Hello Utah.

I forgot how much I love this place. Despite the constant need to apply lotion and chapstick (it's so dry!), Utah has captured my heart. Probably because it's the place where I first really found me. It's a good place. Totally worth the craziness it took to get here. Long story short, I missed my 6am flight and couldn't get on another one until 5:30pm, and then they closed the airport, but then they reopened it and let us fly, and eventually we rolled into SLC around midnight. I was tired. So tired, in fact, that I accidentally fell asleep on the shoulder of the kind man sitting next to me on the plane. Awkward. He was asleep when I woke up, so I decided to pretend it didn't happen. I really think they should put more space between those seats to avoid that embarrassing situation! Thankfully, my pal Kate (a rockstar missionary from the OEM) let me crash with her in Salt Lake so I wouldn't have to travel to Provo so late.

I finally made it to Provo Sunday night and had a sleepover with Megan and Katie. So many laughs. It was a joyous reunion and we almost had Megan convinced to stay an extra day, but unfortunately we had to say our goodbyes just as quickly as we had said our hellos. I'm excited for her though. Big California adventures await :)

Greta and I spent all day catching up, running errands, moving me into my apartment and (the highlight of the day) going to the Payson temple open house. Hmm...I keep trying to think of an adequate adjective to describe the temple. No words seem good enough. Language can be so restricting. 

Also, look who I found whilst unpacking... ;)

Willy James and Alfonso! pahahaha, my friends are funny.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

Once upon a mission, I was addicted to ice cream. It's all I ate for at least a week straight. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Instead of trying to help me break my addiction, everyone just fed it. Not that I'm compaining. I didn't mind being taken out for ice cream almost daily. And I didn't mind when we were smuggled a pint or two during the week. Eventually I broke that addiction and moved on to a brief tofu addiction (Eugene...it gets to you). But sometimes, that craving comes back.

Today is one such day. All day long, I longed for ice cream. When I could stand it no longer, I made a quick run to the store. This is what I found. 

In case you can't tell, those are EMPTY  ice cream shelves. 

All of the quality ice cream RECALLED. I settled for a tub of subpar ice cream.  Now I just have to decide: am I more upset that I couldn't get the ice cream I truly wanted OR am I upset because I ate a ton of Blue Bell ice cream last week that may or may not have been contaminated by listeria?

...I miss Oregon's scrumptious and uncontaminated Umpqua ice cream.

Change of Plans

18 months of no blogging resulted in 6 journals. A girl's gotta write, right? These lil babies are the bees knees. Treasure chests full of memories. Sometimes the stories on their pages make me laugh; sometimes they make me cry. I love them.

On Day 1 post-mission, I was fine. Day 2? Okay. But by Day 6, I was dying on the inside. I was fighting back tears all day and I just felt, well, dammed. No progression. Oh, what an awful terrible feeling! I was reminded of a time I felt like that on the mission. So I flipped open Journal #5 and found this little gem:

When you're feeling dammed you have a couple of options. Swim around your little pool or break down the dam. I've found breaking down the dam usually leads to more happiness. Happiness and progression--the two are inseparably connected. So I broke the dam. I came up with a game plan. Apartments. Jobs. Plane tickets. And then I prayed. After receiving the heavenly stamp of approval, it was final: I'm moving back to Utah next month. 

...and the dam broke, and she swam happily ever after.

PS, Sorry T*Swift. I couldn't let you rule the timetable of my life. The pool was way to shallow to keep swimming here. I'm sure Mom will enjoy your concert for me.

The Hardest Thing I've Ever Loved to Do

How exactly are you supposed to start your first blog post after the best 18 months? I've been excited for and dreading this post all week. It's overwhelming. There is so much I want to share with all of you. I want to tell you every detail of every story. I want you to fall in love with everyone I've fallen in love with in Oregon. But I have an inkling deep within my heart that that just might not be entirely possible. At least not in one post.

Oregon. That place is full of holy ground. Ordinary, everyday places became sacred, holy places as God touched my heart and changed me. It was in Oregon where I really learned to love.

 I learned to love God. I learned to love His children. I learned to love the scriptures. I learned to love His work. I learned to love the sacrament. I learned to love Sunday. I learned to love the temple. I learned to love obedience. I learned to love prayer. I learned to love covenant making. I learned to love covenant keeping. I learned to love the hymns. I learned to love leading music. I learned to love studying. I learned to love mornings. I learned to love vegetables. I learned to love (or at least not dread) exercise. I learned to love reading texts out loud (I seriously miss that one. I very strongly -considered screen-shotting and emailing all my texts from this week to Sister West, but then I figured she probably would just be mad that I took up all of her email time with a zillions "You're home! What now?" texts). I learned to LOVE being called "Sister" (Want to be my best friend? Just call me Sister. Seriously. I will love you forever.). I learned to love old people, young people, smelly people, scary people, nice people, stranger people, hippy people, sad people, happy people, rich people, poor people, clean people, dirty people, tall people, short people, fat people, skinny people...you get the picture. 

