My Valentine. ♥

Lemme just share a kinda long but sweet story: 
          So Jared took me on my very first date ever the day I turned 16 in 2008. We walked to Goodwill, then walked across the street to Milano's where we ate a BBQ chicken pizza. So throughout our whole relationship, we've always just had this thing for BBQ chicken pizza. Fast forward to last year out at school, it was our first Valentines Day ACTUALLY being a couple, so he planned big. We got done with classes, he walked me home and told me to get ready for our date, and he'd pick me up later. So he picks me up, gives me a bouquet of flowers made from my favourite candy, and we walk over to his house, (approximately a 1:35 walk) and he says we're going to make some bread, so we get the dough ready and then we have to wait for it to rise. So he says that while it's rising, we're gonna go somewhere, but first, we need to take all of his loose change to the store to get some cash for it. 

          So we leave the dough to rise and walk to the store and get some cash for all his change, which turned out to be about $30! We took bets on how much it was gonna be, and we weren't even close. x] So after that, we walk across town to the D.I and shopped around but didn't buy anything. We left and went back to his house where he starts getting stuff out to make our dinner. When we took the dough out though, he gets our pizza pan out and starts putting it in that. "Wait, I thought we were making bread.?" SURPRISE. We were making pizza! So we start to make this pizza and I'm noticing...wait...This is a BBQ Chicken pizza! It wasn't the best, but we made it together and it tasted really great. :) Then we snuggled on the couch and just talked. 

"You know what this was, right?" 

"Yeah, our Valentines Day date."

"No Sam, think about it."

"....Hmmm...I got nothin'. What was it?"

"It was us going on our first date again."

At that point, I just started crying and smiling and kissing him. How sweet is that?? It was a new spin on our very first date. ♥

Fast forward a year to NOW. I emailed him last week, asking him, "If I were to have a pizza delivered to you on Valentines Day, what would you want on it?"

He just now answered me and said, "If you sent me a pizza on Valentine's Day, I would just want on old favorite, BBQ Chicken Pizza. :)"

Hole. E. Crap. 

My heart just melted. That's all he had to say. By saying that he just wanted 'an old favourite' he's saying, "I'm thinking of the past 6 years, I'm thinking of our dates, and I'm thinking of you" in the cutest most romantic way. For me personally, at least. 

I love him. I love him I love him I love him.  

I'm sending his Valentine Package today and I hope it gets there on V-Day! I put so much in there that I hope he enjoys. ♥

Anyway, there's my love-rant. I LOVE LOVE LOOOOOVE that boy so much. Bless his sweet little heart. ♥

-CHEERS! ♥

5 Months and other things!

HELLO EVERYONE!

C:

         I think I just choose to update when a lot happens, and then just kinda word vomit everything after it all settles. Gross? Yes. Effective? Absolutely.

Anyway...

          So first, just a recap on MY life right now: I got laid off from my job. :C That wasn't fun. The manager is in my ward and everything, she hired me, and she knew I was saving up for a mission. I still got laid off though. I was bitter and just really confused and lost. I came home from my last day of work on a Thursday, heard about a friend of mine who declined a job at Allstate doing phone surveys. 

         You better believe I hopped in my car the second I heard that and drove my little self over there to tell them to give me a job. Turns out, they liked me enough and I was hired on the spot! I was told I would start that following Monday at 11am, working Mon-Thur, for $8/hour. Wow. I didn't even miss a day of work. The job is a little rough, I don't really enjoy it at all, but it was a God-send and I will keep it until I find something better.

          And I did! I got a call last Sunday while I was in church from the movie theater I used to work for. They wanted me to come in for an interview, so I went in after work on Monday! They said they'd give me a call on Thursday to let me know whether I got the job or not. 

I nailed that interview like it was my job. 

Hehe.

          I don't know when I start or if I'll be working full-time or part time, but what I think I'm going to do is if they offer me a full-time position, I'll quit my job at Allstate and work for the theater and try to pick up another part-time job. If they offer me a part-time position, i'll keep my job at Allstate until I can find another part-time job. Either way, I'll be working two jobs so I can save for my mission double time. This is so exciting! Mission papers are still not in though...I'm getting antsy and just ready to serve. Or at least KNOW where I'll be going...Everyone pray that things go through quickly and soon, please?

