Mission.

Alex is now Elder Creasey. His being set apart was wonderful; the spirit was very strong. I'm really proud of him for being able to go out and serve the Lord like he is.

Aunt Lorna and Uncle Don came to be with us for the setting apart. Aunt Lorna made really delicious lasagna, salad, and dessert. We had a really nice time. We conversed as a family and laughed and cried...it was a night of mixed emotions.

I'm so happy for Alex, but at the same time, I'm going to miss him so much and it'll be a tough beginning for us as a family. It will be a change that will take time to adjust to. But it's totally possible. And we still have letters that we can write to him. I'm sure he'll write to us as well. I'll be looking forward to those letters.

We dropped him off at the MTC today and it was a bittersweet moment. It's hard thinking that my little brother is gone for two years. That this is real and it's actually happening. I don't think it's hit me yet. I realized on Sunday that he would be leaving, and it was really distressing, but I don't think I've yet realized that he is actually gone. I can only hope that he feels comforted in the beginning, because I don't think it'd be easy being separated from family so quickly. I feel like we had so much time to be with him, yet it was not enough. But, as he does what Heavenly Father wants him to do, I know he will be blessed and he will bless the lives of so many others. I love Alex a lot, and I wish I would have told him that more often.

I'm going to write him a letter this week so he gets one next week. I'd really like to hear from him already. I feel like when I get home from a day shift, it will be hard. I think that's when I'll cry. Because I won't see him on the couch, and we won't be able to talk. But it's okay, because I'll be able to see him again. Two years isn't very long at all.

I'd really like to go to Chile sometime in the near future. If possible, I'd really like to go and complete a service project in a different country as well. I think I'll start saving for that now. Mom figured out that some airline she looked at, possibly Delta, is having a great offer on tickets to Chile--buy 2 tickets for the price of one! So after talking about it today, we're going to go get our passports, and for the kids, our Chilean citizenship, and then head off so we can see Abuelo y Abuela! I miss them so much. It's hard, sometimes, not having a grandparent. Sometimes I'm jealous of Cory and how good his grandparents are. I've never met them, but he tells me about them. They sound like really great people. I just wish I had my really great grandparents here to talk to. I wish I would have been smarter when I was younger and listened to the stories they had to tell. I feel a lot of regret over that. To have seen so much history happen in your lifetime must have been incredible. I can only hope that I get to ask them their favorite parts of their lives; what made them who they are, and why they are happy.

I go to Lagoon with Cory's family on Friday. It will be really fun and I'm way excited! Even though Lagoon is kind of gross, but it will be a day that I can be stress free. I don't even care if I'm tired. I'm happy that I'll be able to see Cory and finally spend time with him. I feel like I really haven't seen much of him all week and it's become a little bit of a frustration. I know it's my own fault though, I'm working a lot. I think I have a bit of a break in a few weeks, so that will be really nice. Plus school starts and we have a class together, so we can see each other then, too!

Paying for school is going to be difficult this semester. I'm nearly $900 short. $600 on tuition and $300 on books. Books are going to be bad. It's a bit stressful, but that's what comes with school. It'll be worth it; I only have a few more semesters until I'm finished with prerequisites for Nursing School. I'm looking to move somewhere else for Nursing school, because if I want to be a Nurse Practitioner, I'll have to go through a better school than SLCC (they only offer a program for an associates in nursing, or something of that sort). So I'm looking into several different schools as possibilities. I'll have to talk to a counselor just so I can be sure I'm doing everything right, but I think I'm nearly finished with my prerequisites.

Life's going good; of course there are challenges, but that's to be expected!