Mission time!

Four more weeks till my mission!! That means it's time for a MISSION BLOG! perupiuramission.blogspot.com :) My mom will keep it updated every week! Unless she decides to be a slacker... Which wouldn't be a surprise. ;) Check it out!

My great grandma makes my day!

Every couple weeks I HAVE to get away from college and come home.  My family is the best!  My mom decided since we didn't have anything to do we'd go visit my great grandma and I'm so glad we did.  It was soooo nice to see her.  She is the cutest little, old lady ever!  When I say little, I mean it.  She's four foot two.  She barely went to Tyson armpit (he's six foot) so watching them hug was a funny sight.  The whole night was hilarious.  Some funny conversations from the night:

Me: "Grandma I got my mission call to Peru!"
Grandma: "Oh..."
A few minutes later...
Grandma: "Where's Peru?  In Mexico?"
Me: "Peru's in South America..."

Grandma: "So Tyson what have you been doing?"
Tyson: "Just been playin basketball and getting ready for baseball."
Grandma: "Well you better enjoy it since this is your last year!"
Tyson: "I'm a sophomore so I still have two more years..."
Aca-awkward! Haha

Me: "Time goes by so fast!"
Grandma: "Not fast enough for me..."
Me: "..."
What in the heck was I supposed to say back to her?! I just awkwardly laughed... Good one Whitney, good one.

The best part of the night had to be when she was trying to describe what an iPad was. "Oh you know... That thing the kids doodle-daddle on nowadays." Umm.. Sure?? Lol so freakin cute!

She was the highlight of my week.  I love listening to her stories.  Her favorite topic is bowling.  She is a straight up champ at bowling!  She let us know last night she's one of the two ladies with a 702 score in a series of three games.  The crazy thing is, is that she just barely gave up bowling this past year.  How amazing is that?!  Unfortunately her bowling skills haven't been passed on to me... I'm terrible.  I hope I can be half of the lady she is!  I'm so glad I came home this weekend and got to spend time with her.  I look up to her so much.  I love my great granny! :)

Dear Sister Roper!

Dear Sister Roper:
You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  You are assigned to labor in the Peru Piura Mission.  You should report to the Peru MTC on Wednesday, June, 5, 2013.  You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language.
I'M GOING TO PERU!!! I am SO excited! Opening that call was the most amazing experience EVER.  I couldn't be more happy with my call.  I really wanted to go foreign!  I'm so excited to teach these people.  I know it will bring more joy than anything else could!  Peru here I come!  136 days and counting. :)

I couldn't even talk! Haha SO amazing.

Sincerely, Thomas S. Monson. :)

My sissy was so excited! Love her. 

Bring it on 2013!

Rung in the New Year with some of my favorite girlies! We started the night off with a good ole Winger's dinner.. Yum! We attempted to find some boys for our New Year's kiss, and failed miserably which was a-okay with meeeee. New Year's was actually super hard.. It was one spent without my Elder Huntington.  I've spent the last four with him, so it was just different.  Don't get me wrong, I love me a good girls night, but it was weird with him missing.  Memories of alllllll our other New Years together came flooding back.  Sheesh!  I can't wait until I don't have to miss him anymore. :) Only one more New Year without him. Best part of it.. I can now say, "I'll see you next year!" Boo freakin' yeah.  2014 hurry up!  Pleeeeease? With a cherry on top??  Okay, thanks.

But really.. On a good note, 2012 treated me dang good! I had an amazing senior year of softball.  I wouldn't trade those memories or my team for anything.  I got runner up in Sterling Scholar, which was an accomplishment for me.  I was able to not only graduate high school, but graduate with a 4.0 and be an honor speaker.  Blondes aren't as dumb as everyone makes them out to be, alright?!  The summer was a little more challenging, but I've become more independent and learned so much.  With Chance leaving, I had to figure out things on my own.  Sending him on a mission was one of the hardest things I've had to do, but I can now see it's worth it.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  I got to go on the best family vacation to California and see my Derek Jeter play!  Disneyland is seriously the happiest place on earth.  I went to San Diego for a week.  Sooo much fun!  I moved out on my own, and completed my first semester of college.  I think I've learned more about myself in those four months than I knew in my whole life.  What a learning experience!  Last, but not least, I filled out my mission papers.  If someone would've told me I would be going on a mission last year at this time I would've laughed in their face.  2012 knew how to turn my life upside down, that's for sure! There's so many more things that 2012 has given me, and I'm so grateful for that.  Can't wait to see what 2013 will bring.
Sooo.. New Years resolutions?  I'm not quite sure I believe in them.  I don't see why people wait until New Years to start something.  Get off your lazy butt and get it done now! One thing I'm going to keep trying to do is just be happy, no matter what.  Sounds simple, right?  Let's be honest, though.  2013 is going to bring SO many ups and downs.  I'm going to be moving to a new apartment, another semester of school, and I'm leaving on my mission.  It's going to be a roller coaster, but I feel like 2013 is going to be a HUGE growing year for me.  2013 is going to get me out of my comfort zone whether I like it or not, and prepare me for whatever else may come.  I'm terrified, but ready.  Let's do thisssss. Happy New Years! :)

One big, fat, gushy, in love blog post. Yeppp. Enjoy.

