Queen Elizabeth

My little sister Lizzie got her mission call tonight, and she is going to.....

LONDON, ENGLAND!!!!

She enters the England MTC on July 3, 2009.

I could NOT be more happy for her! It seems so perfect for her, and I was thrilled to know that's where the Lord wants her. I couldn't have picked a better place myself! I guessed Europe, but never England! It's like her new home. I can already picture her there, serving. It could not fit my sister better. She is ecstatic about it, and very relieved to finally know where she is going! Needless to say, Travis and I are already planning on that being our next big trip, to ENGLAND!! She will be done in December of 2010, so we might just have Christmas over there! That will be the best Christmas ever, England, and my sister!!

I love her more than anything. She is my best friend, and the most gorgeous person I have ever met in my life. (Seriously people, she is beautiful!) I will miss her very much, and it will be like a part of me missing, but I am so proud of her. I am so pleased with the decisions she is making, and the path she has decided to take. I just know the people will love her!

When I asked her what it was like to open her call and what she was thinking, this is what she said,

"I can't explain it, it was just like this overwhelming feeling of 'BAM... God loves you. He knows you and knows what's best for you.' I was overcome, and so excited!"

So pure, so raw, so Lizzie. I love it.

Way to go Liz, I am so proud of you. This is the perfect place for you. I love you, and I will miss you.

I need...

...time with my husband 24/7

...an Asian baby

...to be in a place where people accept me, and love me unconditionally

...to be around good company and friends

...the constant thrill of adventure

... the perfect climate

... feng shui

... Asian girlfriends

... the beautiful clean beaches

...to see this view from my window everyday

... a jungle park in the middle of the city

...to eat char siu with geung every other day

... 10,000 statues of Buddha in my backyard

...The Hong Kong temple within reasonable radius

...Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is not for the weak or faint of heart!

Crazy dirty streets

Big Bugs

Lots of walking, up the steps to Big Buddha

Yes, that's pig noses

...and pig tongues

crazy crowded streets and markets

the constant smell of dead fish

Ah yes, a squatter. With NO toilet paper. You have to bring your own.

Yep, I could live there. :)

for donna

(This may be boring for those of you who are not related to me)

We just got back from visiting with Tyler. He looks great! He's doing so well. We had dinner with him and his companion, Elder Tucker. Dick and Michael met us there as well! It was a ton of fun. I gave him the hug for you! :) He said it was weird to have us there in his mission area! I have so much to tell you and so much to show you! He is very much still his goofy self, and he didn't even have an accent. We brought our camera and video camera with us. We took pictures and even a little video for you. :) Tyler said to tell you hi and that he loves all of the family. I can't wait to tell you about it when we come home. He didn't give us anything to bring back home, but we do have video of him!

All in all it was a wonderful evening. We ate dinner at a nice Japanese restaurant, and it was kinda cool to see him eating such authentic foods, and he loved it. They ate a lot. He doesn't look fat or too thin. He looks healthy and normal, so rest assured! We had fun talking and reminiscing, and I also learned and practice some Cantonese with him.

That's all I have to report for now... I have good stories for later. It'll be much better in person, I promise. We'll be home all too soon for that. :( I really don't want to leave. Well, see ya later!

a report

I don't want to come home! Hong Kong is AMAZING!

So believe it or not, I'm actually bigger than most people here. I thought I would fit right in, which I do, but I'm a little bit bigger than the average Chinese woman here. Not just taller, but bigger. I tried something on today that was a LARGE and it was too small! Gee whiz! Most other things fit me just fine here.

The food is incredible. I love it all. It tried clams the other day and it wasn't my favorite, but I could get used to it. I have yet to try pig knuckles.

Everything is pretty inexpensive here. We traveled on the MTR (subway) today for almost an hour and quite the distance for only 75 cents. The transportation system here is great and super easy to follow.

The weather has been incredible. 75 and a slight breeze. It could not be more perfect.

We have been walking everywhere and every night my feet hurt. We get some rest every night and the next morning we do it again! My legs are looking pretty toned. :) Friday we're going to get massages. I'll need it!

We are having such a blast and I wish I could post pictures! I'll do it when I get home. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this place! So much about it is unique and I love just noticing all the small details. Travis is the best travel companion because he likes to do a lot, but also relax. We're both easy going and like to just stop and take it all in. I have never been to a cooler place in my life. But, I guess it all depends on the kind of place you like. I absolutely love traveling. I've been to Mexico (the caribbean side), Europe (Italy, France and Switzerland), and now Asia! Asia is by far my favorite. Everything about this place is incredible.

