Home for Good

I blinked and it's been two whole years since Hunter came home from serving his LDS mission.

I can't believe how little I think about that time now.

It consumed so much of my time and life for what felt like forever, now it's just a memory of the past.

Time is funny like that, something that can be so important one day, is so not the next...

Kinda like wedding planning ha.

Oh, how I wish I could re-plan my wedding!

Anyhow, Hunter came home 2 years ago as of the 2nd.

I remember being more nervous and excited than I ever had been. 

It was a crazy feeling, one I'll never forget.

Those two years were hard, but I'll forever tell everyone that they were beyond worth it.

We needed that time apart to learn and grow on our own before we could grow together.

I'll always be thankful that Hunter dedicated two whole years of his life to serving the Lord.

I can't believe all that has happened since he came home.

We've gotten engaged, got married, had a baby, Hunter played a season of BYU football, I started my own business, Hunter got 2 new jobs, we've gone on a few trips together, we've learned more about each other than I thought there was to learn, we've had some amazing ups, and we've had our fair share of downs. 

This time every year, I love reflecting on that time we spent apart.

I kept a binder of every single letter and email I sent him.

I included the pictures he sent me and it's so fun to read them.

I had never felt as in love as I did the day Hunter came home.

Then we got married.

Then we had a baby.

And now we're here, just living our day to day lives.

But, we're living it together and life has never been better.

So would I say that waiting was worth it?

You betcha I would!

I haven't regretted that decision for one second.

"I'm so glad I waited for you."

Read more about Hunter coming home here, and see all the packages I sent him here!

All my love,
Aleigh Joy

Welcome Home Elder Moore! from Aleigh Mellinger on Vimeo.

0

He's Finally Home!

"I would wait forever for you, but two years is long enough."

January 2, 2014 is a day I will never ever forget.

It's the day I lost my marbles trying to fathom not being alone anymore, the day I literally thought my heart would beat right out of my chest, the day every bit of the "routine" I was in for two whole years was thrown out the window, It was the day my absolute best friend in the entire world came home from serving a full time LDS mission in Ohio. 

It was the day I remembered why I chose to wait those two years in the first place.

I had been waking up with butterflies in my stomach for the entire week before Hunter came home. But the day of, those butterflies didn't leave after I ate breakfast. They stayed as a constant reminder that in a matter of hours, the heartache would finally end. 

I wish I could say that those two years apart were easy, but they weren't. However, I will forever be grateful that we made it through and that we did it together. We needed that time apart. We needed to learn how to be independent, we needed to learn how to rely on the Lord, we needed to be away from each other for some time to confirm that we need to be together forever, we needed to endure trials and face problems to make both ourselves and our testimonies stronger. 

Do you want to know if you are really supposed to be with someone?

Let them go for a little bit of time. 

It will confirm every question you have ever had.

So back to the moment I woke up...

I couldn't decide whether I was about to cry, scream, or throw up but I'm pretty sure a good combination of all three was brewing inside as I envisioned seeing my sweetheart for the first time in what felt like forever.

I went downstairs to try to eat some breakfast.

My bowl of cinnamon life looked awfully large to my stomach. 

My mind was running a million miles an hour in endless circles.

I cried all morning long...

and I still didn't know what I was going to wear.

If you're wondering at this point, yes I did feel slightly pathetic. 

However, you have to give me some credit given the circumstances.

I mean come on, two years is a realllyy long time. 

So my best friend came over and we put some serious consideration into what I should wear.

I curled my hair, did my makeup, charged my camera, cried a little more, then sprayed some pink sugar right before we left the house.

We headed to party city to buy some balloons and the entire time my mind was elsewhere.

I checked my phone every 5 seconds so I would know right when his plane landed.

We went to his house and tied balloons along the fence.

The banner was hung.

The Ohio State Flag was taped.

I checked instagram to find a picture of him with family members at the airport.

And that was when it really hit me...

He's Finally Home.

I did it.

We did it.

And so the waiting game continued.

I'll just fast forward through the moments that my nerves got the best of me and skip right to waiting on the front porch.

Those last 10 minutes might as well have been the longest moments of the entire wait.

And then I saw headlights coming up the street, and he was in the car, and my heart skipped a million and a half beats, and the tears came and there was no stopping them.

His dad honked the horn and then my best friend in the entire world opened the door. 

He came up the stairs and we reached out for the best first hug I could have ever imagined. 

I never wanted to let go. 

I literally stopped for a second and said "I can't believe you're real!"

I couldn't stop touching him, hugging him, reaching for his hand, and looking into his eyes. 

It immediately felt so natural to be back together.

It felt like he never left.

