AND SO IT BEGINS.....

We left Tuesday morning (Sept 2) to fly to Utah.  It was a full and busy day, but absolutely awesome!  Our first stop was the Draper Temple.  My Uncle is a sealer in the Draper Temple and arranged for Jordan to be able to do a sealing session.  WOW!!  Sharing that experience with her was awesome!  I can't thank my Uncle enough for arranging that!  We felt like royalty in the Temple! 

After the temple and grabbing a bite to eat, we headed to Temple Square in hopes to see the one and only, Sister Emily Hansen!  Jordan was so excited when she saw her.  It was so adorable!  Sister Hansen sat with Jordan and gave her advice and encouragement.  It was so fun to see the two of them together again.  They were smiling, giggling, laughing, and of course crying!  What a sweet tender moment to see these two beautiful girls together!  Friends in high school and now both Sister Missionaries!  So wonderful! 
The Temple grounds are so beautiful, it was fun to get a few pictures of Paige and Jordan together!   

 That evening we were up pretty late getting everything together, but since Jordan didn't check in on Wednesday until 1:30, we figured it was okay for one last night.  Wednesday morning was busy getting ready.  It was seriously the cutest thing!  I came downstairs to check on the girls and when I walked into the room, Paige was doing Jordan's makeup for her!  My heart melted! 


What a blessing to have daughters who truly love each other.  They are not only sisters, but the best of friends!  Once we loaded up the car to head out, Jordan had one last request.  That was to grab a Jamba Juice.  We also decided to run into Great Harvest first for a sample of bread.  To our surprise we ran into some missionaries from the MTC.  It was their "P-Day" (Preparation Day) and they were out grabbing some food.  Honestly, I didn't even know they could leave the MTC!  Anyway, they were super nice and told Jordan how much she was going to LOVE the MTC.  As we were leaving, we ran into another set of missionaries who again, were so excited about being in the MTC!  I was so happy for this confirmation Jordan was receiving from them.  She seemed excited too.  I think it helped calm her nerves.  Once inside Jamba Juice, a group of missionaries walked in.  I asked them where they were going.  They replied, "Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium".  I pointed to Jordan and said, "She is going to Norway."  Immediately they got excited and said, "You are in our zone in the MTC."  She proceeded to tell them she was from Texas and they all said, "You are the one we have been hearing about!." Jordan has a friend in the MTC heading to the West Indies.  She had emailed Jordan and told her that they were in the same zone together.  So.... her friend had told the zone all about Jordan coming.

They were all so nice to Jordan.  Told her how much she was going to LOVE the MTC and went on and on about how great their zone was.  Again, such a blessing that she was given such support before she was even in the MTC.  Of course I asked to get a picture.  It was so funny, Jordan said she felt a little strange surround by the Elders.  Once we left Jamba Juice, we headed over to the Provo Temple grounds to say our goodbyes.  I have to say.. Jordan was so calm that she helped me not be so emotional.  Don't get me wrong... I was emotional!  BUT... it could have been a lot worse.  It was so precious to see Jordan and Paige together.  Hugging and talking!  They definitely pulled on my heart strings a bit!  It was also so nice to just have time and talk with Jordan.  Some last minute motherly advice!

One thing Jordan decided is that since her favorite color is purple, we would all wear purple on the day she went in.  We would also wear purple every fast Sunday while she is gone.  So we were pretty proud of our matching purple earrings we all had on. 

I was so impressed with Jordan and how ready she was to enter the MTC!  What an amazing experience this has been up to this point and she just barely started her mission!  Saying goodbye was so incredibly hard, but also very sweet as well!

One of the hardest parts was seeing the goodbye Jordan had with her dad and brothers at home.  The boys were so adorable! Next came her goodbye with Paige.  Oh my goodness, I think that made me cry the most!  Before Jordan could leave, we had to get our "group hug" in!!

While saying goodbye was so terribly hard, I am so proud of Jordan and wouldn't want her to be anywhere else.  I am so excited to see her grow closer to her Savior.  We had a wonderful few days in Utah together!  I am so very lucky to have my cousin Alli, who has been my best friend for 39 years!  She is a second mom to my kids and I am so happy that she was able to share this special time with all of us!  Honestly, I couldn't have made it through without her! As hard as they may be, I am looking forward to the next 18 months!