You've Done Nothing at All to Make Me Love You Less...So Come Back When You Can

I've been living in Oregon for a little over 2 weeks now. I've had to make tough decisions before, but this one was different. The title of this post comes from one of my favorite songs and really hits the nail on the head. There was nothing about my life or the people in it that would make me want to move to an entirely different place and pretty much start over. People looking in on my life from the outside would say there was no reason to leave the good job, great friends, awesome boyfriend/fiance, and wonderful family I have in Utah. And yet, that's exactly what I'm doing. 

This begs the question of why? Why am I doing something that appears so illogical? Well...let's see if I can answer those questions over the course of this blog post. Please fasten your seat belts and get ready for this emotional roller coaster. 

Every one of my friends

First off...know that this decision wasn't made flippantly or spontaneously. Lots of thought and prayer went into this choice. My decision was made once I took it to the Lord and felt like it was right. I continue to pray and make sure that I'm where I need to be. I have faith that God knows something I don't. He knows why I'm here and I will trust in his will and timing.

Secondly...I graduated BYU. I know that doesn't always translate to moving out of Provo for everyone, but for me I felt like I needed to move somewhere else where I could #sharegoodness ya know? Let my light so shine if you will. Basically I was ready to say peace out Provo.

Lastly... It's an adventure!

If there was any time in my life that I could go and move to a random city with my sister...this is it. Midge and I have never done anything like this together before. People kept asking me if this was going to ruin our relationship... not gonna happen. If anything it'll just prove to our haters how we really can get through anything together. (Although Hulk Emilye has come out once or twice the past two weeks...) But pretty soon my life is going to have more responsibilities and I won't be able to do something like this again. And while MY idea of a good adventure is more like trying a new flavor of ice cream instead of moving to a new state...it's good to grow right? And let me tell you...I'm growing. God is definitely using this time to teach me some valuable character traits. Like patience, patience, and more patience. 

Anyrate...switching gears a little bit...a while ago I was watching Tarzan with James, Parker, Ty and Matt. One of the lines from that movie had us cracking up, and I really feel like it applies to my life really well.  Turk is going off about how she doesn't care about Tarzan anymore because he left them and how she doesn't need him and it's fine whatever and then Tantar grabs her and says, "I am sick of you and your emotional constipation!" Now I know...I usually don't enjoy potty humor (I also don't enjoy the word potty), and yes, simply saying the word constipation DOES make that potty humor. (Ugh...there's that word again. I'm very uncomfortable right now.) BUT, it just speaks to me! If anyone is emotionally constipated it is me! I feel like what started out as such a touching blog post has really taken a turn... Midge and I talked about this the other day... some people feel fine crying on someone's shoulder... I am not one of those people. The point of me telling you all this (I promise there is a point) is so you don't feel bad if when I said goodbye to you it looked a little like this:

On the inside I felt like this:

And this...

I think the only thing that gives me the strength to do this is the fact that...like the song suggests...I can comeback! I don't have to leave for forever. Even if I don't live in Utah for the rest of my life I will OF COURSE come back to visit! If the people I love and miss so dearly just stay put I know I can come back and you will still love me all the same! (Except for maybe that awesome boyfriend/fiance I mentioned earlier...he may hate me forever because I left him...just kidding! I hope.)

Well this blog post was a little wonky because it was supposed to be a goodbye post, but I didn't finish it so it turned into an I'm-already-gone post. I hope that you all know I love you so much! I love you all for your support and your understanding even if you didn't really get why I felt I needed to move. I assure you I am were the Lord wants me to be for right now and while there are definitely things I miss about my old situation I'm really starting to enjoy this new one. Yes it's a little cramped in our current living situation, but Mel, Midge, and I are having a fun time...and Kip is putting up with us. Mostly. I'm enjoying playing Nanny Emy again. Mostly. I'm enjoying getting on a better sleep schedule. I'm enjoying Skype sessions with Ben, Ana, Mom, Dad, and anyone else who wants to Skype me! (Hint hint) All's good. All's good.

Mosiah 2:41 

And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold outfaithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

Blessings.

My family, my family, reminds me of a bagel.

People, people...calm it down! I know. You're all really upset that I've abandoned my blog and haven't updated you on my life in forever. I apologize. I should be more considerate of your feelings. I know reading my blog is the highlight of your month. I will try to be better. There. Are we all okay? No hard feelings? Alright...then we can move right along.

Wow. My last post was about Christmas. A LOT has changed since Christmas. The biggest change probably being...well you know...how I now have a...I mean I'm...it's my first...I started...using liquid eyeliner. Woo. I'm glad I got that out. ;)

So this last weekend and the weekend prior I had the chance of watching 5 WONDERFUL session of General Conference. Conference is the BEST! It's hours and hours of spiritual uplifting and answers to questions you've been pondering the last few weeks. I love it. This conference the topic of family and marriage seemed to be mentioned a thousand times. Which resulted in a ridiculous amount of people telling me they were engaged in the following days. While the talks didn't cause ME to hear wedding bells (because I'm not INSANE) they did give me an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for the family I do have.