It was crazy how quickly my entire mind set changed once he was in my presence.
Nothing else in the entire world seemed to matter except for him and making sure he would never leave ever again haha.
So yes, the wait was a hundred and ten percent worth it.
Every single feeling and emotion we left off with came rushing back and that was how I knew that every moment apart was worth it.
He devoted 2 years of his life to serving the Lord and leaving all personal affairs at home.
He served diligently and did all he could to bring souls unto Christ.
He grew to love the people in Ohio and I know he genuinely cares about their salvation.
Even though I swear he was perfect before he left, he came home even more amazing than I remembered.
I'm so incredibly grateful that Hunter served a mission.
I know that it will continually bless our lives and our posterity.

No matter how hard the goodbye was, how long the weeks felt, and how far apart we were...
It was all worth it.
And I wouldn't have traded that time apart for anything.

I FINALLY got the stinkin video to upload.
So, here ya go!
I will cherish this video forever :)


All my love,
Aleigh Joy

ps. if you want to know a little bit more about why Hunter decided to serve a mission for two years go ahead and click right here. You can also request a free Book of Mormon right here! And, if you have any questions for me you can email me at ajoy94@gmail.com or ask right here :)

1

Merry LAST Christmas apart :)

I can't believe this time has come!

My package making days have come to an end.

Last Christmas, it seemed as if there would never be an end in sight, and all of a sudden it snuck right up on me!

It was definitely bittersweet putting this package together.

Though I have missed that sweet, cute, amazing, handsome, perfect in every way (haha sorry, not sorry) missionary of mine, I have really really enjoyed getting in touch with my crafty side and putting packages together for him. 

Of course it was much much more sweet than bitter when I dropped that box off at the post office stuffed to the brim. 

Oh, and get this!

The sweet man in front of me did a wonderful random act of kindness and paid for my package to be shipped!

Seriously?? 

Gosh, what a way to end my package making days :)

So, I got slightly lazy with this package.

I'll admit it.

Work has been killing me and everyone comes home for the holidays so I'm quite the busy bee.

Therefore, I stayed up into the wee hours of the night with work at 6 in the morning to finish that amazing Elder Moore's package. 

Reminds me of high school when I used to stay up until 1 in the morning making his locker decorations for Friday's game with a pep rally the next morning. 

I must really really really love him :)

So here you go my friends!

The last package in  pictures :)

(Which I almost forgot to take! What??)

Some moccasins to keep his feet toasty!
The shirts: One is for him to keep. The other is to start a mission tradition! The shirt gets passed on to the next Elder (or sister) that goes home. They sign their name and the years they were out and then it gets passed on until someone loses it or forgets haha. 

Tie shopping is my favorite sport :)

TREATS!
He requested that I stop sending him very many sweets after last year's Easter package butttt, these are minimal :)

The fillers.
Thank you dollar section. 

Winter essentials. 

Matching mugs for us to have forever :)
I kept the H and he as the A to remind us of each other during our last Christmas apart :)
Oh, and yes our initials are totally HA. As in Haha.

All put together!
They definitely shrunk the flat rate boxes.
Not too thrilled about that.
At least this was the last package!

I mean, how do you draw mistletoe anyways?

The face of a very tired, very excited Aleigh to send off the LAST package!!! :)

Well there you have it my friends!

Goodbye package making days!

I can't decide if you will be missed haha.

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

3

See You Soon My Love

Twenty Three Months!!!

The last of the monthly countdown posts is here!

I've only been dreaming of this moment since day one.

I'm in disbelief that he is really coming home.

When you are apart for this long, being together again feels a bit more like a dream than a reality.

A really, really, really good dream , however reality will be so much better :)

The dreams were nice while they lasted, but I'm beyond ready for the real thing.

For, him :)

So, I guess this is the end of the line.

Why am I crying right now?

How did we get here?

I can't believe it!

What's even harder to believe is that in 22 days I will be able to hug him, touch him, smell him, hold his hand, hear his voice, go on dates with him, play speed and war with him, make fun of college names during basketball season with him, tickle him, snuggle with him, look into his eyes, feel the rush of excitement I get just standing in his presence, show him off to the world, and yes I will be able to kiss him. What? Yes. Yes I said that :)

I love that boy.

I love him with all that is in me.

Oh wait did I say boy?

I meant man.

I forgot that he's a big bad 20 year old now.

The last I saw him he was a teenager.

Only 18 actually.

Time flies. 

So I wanted to let you in on a little secret.

Do you want to know if you really love someone?

Let them go.

I know you won't believe me, but really.

I promise that you don't know what you got til it's gone. 

Hunter's dad told us this when we were youngins, and I finally know why.

With every passing week we spent apart, with every letter that was written, with every picture that was sent, with every tear that was shed, with every package that was put together, with every memory that was replayed... we fell that much more in love.

We have grown closer together during this time apart than I thought was possible. 

My heart is aching to be with him again, but I will forever be grateful for this time we spent apart.

I need him in my life forever, and thank goodness he feels the same way. 

We said goodbye for two years and it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do.

 But in the grand scheme of things, that is absolutely nothing compared to eternity :)

Elder Moore, I feel like a giddy little school girl thinking about you coming home to me. 

And now to finish up my favorite story, the story of us.