NOW JARED NEWS! :D

Gosh, he's just my favourite person ever...

I just love him so much... <3

          Back on track! Sorry about that! He's still in Vegas, still with Elder Driggs. I'm sending off his Valentines package on Monday, filled with cute little stuff. I'll post a picture later. I sent him some valentines that i got from Krispy Kreme for free doughnuts. I got 3 letters from him a couple weeks ago. I cried. A lot. They were just great. :) 

          AND HE'S BEEN GONE FOR 5 MONTHS. AHHHHHH!!!!!

          That means THIS MONTH, FEBRUARY, HE WILL HAVE BEEN GONE FOR 6 MONTHS. THAT'S A WHOLE FREAKIN' HALF A YEAR. THAT'S 1/4 OF HIS MISSION!! HOOOOOLY CRAAAAP!!!! Where the heck is the time going? Is this real life? I sure as heck hope so. 

          Anyway, so for his 5 month, I wanted to get a cake that was on sale. This may seem silly, but hear me out: Jared and I used to go to Broulim's when we lived in Rexburg and buy the cakes that were marked down to like....$7. We would get them when we were stressed out, upset, or just needed to chill. We'd seriously just get a whole cake, no plates, no nothin', just forks and a whole cake and go at it. It was hilarious. The first time we did it, Jared goes, "Sam, I've never just....eaten a cake off of the platter it comes on. Is this allowed?" Bless his adorable little heart, he took that first bite and was so surprised at how fun just...eating a whole cake was. It was great.

          So I went out, bought a cake that was on sale, and just ate it. I also got some Chile Con Queso pringles, since he told me to in his letter, telling me how great they were. It was a grand celebration. 

          I honestly find myself thinking so many happy thoughts every day about memories of us. I know this sounds cheesy and just totally cliche, but I fall in love with him every single day, just thinking about the times we spent together over the past 6 years. I'll be doing mundane things, like dishes, vacuuming, or cooking, and just slip into this stumbling, slipping state of love where I just think about doing his dishes for him when he was sick or stressed, or cleaning his apartment while he was in class for him, or cooking with him. And then I fall in love all over again with him and it just makes me smile. I thought this was supposed to be a hard, trying, difficult thing, being without him for 2 years, but so far, I've found that nothing has changed between us. The ONLY thing that has changed is the fact that we're 1,859 miles away, and that we only get to talk once a week through emails and letters. And you wanna know what? Surprisingly...It doesn't seem that bad at all. I'm growing so much, and so is he, and I'm just so proud of who he is becoming. I don't care WHERE he is, whether he's with me or away from me, for 2 years or 2 days, but if he can progress and become a better person, let it be.

         Transfers are on the 25th of February, and it's only going to be 5 weeks long since they're getting so many new missionaries cause' of the age drop. AWESOME! He's great, life is great, everything is great.

Until next time, people who read my blog! 

I love you all and wish you the best!

Cheers!

-Samantha

A Bigger Plan.

          Wow everyone. Sorry I haven't posted in a while. A lot has been happening and I really wanted to get it all done before I updated so I could just give the whole story at once! Right now, I'm laying on my bed, jacked up on pain meds, and waiting for my AMAZING Mother to graciously bring me a chocolate milkshake. Why you ask? BECAUSE I GOT MY WISDOM TEETH TAKEN OUT.

       Let's back up: Last blog post, I was freakin' out. I needed 6 cavities filled and all four wisdom teeth removed before my mission papers went in. I didn't think I had dental insurance, and I didn't think I'd be able to find anyone to take my wisdom teeth out for a reasonable price. I believe that sums up my last post pretty accurately, right? So I post a link to that blog on my facebook and you wouldn't believe it: one of my AMAZING YW leaders from when I first moved to Kentucky posts on the link: "Mark (her AMAZING husband) will do it for free."

What.

The.

HECK.

