Jon got home on Friday, June 17th. There were a few events leading up to that day. The dinner before followed by poster making with his family was a blast. But after that came one of the best parts. Jon's sister, Marissa, has recently moved out to South Carolina. She was flying in to see Jon upon his arrival. That Thursday, right before she was leaving to catch her flight, she had found out it was cancelled because there were too many open seats and all passengers were being moved to a flight the followng day. As luck would have it, that following flight was Jons connecting flight to Utah from Atlanta. Marissa had it all planned out and met Jon on the plane, to his complete surprise. What an awesome reunion for the two of them. Friday morning, I went to Jon's parents home around 8. While they were all finishing getting ready, I took it upon myself to decorate their yard with everything yellow POSSIBLE. Around 9:30 we took off to pick up Gram and headed to the airport. We arrived around 10, meaning we still had a dreadfully long seeming 22 minutes to wait until we got to see our missionary again. Because Marissa, Jons sister was on his flight, she was able to text us when they landed, when they got off, when they were rounding the corner to the escalators. It was great insight to know what his every move was ;) When Jon finally rounded the corner and started down the escalator, all I could do was start screaming. It was so surreal. He got the ground, hugged his family with tears of joy running down his face. A moment I'll NEVER forget. I was second to last in line. When he got to me, he stepped back and covered his face with his hands. I then immediately stuck my hand out, and recveived the GREATEST handshake I've ever had! As we were shaking hands he whispered, "I love you so much." Gosh. I love this boy. After a series of welcome homes, hugs, and discussion, we all headed back to our cars. I drove back with Jon, his mom and Gram. While on the freeway we passed the over pass that I decorated to say "WELCOME HOME, ELDER M ♥". He saw it and started laughing ans was all...."No way!!! I have the best friends and family ever!" Crosswalk signs are my thing, I guess. When he left the MTC to fly out to Paraguay I cupped a crosswalk on I-15 that read, "SEE YOU IN 2, JONNY BABY!" Haha. We got back to his house around noon, had a nice spaghetti lunch, full of conversation and laughter. The stake presidnent was scheduled to come over around 3 to release Jon, but ended up arriving at 1:41. Yeah, I know the exact time :) I sat in while Jon was released. What a special time. He got to report of his successful mission as a faithful and obedient missionary. After being released, he had a little interview for which I stepped out of the room. I went into the back yard and played with Alex, Jons nephew for about an hour. Finally, I went back inside, only to be greated by Jon with a hug. First thing he said was, "Okay, lets go." I was all..."We're leaving?" He said yes and we proceeded to go out to my car. He then blindfolded me and told me not to peek. Yeah, I was kinda freaking out. First of all, he hadn't driven in two years, and he was in my car, second I was nervous, third I had NO idea what was going on. He drove for about 10 minutes, just to make me feel lost which worked. When we got out he carried me on his back up a hill where he took my blindfold off. I looke around and we were at "Our Tree". Before his mission we had carved our names and the date in a tree just one street away from his house. Remember girls: Once it is written in a tree, it will always be. :) After realizing where I was I turned back to him, at which point he pulled me in for a kiss. It was incredible. NOTHING has changed at all. We have changed as people, but our love for each other has only grown stronger. There was no "awkward", second guessing or anything. Just how things used to be. We then walked over to a picnic table and we both reminissed of our past two years. We went back to his house, hung out with his Mom and sister, who later treated us to Cafe Rio for Jon's first meal home. At the end of the night, Jon and I left and went to my house so he could see my family. They were of course, more delighted than ever to see him.
I'm not sure where to go from here, other than to say, that for the past week we have kind of been inseperable. We are learning to communicate with each other again and focus on better ourselves so we can better each other. We had talked about marriage for September, since family will be in town for another wedding, but have decided that is a litte too soon. We are focusing on getting Jon a job and going to school. After that is established, I hope to have a ring on my finger :) Keep waiting girls. These boys are SO worth the wait. Do your best not to distract them and to let them be missionaries. They are out there to serve the Lord, not to be your boyfriend - that was one of the hardest concepts for me to grasp. Let him do his part, so the Lord can do his. I love you all, and thank you so much for all of your love and support! Keep waiting!!!!!!
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