Rewind...

Since I left you last.....

I finished my fun filled semester at BYU-Idaho...

And moved in with them....

And helped watch Peyton while Amy recovered from her ankle injury. That babycake is stinkin cute and it was so fun to be aunt Lizzie up close and personal... They were so sweet and let me eat their food and sleep in their house and bum around until I figured out where to live for my fall semester off from school. So I thought about it long and hard and decided

To move in with her...

My best friend Claire Beaumont. She is really something else. In the above photograph she is making a shake face. Normally she has a beautiful face, not so shaky. Being the best of friends that we are, we thought it would be a grand idea to move in together for a few months! A grand idea it was. We had so much fun. That will forever be one of the fondest memories living with my bestie Claire in our little home on Capitol Hill in Seattle....

Our little bedroom with twin beds side by side. Classic.

Charming little living room with green walls.... You can see our kitchen and sewing room from this shot and there was nothing more to that kitchen than this picture shows, it was about the size of your big toe. But boy did I make yummy things in that little kitchen, like this...

Chef's choice pizza inspired by my favorite pizza joint, Hot Mama's Pizza

But while I baked, claire did a lot of this...

Our make shift sewing room, what was once a closet is now a sewing room!

I loved that apartment, it is filled with oodles of memories with some of my closest friends. I got to spend the entire autumn with those tender and dear friends of mine....

Kristen, Maggie, and Claire. True Blue. Kristen likes to take pictures (www.kristenmarie.org). Maggie likes cats( favorite book: Millions of cats). Claire likes chocolate chip cookies (cookie monster).

Not only did I spend time with my golden oldies, I made new friends at Church in my amazing ward. I met girls that had masters degrees, were boeing engineers, were college professors, had served missions for the Lord, were happy, productive, lovely, young (all of those accomplishments before they were 30!) individuals who inspired me in ways they may never know. Through all of my experiences during those short few months living in Seattle, I came to see some things more clearly than ever before. One being...

I, Lizzie McCrery, am capable of doing whatever I put my mind to.

A simple enough idea that is drilled into our heads from an early age; an idea that I've taught lessons in Relief Society about. But somewhere along the way I forgot it or forgot how to actually BELIEVE it. I forgot my divine nature, the fact that I am literally a daughter of God. With knowledge of that truth, I can actually do BIG things! With the realization (or rather remembrance) of my ability to do marvelous things, new doors were opened in my mind as well as old ideas that had been put on a far back shelf of my mind marked "You can't actually do this, so move on". One of those miss-marked ideas from before was the possibility of serving a mission. With my gradual awakening to the divine potential within me I found that a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was well within reach. Not only did I realize it was within my reach, but it would be crucial in helping me reach all of my BIG goals and become the person I want to be. I needed to forget myself, let go of fears and serve the Lord. So I decided to go on a mission. Plain and simple. So I started my papers, worked out details, drove all over the place to get medical and dental appointments got my wisdom teeth out...

Worth the embarrassing picture for the full effect of swelling. It was the worst. Note to self: If you have the option of being put under during major surgery, do it.

While I recovered I stayed with them...

Clinton and Elisabeth McCrery... They gave me jello, pudding, and percocet. They gave me love and took care of my sorry little self while I recovered from my traumatic experience.

Meanwhile back at the ranch my papers were finished with only one interview to go. I met with the Stake President and he decided that it would be a great idea for me to serve a mission! So my papers were submitted to the First Presidency of the Church within a month of my decision to serve.

I awaited the call of where I would be serving. Not knowing where I would serve for 18th months was only a tad bit stressful, the comfort I had came from knowing that the call was coming from God. I knew without a doubt my mission call would come through revelation given to those in charge of my assignment.

I waited for only a week and a half and received this.....

(insert a picture of my mission call)

But I didn't receive that until I moved to Utah to live with them...

Daphne and Wyatt McCrery. Baby sister, big brother. So adorable these two.

and these guys live here too...

Bil and Stepper (and Wyatt again). They are kind and generous enough to make space in the inn for a measly pre-missionary such as myself. They are helping me each and everyday to be a little better in all aspects of life.

-- So I arrived late at night to their home to say HELLO! I MISSED YOU! WHERE IS MY CALL!?!?!? With the camera rolling and Claire live on the phone I opened my letter from the First Presidency to read where I would be serving...

Which just so happens to be here....

PORTUGAL! Well, more specifically the Portugal Lisbon Mission. Portugal's capital city. Which looks a little something like this...

and this...

And my mission boundaries include islands that look like this...

But most importantly I get the bring the message of the Gospel to the people of Portugal in their native language and help them find the happiness and joy that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can bring to EVERYONE.

So now I'm looking a little more like this...

Excited to serve the Lord in the Portugal Lisbon mission for 18 months!