          

          Is this real life? I won't go into all the details, but through many messages and exchanging information, we found out that I do have dental insurance, that Mark couldn't take my teeth out because my teeth were too impacted, but that he knew of a couple people that he thought would be willing to help me out. Lo and Behold, Mark had a Oral Surgeon friend who was more than happy and willing to help me out. So on Wednesday, January 23rd, my wisdom teeth were removed: something I thought was going to take many many months to work out, and many many dollars to pay for. I had the work done in a matter of a couple weeks, and for as much money as my dental insurance could cover.

          Now let me just back up a while. I moved to Kentucky in 2008, when my Mom got remarried. I'd lived in Xenia, Ohio my whole life. I'd never been in a different ward, a different school, a different anything. My whole entire life was there. Moving to Kentucky was one of the worst things to happen to me in my life! It was taking me away from everything I'd ever known, including my best friend, Jared. I told myself all the time: "The Lord is putting me through this for a reason. I'm supposed to be here for some reason, I just don't know why yet." I wouldn't find out why until 5 years later. Here is my point: The Lord knew the bigger picture. He knew the I would serve a mission someday. He knew that I would need my wisdom teeth taken out. He placed me in a specific ward at a specific time so that this could happen. My Father KNEW all of this, and his hand was in my life, leading me through the whole time. I can see that now. I mean, I knew before that it was all part of a bigger plan, but now seeing that plan unravel right in front of me, being able to see the blessings forthcoming straight from Heaven, watching my life being blessed in miraculous ways because I chose to serve a mission...Now that's amazing. I can only imagine the blessings and revelations that will happen when I'm actually on my mission. 

          All in all, my wisdom teeth are out, 3 cavities have been filled, my physical stuff is taking WAY too long to process (the doctors really have no idea how to fill this paperwork out), and I have 3 more cavities to fill. These papers will be in soon and then I will know where I'm going to be serving the Lord in for the next 18 months. I just want to give the biggest thank you to Brother and Sister Mortenson, the amazing people that helped find someone to take my wisdom teeth out. They worked so hard and did everything in their power to help me out and didn't stop until my teeth were pulled. I am so so so grateful for their help, and I know that the Lord will bless them for doing so much for me. “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” I'd also like to thank my amazing Bishop, who is a dentist! He gave me my examination and is filling my cavities for me. So many people have been placed in my life to help me get on my mission. Someday, I hope to be able to help someone out as much as all these people have helped me.

          

          In other news, Jared will have been done for 5 months on the 29th, so I'll be posting my celebration of that soon! Holy moly, has it been 5 months already?? WOW. Time is FLYING by! This is awesome! Valentines Day is coming up and guess who agreed to be my valentine this year?? That's right! 

JARED DID. :D Hehe. He's great. He said he'd love a valentine package from me on one condition: "Hold off on the confetti." We'll see. ;)

Well, I'm off! Recovering from these dang wisdom teeth is rough business! I love you all very much! 

Cheers!

-Samantha J Stanley

         

P.S!
A VERY VERY big CONGRATULATIONS to my friend JESS! Her missionary Michael came home yesterday and they couldn't be happier! GET MARRIED ALREADY, SLACKER. ;)

          

           

          

Hooooly crap.
I'm SO FRUSTRATED.

This will be a rant, so I apologize in advance.
So my mission papers are almost in, which is AWESOME, right?
Key word here: Almost.

EVERYTHING is done except my physical and dental. I'll be going in to finish up all my physical stuff by the end of this week, if everything comes back positive. So hopefully that'll get done so I can check it off finally.
Bad news: I went and had my dental examination. I have a butt-ton of cavities that need filled and my two bottom wisdom teeth need to be removed. Even worse news: Guess who doesn't have any dental insurance? This girl  right here.

I'm stuck here and it just sucks real bad. I just want to have my mission papers in already. I can't tell who's hand is in this, Heavenly Father or Satan? Who's putting this off?
Am I supposed to be in a certain place at a certain time for a specific person and that's why it's taking so long to get these in? Or is Satan just trying to push it all back and make it hard for me to serve? The glass is half full, so I'm siding with the Lord and trusting His will.