This last bit might be hard to get through without tears being shed.

Thank goodness it will be soon enough that we can make new memories :)

Here's the link to my last post!

(ps. this ones a long one)

Every day of that last summer we spent together felt like a fairy tale. Every night we said goodbye that summer made the hole in my stomach feel bigger and bigger. Hunter was getting ready to take off for BYU and even though I knew we would one day end up together, I couldn't shake that nervous feeling of just wanting to keep him here away from all of those Cougars. And by that I actually mean all of the ring hungry freshman. Sorry, that wasn't meant to be offensive but it was a real concern haha. The night before he left I tried my hardest to keep the tears to myself. When I got in my car, I broke down. I wanted senior year to just be over. I couldn't imagine going through a whole year of high school without him. The next morning I said goodbye to him before I had to leave for my first day of my senior year. Neither of us knew what to say, so we just held each other tightly in our arms. I then looked at him and said "are you ready for your surprise?" Now, I somehow overlooked explaining what this surprise was when I should  have a few posts back. So I'll do some explaining now. I began creating this surprise back when I was a sophomore in high school. I had planned on giving it to him before his mission but before college felt like a better fit. I had worked on it all those years and he had no idea what it was. I would just tell him "Oh, I'm just working on the surprise what are you doing?" and it drove him crazy trying to guess what it was. So, the time was finally here. We walked out to my car and I pulled out a red bag. He opened it to find a card. In that card I explained to him that the bag contained three journals. I wrote in those journals about us and our love story every single day since I started them my sophomore year. I wanted us to have them to show our kids in the future, to reminisce on old memories, and for him to see how I felt after every day or night we spent together. I poured my heart out in those journals, I told him secrets I hadn't told anyone else, and I put old pictures, movie tickets, homecoming tickets, and anything I thought of in those pages. After reading the card he was already in tears. As he took them out one by one I began to cry. He pulled me in for a hug and told me that he loved me. Between the tears I was able to look up and tell him that I loved him as well. We walked back inside hand in hand and it was about time to say goodbye. What is the right way to say goodbye? I'll never know, because no matter what it hurts more than anything. Although I hated the fact that he would be ten hours away, I was grateful  that it prepared us for the bigger goodbye that was to come. After we had our final hug he watched my car drive away with his little sister in the passenger seat. It was a very quiet ride to school with a few sniffles here and there and lots of tears being wiped. I headed straight for my first class hoping that I wouldn't see anyone. I didn't want to talk to anyone, I didn't want to have to explain how sad I felt. I avoided as many people as I could until one of my friends stopped me in the hallway. She took one look at me and said "You said goodbye to him today didn't you?" I immediately reached out for a hug and began crying once again. And so goes the first week of my senior year. Him being away was difficult. We were advised to only call each other once a week and almost never text each other. Which was really the hardest thing ever. But, those Sunday 5 hour calls were heaven on earth. I don't know how we never ran out of things to talk about but the phone bill was out of control. After a month and half apart he came home for his brothers wedding. My hands were sweating waiting for the car to pull up. Seeing him again was surreal. We didn't leave each others side that weekend. It truly goes down as being one of the best weekends in the history of ever. I remember one night in particular. It was the night of the wedding. We were already dreading the goodbye once again so we made the most of the time we had. How? Sleeping... It was a long day and we snuggled up on the couch at the end of the night. I played with his hair and he fell asleep. It wasn't long before I followed his lead and fell asleep on his shoulder. We were woken up by his dad who let us know it was time to say goodnight. It took about 5 minutes to actually wake up but when we did we looked into each other's eyes in a way we never had. I thought my heart was going to beat right out of my chest. We were lost in a trance and we both agreed that we absolutely HAVE to get married one day. A feeling like that only happens once with one person, and we were each other's one person. Of course that goodbye was no easier than the first. I woke up extra early to say goodbye to him since he had plans on hitting the road practically before the sun rose (exaggeration). We spent some time snuggling and I watched him do some last minute packing. I was sitting on a rocking chair just watching him walk back and forth. He walked passed me and winked. I giggled like a school girl. He came back and winked again and it made my heart skip a beat just as the first wink did. He started walking away and then stopped. He came right back over and kissed me. Right then, I visualized our future. And it was perfect. I was counting down the days until he would be home for Thanksgiving. Then I had the most brilliant idea. I proposed to Hunter that I should take a little trip up to Utah and visit him for a few days. We worked out all the details and my plane ticket was bought. I had knots in my stomach on the plane ride to Salt Lake. I couldn't believe I was actually on my way to see him! I called him when I landed and after a minute or two of figuring out where each other were our eyes finally met. Yes, it was absolutely a scene from a movie. And yes, he opened the car door for me :) We had some time to kill before we were going to the BYU football game that night so he took me to a little park. It was freezing, but we threw snow balls at