Call from Austin!

I was sitting on my couch on Christmas being a bum watching movies or something, and I didn't have my phone. It had fallen in the little crack of the couch. My grandma had called Ashley so I figured that I should probably check my phone. I looked and I had a missed call from my grandma (of course) and 4 missed called from Alabama... I was like what the... then I listen to my voice mail from them and the second Austin started talking I almost started crying. I know. I am seriously dramatic. But I was just so upset that I had missed his call! The voice mail said that he needed his dads number. I called him back, and it was just the best ever. It made me so happy! I don't even know why! Ok- I do. He's my best friend and I have REALLY been missing him lately and again I'm going to be totally dramatic, but I think in a way his phone call could have been answer to my prayers. It calmed me and literally just made my Christmas complete. 

So here is why he got to call me-

He was going to Skype his mom at like 4:00, but she hadn't been answering her phone. So the only other number that he had memorized was The Thornleys, because they seriously have the easiest phone number ever. He called them, got my number and then asked me for his dads number. But we got to chat for a few minutes and he told me how awesome he thought that it was that I was going to Tampa and stuff like that. I tried to sound cool and collected, but ya. Then we talked about some other things that I can't even remember because I was in so much shock. It was for sure one of those times that you want to be able to go back and listen to a phone conversation that you had. Hahaha oh man. I sound like a totally pathetic person right now. But guys, you don't get it. It. Was. The. BEST. Thee best. I cannot even explain it! My I got to talk to my best friend in the world on Christmas! :)  

Man I miss that guy...

I have a confession. I miss Austin. So much. Like so much. I can't even explain (like really- I can't). It feels like someone drilled a hole through my heart. Ok. That might be a little dramatic. But he was one of my best friends and it really does feel like something is missing ya know? Even though I'm so proud of him for doing what he is! It's not a crime to miss him so much?? Right? You really don't appreciate things until they are gone. He was such a good and amazing friend. Sometimes I just want to call and talk to him about things. Especially all of this mission stuff. I have to say that he is growing up SO much! I can't wait till I  get on my mission and can actually be called "mature" because I sure am not right now. To make matters worse, he couldn't email me last week and said that he'd send me a letter. On Monday. That letter still isn't here. Sooooooo that just makes me feel like I haven't seen him in even longer.
Anyways. Little rant there. I just thought that I'd share ;)

Plus James said on Sunday with a huge sigh, "When is Austin coming back?" I'm not the only one who misses him!

The mail...

My favorite thing to do is check the mail. Mainly because I love getting letters from Austin!! He emailed me though and he was wondering why I hadn't written him :( sad because uhhhh I've only gotten one letter and I wrote him back... so I don't know where that letter is exactly. Kinda weird stuff.
Welp... that's it.

19 days... I can do this.

19 days till I am done with this semester. Then I can just focus on my mission. Wow the days are going by slow. If I start thinking about my papers or my mission the world just switches to slow motion mode. It is literally killing me… and my grades. School hasn’t seemed to matter since the whole mission thing. Which is really bad. I’m still paying for this thing!

On Sunday our Primary had their program. My kids did SO good. They sang amazing and said their parts perfectly. Since they did so amazing we decided to write Elder Miller (their other teacher) some letters when we were in class. They are wrote the cutest and funniest things. I sent them to him along with another letter. I also got a letter back from him. I cannot believe how much he has changed already! I am so proud of him! Anyways. Just wanted to share the good news. J

I’ve just been preparing for my mission. All I want to do is study the Book of Mormon and Preach my Gospel. I have also decided to take on Jesus the Christ. My Stake President told me that if I read it before my mission it will bring me so many blessings. 

Elder Miller.

I can't believe that it's time for Austin to leave! I still don't think it has hit me yet. Austin has been one of my best friends for a really long time. I moved in when I was in 4th grade. He was in my Sunday School class and I immediately had this huge crush on him. He was cute and super flirty. At this time I was just figuring out boys, and figuring out that I liked them. So that made it even worse. We were in the same Sunday School for the rest of the time when we were youth. We talked a little bit here and there, at combined activities and ward parties and stuff. Just because we were the same age we saw each other a lot. I remember a point when I thought that he actually like me. It was when I was 15 and we were at our youth conference. We call it the "special" youth conference. For reasons that can be left unsaid... He flirted with me and Amanda a ton. What I didn't know, is that he really liked Amanda. The next summer in 2008 we started hanging out. Me, Ash, Christina, Amanda, Andrew, and Austin. That was a really fun summer. None of us had jobs or even a care in the world. It was a blast. We would talk sometimes all day on my porch. We got to know each other so well. We also would do fun things like go rafting down the canal, or walk to walmart plus a lot more. We all say that it was one of the most fun summers we have ever had. Austin and Amanda were really close... not really "going out" but ya know. Andrew and I were sorta really close too... but I still liked Austin a LOT. I hadn't stopped liking him since I was in 4th grade. But all of us just had fun. Especially when we had youth conference in Moab. Then once school started I kind of drifted away from Andrew, and Austin started dating someone else. We were still way good friends. But I was kind of sad. Mainly just because he was my friend, not really because I liked him. Homecoming... that was a disaster on my part. Zach asked me, and I was a jerk to him because Austin was in our group and I still really liked him. I was a little jealous. So I butchered that date. Then he broke it off with his girlfriend and he told me that he liked me. I got my first C ever in Astronomy because he was in my class. Plus, our teacher hated us, and we got in trouble a lot. I remember him telling me that he also liked this other girl and it was kind of between me and her right now. He started going out with her for a little bit, and then broke it off. After that we first held hands at Jeff's farewell party and had our first kiss in the parking lot after my sisters game. We started officially "going out" the next day at combined mutual. You can see from the pictures all the fun times that we had together. And those aren't even all of them. Now I'm not going to go into detail about how many times we broke our relationship off and things like that. I hardly remember how many times it was or for what reasons. But really, it doesn't even matter. I just know, that we had so many good times and moments. Every day I remember learning something new about relationships, love, friendship, myself, and him. But I was for sure not good at a relationship and ruined that. We broke it off after about a year. It hurt me more than I can even express. I regret ruining that relationship. I still believe that everything happens for a reason. But I know it was for the best (plus, this post is not my sob story, it's just a summary of our friendship). We have just been really great friends for the past year and a half, and I'm totally loving that as well :) a lot less pressure, and not as much fighting. He is just an amazing person. He will make the people of Georgia so happy, and will make a really lucky girl amazingly happy someday. :) I feel so lucky to be able to call him one of my best friends, and to be able to have spent so much time, fun, and laughs together. I am going to miss him more than I can even explain. But I know with all my heart that he is doing the right thing and I could not be more happy for him!

These pictures are not in order by date or anything. They are actually super random, sorry about that!