SO. In the spirit of gratitude I decided to write a blog post explaining why having a big, loud, crazy family is the BEST.

The title of this post is actually a great example of the point I want to make in this post. SO many inside jokes. From Moroni talking about the thousands of car cases spread across the land to reciting in unison "We're all Pelley's here!"...dinner at our house can be confusing unless you learn to tune out the crazy.

Sooo many hand me downs. This can be good and bad...no Emy I PROMISE overalls are totally still in! Everyone will be totally jealous of your awesome skort! Shoulder pads are ALL anyone is wearing nowadays. Lies. All lies.

Kids without having kids. I love my little nieces and nephews SO much...and the fact that I get them without having to go through that whole childbirth thing makes them that much better. I can play with them all I want, but when I'm tired I just pass them back to the parents and go and take a nap.

Trial and error. Without the trial part. I never had to bleach my hair, dye my bangs with Kool-Aid, or come off a plane wearing a sombrero to know it would be a mistake. I watched and I learned.

There is always someone you can talk to...no matter the life situation I can pretty much guarantee one of my family members has already been through a similar situation.

Big enough team for family feud! Who wants that random second cousin on your team??

Protective older brothers. I know if I ever need to have someone beat up I have 4 older brothers that would help me out. 

Always someone else to blame.
Midge: Who moved my stuff??!! Me: Midge you know I respect your belongings...but you know Rich was over earlier and I saw him just throwing all your things on the ground. When I pleaded with him to respect you he started spitting on your backpack...so I thought it best to just let it go.
Mel: Get OFF MY DOOR. Me: I didn't touch your door...Matt however was just boasting about how he could do anything he wanted and you couldn't touch him...so he sounds like a prime suspect!
Dad: who finished my cookies!? Me: Oh...jeez dad I'm pretty sure when I pulled up I saw Ana running out of the house waving Oreos in the air and screaming, "Danny I got them!" So...one can only assume...
Mom: Wow! Who cleaned out the dishwasher!? Me: It was Ana! Wait...

This brings up an excellent point...being at the end of a big family also has the benefit that your parents brains are basically mush by the time they get to you. So dad would totally believe that crazy story. You're probably thinking...Em you realize Dad reads your blog right? The answer is yes. But you weren't paying attention...remember my parents are old now. He might be mad now but he'll forget all of this by the time I come home.

Just kidding pops! Everyone knows you're still sharp as a tack! I mean look at you in your uniform. Still killing it.

Their friends. Older brothers meant older brother friends hung out at our house which meant plenty of boys to crush on. Unfortunately, I found the transition from best friends little sister to potential future wife is harder than one would think.  

In-laws. My family is constantly growing and changing. I love seeing the size of our family table(s) grow and grow as my siblings marry wonderful people. They also occasionally give you a chance to go to Mexico in December.

You get text messages like this:

That pose though. On fleek.

Never feel like a failure. Sometimes life is hard. Sometimes you fall down and it seems impossible to pick yourself up. Sometimes you're planning to move to another state where you don't have a job or a living situation and you're afraid that you will end up living on the streets. But no matter how alone or scared you may feel you know for sure that at least 9 people love you. And sometimes that's all you need. (Plus at least one of those 9 people has offered us a spot in her backyard to campout if all else fails #blessed)

My favorite family picture to date.

All I Want for Christmas Is YOU!!

Ahhh....Christmas time. It truly is a magical time of year...more magical for some than others. I've always considered myself  as someone with a lot of Christmas cheer. A Christmas Elf if you will. I LOVE the music, the decorations, the tree, cookies, movies....anything Christmas I LOVE it. LOVE. But this Christmas was a little different compared to Christmases past. As Mom put it we "simplified" Christmas this year. We didn't have a tree, we simplified gift giving, and no family came into town. (I mean...just the Messerlys in Utah is still a fairly impressive group...but still!)  So without Christmas tree shopping  or much gift buying Christmas kind of arrived without me even noticing. (The lack of Christmas decorations in my apartment might have also played a part) But you know what? It still came and it was still wonderful #thegrinchwasright. There were a few things I missed, but there were a lot of things to love about this "simplified" Christmas. 

We got to see Mom and Dad go to bed on Christmas Eve night BEFORE 10:30...it was a miracle! Mom actually got to sit down and play Things with Britt, Matt, Danny, Ana and I on Christmas Eve (props to Matt for throwing us off my putting "wedding anniversary" for things you always forget). In years prior she was always WAY too busy to play any games that night. But I think my favorite part of Christmas this year was listening to the stories of Wally and the Little Cripple Boy. The Spirit of CHRISTmas was very present as Dad spoke about the lessons from these stories. It reaffirmed what I was already learning...the spirit of Christmas doesn't come from the decorations or presents, but from our small acts of kindness.

So this is how Christmas looked this year...

I made sugar cookies for the fam...everyone was very confused. Wait...aren't these for caroling?
Also...yes that is the Justin Bieber christmas album playing...#dealwithit  

There was plenty of cousin cuteness. (Okay, yes I took a picture during prayer...but it was too CUTE!)

