8-19-07

Bradley:

Hey sweety pie! How is the love of my life? I have to say that I have really LOVED talking to you on the phone these past couple of days. I think I would have gone crazy wondering how you were doing and not being able to send you letters. I can't wait until you have a return address so that I can mail you all of these letters that I am writing. Now I know that I have told you some of the things in my letters on the phone, but I can't remember exactly what we've talked about so if you get some repeats, sorry...

The first thing I have is a request...I would really like it if you could include thoughts from you about what you have been reading about and studying in the Book of Mormon and if you've learned anything new. I've always loved and really appreciated your insight into the scriptures and this gospel, so I would just really like that. By the way I really liked talking to you this morning while you were waiting to go to church even though it was 6:30 am and you did wake me up. I hope you know that you can call me any time of night, I'm used to waking up at all hours:) Anyway, I'm really glad that you got to go to church and I hope you enjoyed it. Were there a lot of guys going to church? A lot going to our church? Did you go to all 3 hours or just sacrament meeting? Did it feel weird being in your uniform instead of normal church clothes?

Today I set up a Skype account so that I could talk with your family over Skype and using the web cam so that they could see Jane and Maren. It was a lot of fun and they loved it! If you ever have any chances to get on the internet while you are out there, we should talk on Skype because even if you don't have a web cam I can still turn mine on so that you can see the girls, but they wouldn't be able to see you unless you had a web cam. I think that you would love it. You probably won't be able to use computers during boot camp, but maybe during AIT. Just let me know...

The girls are doing oh so great, of course. Sundays are always hard for Jane because she has to drag herself through church and then her first nap is late so she usually doesn't get a second nap so by the time 7 pm rolls around she's cranky and exhausted. But she's still so adorable and happy. I just went and checked on her in her play pen and she is VERY asleep. She looks like such an angel when she's sleeping! Like I told you on the phone she has started saying Daddy instead of Dada, which I love. Also, she has started climbing into your lap if you are sitting next to her and she wants more attention. She often does it on her little reading couch. She'll hand you a book and then climb in your lap and you can tell she just really wants you to read it to her. She's been throwing a lot of her little fits. It mostly consists of flopping down on her stomach and face in the carpet and whimpering. I'll take that over screaming and hitting fits, which seems to be the kind of fits that a lot of kids throw... Maren is as cute as ever, I think I got her first laugh out of her on Friday, but who can tell for sure. I haven't been able to get her to do it again so maybe it wasn't a laugh, but I like to think that it was. Other than that, she is still sleeping through the night pretty well, but she still wakes up a couple of times through out the night and I end up just having to put her binky back in and reswaddle her and then she goes back to sleep. She is such a love!

Last night we had the missionaries over for dinner. It reminded me of when I lived at home with my parents and you were on your mission because I always loved having the missionaries over because it would help me imagine what your life might be like and what you might be doing. So being here with you gone again and writing you letters is giving me major de javu of that whole experience when you were a missionary. It's fun being in an area with so many military men. Today I saw an old friend from high school at church that I haven't seen for awhile. She is back here now living with her parents while her husband, who is in the navy, is getting deployed. He doesn't know exactly when he is leaving yet, but they've told him sometime in between November and January. They are having their first baby in October so luckily he'll be around for the baby no matter what. I like talking to other people about their experiences, because it helps me get some perspective on what our future might be like. It's funny because when I tell people that I'm living here with my parents while you are in boot camp they almost all ask me if you are at Camp Pendelton. I think it's funny because the odds of you joining that right branch of the military and then being sent to the right base right by where my parents are would be way too coincidental, it seems very unlikely that would happen, but they don't think about that before they ask.

I love you so much honey, there just really are no words. I'm cooking up some fun surprises for you, just so you know. It's easier to tell you that when we're not physically together because then you can't tickle me until I tell you. You'll just have to wonder what they might be, because even if you ask me in your letters I'm not going to tell you. Even though I have a hard time saying no to you in person, it won't be hard to resist your requests in your letters for spoiling the surprises. So, let it be a comfort to you if you are laying there at night feeling sad. Just think to yourself "I've got some great things coming my way, Jessie's working on surprises for me for when I get home."

Love-Jess
9526

P.S. I don't think you gave your deferment form to Adam and Lara because they can't find it, not even downstairs. Do you remember where you left it? I'll probably ask you about it on the phone if you get a chance to call me again.