each other, ran around the park holding hands, and looked at the crazy ducks swimming in the icy water. Later that night we went to the game together. We both froze our buns off but it was so worth it being with each other. My heart jumped when one of his friends would walk over and say "So this is the girl?? I've heard so much about you!" We snuggled as it snowed, but our California blood finally had enough. We left during the third quarter and spent the rest of the night defrosting in the car listening to Christmas music. He took me to one more park where we talked about our future and all it had in store for us. We sat there in silence for a minute or two and tears started rolling down my cheeks. He of course thought I was sad but I instead let him know that I was happier than I ever had been and those tears were incredibly happy tears! He hugged me even tighter once I said that and then took me to where I was staying. I took a warm shower that night feeling like I was living a real life fairy tale. We spent our time together at temple square, walking around BYU, and at his brother's house. We made memories that we will treasure forever and lucky for us we then got to spend 10 hours in the car together on our way back to California for Thanksgiving. That of course was also amazing and once again the goodbye killed me. What killed me even more though, was knowing that the next goodbye would be for two years instead of a couple of months. After 2 more weeks he came home for Winter break. After many wonderful nights spent snuggling and watching Christmas movies his farewell talk snuck up on us. It was 9:00am church on New Years Day and I was fighting to stay awake. that is, until he took the stand. I cried in happiness as he bore his testimony of the restored gospel. I knew he would be an amazing missionary. I knew he was doing the right thing. I knew we would get through the two years. But, I still wished I could just pause time. The night of his farewell party we spent an hour talking outside in the cold before it started. We spoke to each other about what we really hoped for in the future and though he didn't necessarily "ask" me to wait for him we discussed how we would make that work too. I promised him that I would be right here when he got back. A promise I intend to keep :) It was scary realizing the next time we would see each other we would have to be grown ups and take on "real life" together. So yes, we have had a serious talk about our future, our plans, and our desires. And yes, they absolutely matched up. Yet another confirmation that we are meant to be. The next few days were a blink and it was suddenly time to say goodbye. We snuggled for the last time and held each others hands tightly. We wished time would just stop for the moment but the clock kept ticking. I closed my eyes and tried my hardest to engrave that moment into my mind. When I opened them my stomach sank. It was time. We took one look at each other as tears began to fill our eyes. I buried my head in his chest and couldn't stop the tears. I had never cried so much in my life, I had never felt that genuinely sad. I held on to him wishing I would never have to let go. He wiped the tears from my eyes and let me know that everything would be alright. I wanted to believe him, but my heart felt like it was breaking into a million little pieces. He lifted my head up and whispered "I love you Aleigh, I really do." I was able to tell him the same between the sniffles. It was time for him to put his suit on so he could be set apart as a missionary so I took another look at him trying to wipe away my tears and be strong. He pulled me in close for another hug and whispered one more thing: "Aleigh Joy, will you marry me? I promise I'll say it better in two years." I was able to smile and I whispered "Yes, I wouldn't have it any other way." So, I guess you could say we are engaged to be engaged! After another hug he got up to put his suit on. His mother then came over and sat with me and said some of the kindest things I'll never forget. We cried together and hugged and I knew then that she would help me get through these two years. And that she did :) His Father gave him a blessing and yes, we all cried through that too. Everyone got up and Hunter and I had blank stares realizing it was really time. We embraced again and my makeup got on his white shirt. Why didn't I wear waterproof mascara? He told me it would be something to remember me by :) We exchanged the first of many letters and everyone made their way to the car. We went the opposite direction to say goodbye in the same spot we had since the first night I came over to his house. When we opened the front door his sister and sister in law were there to give us hugs. He walked me down to my car and there we had our last hug for two years. We said I love you in the most sincere tone I have ever heard it said and then I watched him drive away. And, my heart absolutely broke. I stayed in my car trying to catch my breath. The tears wouldn't stop. I felt like I had absolutely no control over my emotions. I drank some water and prayed for comfort. At that moment I felt prompted to read that first letter. I will cherish that letter forever. He is the sweetest boy I have ever met. That night I had quite a bit of trouble falling asleep. I covered my eyes with his blanket and prayed that he would be in my dreams. I woke up the next morning feeling drained. I stayed in my pajamas the entire day and looked at wedding ideas on pinterest. That was the beginning of the loneliness and the heart ache. Being away from the one you love isn't easy, in fact it is quite hard but I wouldn't trade this time apart for anything. We have both grown so much. We had to grow apart to grow together. I have fallen Moore in love with him each day he has spent in Ohio and I have spent in California. We put our relationship on hold for two years but somehow the letters got us through. I never even thought about dating anyone else. I didn't have a desire. I know he is the one and in 22 days we will make up for all the time we spent apart. That moment, when every feeling comes rushing back, will make it all absolutely worth it. 

