Oh well hello ONE YEAR MARK, you came a lot faster than I expected.

        I think the title says it all! Elder Avellar hit his one year mark this last week, on the 24th of March and I just cannot believe it. I literally have been in shock! Haha. He told us a few months ago that he would be taking the later transfer home so he won't be home until May 7th (which peeves me that I have to wait another 6 weeks on top of the 24 months I've been waiting.. But that should make it easy right?) so I had mixed feelings about whether or not I should celebrate his one year. I decided against it but I definitely acknowledged it! I'm making him a CD with just me talking on it, sortof like a tape recorder but I don't have the money to buy two of them so I'll just make him a CD for his CD player and he can listen to it :) haha. Hopefully that'll be done by his REAL 1 year mark in May and then I can send him a 'One Year' package. He is changing so much, I love it.. He's growing and I'm growing and I just love the progress that we both are making. His letters are so encouraging because I know that when he comes home, we are going to be so much better, so much different than we were before. I could have married him before he left, I really could have. But I'm so, so glad that he decided to serve. It has made such a difference in the both of us and I would not have changed anything about this last year if I had the chance.

Celebrating the MP's wife's bday (Austin's 1 year mark too) at the HR Cafe in Malaga

          I haven't introduced us yet on this blog so I guess I should do that huh? Well, my name is Linsey Huffman, I'm from northern California in a little place called Lodi, it's about 40 minutes south of the capital city of Sacramento. I'm here at BYUI doing my foundations but I'm wanting to do the nursing program so I'm doing prereqs for that too. This winter 2011 semester is my first semester here but I'm a sophomore. I took a year of classes at a community college back home before I came here.

          My sophomore year in high school, Elder Austin Avellar moved from Sacramento to Lodi to finish out his senior year. He grew up in Lodi (where I'm from) but moved back and forth between his divorced parents houses but has since lived with his mom after his senior year. At the time of our meeting I was immediately attracted to him but I was dating another guy, bad bad bad story. That guy was not a very good guy, not a member, no job, didn't graduate,  definitely not someone you want to spend your life with, not sure what I was thinking. Anyways, my junior year I ended it with that guy and Austin and I became really good friends. I was sortof lost and not sure of my place in the church at that time.. Austin brought me back to the light and helped me to realize the importance of a real relationship with the Father. Immediately after I dumped my ex, I remember saying to my friend that I was going to marry Austin. I hadn't even dated him at that point but I just knew that we would be together!

          Two months later, (this was December 2008, my senior year) we started dating. About a month into our dating, I remember us just sitting in my car at a lake in my hometown, it was dark but we were just talking about whatever as on our minds. I remember just looking over at him on the other side of the car and my heart was just impressed with 'He's the one.' Three months after that we knew we wanted to be married..
          The impression I received about Austin in the car that night is spoken of in my patriarchal blessing and I know that the Lord was telling me who my companion was, in that moment. We pretended we were engaged everywhere we went, we went to jewelry stores and tried on rings just for fun. We bought matching wedding bands that have a quote on them that says, "To thine own self be true," it's a Shakespeare quote. Neither of us are into Shakespeare but it's a good message nonetheless -- he had the inside of mine engraved with "Give me two years.." -- symbolizing my wait for him during his mission. We dated for a 15 months before he left on his mission in March 2010 for the Spain Malaga Mission.

          I am waiting for him loyally and am not dating.. Not just because I love him and I know I want to marry him, but because it just doesn't feel right. The Lord has told me that he is the one and I don't see why I should submit myself to dates with other guys when both of us would be miserable during the date.. Austin is so good to me and I am so grateful for all that he is. He is such a great example to me and I love him with all my heart. I can't wait to marry him. :) Well, that's our story! I left out a wholeeee lot of details but for the most part that's us! haha.