Sunday, June 16th
Well today was fantastic. Bryan picked me up this morning, we met Melissa at the South Towne mall and the three of us drove up to Layton for Elder Austin Bowlingbrokes homecoming. Austin talked about missionary work and member missionary work. I got to see Sam Wright, and oh it just made me so happy to see her! I know how amazing it feels to be at the homecoming of the boy you've waited for. I also, loved not being in her seat anymore ha. It was so great to sit there with Bryan holding my hand, and being able to just be me with him. It's crazy. Bryan has been home 3 months on this coming wednesday. I have no idea where time has gone, and everything is better than I could ever imagine. I finally got to meet and hug Austin, which was great. It's so fun to meet these people because now we can actually be friends. We went to Austins house to eat and hangout. Elder Gage Taylor was there too. Sam and Austin are pretty adorable! I'm most definitely a fan.
Here is their classic Russian pose. Gage just looks like a redneck, probably because he is one.
I went to Bryans for dinner after she left. When I got there Bryan gave me my Ukranian present! It wasn't finished when he was leaving Ukraine, so he had Elder Bowlingbroke bring it back from him. The present is SO beautiful. It is a little jewelry box with the Salt Lake Temple painted on the front. AH. It is sooo beautiful! Man, this weekend has just been full of presents, I kind of like it!Dinner was really good! We had meatloaf, salad and potatoes. I need to learn to cook... Grandma and Grandpa Frandsen were there. They actually arrived at the same time as me. I made sure to go give Grandpa Frandsen a big ol' hug. He is so stinkin cute! It kills me. We looked at pictures from their vacation after dinner. Bryan was hysterical and fell asleep. Thanks to cute little Erika for capturing the moment. Isn't he precious?!
We played Disney Uno after the cute grandparents left. I was happy because I won twice. I NEVER win games with that family! I have to say I was very proud of myself. Prayer and scriptures were good. Bryan and I were talking in the living room afterwards and he kept asking me if I wanted to talk to his parents about my family situation. There was this part of me that really wanted to because I just felt like it would be really nice to have normal parents to talk to, and Bryan has the best parents. I just had no idea what I would say you know? I didn't have any questions to ask. I just wanted to vent, think and talk through what is going on. The other part of me didn't want to talk to them because I didn't want them to see the vulnerable and not strong side of me. I guess I don't want them to think I wouldn't be a good person to marry, or that I'm unstable emotionally. And yes, I definitely over analyze everything. I know this. I really did appreciate that Bryan was concerned about me, and that he knew that it really was what I wanted.
Bryan's parents came in the kitchen and were telling us all about how they met each other and about their first couple of dates. I seriously was laughing so hard. They are the funniest! And I swear Rick and Bryan are SO similar. Bryan was a dork and kept whispering to me, and asking if I wanted to talk to them. Of course they noticed and kept telling us they knew we were whispering. Finally brat child just said "Chelsea wants to talk to you." Seriously?! ha. And then he walks out of the room to go to the bathroom, so here I am all alone with his parents. Ah. Well, I just started talking and somehow it got easier. They asked lots of questions that helped me think more, and get out what I was feeling and what was going on exactly. Rick suggested that I get a blessing from my Grandpa, which I actually hadn't thought of. I guess I usually try to ask for blessings when I'm sick, and I tend to forget that I can ask for them when I just need comfort or guidance. He also gave good advice for what my mom should do when she is able to get settled into a ward. He said as a bishop, he would want her to come to him and tell him the whole situation. If he doesn't know what is going on, he can't help. He also said it would be good for the kids to see counselors, and if they are tight on money - bishops can have fast offerings be used to take care of that expense. I would never have thought about that. Seeing a counselor my senior year helped me so much! I was able to work through a lot of my bad feelings towards my dad, I was able to be more emotionally stable, and realize that what my dad said was my fault growing up actually wasn't my fault. She was awesome and gave me so much clarity and strength. Rick and Janet both said it would be good to continue to work on my relationship and keep my relationship with my dad as best I can. If there is any hope of him changing and coming back, it will because we have shown him love. They also said that it will be easy to pick a side, but that I should be an example to my siblings and show love and respect for both parents.
I also was grateful that they validated how I was feeling so well. They didn't make me feel silly, or dumb. They told me they thought I was handling it well, and that I was doing a good job. They said I've had to grow up really fast, and that it must be hard trying to be my moms confidant and support. They said it was a lot of pressure that I shouldn't have to deal with at this age. I guess it was nice for me to hear that they thought I was handling things well. I shouldn't have worried about what they thought, but it was really nice to find out what they were thinking.
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Janet gave some of the most comfort to me. She started talking to me about the atonement and how she hadn't honestly realized that Christ really did feel every pain that we ever felt. She talked about how Enoch and Moses saw and discerned each person who has ever been and ever will be born. They saw me, and they knew who I was. She was saying how in God's realm of no time, he can show these things. She went on to talk about how while christ in the garden of Gethsemane, he not only atoned for our sins, but he felt my pains, my trials, my emotions and heartache. It's like he walked by my side through my whole entire life. Something about that just made me feel so much peace and love. By the end of that, both Janet and I were bawling. She is such a sweetheart, and I'm starting to see that her and I have lots of similarities. She's pretty great. They are both great. I seriously love them so much. We ended with a prayer, and of course Rick got some jokes in at the end to lighten the mood. Janet gave me a big long hug, and I didn't realize how much I needed that it until then.
Bryan walked me outside. I was embarrassed about crying so much, and he was so sweet about it. He wasn't awkward, just kind and patient. He let me hug him and he held me for awhile. We were laughing and then he just like looks at me and starts saying how even though my dad kind of sucks, that my Heavenly Father loves me and is always there for me. I was like "Seriously bryan? I'm crying again." I have to admit it was adorable, I just didn't want to start crying again! He also told me that I needed to write in my blog when I got home so that I wouldn't forget about what was said. So basically I have the best boyfriend/best friend. I left just feeling so much better and so grateful for all of them. Oh. No big deal, but he did tell me he was in love with me :) It only took a little bit of me pulling it out of him :)