Hunter Miles Moore, I loved you back then, I love you still, I always have, and I always will.

Well friends, there you  have it!

But don't worry, the story doesn't end here! 

It's only just beginning :)

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

7

Letter Days are Better Days.

Love letters make the world go round. Well my world that is. They appear in my mailbox once every two weeks straight from Ohio with words that make my heart skip two beats. This whole wait would have been much, much longer without the love letters Elder Hunter Miles Moore and I have been sending back and forth. Every time I see a white envelope waiting for me I get butterflies and I scream a little inside. An instant smile appears. The routine is the same every time: 

Tear letter open, snuggle in my bed, read, smile, read, cry, read some more, smile and cry some more, fall in love even more than the day before, put letter down, day dream, come back to reality, repeat. 

I have two binders worth of letters and emails that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Though my hand cramps up, and my handwriting is pretty close to that of a first graders... It is so so worth it. 

Those love letters make any day a better day.

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

0

Moore "Lasts"

The absolute best part about the second year of this wait is being able to say:

"The Last"

before just about everything.

The last birthday package, the last of the teens, the last Thanksgiving apart, the list goes on and on...

but it is also an emotional roller coaster.

Being "the girl back home" has become such a big part of my life.

After all, it has been my entire life these past twenty two and a half months.

Though I absolutely know having him home (even if it is only for a few days) will be the most amazing feeling, I can't help but feel all sentimental when I hit another one of these "lasts."

The other day I put the first sticker on the last letter of the called to serve countdown that I swore would never fill up.

Each night for the past 22 months I have put a little black dot on before bed.

After putting the dot on I would stand there and look at it thinking to myself "I wonder what it will feel like when I get to the last letter?"

And now, here I am :)

One day, I might actually be able to find a word strong enough to explain how I feel about him.

One day, I might actually be able to adequately explain how incredible he really is, how much he respects me, and how he is everything I have ever prayed for.

One day, I might actually be able to hold it together when I think of the love we share...

but until then, I will just have you know that this man means everything to me and I will love him with all that I have forever and always.

It's a crazy thing going two years without seeing each other.

It's even crazier to put your relationship on hold for those two years so that The Lord's work can be done through his missionaries without distractions. 

But, it's even crazier that I have only fallen that much Moore in love with him in this time apart.

When you love someone this much, nothing can tear you apart.

It's a promise that even 730 days apart can't break.

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

Ps 44 days :)

0

Extra Extra Read All About It: 22 Months

I don't know about you, but I'm totally feeling 22!

Twenty Two months down, and only 2 to go!

Actually less than that :)

I can hardly believe it!

I'm so excited/nervous/happy I can hardly contain it.

I can't seem to stop talking and thinking about him.

 I'm apologize to those of you that have to put up with it haha.

But, I am just SO excited!

I promise that it really doesn't feel like twenty two whole months have passed by since I have last seen him or touched him.

I have definitely hit those rocky patches where it seems like he is never coming home, but looking back on it it really does feel like he just left.

It's a weird thing being apart for so long and only growing deeper in love.

I really don't know how it is possible, but I promise it's real. 

We have tried our hardest not to talk too much about the future and to stay away from distracting topics but the closer he is to coming home, the more personal our letters and emails seem to be.

He is the one that I want, forever.

I have no doubt in my mind. 

For those of you that are thinking... "You're too young to know what love is" "How are you supposed to know what is going to happen when he gets home?" "Really after being apart for 2 years you think everything is just going to work out?"

Here is my response: 

"You don't look at (insert name here) the way I look at Hunter. You don't touch or laugh. You don't play. You don't know anything about love." 

-Allie from the notebook

Haha I'm kidding, but really...

I love him, and he has assured me that he loves me.

I have never felt something so strong, and the excitement I have to be reunited in less than 2 months cannot be measured.

"You have been so strong and faithful these past 22 months. I trust you and I owe you all my love. You are the one for me"

-Elder Hunter Miles Moore

I'm really trying to figure out how to finish up the story of us in only one more post after this.

Did I just say that? Only one more countdown post!

Did you miss the last post?

No worries!

I left off right here!

Here goes nothing :)

