Free Day

For some reason I have gotten in the habit of posting for the day before. I am going to do my best to catch up... but I am afraid it will only get worse with school starting to intensify.

Yesterday we had our first free day! We first went to Alladin's, the money changer. Super glad I went because I found something special!

Letters from my best friends! Ah. Not only have they helped me to know what to pack, what to expect, how to study, who to know, what to do, etc. But they even left me letters to find once I got here. Cute. Love these girls.

Later, we walked the ramparts (on the city walls) of the Old City! It was neat to be able to see the city from way up high.

Oh, yeah. Sportin' the fanny pack.

I definitely think I belong in the "top 3" category of best jumpers.

The rest of our day was spent in West Jerusalem. Ah, such a fun day. :)

Jordan

To all those that don't like sappy love stuff-- just ignore this post. ;)

I've always wanted my blog to be full of things, places, people, etc. that make me happy. That's what I like writing about and I hope that's what my readers like reading about. Jerusalem makes me happy and I can only imagine how much happier it will make me when this place truly becomes home.

But there is a specific someone who is always on my mind here. No, it's not distracting and yes, I am enjoying every moment and experience while here. But a large part of my heart has and always will be left with that boy. 

Dear Jordan, 

I wish I could say in words how much I love you. Absence truly makes the heart grow fonder. Which is hard when my heart was already quite fond of you. :) Thank you for being mine forever. :)

Today I got to Skype Jordy for the first time. Best thing ever! I think I laughed the entire time. It was so fun to see his face again. And we made funny faces for a ridiculous amount of the time. I loved every second of it. Ahhh. :)

I am so grateful that I live in this day and age. I can see my loved ones from far away! And his face isn't even that blurry! :)

The Garden Of Gethsemane

Here in Jerusalem our Sabbath day is on Saturday (we call it shabbat). Our sacrament meeting is held in the auditorium which has an amazing view of the city. There is something incredible about taking the sacrament and being able to look at the places Jesus walked at the same time. I don't think I will ever get used to that.

I joined the ward choir. Just couldn't help myself. But apparently everyone couldn't either because I think we had 70 people in the choir. No joke. We took up the ENTIRE stage when we sang in sacrament meeting. At least it was powerful. :)

After church we were able to go into the city. I went with a group to the Garden of Gethsemane. Truly incredible. There was such a strong spirit there. I couldn't believe I was standing where the most significant event ever to occur on this earth happened. There was a bench nearby and I was able to read the end of John and ponder all that happened in the garden. I think that I will go back every Sabbath day. I can't think of a better place to spend my time. :)

Exploring

After our security orientation yesterday we were left to explore and figure out the city and all that surronds us by ourselves. And by ourselves I mean with at least three people. That's the rule.

It was so fun to go out and wander around. Here's some pictures from the day:

At Damascus' gate we saw these little chicks! They were super squished, but they were so cute.

We obviously didn't know our way around very well. The people are so kind and willing to point us in the right direction though. :)

That's where I live!

No, these are not gang signs. JC!! P.s. The girls on the two ends are my roomies!

There we are with our super modest clothing. :)

Jet Lag

I can sleep anywhere or anytime. I really consider my sleeping abilities a talent of mine. But apparently they stood nothing against my jet lag.

Last night I woke up at 3:30 am. I was completely awake in a room that was totally foreign to me. A few minutes later (or what I thought was a few minutes) the call to prayer echoed outside my window. I fell asleep soon after that. There's nothing quite like hearing that outside your bedroom window. Really, everything feels so surreal here.

The center is slowly becoming home. Slowly. It's so big that I still have to follow other people to get to the auditorium, forum, laundry room, etc. I know how to get to my room and the Oasis (where we have all our meals). That's what's most important right now. ;)

I'm loving it here. We had a four hour walk around the Old City today and had a lot of orientation meetings. There is a lot to adjust to, but I'm loving every second!

This is the view from my balcony. I know. It's incredible!

I took this. This is not in a magazine. IT'S REAL! No, I will never do homework inside.

Our first meal at the center!

Ahh. This place truly is amazing. I want to take pictures constantly. I probably will take pictures constantly. Lot's will be posted, I promise! :)

Jerusalem

I am here!!  Traveling was crazy. I have swollen ankles and knees, but I am safe!

I can't explain the feeling that came over me as I arrived in this city. There is so much history here. I have so much to learn and I am so excited about it. :)

The Jerusalem Center is settled right on Mount Scopus and so we have an amazing view of the Old City. Every time I look out the window I am reminded of how incredible this place truly is. My roommates, classmates, teachers, and staff are wonderful. I'm really excited to get to know them better and make them all my best friends!

Pictures and more details will be up soon! I am just way too tired to do anything. But tired as I am, I am one happy girl! I can't wait to see what the next four months hold in store for me. :)

Lists

I really like lists. And apparently my fiance does too.

I have been sitting at work since 8:00 am and it is REALLY slow today. So, I texted Jord. He knew how bored I was and decided it was his job to keep me busy.

I got this reply, "Okay... what can we do?... Do you have a packing list?"
"Tell me when you're done and I'll give you a new job"

15 minutes later I replied to tell him I was finished. This is what I got back. "Okay, make a list of the top 5 things you wanna do before you leave"

I could only think of two. So his next response was "Okay, make a list of the top 5 things you need our first apartment to be like." Apparently I took awhile because he texted me an hour later asking if I had finished yet. Really, I just got caught up in Facebook.

So the next text was, "Make a list of things we NEED to register for."

I'm still working on that list. It might take me a little bit. We'll see if he gets impatient and sends me another list to work on. Basically, I have the best fiance in the world. He is keeping me busy and entertained from far away. I just really like him.

Speaking of lists. Here is my favorite one I've done so far:

There are lots of check marks to go, but were getting there! :)

Eight Days

This morning my beautiful roommate Brielle turned to me and said, "Last night all of us were talking and realized how crazy your life must be right now. You are planning a wedding, taking finals, and getting ready for Jerusalem all at the same time!"

I thought about this for a second. And then I realized... NO WONDER my life feels so crazy right now.

Really though, I'm enjoying every second of it. Sometimes I cry cause I'm stressed (Poor Jordan has to deal with my emotions) but most of the time I just smile. Getting ready for Jerusalem and a wedding makes me completely giddy.

Plus, when I come out of the testing center and realize I didn't do so well on my tests... at least I'll have the excuse that I was planning a wedding. That's totally reasonable. :)

September 28th

The date has been changed! And we are so happy about it.

I get to marry Jordan 49 days sooner. :)

So, put it September 28th on your calendars! We can't wait.

Weekend

I love general conference. My family always takes a weekend trip up to our cabin in Heber and we watch it there. And it is so wonderful. Thinking about General Conference at the cabin kind of makes me giddy.

This years General Conference was the best. There were so many talks on marriage and family and I loved being able to look over at Jordan and be reminded of how lucky I am that I've found him. He's the best thing in the whole world.

Conference is wonderful for more than one reason. And one of those reasons is for the back rubs. We got in a back rub frenzy and this is what it turned into...

I love my family.

This is what family is about ;)

On another note...

Jord has never made a snowman before. I know- I gasped when I first found out too. So... during a break between the sessions Jordan drug me downstairs to go play outside with him. I didn't bring snow clothes and neither did he. So we ended up wearing my parents clothes. And we looked great. ha.

Please notice how high my pants are. And the fact that Jordan is holding up his leg for no reason. It looks neat though anyway. 

We named him Dieter. Just in honor of the weekend.

I know, I know. He looks GREAT. I was so proud that I made my mom come out in the freezing cold to take pictures for us. Thanks mommy. :)