I LOVE HONG KONG!

we made it!

We're in Hong Kong, and I am in love.

Tomorrow, we shop til we drop.

I could not be happier.

too good

I was talking with this wonderful woman I know, and she said the funniest thing to me today.

"It's amazing how everything in this life basically boils down to poop."
-Flavia Fleischer

cleared and ready for take off!

I am delighted to announce that my insides have decided to start working again, and I could not be happier.
I drank this stuff last night that my home teacher gave me, and it is POWERFUL stuff! It's called Internal Sweep, and believe you me, it is TRUE to it's name!! It does just that. Sweep out your insides. Last night about 2 hours after I drank the stuff, I had the most intense pain EVER. I thought I was going to deliver a baby... or a tumor. My stomach kept contracting, and I swear I could feel the blockage moving and going around each corner. I was miserable for like 30 mins, and then it was over. I was hysterically crying it hurt so bad. After that, I felt much better, and I slept sooo wonderfully.
....I'm doing it again tonight. YIKES!

It's been a painful process to say the least, especially today! I pretty much stayed home all day, and I'm glad I did! I'm almost all cleared out, and I cannot wait to go to Hong Kong!

I'm happy that I've been able to recover and be back to normal. It feels SOOOOO good. Next time you hear from me I might be in Hong Kong or just returned! See you later and have a good 2 weeks! :)

an update, as promised

So I'm feeling a little better, but still concerned that I'm not fully recovered yet. Ugh. I don't care. I'm still going to Hong Kong this Saturday.

We also heard back about the house, which we didn't think we would so fast. We were expecting at least a month. So the bank counter-offered and now we're just trying to decide if we should counter-offer back back, or just accept the offer, or just move on. Decisions, decisions, right? I hate making decisions, especially when I don't feel good. I'd rather just stay in bed and pull the covers over my head.

Not to mention, several people are telling me I should stay home from Hong Kong and get myself all figured out with the doctors. I don't care if I'm puking my guts out, I'm going to Hong Kong. THAT decision was easy to make. Hopefully I'll be feeling better tomorrow. Sorry for the boring post, I really do have exciting things going on, I'm just not as excited as I used to be, cuz I don't feel good. Happier posts coming soon, I promise. :)

hmmm, opposition in all things?

Today during church I started to feel really sick, and my lower back started hurting pretty badly. I dismissed it, thinking that maybe it was because I hadn't eaten, or due to the time change perhaps?

When I got home, things were progressing much worse. My lower back (kidney area) was killing me, and I was feeling very nauseous. After 3 hours of holding it all in, I finally let loose. (If you know what I mean, I'll spare you the details). Well, if you can believe it, it actually still got worse. I spiked a fever of 101.4, feeling REALLY sick. I had abdominal pain, and my lower back felt like someone had punched me! Well I couldn't take it anymore, the agony was too much.

Travis ended up taking me to Utah Valley, where there was a long wait. I ended up loosing it again in the waiting room, and they rushed me up to the front. Apparently when you loose bodily fluids, they get you in right away! I was given an IV, pain meds, and some medicine to stop me from vomiting, and they drew my blood. After several "iffy" tests, they decided to do a CT scan, to make sure I didn't have any kidney stones. (I was SO SURE it was a kidney infection again because that's just what it felt like, but it wasn't!!)

Apparently what I have is called and Ileus. Basically its when your insides stop working. It's not permanent, but if it gets worse, then I'll have to have surgery! AH!! Is this really happening right now? I asked the Doctor how this happens, and he said it could be many things, but they were all ruled out immediately. SO, he said it's just a virus. That, or my bowels are twisted or something. GROSS! (Sorry if that's TMI).

I just had a kidney infection back in December, and now this? Well I honestly think it's just a little opposition. Travis and I are being super blessed right now, and I think this is just a little trial from the Lord to keep me humble. We put an offer on a house last week, we are doing well in pretty much every area, AND we are going to Hong Kong this Saturday! So, it was actually perfect timing for me to be sick right now. I'm just taking it easy, trying not to push myself too hard. After all, I am leaving the country, I need to be healthy!

Well, that's all the news I have for now. Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I have been really busy, with 4 tests, a report, giving my students their midterm this week, working on a project, and preparing to go on our trip! I'll keep you posted with the updates that happen in the next little while. (Our offer on the house, our trip, my health, AND my sister turned in her mission papers!) Until next time... hope you are all healthier than me. :)