My Missionary!
Kyleigh is now officially Sister Kyleigh Cooper!
Kyleigh is pictured here with our Stake President and Bishop at her setting apart.
I love this picture.
{Makes my heart smile.}
The setting apart was really a special experience for our family.
Turned into quite the boob fest...as in lots of crying ;)
Yet it left us with a calm, feel-good feeling...
Afterwards, at home, she told me she was at peace and it was time to go!
I say let's get the clock tick'in!
{in our favor, towards Nov 2016!}
Putt'in her pink pin in the world map that hangs in the Stake office.
This pic kills me.
Saying goodbye to grandpa.
My dad is the only living grandpa for 25 of his grandkids!
We gave Ky a little parting gift.
So that the sisters and I have a piece of Ky while she is away....
She'll have a {Murray with a heart} one too! :)
Grandma gave Kyleigh the guest room upstairs to use as her missionary prep room.
This room has had missionary stuff in it for months...
looks a little empty now. :(
This was the night before she left.
Her three best girlfriends came to say goodbye.
They gave her the sweetest gifts and letters with favorite memories etc...
One friend compiled a butterfly box with notes of advice and encouragement, quotes, journal prompts etc. She even contacted some mutual guy friends who are on missions and had them contribute...... tugs at your heart.
Kyleigh's friend Savannah is a nail girl.
She's done Kyleigh's nails on many occasion.
Now that she can't, she's sending her with these bottles of polish.
One of the nail polishes says Nail Savvy,
{that's her nickname}
How cute is that?
THE PACKING!
Oh gosh!
Small pharmacy right here folks.
So they recommend sister missionaries bring
6-8 outfits.
Um....seriously is that all?
How is that possible...if you are in a skirt or dress practically everyday for 548 days?
{I got accused once by the hubs of packing for 40 days and 40 nights as if we were boarding Noah's Ark instead of going to Disneyland for three days.}
So you can imagine what this epic pack job felt like.
All I can say is a girl needs options when it comes to clothes.
We managed to cram twice the 6-8, and then some, and the bag still weighed in right at the 50 lb. max. BAM!
So being the turbo packer that I am...I took pics of some of her clothes and 'outfit options' that she is taking. Just in case when the seasons change, or something gets ruined, and I need to send a skirt, or shirt, or scarf, I know what she has with her and what we are working with. :)
They look much cuter on.
Trust me.
Kyleigh got some really good advice from a blog of a former sister missionary known as "Bella in Berlin".
She wrote what she wish she would have known before she left for her mission...pages worth of spiritual, physical, miscellaneous advice.
Kyleigh read it like the bible.
A good clothing tip she gave was bring scarfs.
"They make you feel not so worthless when you have to repeat outfits over and over and over again."
The first thing on her list was bring a lanyard
{of all things?} to wear at the MTC.
{of all things?} to wear at the MTC.
Apparently you get a little card that you end up having to swipe 200 times a day to get in and out of buildings...so having it just there around your neck makes it convenient.
{my personal favorite}
"If you go abroad....tampons. They just don't understand that in other places. God Bless America."
I swear Kyleigh bought over a years worth one day at Walmart.
Hannah accompanied her and was pretty mortified at check-out. hahaha.
The check out lady must have thought she was bleeding to death.
{this piece of advice made me giggle..and wanna cry too!}
Those first nights at the empty sea (MTC) you will need sleeping pills! Between the mix of girls crying and panic that will keep you up all night. They will save your life! And when you go abroad it helps you adjust quicker.
{We packed both.}
I put together a little book of pictures of Kyleigh's life at home that she can keep in her purse...We've heard from a couple of sources that out in the field everyone and their dog asks to see it.
So when it came crunch time, holy moly... we were shoving things any which way we could to fit everything in her two bags and a carry on!!! A sight to behold.
{I'm telling you, everything but the kitchen sink are in those bags}
Other than her pillow, fluffy housecoat and hangers!
We just could NOT make those fit.
Luckily she doesn't even sleep with a pillow so most likely will never have the need for one. She took her own pillowcase though just in case.
Hopefully the MTC store has hangers or we have a hanger/hanging up clothes situation. haha.
Last pic of her in her room for awhile.
{I haven't had the heart yet to go in and straighten it up.}
One last pic with her car Louie.
She knows that when she gets home it will most likely not be with us any longer.
{That is a sad topic of conversation as Kyleigh has LOVED that car these past 2+ years}
But our Emmsie needs a car. She barely fits in Louie because she's too tall, nor does she know, or want to know, how to drive a stick shift. SO....
This was the car ride down to Provo for her designated check in at 12:30.
Never thought I'd NOT BE EXCITED to drive to Provo ever in my life.
We tried to be as up beat and positive as possible.
Kyleigh ate Oreos. :)
Poor B. thought she was going to throw up!
This whole "curbside drop off" is so interesting.
However, I'm soooo glad they don't do the whole program thing like they used to. Just prolongs the inevitable and makes it too emotional.
Now they have a host greet you.
You get your bags out.
Very quick pictures and hugs and they are whisked away.
Unbeknownst to us.... until the next day...it was a blessing Brie was even able to come with us to the MTC. Her elementary school received a threatening computer generated phone call on Wednesday. The school was immediately put on lockdown. Police called. etc. The hubs went to check her out about 11 that morning. The threat came in that afternoon. Had that call been in the morning.... Brie most likely would not have been released to come with us. CRAZY!!!
I was hardly able to get pictures it all went so fast...
Emmsie somehow captured this one.
The older gentleman working the sidewalk cattle call said to me
"she looks like a great young lady."
I think through my tears I managed "she is".
"We'll take good care of her," he said
And with that she was off.
As we drove away we were able to watch her walk up the long stretch of sidewalk to her new home for the next 9 weeks.
She looked so pleasantly happy.
Meanwhile...it was a little somber in the car.
The hubs kept asking how everyone was doing. haha.
We stopped for lunch at one of our favorite burger joints in Cougar Country. That helped sidetrack the tears. for a time.
A friend, who sent her son off on a mission last year, brought over a big box of Kleenex, bags of chocolate and the sweetest card.
She totally knows what I'm going through.
We have had a great support system through all of this.
Family and friends texting me, calling, stopping by, making sure I'm okay. haha
{It's always hardest on the mama.}
Don't know if I can put into words what this journey up to this point has been like. Very unique experience being a missionary mom.
It's unlike any other experience I've had.
Super hard to see her go, and boy, we are going to miss her like crazy! However, knowing the impact she will have on the lives of the Korean people, makes the sacrifice so worth it.
Her countdown poster came today. I can almost cross off three days down... :)
We heard from Kyleigh's trainer the very next morning. They are staying very busy with classes and learning Korean. Their P-day is not until this Thursday.
So we won't hear from Kyleigh for 8 days.
So...The Same Day Elder/Sister letter service and Same Day MTC delivery we may or may not have already used. lol ;)
She can't be in touch with us, but we can be {and are} with her!
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