Oh the happiness that missionaries bring!

I just received an email from my brother, Elder Jett, in the MTC. He sounds so happy! It was refreshing to read an email from my brother that didn't have the words "fix my paper" in it. (In the past, both in high school and in college, Bill would email me his school papers and ask me to "fix it." Meaning, "Hey Mary, add five more pages because I have nothing to say." haha) Really though, he sounds wonderful and is learning so much--I can feel it in his words. He also sounds 10x more sophisticated now than he did a little over a week ago. I like it!
So I'm encouraging everyone who knows Bill to write him through www.dearelder.com. I just finished writing him a letter this morning. It's free and very easy. For your knowledge: select "Provo MTC" for now; his mission, again, is Colombia Barranquilla (for the info, write COL-BARR); and his MTC mailbox is #290. And his estimated MTC departure date is Oct. 2, 2008. Write to him because I know he would love it!
Continuing with the missionary talk, all of my boys from my freshman ward are arriving in Provo this week and I am so excited to see them! All back from missions...have two years really gone by? I've actually talked to Stephen Pulsipher on the phone because he was gracious enough to call me and he sounds wonderful! I've talked with Ryan Frandsen on facebook and he sounds great too--he served in Ecuador so we've shared some stories (his are his own experiences and mine are my parents' experiences). I am so proud of all these boys who sacrificed their time to serve the Lord. Only blessings come from serving a mission. I've heard this my entire life, but I've seen it (and continue to see it) through my parents' examples. Now I see it through my husband's example. I see how serving a mission has affected him for only the better and it has made him the best possible husband for me. Now I'm seeing it from my friends' examples, and I add Elder Jett to that. (And another Elder Jett after that, Joe in seven years!)
Oh how I love missionaries! I've said before, in previous testimonies, that I owe so much to missionaries and they work they willingly do. Had the missionaries not stopped by the white house in North Wildwood, NJ and by the peach house in Manta, Ecuador, my parents would not have been baptized. Had my parents not been baptized, they would not have joined the church and consequently, they would not have served their respective missions to Ecuador. Had my parents not served those missions, they would not have met. Had they not met, I would not be here as Mary Cheronne Jett Killion. The cause and effect list can continue, but I am eternally grateful to those sets of missionaries who knocked on my parents' doors thousands of miles away from each other (at the time). For without their work, my parents would not be my parents. I would not be their daughter and I would not have the siblings I have. I would not have the life I have now. But I know that He loves us beyond anything we can comprehend in this mortal life. I know that missionary work is of vital importance in this dispensation, and my heart soars whenever I think of missionaries. I've corresponded with many friends while on their missions, and their testimonies strengthened my own. I hear my husband talk about the love he had for the people he served and my heart swells with that love too--I've never met these people, but I feel I know them and love them because Chris knows them and he loves them. I see pictures of my parents on their missions and I feel nothing but the utmost pride, as well as sincere humility, for their service.
I'm crying right now as I'm typing this, but they are tears of happiness. I know the Lord loves each of us, and His missionaries are a physical manifestation of His love. They love the Lord and only want to serve Him honorably. Thank you Heavenly Father for MISSIONARIES.
Hush Puppies of reinforced black rubber=$94.
Seven dress shirts, eight pairs of dress pants, one new suit= $$$
Missionaries and the work they do for the Lord=priceless. Forever priceless.

One of the best weeks: a Wedding and a Missionary

Our weekend in Mesa was fabulous. This was the first time that we Killion's have been to a sealing since we've been married, and I can surely say the experience was out-of-this-world wonderful. The Lee's sealer was a sweet, sensitive, profoundly spiritual man and his words of wisdom, encouragement, and advice were simple yet perfect. Adri and Russ looked so happy; their obvious and overflowing happiness for their day and for each other repeatedly brought me back to my own wedding day and the feelings I had.
Russell Ammon and Adrianne Loren Lee, exiting the Mesa Arizona Temple.
The groomsmen with the groom and their collective R Hall mom, CJ.
All of us together! Holden's, Killion's, Stapley's, Lee's, Carter's.
While in AZ, we enjoyed the greatness of In-N-Out,
the amazing fare at El Torito, a Holden family favorite,
and the spectacular views of the Grand Canyon from the North Rim.

We came back to Utah and greeted my family! They drove 30+ hours from our beloved home in New Jersey and we had the greatest week here. Seeing my family always brightens my spirits, no matter how high they were before! Monday, as I had mentioned in an earlier blog, was spent on campus, and in Provo/Orem. Well...let's let the pictures tell the story:
Bill picked up his missionary set of scriptures.
Julia modeled for us in Deseret Book.
The boys got missionary haircuts.
The kids camped out at our apartment.
We met up with some of my mom's side of the family.
Grandmother, Mother, Granddaughter, Great-granddaughter in the belly
Salt Lake Temple night
Mother and daughters Jett
In front of the MTC...
With the Wildwood Leader!
We're in the building! (Mom=creeper face here)
Elder Jett with his nametag!!
Elder Jett with his older but shorter (even in heels) sister
Outside Chris's beloved Tanner Building haha
Joe enjoying Scoreboard at the Cougareat
The girls enjoying the fountain at the JFSB--it was hot outside!
Bridal Veil Falls
Climbing the Y!! (Don't worry--I only gave my family my camera. Didn't hike it!)
My parents and me.
My siblings, minus Elder Jett.
All in all, these two events were awesome and we loved it all.