WHO KNEW THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE/EXPERIENCES/PLACES/THINGS TO LOVE IN THIS WORLD???

...And then they made me come home. It is way more okay than I thought it would be. I still get intensely sad sometimes. Usually it's when I lay in bed at night and realize I don't get to be a full-time, name-badge wearing missionary the next day. Or when I'm getting dressed. Oh, getting dressed is the worst. If I'm going to wear pants that day (which is necessary when you go to a 2 and 4 year-old's birthday party at a bounce house place) it takes me a good 30 minutes just to convince myself wearing pants in public is okay. Plus nothing, nothing looks good when you're missing your very best accessory: the badge. But the sadness is okay. Nephi said "it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things." And the sadness is worth every ounce of happiness.

It was the best 18 months of my life. But this is going to be the best 18 months of my life, too. I figure as long as you are exactly where the Lord wants you to be, every 18 months can be the best. So here's to the next 18 months and whatever they might bring.

Homegirl LOVES mail

Letters/packages will be well-loved.

UNTIL 9/25/13:
Sister Lisa Hamilton
SEP25 OR-EUGE
2007 N 900 E Unit 72
Provo UT 84602

AFTER 9/25/13:
Sister Lisa Hamilton
Oregon Eugene Mission
55 W 29th Ave Ste A
Eugene, OR 97405

EMAIL:
lisa.hamilton@myldsmail.net

Till We Meet Again

Wow. I don't even know where to begin. Today was *spectacular*

I woke up early this morning s t r e s s e d . I was supposed to speak in church, and I had absolutely no idea what I was going to say. I had written a talk (multiple, actually). Nothing seemed right. My heart was heavy. 10 minutes before walking out the front door for church, I knew I couldn't use anything I had written. I prayed. I prayed hard. And, just as He did when He asked me to serve a mission, Heavenly Father asked me to take a deep breath, step to the pulpit, and trust him.

As church began, my heart raced. And then a member of the stake presidency walked in *gulp*  Talk about nerves. Here I was, minutes from giving my farewell, and I had no idea what I was going to say. And then...

THE LIGHTS WENT OUT

"Okay, okay, I get it," I thought. "I won't give the talk I prepared. You didn't have to cut the lights to keep me from reading it." Then again, maybe He did. I can be pretty stubborn; He knows that best of all.

After singing a hymn in the dark, the lights turned back on and the congregation all gasped in delight. How great it is to bask in His light in a well-lit chapel.

After all the excitement of the lights going out and a wonderful talk by Sister Bonnette, a convert, a returned missionary, and a mother of 4? 5?, I made my way to the pulpit. Although I didn't have the words I should speak written down, the words flowed freely from my mouth. Heavenly Father never ceases to amaze me. "Let go of control, Lisa" He implores. "Let me speak through you. Let me give you the words you should speak." And when I do that, when I relinquish control, He takes over. I bore testimony of the things I know, and as I did, my testimony grew. Instead of a heavy, stressed heart, I had a warm, full heart - enlarged with testimony.

Throughout the entire day, my ward family enveloped me in arms of love and prayers of support and encouragement. From notes of well-wishing to beaded bobby socks (my childhood fave), they showered me with love. I have an entire journal full of written testimonies, words of advice, and encouragement and lots and lots of love. 

Following church, we had a potluck linger-longer. Several returned missionaries from the ward shared mission stories and gave me advice. The primary children (and, might I add, we have a vivacious group) sang "I hope they call me on a mission!" with vigor and vim, and then overran me with the most ginormous group hug I have ever taken part in <3

My last surprise of the day was a video. A hilarious parody put together by the youth and their leaders about "Lisa's first day in the field". It was the best!

My heart is full. My cup runneth over. I am so blessed to be part of a wonderful ward family. But even more than that, I am blessed to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. And, even more than that, I am blessed to be a daughter of the King.

Keeping the Post Office Alive

I'm a firm believer that law offices and Mormons keep the US Postal Service in business. The mail I send at work? B-O-R-I-N-G! Missionary mail? SO FUN!  I've been meaning to send Hermana Megan and Hermana Alena some special surprises, but last week I finally shipped them out. I knew it was now or never because 2 weeks from today I'll be on a mission too. *Fingers crossed* that they loved their mostly dollar store surprises.

homemade polka-dot bows

homemade striped bows

LaffyTaffy isn't very yummy...but I LOVE the jokes!

sidewalk chalk! Shelly (RM) suggested this one

squishy things

imagining Alena with this duck bill...HAHAHA

I wonder if Meg's comp will hate me for this one...

racers

finger rockets

gummy fish

just need to add a couple letters

<3

 Hooray for missionary work! Hooray for mail! Hooray for imagining happy faces when a surprise arrives!

16 days...

After a summer of sloth-like time, time has finally decided to pick up its pace. Unfortunately, now it's moving at lightening speed. With 16 days and counting until I head off to the MTC, things are getting a little crazy around here. I feel woefully unprepared - I NEED MORE CLOTHES. And a coat. And a loofa. And a couple more shots (the news that nearly ruined my day today - my last Tdap expired at the end of July :( worst news of my life *insert lots of overly dramatic sighs*). And the over-achiever in me has convinced myself that I need to have Preach My Gospel memorized by the time I go to the MTC (exaggeration...but I do feel a lot of pressure to learn as much as I can. This is a good pressure though - a motivating pressure).

