DEC. 9th 2014 FIRST LETTER!

DEC. 9th 2014 FIRST LETTER!


Hi! oh my goodness, it is so good to read all these e-mails. It's kind of funny being in the computer lab cuz everyone is just typing as fast as possible. haha..My roommates are good and as I have come to know them better they are all definitely awesome. We get along great. We're all pretty reserved, easy going and more on the quiet side. Well, except for Sis. Harvey, and I mean that in a good way. She reminds me of Evelyn with her short hair and glasses and her love for anime, Doctor Who, LOTR and all other things nerdy. She's cool.

I am having fun! that it for sure. It's really stressful at first but it's amazing how quickly your mind can adjust. It's your body that's the hard part. (eg. waking up at 6:30 every morning.) There is no snow. It does get quite cold in the mornings and at night and you can see your breath, but other then that it's really not too bad.

I got my flight plans! I leave the 16th and get to Edinburgh the 17th. This flight plan is a lot more complicated then the last though. I fly out early from Utah to Huston? Texas (somewhere in Texas) and then to New Jersey and THEN! to Edinburgh.... so that will be exciting. I can't fly by myself since I'm set apart and all so it's comforting to know that at least someone will be there with me. C:

I got the packages a little late because our DL had to go get the mail/ package slip but we weren't assigned a DL until like Friday so yeah but it's all good. my companion is nice and lets me use her stuff! ( mom here: She is writing this because at the last minute to make weight on her bags I put her bathroom bag in her carry on forgetting you can't carry stuff like that on the plane so she had to leave her bathroom items and I ended up mailing some of it to her) I sleep great actually. Well, ya know you don't feel like you really have much time to sleep so it's good haha ;) first night was tough but none of my roommates said they slept well either. Yes, mom I've told them I need snacks and stuff during class. (mom here: she has postprandial hypoglycemia that has to be controlled with her diet. We found she had this condition about 1 1/2 years ago we are still learning the in's and outs of it) My teacher and Branch president know and there's a special diet room in the cafeteria where I can get snacks. Sister Harvey (the one I mentioned above) Actually has celiacts? sceiliacs? whatever the one where you cant eat gluten so she also goes to the special diet place and shares her snacks with me. :) Classes are LONG I mean they're a HUGE chunk in our day. I'm loving being able to learn so much on how to be a missionary, but you have to have so much faith and so much obedience and so much Christ like love it's hard to see how you can live up to that. I know that if I keep praying and reading my scriptures and as long as I'm trying to turn outward and help other people rather then turning in ward I will accomplish all that Heavenly Father knows I can. We watched the Christmas devotional too and had another devotional before that, that was also super awesome. 

 By this time next week I'll be headed for SCOTLAND!! I'm so excited nd so nervous I hope the Fam is doing well and that you are doing well. Know that your little girl loves you and is safe :D

I'm sorry I cant write more I have to go. BUT I LOVE YOU! and I'm glad you're all doing well.

I'l send pics next time! Sorry you'll have to wait!!

LOVE!!

Sister McBride

I was sad there was no pics but no worries.. she will soon. So I'll post a picture of her after we went to the temple the Picture is behind my parents house in the cotton field. We were outside and had the thought we should take a picture in the 'field of white' it has turned out to be one of my favorite pictures. 

SCOTLAND/IRELAND MISSION here she comes

she is serving in the Scotland/Ireland mission. We are over the moon excited. She left for the Provo MTC Dec. 3rd. Our eyes were a little teary but our hearts happy and excited.

 

 We will surely miss our girl and sister dearly but we know she will be in good hands of course the SIM (Scotland/Ireland Mission) is one of the best missions I hear!

 AND... she's off!! see you in 548 days! Take good care of her Scotland.

I will be posting her letters when I get them!

She will be serving in the ....?

It's HERE! her mission call arrived and now we are having the grand opening of the white envelope to see where she will be serving for 18 months. We had our said partaaay-- so fun! (not to be confused with a simple party) with so many family and friends there to support her, it was great.



Here she is getting ready. It's so suspenseful!! Do you see the map. When people came in we gave them a dot to put  on the map to guess where they thought she was going to serve. It was loads of fun and we had lots of dots in the US and Europe. Two people actually guessed the area where she will serve.



Here she is trying to read and stay calm. She had her hand over the words so she wouldn't skip and skim read to the important part where it said where she was going.



The look on her face tells you she got to "the part" ... "you will here by serve in the SCOTLAND/IRELAND mission!!"
Her mission will be in Scotland/Ireland and she leaves Dec. 4th I can't believe she is leaving and leaving the country no less... I'm excited for her and she is beyond the moon about it.



There were lots of hugs and talking on the phone to others that couldn't be there like aunts and uncles and cousins.



