Caden {12.29.14}

Well it came and went... but please keeps the spirit of Christ in your hearts. Nothing is more powerful! Thanks to everyone that sent the love and Christmas wishes. I am working on writing you back but it is a process! It was an awesome week and I love you all! This Thursday Elder Porter will be leaving and I will be getting elder Tervort or something like that.

He served in the MTC with my sweet child Elder Nelson so it should be pretty cool! I am super excited. so me and Elder Reynolds are droppin our comps early  new year’s morning and me and him are going to get breakfast with the Westerfield's! The same awesome people that spent Christmas with us! Love you all. And have a good week!:)

Christmas Round 2 ♡

Our last Christmas that he will be on his mission is over!! I can't wait for next Christmas to be here. ♥

This was our last Skype before he comes home because I'll still be in China for his next call. His family invited me over again and this time I got to talk to him alone for like ten minutes and I am so grateful for that! We talked just like as if he were here, I loved it! I sure freakin love him.

I was way too caught up in the fact that he was real that I forgot to take pictures, BUT I did steal one from his brother. ↓↓↓↓

Caden {12.22.14}

Well I don't really know what to say.... I hope everyone has some awesome holidays and remembers the reason for this season. He is the gift and I hope you all take the time to share it! So excited to call home on Thursday. It is going to be an awesome week and president is letting us watch frozen on Christmas so now I won’t be bitter. I will just let it go. See what I did there! Love you all! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Caden {12.15.14}

Well. Christmas is coming fast and i am pretty excited. Nothing too new going on here. Just the same old. Melissa was supposed to come to church yesterday and then bailed last minute. It is upsetting but i understand. People around here grew up knowing one thing.... Love God and Mormons are nuts... so i know that it can be difficult but i am really praying for next week. I really hope everyone has got on Christmas.mormon.org to check out that video! He really is the gift and that is what this season should be about! Love you all so much! Have a good week! We skinned a beaver for Elder Reynolds! It is a pretty sweet deal! And we are decorated for Christmas and yup!

#Nanjing2k15

I am super excited to announce that in just 30 days I will be on a flight to Nanjing, China!! (:

My whole life I have wanted to travel and do something fun and crazy like this. This opportunity kinda just popped into my life last Spring and I knew it was what I wanted and needed to do.

It's been a long process getting to this point. Once I applied I had to be interviewed and then wait what seemed like years. Eventually I got accepted and then assigned to my school in Nanjing. Tons of documents, appointments, and waiting later-- here I am.

& Let me tell you, I am STOKED.

The program I am traveling with is called International Language Program or ILP. To learn more about them or how you can get involved visit www.ilp.org and prepare to be hooked!

Basically, I am going to China to teach some cute little kids English! Along with some other young people, we will be these kid's teachers and spend 6 months learning all about them and their culture! Meanwhile, getting to explore and travel all around China and see things I never thought I'd see and doing things I never thought I could.

Cheers to China, because I'm so freakin excited. ♥♥♥

Caden {12.8.14}

Okay... for this month I want to challenge all of you to go watch "he is the gift" on YouTube. Even if you saw it already. This is a big deal and follow its council. Truly take time to discover Christ and embrace him in your life. Once that is done stop being selfish and share it with all those around you! There is only one way to have ETERNAL happiness and it is through him! Love you all so much. Thanks for all that you do. Oh ya... that is me and RC elders cuddling! It was cold. Don’t judge;)

{12 Months}

So since I'll be across the globe for the better part of next year, this month's postcard will be the last of our "favorite places."

This month's postcard takes place at the Salt Lake Temple. This is the ultimate finish line, so of course it had to end here. (; Mainly it represents downtown Salt Lake City as a whole. We spent so much time here. Whether we were at different concerts, ice skating, dancing on the side of the street, listening to street musicians, dropping into random Jamaican stores, seeing the lights, taking a carriage ride, or just randomly strolling down the streets, we LOVE downtown. So, what better place to celebrate this huge landmark. (:

Happy 12 months babe, I love you so much.

{ONE YEAR}

Ooohh baby, we're halfway there!!

To say I'm excited about this is a definite understatement. 

Today, I've waited for you for 365 days. This journey that we've been put on wasn't something I asked for; or even something I wanted to do. But this past year, I realized it was what I needed. What we needed. 

This year I have finally come to understand "if you love someone, let them go." Before you left, I had no idea what the heck that meant. However, since you've been gone, I know. I loved you before you left. I was in love with you and I knew you were it for me. Then you had to leave and I thought that was the end of the world. Through many sleepless nights, some I never want to repeat, and others where everything felt perfect, I fell in love with you all over again.

You see, when you "lose" something that you love and care about so much, you start to realize why. You realize all of the little things that you thought you noticed before. You find pages and pages of sloppy handwriting reasons why that person was the best thing that even happened to you. 

A year ago, I loved you. & Today, I feel the same. Except maybe x1000 or so. I can't believe we've made it this far, but at the same time I know I couldn't have not made it either. But we've done this. We've continued our individual lives, changed, and grown together in so many ways. I'm happy that we only have 365 more days, but you know I'd wait for you for the rest of my life. 

I love you, Elder Madsen. Thank you for allowing me to take part on this journey of yours and watch you become the man I've always known you were. You have impressed me and inspired me every single day and I know the people you come in contact with feel the very same way. You truly are changing lives out there and I wouldn't want you to be anywhere else. I love you, Caden. Happy Hump Day. (;

Caden {12.1.14}

So here we are about to that year mark! That is crazy!! But it is going really well. Please everyone check out the He is the Gift video on Christmas.mormon.org. It is a great way to kick of the Christmas season! This week has been pretty awesome! Have not done too much crazy! Got two dinners on turkey day and the first one was no turkey at all. We had smoked ham and brisket and ahhhhhh it was nice! We also got deer on Saturday night so that was sweet! We also went to some dudes house that had deer all over his wall! Pretty sweet! He hunted with Sam Walton’s son in law! Oh ya! And I took a breathing treatment through a penguin! How sick is that?!