It's still hard though, and I'm still just getting super frustrated and stressed out. I just wanna pick up my phone  and call my best friend and tell him everything and then he'd say, "It's okay, Sam. We got this."

We do got this though. :)
Although...Going about 2 1/2 months without a letter kinda sucks. I know, I know. I get emails every week. I'm so so so so sooooo lucky. But nothing compares to those letters. I'll get one eventually. C: And when I do, it'll rock. A lot.

Well, that's my rant. Sorry about that, everyone!
Thanks for reading! :)

I feel a little better now. <3
-Samantha Stanley

NEW YEARS RESOLUTION: Write weekly.
I can do this, right?
Right.

Mmmkay guys! WHO'S BEEN OUT ON HIS MISSION FOR 4 MONTHS?!
That's right.
My boyfriend has.
Elder Jared Sellers has been serving the Lord for 4. Whole. Months.

ZING!!
Wow. That's awesome.

So on December 29th, his 4 month, I was SUPER sick. Sicker than I have been in a long time. So I couldn't do anything big. OH! BY THE WAY, for those of you who are just now joining in on my blog, every month, on Jared's mission-versary, I celebrate by making a special dish or meal that he and I used to make together.  It's always super fun and it just makes me so happy. C:

Anyway, back on track. This month, super sick, couldn't make anything big. Y'know.
So I made toast and hot chocolate. So you take the toast- and you dip it in the hot chocolate!! Jared introduced me to this when we were out at school together. He said it was something he always ate as a child on cold winter days after playing in the snow. So we'd just sit there at the table with a toaster, a loaf of bread, and some hot chocolate and just make toast until all the bread was gone. Those were some of the best mornings ever.

His Mom and I also conspired and had a cupcake delivered to him from their cousin Pam! I hope it got to him and he enjoyed it. <3

All in all, I'm just super stoked that it's been FOUR MONTHS. Time is starting to fly right by my flippin face and I can't help but smile. He's just the best missionary ever and I can't believe that my best friend is out there serving the Lord with all his heart. <3 He's just the best.

IN OTHER NEWS! I have a dental appointment this Monday for my mission, and next Wednesday I'll go in to finish up my blood-work! My mission papers will be in soon!! Any bets on where i'll be going? C:


I'm so in love. I can't believe it'll be 5 months this month. This is just one of our other grand adventures and I can't wait to leave on my own mission to serve the Lord and put me heart in His hands completely.

OH! IT WAS NEW YEARS. RIGHT.
So I kissed a picture of him at midnight.
No big deal.
I missed him this year, but I'll get him in 2!
This year, we'll have been best friends for 7 years.
Hoooooly crap.

Until next time! Thanks for reading!
-Samantha

P.S.
Bonus picture of the most handsome Elder EVER.

I'M IN LOVE, I'M IN LOVE, AND I DON'T CARE WHO KNOWS IT.

          Alright, so we can all just say I pretty much such at consistently updating my blog. I promise, I care! I just get so busy! I'll just lump everything together in this post and promise to start posting more!

         So first of all, last month, on November 29th, we celebrated Jared being gone for 3 whole months! WOW. Seriously? 3 months? Already? Time is flying by and I LOVE every single day of it. So to celebrate Jared being gone for 3 months, I made our favourite meal, Chicken Katsu. We got really good at making it out at BYU-I and made it whenever we had a chance! Now that I'm home, I get to make it for my family a lot, since they love it so much! I'm always reminded of Jared and all the fun times we had making it. I put 3 little candles in the rice that goes with it and made sushi, too! I blew the candles out and made a wish. :D

           Some days are longer than others, but every night, as I lay down to sleep, I have a little celebration of one more day he's done; one more success; one more soul blessed; one more day closer to eternity with the person who makes me the happiest. C: Every day is pure bliss, waiting, loving, helping, supporting, and helping him fulfill and magnify his calling as a missionary. <3 I sure do love him!
 

          The month of December was a little bit harder on me. Jared has been telling me he has a package for me, so I got sorta package/letter hungry and checked the mail every day to no avail. Oh well! Something will come at some point, and at least that means he's too busy serving the Lord to write me! He'll find time at some point to write me! In the mean time, the weekly emails we exchange are amazing, uplifting, and super-amazing. <3 I'm so blessed, so lucky, and so loved.

