Lisa

Dear friends! Hey yall! First of all, can I just say that I love this? What an amazing group we had- what an absolutely incredible experience.

Well... So much has happened in the last three years. (broken record?) I left for my mission to Budapest, Hungary in the middle of March 2004. Remember how people would ask you how your study abroad was when you got home, and you just kind of gushed about the "unbelieveable" this, the "amazing" that, but you never could really do it justice...? Well, imagine that same intensity and that's basically how I feel about that year and a half in Hungary. Beautiful cities, countryside, and people. We just got our first stake a few months ago, and the work is just booming (ha-relatively speaking...).

But, I've been home for almost a year now (which is pretty unbelieveable in itself), and I started back up at the Y this past January. I'm still an English major, still an editing minor, still
hoarding around that Texas Embassy shirt, and definitely still suffering at the sight of a ferrero-rocher (thank you, Caroline). Over the summer I went to school, took scuba classes, went to Alexis's amazingly beautiful wedding, and met a very nice boy of my own (we call him Dan). I just got a job interning with MyFamily.com, working on the editorial staff for their Ancestry magazine. I also started as the head editor for Tabulae- the humanities student journal that will actually be publishing the work of our very own Ryan (congratulations, Ryan!).

Best news for last, I was just offered a job to go back to Hungary and hold mini-training conferences for this company that has started outsourcing to Budapest. I'll just go for a week at a time, and at first it'll only be once every few months, but I start in November. Can you believe it?! (I just found out two days ago, so I'm still kinda giddy by it all). I just feel so blessed I don't even know what to do with myself. Except to give lots and lots of thanks and to work really really hard. ha.

I really do miss yall- it's so so good to hear about your lives. You're all having such crazy adventures and doing so many great things- who would've guessed where we'd be today? (except for the whole Erin and Rob getting married thing... we ALL saw that one coming... :) To all you Provo-ians... let's get together!! I've run into several of you and said the same thing, but... really now. Let's do it. And to those of you who included pictures... I have to say, you really are just getting more and more good-looking. (bunkie- Izzy is gorgeous). Great to hear from you all- hope to hear even more soon!
lots of love,
Lisa