I'm the type of girl who HATES gushy, love posts, but ya know what? Today, I'm making an exception.  My missionary rocks my socks, and I just can't help but brag on him.  Yesterday, obviously, was Christmas.  Best. Christmas. EVER. I'm really close with Elder Huntington's family, so they invited me over for the Christmas call.  Chance actually got to Skype, though! I can't even express how happy I was to see him.  The guy I've been writing, and that has only existed in emails and letters, is REAL! I mean, that probably sounds silly, but that's how it was.  It's been six months since I've seen him, so I start to forget things about him.  It was SO good to hear his voice and that laugh of his.  He's still the same ole Chance, and I'm so happy.  I didn't know how it was going to go; I was quite nervous.  What if we were both so different that it was awkward? Or what if he had changed his mind about me? Or what if I wasn't good enough for him? These types of questions kept me awake all Monday night.  Right when his face appeared on the screen though, all the doubts were gone.  It was like we had never been apart.  Nerves were gone, and I just wanted to talk to him for forever.  The grin on his face was priceless when he saw I was there.  That alone will keep me waiting the rest of the two years.  He was so happy, and just glowed the entire time! He was still the same sarcastic, handsome, sweet guy I fell in love with almost five years ago. :) So throughout the whole conversation I couldn't stop staring at him.  That was enough.  I just loved seeing his face.  I held in the tears until the end.  Right before he got off his dad had him bare his testimony.  Have I mentioned I love him?  Or that I'm the luckiest girl EVER?  His testimony was SO strong.  He has so much confidence in this gospel.  "He lets us experience misery, so that we can experience joy... Because he loves us, and I know that to be true.  I know this gospel is true with my whole heart." It doesn't get much better than that.  Told you he rocks.  He's mine, though, sorry. :) 

I love my Elder Huntington! <3

Just call me Sister Roper!

I, Whitney Roper, am going to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!!! Big news? Yup, I know.
Pretty much my life plans drastically changed one week ago.  When President Monson announced the mission ages had changed, I could not have been more excited. I had never thought about a mission before. Heck, I don't even know my major in college! But this announcement changed everything. I went from a girl who was trying to adjust to college, trying to figure out her major, and just kind of drifting through life not knowing what was next to a girl who is going to leave everything behind for eighteen months.. Say whaaaat?! I don't even know how this happened!
I've really been trying to figure out if this is what I'm supposed to do.. I've kind of had the yes answer in the back of my head this past week, but I wasn't completely sure.. Until today.  This weekend is stake conference and tonight we had a meeting completely focused on missionary work.  Coincidence? I think not.  Two sister missionaries in our stake talked to us.  It was amazing! I don't even know how to describe the spirit these two ladies brought.  I wish I could take everyone I know back and make them listen to these two! I can never thank them enough for giving me my answer.
A highlight of the night was a convert that spoke.  The two sisters had converted her.  It was so amazing to listen to her story and know that I could be changing people's lives like that.  Tonight honestly made me soooo excited for this opportunity! I know I can't possibly regret going, but I know if I didn't go then that is something I would regret.. Especially after tonight. There's no denying the answer.. YES I am supposed to go on a mission!

So much to be thankful for. ♥

Well.. I've kinda had a rough, confusing couple days. I just feel like nothing's ever going to go right! This girl in testimony meeting yesterday shared something though that really just hit me like it was meant for me.  She said she writes down every day ten new things she's thankful for.  When she said this, me, being grumpy, was thinkin uhhh I don't think I could do that right now. But ya know what? I was so wrong! There's so much to be thankful for every day, even if it's little things we never show any recognition to.  So here's to ten things I'm thankful for! :)

1. I am soooo indescribably thankful for my family.  I have amazing parents who have raised me so good, and I couldn't have asked for any better. I also love my amazing, annoying at times, little brother and sister.  They make life exciting and I love them. :) My family is the best.

2. I am thankful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. What a blessing! Being born in this gospel I find myself taking it for granted too often.  When I take a step back and look at all it brings me, I realize I would be no where without it.  I love my Heavenly Father and Savior with all my heart and am thankful for all they did for me. <3

3. I am so grateful to be writing an amazing missionary.  Elder Chance Lamar Huntington never fails to make my week every Monday! Writing a missionary can be so challenging at times, but watching him grow and develop a deeper love for the gospel makes everything so worth it.  I love him more than I can even say. :) He still seems to make me smile more than anyone and he's clear across the country in Florida.  Now that's when you know you've got a keeper! :) He's the best, and I'm so grateful to have him in my life!

4. I'm thankful, of course, for the close friends I have, especially Tennyson! She's the best roommate and I'm so glad I moved in with her.  She makes being away from home easy peasy lemon squeezy. :) I feel like we have some amazing memories to be made this year! LOVE my friends.

5. I'm thankful to be a Thunderbird! I love SUU. I know this is the place I'm meant to be.. It just feels right. :) I'm just lovin' college so far, and know it's cause I'm here at SUU! Such a fun experience ahead of me. :)

6.  I'm thankful to have grown up in my small town. :) People might think it would be an awful place to live, but I love it! 4 more days till I get to go home to it! :) Sooo excited.  I just love knowing there's a place I have to go back to. <3

7. Oh I've got a good one! I'm so thankful for chocolate milk, TruMoo to be specific. :) I've drank two gallons in the almost three weeks I've been here! I'm officially a TruMoo addict. Yup.

8. I'm thankful for my new addiction, One Tree Hill. Oh and Vampire Diaries.  Whoever came up with these shows, I owe them.. Big time.  Pretty sure I would die of boredom without them! I love Lucas, Nathan, Stephan, and Damon.  Stephan will always be my #1. <3

9.  Ok another serious one! I'm extremely grateful for temples.  Holy cow.  I don't know what I'd do without 'em.  The temple is my #1 goal! I won't be settling for anything less, no matter what. I love knowing that the temple will give me the ability to be with my family forever.  Not for just a long time.. FOREVER. <3 I can't wait to go to the temple. :) Salt Lake to be exact!

10. Ok last one.. I am just thankful for my life in general.  Like why am I so blessed?? I feel so extremely lucky, and at times I feel I don't deserve it! I have so much to be thankful for, and need to start realizing that each day. I love this crazy life I live. <3