It was now my junior year, and his senior year. I was thrilled. He was the starting quarterback again and a captain. I was also a Varsity cheer captain. It's kinda one of those typical high school stories.. ya know the whole quarterback of the football team and the cheerleader are dating and blah blah blah except wait, it wasn't typical even in the slightest bit. We still "technically" weren't dating. We could care less about those titles, it was more about leading our teams and doing the best we could to make the year memorable. Oh and we didn't go to any parties and we remained pure. How's that for a "typical" high school story for ya? ;) So anyhow, we went about our lives and became more and Moore comfortable around each other. It felt so perfect having him by my side walking through the halls. I loved knowing that I would see his smiling face every day that we went to school. He truly became my best friend, my other half. The days that either of us were absent were miserable. I imagine it being comparable to being a lost puppy. Although I knew the real reason I was at school, he became my motivation to go. It felt like we both lived at that school. I was in cheer and ASB and football took over his life. It gave us a lot of time to spend together, which was exactly what I had hoped when I realized this would be our last year attending high school together. Hunter had the most amazing football season. I cheered him on every single game and could not have been more proud of him. I noticed that year that I became incredibly protective over him. Something would just snap inside myself when I saw coaches yell at him or if he got tackled. It hurt and I had to look away. Both of us also discovered what jealousy really felt like. No matter who it was, if one of us was talking to someone of the other sex the sinking jealous feeling would just take over. We had to learn a lot about trust this year and how to control those feelings. I was so excited for homecoming to come. It was Vegas themed and I began planning our outfits the second I found out. Of course, I was also waiting to be asked ;) Hunter is sweet, but he also grew up with five brothers and didn't really understand "cute." Thank goodness for his sister in law Michelle who helped him figure out how to ask me. Although, he almost spilled the beans a thousand times and one day literally asked me if I wanted to know how he was going to ask... ohhh Hunt :) Every Friday the cheerleaders would decorate the locker room but it is a ton of work so one away game we decided not to do it. When I told Hunter he freaked out. He told me that I absolutely HAD to decorate his locker. I didn't realize that it meant that much to him... but I agreed to decorating his locker even though nobody else's would be ha. I walked into the boy's locker room and opened his. Inside was the sweetest poster asking me to homecoming! (Nice work Shell) I was on top of the world! The other girls that were with me screamed with me and we were just so excited :) He had team lunch so I didn't get to see him until the bell rang but that was the best 6 minutes ever as I told him my answer was absolutely yes! For homecoming spirit week we had matching Superman shirts and loved dressing up together. The day of the dance came and I was so excited as I listened to Taylor Swift while getting ready. I put my sequin dress on and went on over to take pictures at his parents house. He had a matching sequin vest that he thought was made out of tin foil because he really didn't know what a sequin was... The entire night people were asking to take our picture because they loved how well we matched. It was the perfect start to the year. The remainder of the semester only got better as there were newspaper articles about him every Saturday morning after a game, we made it to the CIF playoffs, and we fell head over heels for each other. I loved having Hunter around to snuggle and hold my hand when it was cold. I loved how deeply in love we fell and how every conversation somehow ended up in talking about marriage. The first semester came and went and before we knew it we only had one more semester until he was off to college. It was now basketball season and I cherished every game as this sinking feeling began to take over when I realized I would be all alone the next year. I couldn't imagine high school without my best friend, and I really didn't want to. I just wanted it all to slow down. I would wait by his car after games until he came out. We would sit there laughing and talking for as long as we could. He told me stories from his childhood, we talked about the gospel, and it always resulted in talking about the future. I would sit there trying to be strong as we talked about spending 2 years apart but looked away every time a tear made it's way down my cheek. I remember one night him telling me a story that made my heart melt all over the car. He had told me that he knew his athletic abilities are all from God and that he owes all glory to him. He spoke so humbly and expressed so much gratitude for all he had been given. I remember hugging him and telling him how I was desperately in love with him. Basketball season seemed to fly by and I couldn't believe it was already time to start thinking about prom. Hunter was deciding on a third sport to play and chose track. I swear that man can do anything. I was stubborn and told him that I didn't like him doing track because I knew he would take his shirt off at practice and I didn't want other girls checking him out. I also hated the tight spandex he wore at meets. But, he was really good and I got over the stubbornness. One day in April I was running really late to school. I always parked next to him and I was shocked to see him still in his car. I went up to the window and said something like "come on crazy, let's go run to class!" And he responded by saying "wait I have something for you!" I went to the passengers side and found the most darling Easter basket waiting for me. I oohed and I awed and told him I would stick it in my car. He hesitantly said okay and we walked away. As we were halfway through the parking lot he says "Soo I guess you can just tell me your answer later..." I looked at him confused and said "Wait what, did you just ask me to prom?" He responded by saying "well you were supposed to open the eggs..." Hahaha I died laughing because it was a realllyy good idea but the execution was a total fail. I sure love him. That weekend we opened the eggs up together and put all the pieces of paper together that in fact said "will you go to prom with me?" I hugged him, said absolutely yes, and was equally as excited as I would have been if it all worked out the first time. Prom that year was at Sea World and I had so much fun with him. I also got my braces off literally 2 days before. He wouldn't stop telling me that I looked beautiful the entire night. I was on top of the world. Somehow that last months of school flew by and the next thing I knew I found myself sitting there at his graduation. When I saw him walk by the tears couldn't be controlled. I put my sunglasses on and cried the entire time. Afterwards, he told me he saw me and knew I was crying and couldn't help but get choked up. As exciting as it was, I was crushed. I really really really didn't want him to leave for college. That Summer was full of making memories and spending every moment we possibly could together. Every day was one day closer to saying goodbye and I tried to savor every second together. Yet somehow, that summer just sped right by and our love was only intensified. 

And that is where I'll stop.

See I told you that year was much better haha.

I can't believe the next post will be the last of these countdown posts! 

I'm dying to see my love again :)

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

25

I've gone "batty" for him

How on earth are we already here?

We're in the midst of autumn and truly, I can't believe it.