So today was Christmas. Which is kind of the best day ever considering I GOT TO SKYPE WITH HIM TODAY!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Holy crap. It was basically the best thing in the whole world. Ever. We got to skype for about 2 hours total. It was just pure bliss. <3 Some silly quotes from the conversation:

Me: "OHMYGOSH LOOK AT YOU! YOU'RE SO CUTE WITH YOUR LITTLE NAME-TAG!!"
Him: "Well, you're just cute in general, so..." <3

Me: "Nice tie, where'd you get it?
Jared: "Some weird girl sent it to me."

Jared: " This is the best Christmas ever."

          Needless to say, it really was one of the best Christmases ever. I loved every single second of our conversation. As soon as I saw him and heard his voice, it was as if he never left. All of my memories of the two of us, all of my favourite times were sitting right there in front of me and all I could do was smile. It was just like us. We were just two best friends getting to talk to each other again. He's so worth the wait. :3

"I love you, Sam! Oh! And I love you guys, too!"
Dork.

       I just wanna thank his family for allowing me to be such a big part of his mission. For being so supportive of us and loving me enough to include me in things like this. I appreciate it more than they will ever know. I love each and every one of them so very much, and I don't know what I'd do without their love and support in everything I do, and everything Jared does, and everything we do together.  

 In other news, in a couple days, on the 29th, I'll be celebrating Jared being gone for 4 months. WHAT?! AHHHHHHHH. 4 months down mean....20 MONTHS TO GO! How cool is that?! After that, we'll be in the teens! HOLY POOP!  Time is just flying! I'll post pictures of my celebration then!

Until next time!
-Samantha

         
         

It's November! November is probably my favourite month EVER. Not because my birthday is on November 15th or anything....

          Oh wait. Just kidding. IT IS. I'll be 20 years old! Oh my word of wisdom!! Also, is this not just the greatest thing in the history of EVER? It sure is to me! I'm so close to being finished with my mission papers! Holy cow! I hope to have them done by the end of the month. I'm so ready to get out there and serve the Lord with everything I have in me. :)

          In other news, school is going well, i'm working A LOT. I just got promoted, so that came with a pay raise! More mission funds! Yeah!! I got a calling in my ward: I'm a Primary Worker! I teach a class of 3 kiddos, my step-sister being one of them. I'm so excited!! :) Life is going very well for me!

          I've been thinking a lot lately though. Having Jared be on his mission has been so easy for me. I feel like every experience I've had in my life has lead up to this. The way my childhood played out, my Father passing away, me moving away from Jared, him going out to school a year before I did, all the while, us never being 'together' until this year. I just feel like I was prepared for this. It's been so....easy. I mean, of course I miss him, of course I can't wait till we both get home, but right now? I'm just living my life while he lives his and our paths will just...meet back up; simple as that. The waiting has been easy because I find joy in everything about it. I learned that from my Dads death. I learned how to think of the best memories, smile, rejoice in them, and not to think about him not being physically THERE, because he wasn't, nor was he going to be. Jared however, WILL come back, so it's exciting to think that even though I can't hug him or hold his hand now, I'll be able to again. I really think that my Father passing away was something meant to build me up for this experience in some ways. It was so easy to send him off because I had just been READY for that chapter in my life to start. I was ready, and so was he.

          I'll close by just sharing one of my favourite memories of us that I've been thinking about lately. It's nothing big, it's actually pretty simple. This summer, we were in Coronado Beach with his family, visiting some of their relatives on the way home from BYU-I. We had gone swimming in the ocean and slacklining on the beach that evening, which was super fun. :) Later that night, we had dinner at a really yummy restaurant and then we went to see fireworks at Sea World. That's the memory: fireworks at Sea World. We'd gotten out of the car, it was cold, and we were sitting on the sidewalk right along the river and the fireworks were literally directly above us. It was just such a fun moment in time that I will never forget. I was just so in love with him in that one moment for some reason.

Cheers!
-Samantha