She has a great amazing group of friends. Lots of them had just left for school or were out of town so about 8 of them are missing in this picture. But they all are so excited for her and one of her friends is already married and ready to have a baby soon and Alyssa will miss it. She is kinda sad about that. So there it is. Man we have a lot to get done in a few months. Wish us luck!

IT'S HERE!!

IT'S HERE! her mission call finally came. We have visited the mail box many days. We have had a lot of days like this. Happiness!! excitement! I Can't contain myself. I'm not saying that we may or may have not stalked the poor mail lady and scared her a few times.

Oh... Sad face.




It's another day, she is so excited... is today the day! ... Nope. don't you just love her long hair!




Maybe Today? Nada.



Then... wait foooor it...

BAM!! YAY!!!! it's here. It's the big white envelope. Yay... smiles and happiness! Where is she going? That is the big mystery and pretty much most of the excitement is finding out what area in the world she will be assigned to and serving for the next 18 months. Is she going stateside or foreign? Will she be going to Tallahassee Florida, or Wichita Kansas or outer Mongolia... yes there is a mission in outer Mongolia or will she be going to France? parlez-vous français? or Europe? What are your guesses? I think maybe Europe. Maybe France. Her dad says Manchester, England. Her brother went to Pocatello, Idaho. Lets just hope it's not the Mesa, AZ mission. Not gonna lie that would be kinda weird... But I have heard of things like that happening. But really where ever she goes we know it's where the Lord wants her to go. We firmly believe his hand is in all things especially his missionaries.
Time for the grand opening of the letter. It's time to let social media do what it was designed to do... spread the word. Or we can just go to 'The Walmarts' and hang out and you'll pretty much see everyone there especially when you live in small town like us. It's a happening place. Well, off I go to get on FB and call loads of people and tell them it's TIME! its here and we are having a PARTAY!  not to be confused with a simple party... oh no siree! we having a PARTAY!
We are opening her big white envelope, so we have invited all of our family and her friends and possibly random people on the street and in the Walmarts cuz that's what excited people do in a small town I mean, Hello, doesn't everyone? we were just so DANG excited. Time to make the donuts.. er.. goodies, a few of her favorites. Oreo truffle balls, and the pioneers woman's individual raspberry cobblers. But donuts sound so good right now.. ya can't have people coming to a party and not have food! next, We will find out where she will be going.

The BIG DECISION

I have a daughter. A cute, precious daughter that is sometimes adorably flighty and can't remember where she put her keys.



This was before the keys stage. Aww... so cute! playing with her cute soft stuffed dinosaurs because that is what princess girls do and the boys, her brothers, play with the big plastic ones that can trample anything and everything.



But this is her now. Now I'm gonna cry...again. Sniffle..Where did the time go? I may or may not be a balling mess right now. No more cute soft dino baby. Nope. She is now a beautiful, lovely little lady. "Classy" that is the best way to describe her. She kind of reminds you of the women in the old classic movies you would sit and watch with your mom and grandma and laugh and cry. I'm talking about the ones with Doris Day, Aubrey Hepburn, Judy Garland, all of those classy movies with the classy ladies who were funny, stylish, and strong capable women, but still feminine in every way and proud of it. Yea, that pretty much describes my daughter. Classy.


How did she go from this cute sweet, fit in my arms sweetie where I knew everything in her life from what she ate, pooped, and cried about. To this I've decided to make major decisions in my life and acting all adult like.
Miss Classy came to me one day I could tell she had been thinking a lot and she seemed to walk around the house with this quiet strength that I could tell this was something more on a deeper. We were preparing dinner one night and she was deep in thought and all of a sudden she said, "I have decided something." I didn't even know she was in the process of deciding anything! News to me. She said, "I've decided that I want to go on a mission." For those of you who may not be of my faith. The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints. You can go here to find out more about it. A mission for The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints is something the young men and young women (and actually any retired person or couple as well) go and serve from 18 months to 2 years. They are assigned all over the world. You don't really "pick" where you want to serve. We believe it's assigned to you through prayer and divine direction.
Miss Classy tells me she wants to go an a mission! This is a BIG DECISION! A LIFE CHANGING DECISION. Of course we were all ecstatic for her and will support her but WOW. Anyone who knows her knows she has a strong, quiet spirit about her and seems to have been 'born' with a testimony. It shines through her eyes and in who she is. She loves the Lord and the happiness it brings and she wants to share in the happiness. So,  now we have finished all her paper work and ready for the next step. The Bishop's interview where he will review everything and will decide to send it on to the Stake President who then submits the papers to Salt Lake City.



here she is off to go see the bishop (sorry this is a blurry picture, my camera battery was dead so I had to use my phone) who happens to be her dad, for her final interview and then we wait.... and wait... the waiting is the hard part. We wait for her call to come in the mail. It usually takes about two weeks but it could take a lot longer. You just never know. Next her call! I Can't wait!