I swear we were just getting excited about summertime beach weather.

(although let's be honest... it's beach weather year round in San Diego)

Before we know it we'll be sitting around the table eating turkey and sipping sparkling cider.

Then we will find ourselves rockin around the Christmas tree.

And before we know it, we'll be singing auld lang syne as 2014 rolls in.

Seriously though, where does time go?

I'm truly not complaining.

The sooner the holidays pass, the sooner I get to to begin my forever with the one I've dreamed about for as long as I can remember.

One day we will figure out an exact release date for that sweet missionary, one day..

Until then, I'll continue making him packages that I probably get more excited about than he does. 

I had been thinking about doing a Halloween/ autumn one for quite some time but couldn't seem to slow life down to actually put it together.

So, it was kinda thrown together.

But! It turned out much better than I thought it would :)

You better believe I listened to Christmas music and had my cookies for santa candle burning away the entire time I put it together.

Oh, and I cried every time "I'll be home for Christmas came on."

Can you guess what my Christmas wish is this year?

Yes, yes you can.

Anyhow let's get to the contents:

Alright, that's all I have for ya!

Now on to planning the next package :)

I probably won't miss my hand cramping up every time I write a letter. I don't think I'll miss crying every time I look at old pictures. I definitely won't miss that lonely feeling that just lingers everywhere I go.

But making packages, yeah I think I'll miss that :)

Here's to loving you through every season of life Hunter Miles!

Next season, you will be right here with me :)

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

P.S. Do you have any questions? Did you use any of these ideas? I would love to hear about them! Email me at: ajoy94@gmail.com. thanks!

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Twenty One, we're almost done!!

21!!!

Twenty one months?

Twenty one months!

I swear we just hit the year mark...

It's ridiculous how much faster the second year flies by than the first.

Only three lonely months left and then I will never have to write a single letter again!

(well, to him at least.)

Although, there is something so romantic about letters.

It's old fashioned, and it helps you dig a little bit deeper.

We have grown together more than we thought possible through letters alone. 

Communicating through emails and letters for the past 21 months has not been easy. 

I promise you that.

But, I will treasure those letters for the remainder of my life.

Each time I come home to a new letter, my heart skips a few beats.

The love we share, will never get old.

I can't begin to explain how grateful I am that Hunter is out serving the Lord.

Every single night before I lay my head down, I thank my Father in Heaven for this time that we are spending apart.

I thank him for how much we are learning and growing separately and together, for the amazing people he has been able to teach, for the blessings we have received, and most importantly for the love we share. 

We can only grow deeper in love from here, and I know that we will.

A love like this only comes along once, and I'm determined to make it last.

Although I can hardly stand the anticipation of being reunited, I'm not going to let that get in the way of finishing strong.

These past few letters I have written, I have had to try so hard not to ramble on about all my plans for the future.

I know that he needs to stay focused on the work he has been set apart to do.

Oh Elder Moore, I love you with every ounce of my being.

Thank you for being my one and only.

I can't believe how close I'm getting to finishing up the story of us!

Although, we all know it is nowhere near finished.

In fact, it's only just beginning!

Need to catch up?

No worries, last time I left off right here

As for this post... I think I'll pick up pretty close to where I left off.