In the midst of all the craziness and stress, Heavenly Father sends me little reminders that I need to stop stressing and get EXCITED!!!! He knows me so well :)

Last night, the house phone rang. Liv answered because she's pretty much the only one who gets calls on the land line. She walked into my parents room where I was laying on the bed in my new muumuu (which nobody is as excited about as I am...COME ON PEOPLE!! IT'S A MUUMUU!!!!) She handed me the phone shocked that a boy was calling me. Gasp. "Hi! This is Elder ...(I forget) from the Oregon Eugene Mission calling to welcome you to the best mission on earth!" WOOOHOOO! After a brief conversation, I informed my family who "the boy" was. Mom was very relieved. She thought that maybe, despite my best attempts at avoiding all not temple and/or service related YSA activities someone had gotten my number and was calling to ask me on a date.

Today's tender mission mercy came in the mail: a little package from my Aunt Becky. Inside a small white bag, wrapped in tissue paper, was this little pin

It was my Grandma Hamilton's. Aunt Becky said it was in Grandma's jewelry box for as long as she can remember. When she came across it, she said it was almost as if Grandma whispered, "That is for Lisa." I'm to take it on my mission, to remember my grandparents, the "convert pioneers" in my family. I absolutely love this little pearl covered pin. It simply could not be any more perfect. Fleur de lis to remind me of Louisiana and it will be such a great conversation starter to tell others about family history! <3 Thanks Grandma.

Playing House

For the past two and a half weeks, I had the pleasure of playing house while a couple from church went on a European vacation. Can a person be a professional house-sitter? If so, sign me up!!! Okay, rewind. I was mostly there to dog sit. The house and car were just perks of the job.

I've never been a huge dog person...until now. I WANT A DOG. Whaaaaaaat? I know, shocker. I fell head-over-heels in love with Molly (the beautiful pup I stayed with). She is the most well-behaved and loving creature ever. I didn't even mind picking up her poop <<<< evidence of my love for her.

It was fun to have a nice car and fancy house all to myself, but now its back to reality. Sleeping on an inflatable mattress in my eleven year old sister's room and getting chauffered around in mom's minivan. Oh, life. I love it. And I'm going to enjoy every last minute of this cramped apartment living, because in just 30 days (eeeeeek!) I'll be moving back across the country to start my 18 month adventure as Sister Hamilton.





...I obviously haven't messed with my blog recently. Half a month after writing this post, I'm finally adding the pictures and hitting "publish".

Where to start...

You know those CarMax commercials with the "start here" line that shows people where to start when looking for a new car? Yeah, well I need one of those "start here" lines for this post. It's my own fault; this is what I get for going nearly a month without blogging.

July brought a fun visit with Josh and a last minute weekend roadtrip to Indiana. Both were a ton of fun despite being sick. Both are worthy of a full blog post all their own. Unfortunately, I'm probably too lazy to ever get around to it.

Oh, but it's not all laziness! I'm also prepping for the mission, which is quite an ordeal. Who knew I'd need to buy so many things? And don't even get me started on the overwhelming amount of material I need/want to learn before I go! The days are slowly, but steadily, ticking away. I know that September 11 will be here before I know it.

So, I apologize for blowing off the blog. But I'm trying to prep and make a million nephew memories before I leave. Priorities.

My Soldier Brother

Meet Josh. Brother. Son. Uncle. Protector. Tackle Mountain master. Teaser. Biker. Soldier.

Last Sunday, I met a woman who had recently lost her soldier son (temporarily - life doesn't end with death, and neither do families). As I listened to her story, I couldn't help but be grateful that Josh isn't deployed at the moment. In fact, I get to see him next week!!!! I'm just a tad excited ;) Only a few months ago, I thought Josh was going to be deployed. He was going to come visit before he left, and I was full of mixed emotions. I was rather upset/scared to have him overseas (and my roommate's boyfriend broke up with her the same day I found out he was scheduled for deployment...our room was real fun that day). But I was also suppppperrrr excited to get to see him before I leave on my 18 month mission in September. When his deployment was cancelled, so was his visit. Or so I thought. But then my fabulous big brother shocked me by announcing that he would fly down to Louisiana from Alaska for a quick visit next week. SO. EXCITED.

Josh is pretty BA (bad...awesome?). He can certainly kick some hiney, but to me he's just my big brother.

He's smart.

He has a great shot. (still true - future boyfriends beware)

He's really good at scaring away cats.

He's also a talented dancer.

Not to mention he's a roller coaster tycoon.

Occasionally he plays dress up.

And he's almost always silly.

But always, always he's my big brother. And when you have a soldier brother the 4th is just a little sweeter, because you aren't just celebrating Independence Day - you're celebrating how awesome your big brother is.