( In the beginning....blowing bubbles off Perrine Bridge)Towards the end of April I was set up on a blind date, my friend Emily from my microbiology class had been telling me about this perfect guy who had just come home from his mission and that every time she saw him she just knew she had to set us up. Well life got crazy and I didn’t agree for quite a while- but finally I agreed to a blind date. Emily and I planned it all and that evening I was So nervous! But it was an awesome date, nothing was un natural, or forced we hit it off immediately. We met in Buhl at Steve and Emily's house, we ate a yummy dinner that tasted just as good if not better than Cafe Rio. I was in charge of dessert and i brought brownies (which actually were accidently chocolate cake). we played games and the Wii and just had a blast.
Side note: Landon lives across the street from Emily and Steve, and he says that the biggest delima that evening was if he should drive to the date, walk, or ride a scooter. each option ended in him looking kinda like a dork. however he must have chosen the right option, because i gave him my number- and the rest is history.
Landon and I started dating and it’s crazy how things just clicked. ( I know it sounds cheesey)
He went on his mission to Peru (lima north) and got home in December. He’s from Buhl (which is about 20 minutes outside of twin towards Boise) he comes from an awesome family whom I immediately fell in love with. Towards the beginning of dating his family said to him, “Landon, we think we like her more than you do.” It’s crazy how similar our families are.
Crazy as it is, before we were even dating he rode home with me to surprise my mom for mother's day. he drove while i studied and we had like 6 hours in the car to get to know eachother even more. i was amazed at how natural he was with my family when i had obviously just thrown him into one of the most awkward situations a poor guy could be faced with, but it was like no sense of awkwardness my siblings immediately liked him, and i don't blame them because i did too.
(Bike Ride the week school got out!)As Lando and i had gone on a few "Dates" and had gotten to know eachother more i knew there was something special. We did alot of random stuff...like blow bubbles off of Perrine bridge, we went and helped at a soup kitchen, we studied together in the library, went to track meets, enjoyed walks and trips to Kiwi loco, we went on fun bike rides and hikes. We quickly discovered we had alot in common and we suddenly were spending every day together. towards the end of May i went to Boise with his family for State Track. we went to cheer on his younger brother Brian. It was so fun, not only was i propperly introduced to the big city of boise but i got to know landon and his family more.
(Trip to Boise)one afternoon while killing time in the mall and getting away from the cold snow (yes in may) we wondered into Borders book store. while meandering through the childrens book section we picked out our favorite childrens books- landon to my complete shock picked out a book that MY mom had read to me forever and ever called "Love you forever". not only did he pick it out as his favorite childrens book but he quoted it to me right there in Borders. i just stood there, and i thought to myself; you go your whole life thinking you're the only one, and then all the sudden in the middle of life you're directed to that one person that makes you feel like you're not the only one. I knew then that this was something very special.
Well we had a small draw back to our perfect courtship which is…I moved home for the summer…and he of course stayed in Twin. I honestly thought that it probably wouldn’t work out, thinking distance relationships are too hard, they never work out. But somehow for whatever reason things have continued to progress. ….
Our summer has consisted of weeks packed with work and school and nightly phone calls that last up to 3hrs. long. we LIVE for the weekends when finally we just get to be together. we've had alot of fun adventures during the summer as well. the first weekend i was gone (memorial day) landon came to visit. he was here for Austin and Saje's wedding. i love seeing him interact with my family it's just another confirmation as we like to call it that this is all right. i've gone up there and he's come down here or we've met somewhere in the middle. each weekend ending entirely too quickly.
(June 1st 2010, Austin and Saje's Wedding)Being who I am and preferring to consult my heavenly father in every decision I make I had been praying about landon for a while not necessarily if he was the guy I was going to marry but wondering if he was in general a good guy to date. When the topic of marriage came up it made perfect sense for both of us to turn to the Lord before making any drastic decisions. After much prayer and thinking I had come to the peaceful decision that the Lord approved, and I was ok with that. But as we started to discuss it more and become closer to the ultimate decision I felt as if something was fighting against me. At times it was even hard to breathe and I felt like it was a continuous battle going on inside of me. And I really started to question if I really could be possibly receiving an answer this BIG and life changing. I felt inadequate and small in the eyes of the Lord.
So, i made a trip to the temple. the Logan temple is closed for cleaning but the desire to know with out a shadow of a doubt that what i was doing was right was definately an answer i needed to recieve in the best place to recieve answers. so i arrived and had the entire grounds to myself, and back in the back of the temple there is a little bench that looks up at the temple and i just sat and unwound for a while. and then i started praying, i started reallytalking to my heavenly father, telling him what was going on, how confused i was and all the many emotions that were swimming around in my mind. i then specifically said Heavenly father i have felt confirmation before that this is right, but i need to KNOW i need to know hands down that you approve, that this is right. and then, i was over come with the most peacefull feeling it was more powerful than anything i've felt before and it washed over me, a complete as they say "burning". and i knew. i knew that landon was right.
well as i discussed it with landon i said that i thought he should go to the temple that week as well. ( don't get me wrong he had been going plenty of times as well) but he agreed and planned to attend the next day. well wednesday came i was just so antsy wondering if i really had recived my answer and doubting and questioning my self all over again. well he went to the 7:30 session and we talked before he went in. about 8:00 i was just still all super fidgety and then all the sudden the most warm peacefull feelilng washed over me and i had the impression "Emily, calm down. landon is in the temple, and everything is alright. you need to start trusting me" so i sat back and let the spirit teach me. after landon got out of the temple he directed me towards D and C 9:8 and as i read it i knew that the confirmations and feelings i had been reciving were from the spirit and and there was no way they could have come from anywhere else. he then proceeded to tell me his experience in the temple, and excitedly we discussed what this means.
This was a couple of weeks ago and I can’t believe the extreme amounts of emotional roller coasters I have been on since we made our decision. Last Sunday I was up visiting him in Twin and my family came to join Landon’s family for Sunday dinner. I was SOOOOOOOOO nervous as my two worlds combined. But it went wonderfully and I think that both families feel a lot better about things given that they know where we’re coming from (lol).
(July 24th- My birthday present)Landon came to visit this past weekend as well, once again ending too soonly we were left feeling slightly melencholy as he pulled away. but it's the small moments of togetherness that we must hang on to. We went on a hike up to Willow Flat where he gave me some of my birthday present, the book "Love you Forever" then he read it to me and i let it take me back to when we first started dating. as i sat there completely in my element surrounded by some of God's greatest creations and with Landon i could not have been happier. I feel soooo lucky and blessed. He also gave me a spanish bible to match my tripple combination and a Boise state t-shirt. it was perfect.
as i sit here writing this looking over the valley i can see the logan temple, and i can't help but smile and think, I really am going there...and some day very soon.
I thank my Heavenly Father for all of my incredible blessings.
Love,
Em
No comments:
Post a Comment