It's REALLY going to be a white Christmas!

Family!!!
> hello from the lovely MTC... WOW is all I have to say... its snowing like
> crazy today! and it snowed all day yesterday.... i cant imagine what it
> looks like outside of the MTC (since we are kinda boxed in) ... so be safe
> driving up on sunday! its going to be really pretty though, Gainer will
> probably love to see the snow and all the kids can have fun playing in it!
>  Well its been really good to get your guys letters! you should send more
> dear elders!! they are easy to send and then i get mail!! But i hope all is
> going well. Mom im glad to hear that the Mini meets went will... i forget
> that its a crazy time of year... around christmas time with everything going
> on.. Dad... are you sad you dont get to go to mexico? hahahah Utah is going
> to be so much better! plus! then at least the whole family is in the same
> state... I wish you guys could just come and stop by and say hello... but i
> probably wouldnt stay here.. haha no no... like ive said before i really do
> Love the mtc... its been so great and i cant believe how much ive learned
> and how much i have changed already...
> So to explain more about the MTC i will tell you a typical day
>   Basically we wake up at 6 and work out till 630 then we have to be ready
> by 7 to go get breakfast and then usually we have to be in class by 730.
> Sometimes we dont have a teacher so thats called MDT (i forget what is
> stands for) but basically everyday(and the time changes depending on when
> our teachers get here ) we have personal study time for about 4 to 5 hours a
> day. In that time we can study Language and our personal scripture study and
> companion study... so my companion and I study the D & C and my personal
> study time is the Book of mormon. Then class time we actually have a teacher
> (who both my teachers go to BYU and arent married and one of them was in my
> ward actually... super weird) but they will come teach us during various
> times in the day and if they are here for like a 4 hour block... i literally
> DIE! its so unfortunate to have ADHD... haha but i survive... Then we have
> lunch and dinner inbetween those times...
> So to describe how the MTC works... we are divided in to Zones... which then
> divide into districts... so there are 5 districts in my zone and we have 8
> people in my district... and to be honest i love my district. The other 2
> sisters are great and the Elders... welll they struggle studying a little
> but we try to help them out. Its kinda cool to see how much we have all
> grown just in 3 weeks. The older districts ((they came 6 weeks ahead of us)
> leave in like 2 weeks.... so they do this thing called SYL which means for
> the last 2 weeks you are here, you can only speak your language... hahaha..
> i cant imaging doing that right now.. i mean i know more than i thought i
> would being here for 3 weeks but i dont know a lot at all... haha but its
> kinda cool to see that in just like 4 weeks we will be where they are...
> oh and today is P-day which means we get to write you guys and then we get
> to do our laundry and we usually get to go to the temple but its closed for
> the hollidays. Then we get to write home (the only day we get to write
> actually letters) and wear REAL clothes! hahaha i miss my real clothes so i
> love putting on jeans.. even if it is only for like 4 hours
> Anyway... other than that CHRISTMAS IS SATURDAY!! i would love to see
> pictures of the kids and stuff on christmas so please send me pictures if
> you can.. and i hope you guys have a fun italian theme.. haha i wish i were
> there for that one. On christmas here, we actually get a sack dinner because
> nobody is here to make the food hahaha but the day of christmas will be so
> fun. We have a talent show planned and i think a memeber of the quorm of the
> 12 is coming. Honestly,  im really excited to be here on christmas, i mean,
> there are 2500 or so missionaries in the MTC right now and we are all in the
> same boat. And they have really pressed the true meaning of christmas... i
> mean, if it werent for christ we wouldnt be here right? Our purpose here as
> missionaries is to "invite others to come unto christ" so its amazing to
> finally grasp the true meaning of christmas... (even if i am 22 :( ) haha
> well Make sure you tell grace happy birthday from me... i will see what i
> can find next week to send her, there isnt much at the MTC or else i would
> have tried to send christmas presents to all of you... so im sorry about
> that.. unless you want like candy/study journals... i have no options haha
> Mom i did get your package though (if you were talking about the one with
> mints and reeses and fiber one bars) excepts dont send reeses with happy
> mints anymore cause its makes them take funny haha. But i couldnt tell what
> gainer drew in his letter its was cute though. And he actually misses me?
> ahaha i knew he would... he loves when i tease him he even said it
> himself... when get my new missionary tags (cause i get ones when i go to
> russia) i will send him my old ones so he can be a missionary... (even
> though it says sister, well actually cectpa... he wont know)...
> Oh and mom... you actually skated??? HAHAHAHAHAHAH what??! did someone get
> videos or pictures or something? i would have loved to see that...
> Well family, i wont get to send another email before christmas so I hope you
> guys have an awesome christmas!! play the dollar game for me!!! and know i
> love you all so much...
> Know how much I love where i am at right now... honestly, the longer i am
> here the longer i realize how important my calling is right now. I am
> privelaged right now to be set apart as a full time missionary... and its an
> amazing thing. The work that we get to perform comes straight from my father
> in heaven as long as i have faith and am willing to do what he wants me to.
> This is his work, not mine and its becoming more aparrent as the days go by.
> I can see his hand in everything i do here. THe lessons and the language
> especially.. sometimes i feel like i dont know any russian, but then a word
> will just pop into my head when i need it and i dont even realize i knew it.
> Thats truly the lord. THe times when i feel like i want to come home (which
> come i promise) i know the lord is there every step of the way with me and
> he helps me through them... Cause no offense, i love you guys so much but i
> get to spend eternity with you... so i dont want to come home. I want to
> give the people in russia what we have and should hold most precious.... SO
> think about me and send me email and pictures! haha i love this work and
> everything i means... and i love and miss you guys a lot. Sorry this email
> is super random my thoughts are always jumbled. Love you hope to hear from
> all of you soon!
>
>
>
> mom i wont have time to send one to everyone else so you can take bits and
> pieces from that one if you want... but a few things
> headbands... I would love lots of different colors and my roomates would
> love some too!! we decided and black and gray and cream like you said but
> also red and teals and purples and that green that i love and the yellow i
> love? remember? you know the colors i love and big ones would be great! and
> then also.... just like a ton of little rossettes (you know what im talking
> about ) maybe like the size of a silver dollar or quarter.. but if you can
> send like tons!!! my roomates would love and and so would i. you can sell
> something of mine to pay for them haah like my snowboard. so send like 20!!!
> i would love that!!
> Pictures- ok i hope they are still there but if now i NEED some for russia..
> so just print some of the last family ones we took.. like a few with me and
> the nephews and then nephews and then the sisters and then with you and dad
> too and then can you print a couple of the session we did with Mary and my
> friends? thanks so much! i love you!!
> Clothes..dont worry about skirts i guess  just sweaters and then a moo moo..
>  OH!! if you can fine like an avacodo
> green scarf that would be great! and i think i have a blue scarf in my
> clothes if you could look for that! i know i am asking for a ton!!! this is
> just stuff that i can take with me.. and then my boss at the MTC said he
> would take boxes for me so i dont have to pay to send stuff home! and jess
> or someone can come pick them up... anyway! thanks so much i really
> appreciate it!!! love you sooooo much!! talk to you soon and keep sending
> dear elders or even letters!!!