Even Midge got in on the nephew love...look they're TOUCHING

Mckay doesn't seem to realize how big of a deal this is...

LOVE this one. Mom is so cute.

Matt got a little to into the "asleep...asleep" portion of Away in a Manger

Somehow while the nativity pieces were being passed out Danny ended up with Mary AND the little shepherd girl...
That wrong was quickly righted.

Midge was a little less than enthusiastic to wake up in the morning...this was my solution. 

Dad passing out the presents. See? Some things didn't change

Also...notice the tiny branch of a pine tree hanging from a string? That was our pseudo Christmas tree. #thisishowwedo

Rich and Erica wrapped Britt's gift in what we are now calling the "glittery wrapping paper of death"

You touch the gift? You get glittered. 

We used a box to protect Midge from the ridiculous amounts of glitter. 

I love capturing Dane's smile as he opens his presents

Utah hasn't seen hardly any snow this year...so when everyone woke up Christmas morning to 4 inches of snow it kind of felt like a Christmas miracle. Of course that meant that Midge and I had to go take some selfies in it. #nomakeup #naturalbeauties #youresovain

Love. This. Girl.

 In summary...I love my family. Missed you Mel, Kip, Brady, Ty, Loren, Mitch, Luke and Elise! 

Oh, and Midge and I (with some assistance from Coco) found the most entertaining app EVER.

Cause All of Me Loves All of You

In celebration of the Midget turning 20??!!!? (that blows my mind...I thought she was supposed to be 16 the rest of her life)  I have created a special blog dedicated to her. My Little Sister. My Midge. My Boo. This will look similar to past blogs that contained text conversations between Midge and I, but on this post I wanted to list all the reasons that everyone needs the equivalent of a "Midge" in their life. My relationship with Midge is very important to me and I firmly believe everyone needs a person that they have this type of relationship with in their lives. Now Britt is one in a million so while it's VERY unlikely you will every find someone that meets all these criteria...I'm sure you can find...someone. ;)

So without further adieu...

Why everyone needs a Midge in their life....

1. Because of her no nonsense policy when it comes to school work and her competitive GPA.



2. Because the Midge policy is freak-out now...ask questions later.

3. Because we all need that someone who tells us like it is, and brings us back to reality. If you ever needed an intervention...Midge would host it.

4. Because you know she loves you more than all her friends. Even if you wouldn't assume that from her social media. 

5. Because she holds herself to a high-standard.

6. Because I can pretty much do anything I want and I know she won't be mad at me....for too long.

7. Because she says things like, "Brazil basically just rolled over and* died". I guess this could read because she makes you laugh. Those two options are pretty interchangeable.

8. Because my amazingly smart, hilarious, hot, little sister...envies me. It's good to feel envied. (insert evil purple face emoji...man I'm really lost without my emojis right now...I've already wanted to put in like 10!)

9. Because she understands the enjoyment found in tormenting Dad. And looks good doing it.



(Also because she asks me things like that question (insert upward pointing finger emoji...gosh dangit!))

10. Because she considers music to be...well...her life.

11. Because she makes you put things in perspective. 

12. Because everyone needs that person they can text 20 times and even when they don't respond you just keep texting them. 

13. Because whenever you're upset with her...you're not really THAT upset with her.

14. Because she tells you the truth...even when it is totally unnecessary and kinda hurtful. (okay maybe this one isn't a SUPER good thing)

15. Because she is kind enough to leave her Avatar DVDs at the parents house when she goes to college...

(After texting me Emiline she texted mom to warn her not to tell me where the DVDs were...just a little too slow)

16. Because if you mimic everything she says you are guaranteed to be IN with the cool kids.

17. Because she understands when you get jealous.

18. Because she has like 10 times the experience you have dealing with boys...and she imparts her wisdom upon you.

19. Because she is all about world peace.

20. Because she sends you pictures like this. (That's Howard saving Mufasa from dying, Professor X from getting paralyzed, and the Titanic from sinking)  

21. Because she knows that in a competition between Hispanics and white people...HISPANICS ALWAYS WIN!! (I mean in who we are going to root for...no need to remind me of that horrid final game of the world cup.) 



22. Because she respects your point of view even when it differs from hers.

 

23. Because she is so chill.

24. Because we see things the same. (see my blog on the Olympics and what I wrote about the Bode Miller interview)

Well I hope this has opened up your eyes to realize how lucky all of you are to actually have Midge in your lives...and Midge...I seriously love you sooooo much!! You are my sidekick for life! But like a sidekick where like both of them are equally important and cool. We are like the Totally Spies...just missing one spy. I call being Sam. You can be Clover cause let's be honest Alex was the lamest one. Or we could be Professor X and Magneto. I would be Professor X of course. What about Batman and his butler? They are basically equal in coolness. #thatbritishaccenttho Wait. Nope. I've got it. Lorelei and Rori. Done. You know I'm Lorelei. 

LOVE YOU MIDGE!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONTH!! #thereisnosuchthingasabirthdaymonth