So, since the whole bus incident occurred I was pretty darn positive I had found the one I would love for the rest of my life. But, I felt crazy. I was a sophomore in high school. And, according to the world, there is no way you can fall in love at that age. HA! Wrong my friends, very very wrong. I had fallen for him and my world began to revolve almost completely around him. Conflicted would be an understatement though being that at that point in time we were hardly even aloud to look at each other. Now how on earth was that supposed to work itself out? I loved him though, and something just kept telling me to keep moving forward. You can all probably guess what happened from there... We got closer again and it didn't take much time at all to pick up right where we had left off. It had seemed as if we never skipped a beat and even though we knew we were just digging ourselves in a deeper hole, we just couldn't keep away from each other. Can you imagine the confliction going on in our hearts and minds? I remember several high school kids coming up to me asking why Hunter wouldn't just ask me to be his "girlfriend" already. To them it made no sense. But to me, it made all the sense in the world. We had a plan. A plan that we couldn't explain to anyone else without them thinking we were crazy. We had the right intentions, and the world viewed us as crazy. We knew we just needed to endure high school and stay "secret lovers" until he left for his mission. I let him know very early on that I had planned to be right here waiting for him when he returned and from there he would take me to the temple so that we could be sealed together for time and all eternity. After that we would live in Utah where we would start a little family. He would work to support us and I would raise the minis. After that, we would live out our fairy tale wherever the Lord would take us. It all seemed so perfect and so... within reach. But, we were also two crazy high schoolers that didn't think much about reality. But hey... we would deal with that when it came our way right? So basketball season came and went and soon enough it was spring break. At this point in time we were back at it. And that of course made things even more confusing to those that couldn't figure out why we weren't just gonna "make it official." Hunter's family had plans to go on a cruise. He was extremely excited, I was less than thrilled that he would be gone all of spring break without cell phone reception. Spring break came and went and I found myself right back at school searching for Hunter in the normal spot that we would meet up. This time, he was nowhere to be found. "He's probably just running late" I thought. Luckily our classrooms were right next to each other and we were bound to see each other once the period ended. Of course I couldn't stop thinking about seeing him the entire time. I walked out expecting to see him waiting there like he always had done but to my dismay he wasn't there. I began walking to class and noticed he was a little bit ahead of me. I sped up to catch up to him. As we were walking together he was quieter, more subdued, different. Talk about a rocky teenage love right? So I later found out that on the cruise there was this Lds girl that seemed to take a liking to him. Hmm lovely. You could say that I felt like my heart had broken into a million different pieces, but mainly I was just annoyed. I tried my hardest to stay away, but my heart had other plans. Apparently his did too. His parents (being the good parents they are) recommended that he keep his options open while he was still young and in high school. He was following their council but just couldn't seem to keep me away. Ahhh thank goodness ha. So prom was around the corner and earlier in the year we had talked about going. But, I needed an official invitation. Hunter is a football player. Being sentimental was never really one of his best skills. So, one morning during break I caught him sneaking around me and over to the grass out of the corner of my eye. He bends down and picks a weed. He will try and tell you it was a flower, but I will forever beg to differ and say it was a weed ha. He comes up next me with the "flower" (weed) in his hand and says, "Aleigh will you go to prom with me??" My reaction: "You're kidding right?" Hunter: "uhm, no." (smirks) Aleigh: "Okay, yes I'll go to prom with you Hunter." Hunter: "You better keep that flower (weed) forever!!" As upset as I was by the way he decided to ask me, I couldn't help bust smile and just laugh at how "Hunter" that was. And of course, from there we only fell Moore in love. Are you noticing a trend yet?? With every curve, bump, whatever you wanna call it... we came out stronger together. That prom was a prom I'll never forget. It was on the U.S.S Midway in downtown San Diego. He held my hand the entire way there. We walked around laughing and making memories, we slow danced, and got our picture taken for the school newspaper. However, prom is dirty. Ha. We weren't down for "that" kind of dancing so we left a little early. We had a few other people to take home so we decided to walk around the harbor as we waited for the dance to end. We were laughing and smiling and holding hands and just being two teenagers that were desperately in love. We found a little empty pier and walked to the end of it judging all of the private yachts and deciding which one would be ours when we grew up. When we got to the end of the pier he grabbed my hand with his and put the other on my waist. I put mine on his shoulder and soon enough we were dancing to no music under the stars in our prom clothes. It felt effortless as he spun me around. We were staring into each others eyes and my heart started to beat faster than I could control. We were leaning in closer and closer and just as I could feel his warm breath next to my face we both jumped a little as we heard music playing. A party boat was passing by and we just laughed the night away. We walked back to the car where we found the others waiting for us, he opened my door and once again held my hand the entire way home. I kept looking over at him with the biggest grin on my face. Seeing him in a tux only made me think even more about seeing him on our wedding day. When the night came to a close you can only imagine how hard it was to say goodbye. There were now only a few weeks left of the school year. Summer was coming so quickly and even though I was so excited I was half dreading the fact that we wouldn't have an excuse to see each other everyday anymore. We were growing deeper and deeper in love. Then, one night we got in an argument. I truly can't even remember what it was about. Clearly it wasn't that important. Although we attempted to resolve it, the resentment carried over into the next day. It was the second to last day of school when things just kinda blew up... under the stairs. Ha. Although I can laugh about it now, at the time I was crushed! We had our first real fight, and we were both too stubborn to do anything to resolve it. We didn't talk for days. And those days turned into weeks. My heart was aching but I wasn't going to give in. One of my girl friends became interested in him. And apparently, he tried to be interested in her. I was more than crushed but it also sparked something inside of me that I had never known before. I took matters into my own hands and tried my hardest to like another guy. We went to the beach together and I tried so hard to want to be there, but I just couldn't get my sweet Hunter out of my mind. So, we settled our little argument how any teenager would. We Tp'ed each other's houses. And pretty darn good too hahaha. That of course got us texting again. And, because of that we were forced to talk things out. He came over to my house after practice one night with a group of his friends. When they left I walked with him out to his car. He hugged me as if nothing had ever changed and it felt more right than it ever had. So can you guess what happens next?? Yep, we ended up falling deeper in love forgetting what we were even mad about in the first place. I know that the whole "soul mate" thing has such a bad rep, but I mean... come on. I'm pretty darn sure we are meant to be. And each one of these little tests has proven that to me time and time again. 

Well that wraps up that time frame. 

I promise this next year was much less difficult haha.

Truly though, I am so glad we had so many things thrown our way to test our love.

We have overcome each of them and because of that I know he is the one :)

Well until next time my friends!

And thankfully, there aren't too many more "next times"

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

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