"The longer the wait, the sweeter the kiss."

For those of you who don't already know, right now I am living in the good ol' Rexburg, Idaho finishing up school while Kyle is living in Arizona working at a physical therapy office. Yes, this is by far the hardest thing I have ever had to do, and no, I would never suggest this as the first option for any married couple EVER. BUT, with that being said, we have both experienced so much strength and growth in our marriage that we wouldn't have been able to experience without this distance between us. But all of that is for another blog post!

Now for the sweet part! After 4.5 weeks, thousands of text messages and hundreds of phone and facetime calls, Kyle was able to take his first trip up here to visit me for the weekend. And this weekend was by far the best weekend I have had in such a long time. Here's why:

So Kyle's flight here was supposed to get in around 5:15. We were going to go to dinner, hang out in Idaho Falls, come home and make treats and then stay up all night just cuddling and talking. After about seven flight delays, I finally was able to pick up my sweetheart from the airport around 11:30 that night. I cannot think of anything more frustrating. But the suspense of seeing him again when we had gone for so long and were so close gave more meaning to the saying, "The longer the wait, the sweeter the kiss." Seeing him again gave me the same butterflies that I got when he gave me our first kiss, and made me fall in love with him all over again.

This weekend was extra special because of this kid right here. One of Kyle's best friends decided to "take a swim" and asked Kyle to come with him. After so many years, our good friend Steve decided to be baptized as a member of the Church and Kyle was able to carry out that special ordinance for him. It couldn't have been a happier day! We are so happy for Steve and this amazing choice that he made. (Love you man). But what brought tears to my eyes was being able to witness Kyle use his gift of the priesthood first hand. As a wife, there is nothing better than knowing that you married someone with this power and that you can be the direct beneficiary of it! I am so thankful for the priesthood and the peace and joy that it brings to our small family, and I'm thankful for Kyle and that he has always lived worthy to have the power of the priesthood.

Other highlights of the weekend include: sitting outside and roasting marshmallows in our fire pit for hours, blasting Backstreet Boys and singing all the way to Pocatello, eating way too much food, taking a scooter ride all over Rexburg and almost getting blown over by the cold wind, and playing cards like old people. Oh, and carving pumpkins!

"If we have faith in Jesus Christ, the hardest as well as the easiest times in life can be a blessing." -Henry B. Eyring