I'm legal!

Yes, I turned 21 yesterday. It didn't feel like my birthday, and I don't feel any older. But it was a great day nonetheless. When I turned 20, I FELT, physically felt, twenty years old, in every sense of the number. I met Amber, Corrine, and Kristi for lunch and they surprised me with ice cream and cookies! Later, as we were leaving the apartment to go on our nightly walk, I turned to Chris and said, "Let's go to a bar and get some Shirley Temples!" But, unfortunately, we're in Provo, Utah, not North Wildwood, New Jersey. haha Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's unfortunate that there are virtually no bars here in Provo; it's only unfortunate that there are no bars in Provo because bars tend to have great food (Owen's, Anglesea Pub, Westy's, Kelly's--to name a few from home) and QUIZZO! Man, I miss Quizzo...and calling Dad for the answers that we didn't know! haha (For those of you unrelated to this East-coast game, it's essentially a trivia contest.) This picture is the birthday dinner at Tucano's.
Anyways, Chris bought some strawberry-swirl cheesecake for the occasion (he knows me; I'm not the biggest fan of cake) and I received my much-wanted thesaurus! It looks good on the shelf...which happens to be buckling under the weight of all those reference books; I'll have to rearrange them. Chris always gets me the best cards and he always writes something so sweet and guaranteed to make me teary-eyed. He is the greatest! :)
I'm very excited for our trip to Arizona this weekend. We leave for the desert tomorrow! Russ and Adri are getting married and we couldn't be more happy for them! The men are groomsmen, so naturally we waited until yesterday to get Chris's black dress pants stitched up...haha. The Holden's, Stapley's, and Killion's shall be making the drive down to Mesa/Gilbert, and we'll even stop by the Grand Canyon on the way home. Chris has already been there, but he's excited to see it again. I've never seen it, so I'm share Brianna's anticipation. :)
My family is slated to arrive on Saturday night/Sunday morning, and they will be here for the week! Ahhh I am so happy that I will be able to see them so soon after seeing them in April. Monday is BYU day--we're taking the kids all over campus to show them BYU's awesomeness and later that night we will be in American Fork visiting the Moody family. If you're around campus and/or Provo, give me a call because you know my family would love to see you! Tuesday is Salt Lake day where we'll do all the tours and the sights and we adults will do a session at the temple. Wednesday is Drop-off-Bill-at-the-MTC-day...I already know I am going to cry but it will be a good cry. My little but bigger brother, going on a mission... When you're young, missions and marriages seem so far beyond your limited scope of vision and imagination. But then the day arrives when these things take place and your mind is blown away. I'm not sure what we're doing Thursday and Friday, but it will be good.
Be prepared for many pictures of the Lee wedding and the upcoming week with my family! <3

Back in Happy Valley

Greetings from Provo, Utah! I am writing to you straight from the beautiful BYU campus this morning.
Chris and I arrived safely on July 30th, a tad later than we expected (one of the car carrier's tires blew outside of Green River, UT--in the middle of nowhere, of course, but help arrived and we made it). Some of our great and helpful friends came to the place to give us a hand, for which we are thankful. The apartment is pretty much set up and cleaned up...except for what is to be the baby's room...but we won't go there. Other than that, it's good! ;)
Chris started his new job at Novarad on Friday; he is a tax analyst for the corporation. He carpools with his good friend (and his best man at our wedding) Mike Beheshti to American Fork every day; one week, they take our car and the next, they take his car. I visited Chris on Friday and he has his own cubicle, which I think is pretty awesome. The company threw a BBQ later that afternoon where I was able to meet more of Chris's co-workers. We miss Lockheed Martin, but Novarad looks good so far!
Let's see...we've hung out with our good friends: the Holden's ,the Stapley's, and the Lee's (soon-to-be= they'll be married on Aug. 16th in the Mesa Temple), a few times since we've been back.(These pictures are from mini-golfing the other night at Cascade in Orem.) It is so good to see them again. Our common denominators are the boys, who were all Resident Assistants for R Hall in Deseret Towers when they snagged us girls, who were all RAs too (except for Britney). We girls have grown a lot closer over the months, and I hope we as a group can continue to see each other often, especially when fall semester begins. When the boys get together, the laughter never stops!
My family will be out here VERY soon--to drop Bill off at the MTC; he goes in August 20th. Barranquilla Colombia...wow. I am so excited to see my family! There is a lot planned for the few days they are here and we're going to have a great time :D (Even though we will be sad that we won't be seeing Bill for two years, we know he is doing the best thing.)
Waking up every morning to the mountains is incredible. I had forgotten how stunning they were until we arrived in the valley. The time change isn't too bad--it's the transition from Jersey to Utah that kills me haha. I'm working on figuring out how to do my hair again in this climate, and how to remind myself constantly that my elbows, knees, and heels need lotion out here.