Exciting month!

There are some exciting things coming up for us in the next month. 
My sister Emily is going to come home from her mission in ITALY on December 3rd (3 1/2 weeks!). 
Then in a month from tomorrow, my brothers and their wives and babies are coming here to visit for our family Christmas celebration!  Then of course Christmas is always wonderful. The whole season is. And no, I don't want to be different by choosing another favorite holiday. :)

I just have to declare that I'm 100% sentimental 
(surprise) and nostalgic, so getting together with my 
family + celebrating Christmas = an overload. 
I even had a dream recently about my brothers coming home and hugging them and crying (don't doubt that'll actually happen when I see them). I can hardly wait to see Ty, Elisabeth, Luke, Jake, Kari, Abigail, and Emily!!!!! 
My family is so important to me. 
I don't know if I'll ever get used to living in a different state than they do and only seeing them a few times each year. But at the same time, that probably makes it even better when I do get to see them.

I have missed Emily so much over the past year and a half. And the last few months senti falta dela (I missed her) even more because I started to let myself get anxious to see her, knowing it was coming fairly soon. She has been doing such an amazing job spreading the Gospel and bearing testimony of Jesus Christ. She has had a lot of health issues relating to her jaw, her stomach and hips. The worst has been her hips, since she relies so much on them for walking many miles each day. I remember feeling pain in my hips my first week in the mission field in Brazil, but then it went away as my legs got used to so much walking. I'm sure her difficulty is different than mine because it's still plaguing her. But she has persevered and continued with so much faith and long-suffering. 
I am proud of her for having such a great attitude.

 Emily and me, the night I said goodbye to her before she left on her mission.

I'm also excited to get to know her again. That doesn't mean that she'll be a completely different person. I just mean that I'm sure she has changed and grown in many ways, and it'll be fun to spend time together. Before she left, she had been up at Utah State for school, and I didn't see her very much and regretfully didn't even talk with her much on the phone. At that time, I was very busy myself with my last semesters of school and working full-time and performing with choir, etc. Now I'm only working and have more time to be nostalgic. :) In fact, I realized that since I got married, I value girlfriends so much more that before. I need girl time! 
...Which brings me back to my last post...

GIRLS

Girls need girls, and guys need girls. Aren't we wonderful? 
Everyone needs us! Kidding... kind of. 

I know everyone is different and not everyone will agree with me, but one thing is certain: most girls literally need time with girlfriends, whether that's a mom, sister, relative, neighbor, friend from school, coworker, etc. Most guys just seem to be content with their wives or girlfriends on a regular basis and don't feel that strong need to spend time with other guys.

Don't get me wrong: when I say that I need girl time, that in no way means that I'm mad at Bryndon or am bored with him or he doesn't make me happy and content. I absolutely love spending time with him--in fact, I'm always desperate to spend more time with him. He is so fun and loving, and I need time with him way more than anyone else in the world. I'm talking about an emotional need for additional time with girls that cannot be fulfilled by any man. Girls understand girl emotions, girls want to talk and talk and talk, and we somehow enjoy all talking at the same time. 
Girls are silly, girls are girly, girls are fun, girls are sensitive, girls are crazy, girls are friendly, girls are sweet. Girls will be girls.

(Picture: me and my cousin girlfriends, the "Beach Babes" on the "banana" at Hebgen Lake years ago)

There have been times when I have really missed certain friends from high school, institute/sorority at the U, old neighbors, old coworkers, and mission companions, and felt a lack of girlfriends who live within a drivable distance. I love making new friends and am often eager to become closer. It has been fun to be in two different wards since we got married, giving me the 
chance to get to know some special women in each area. 
Of course it's the best when you find someone you feel a special connection with, someone with whom you find many commonalities, and someone who is as eager to develop a friendship as you are. That can and should definitely happen within your own family, besides with friends outside the family. And something I have always felt strongly about is that two girlfriends need to put equal amounts of effort into the relationship to get the maximum enjoyment. It's just like a dating relationship in that there needs to be a balance between the two people. 

One of the best feelings in the world is to know that you cherish someone and they cherish you, no matter what kind of relationship.

As I search for new girlfriends and hold on with my might to those I already have, I invite every girl to value their girlfriends. Coordinate a healthy amount of husband/boyfriend/guyfriend time (obviously essential) with some occasional but regular girl time! We all need it!