So what if you don't take good pictures--anything will look good to him. You will be busy getting the education you need, perhaps working in and out of the church, maybe learning to sew and all those lovely things, or learning to cook fancy things, but most of all, just learning the basics of life. If the occasion arises, and you feel as if you want to accept a date now and then, it's okay, but again... Beware of those jilted returned missionaries. They are dynamite. Stay close to your parents.

Oh yes, there isn't any harm in leaving a girlfriend at home, if you're both determined to fulfill the mission together. It will not be the big job you think, but a happy 24 months in both of your lives. When you are both back together again, it won't be long before you are sure of each other because of your pure maturity. I can say these things because it happened to me, and I know of many others who have experienced the same great thing.

Christmas Package

Christmas is coming up! Jordan was able to get a custom, handmade guitar from a Mexican man in his mission who makes guitars. He was so excited! He told me he was going to name his guitar Bethany. Haha :) So in his Christmas package, I sent him a capo for the guitar. But what I was really excited about were these guitar picks I custom made him! I was researching customized picks online, but all I could find were engraved metal ones or ones that only came in packs of 20+, and they had to be all the same. I wanted each one to be different, and I don't think one person needs over 20 picks. Haha.
So! Solution: Make my own picks! It actually turned out really cool because I could use pictures that I had of him on his mission and other cute churchy things!

Jordan's new custom guitar picks

This project was super easy to do, all you need are picks, mod podge, and small pictures either just printed off the computer or printed as photos. I just printed off the computer and they looked totally fine, plus you can make them as big or small as you need, so that was real great!

Glue the pick to the back of the picture, cut around the edge of the pick, and mod podge over the top. And there you have a true blue masterpiece.