9 days

With only 9 days to go, today was the equivalent to mixing up a nice, hot batch of scrambled eggs, only to realize my brain got in the pan somehow. I'm fried. But much was accomplished! Russell got fitted for a tux. I tried on several veils and have a better idea of how I want mine. I talked to my photographer, Apryl. I scanned in my sketch of a wedding cake idea and sent it to my baker (so excited!) I started a spreadsheet to keep track of the gifts that are already coming in the mail. I also lost my cell phone and keys. Oh dear. Anyway, this can't be a long post because of the whole fried-brain thing, so I'm going to end it with a laugh.

I may have been guilty of this. Once or twice.

17 days and distracted

I give in! I'll write another post. I've been battling this incessant desire to write for awhile now, mainly because I know it is just a distraction. I have several final projects due within the next seventeen hours, but instead of finishing them, I've been concentrating on the next seventeen days. That's all that's left! Seventeen days til I go into the temple having my one family, and seventeen days and half an hour later til I come out with my family, yes, but a whole extra one, too! I guess it could be said that I'm taking the Provo Temple president's advice when one busy morning in the baptistery, probably a year or so ago, he told me to "contemplate the solemnities of eternity." Compared to eternity, how important are these final projects anyway? Hmmm....? Okay, I know that's ridiculous and I just need to buckle down and write my paper. But for goodness' sake! I'm so excited!!!!! Russell really is the one for me. I was unsure for so long (that's probably why we dated for a year) but now I know it's right. We can and will make it work. Our religion teacher told us something interesting the other week: You don't fall in love accidentally. I'm choosing to marry this man, and you know what, I'm so glad I made the choice! Now for homework again...

That's how we feel about homework. And that's another reason why I know I want to be with him; forever would be too long without a little bit of silly.

Invitation

Mom might kill me for posting this, since it's not the official one, but it's pretty darn close and pretty darn cute!

6 weeks--forever

5 weeks and 6 days from now, I will be married. How in the world we got from 13 weeks to 6 weeks in about two minutes, I do not know. BUT I'm sure glad that we did.
So much has happened in the last couple of weeks. It's partially Grandma's fault. With my mom and genius decorating aunt down here to spend some time with Grandma, and then help with the funeral, we got some work done.
For the week after Grandma passed away, things tended to go like this with them: 1. Work on funeral arrangements until it was too much. 2. Work on wedding arrangements until it was too much (though too much probably applied to me more than them.)

They're amazing. The funeral was beautiful. Our family, already pretty tight-knit, pulled together even more as we remembered the most amazing mother.

I think that Grandma is happy with the wedding. When I asked if I could wear her wedding dress, she said, "I would be honored."

These last couple of weeks have really been a testimony of the Plan of Salvation to me. (a slightly more divine version of "The Circle of Life.") Death has been prominent, but life has been also, in all of its stages. Friday night I spent some time with my very pregnant aunt. Today my soon-to-be niece worked on her stair-climbing skills, shrieking with joy after every slip or step. Brittany got into Weber State and BYUH and is just about decided as to where to go. (I'll let her tell you, though.)I'm getting married. Angie's getting married. Her parents are grandparents. My parents are not. And we're all connected by invisible gold thread, keeping us close even when mortality gets in the way.

This post is beginning to ramble, so I'll just sum it all up with a picture.



This picture was taken almost 53 years ago. Aren't they a beautiful couple? Yes, that's my Grandma and Grandpa Welch.

I'm starting my own branch of the family tree in 6 weeks. I'm going to wear that same dress. How's that for a juicy detail?


P.S. Family=forever.

Names--Grandma

Names are powerful.
Where I come from, natural vegetation is abundant. We've got a million different trees, from A-Y (alder to yellow cedar.)We've got berries galore. There are grasses and bushes and mosses everywhere.
Names are important.
Here's an example with two of the SE plants that I see every summer.
Skunk cabbage.

You know what I'm talking about. Its big, lettuce-like leaves grow in every wet, swampy place in SE (and that just about describes SE, by the way.) It earns its name by smelling skunky. Well, that's what they say. I think it's fine.
If you didn't know this, you'd still guess that it stinks, just because of its name. I mean, it's not at all like the...

Chocolate lily.
Doesn't that just sound delicious? Maybe it could be my wedding flower...
NOT!
Chocolate lilies sound pretty and look pretty, but they definitely don't smell pretty. To quote Wikipedia:
"It is also sometimes known as skunk lily, dirty diaper and outhouse lily because of the flower's horrible smell."

I know this is pretty random, but it makes sense in my head. Let's not talk about flowers. Let's talk about the name
Welch.
Welch girls have a lot to live up to. Kind, smart, a little goofy/funny, quick-witted, graceful, lady-like, and ever-loving. That's what we're going for.
I'm a Welch girl. This name ties me to my mom's side. It's the name I claim with my cousins whenever we're together. Not because it's better than our other names. Just because it ties us to our grandparents.

My grandma, (who wasn't a Welch until she got married) is the best of the Welch girls. Always loving. Always faithful. Always positive. And pretty darn funny, to boot.

She passed away last Thursday. I miss her like crazy.

But I'm also really thankful, because I know there's something binding me to her that's stronger than just our Welch girl status. Sometime down the road into forever, I know I'll see her again.

Some names are eternal. My family's is one of them.

-Erika

And if you'd like to see some beautiful pictures of my Grandma Welch, click on this and this. My cousin Jamie is a long-time blogger and wrote some beautiful things about Grandma.

Direction

Oh, sometimes I really wish I had my ducks all in a row before doing something as un-rowing as getting married. Really, the audacity of me to get engaged when I don't have a major!

I've been stressed over this for awhile: ever since I decided at the start of my 3rd semester that Spanish was not the major for me after all. Now, only half a semester away from my junior year, I still have no idea what I want to do. I want to take more exploratory classes, but chances are that most of them won't get me where I want to go. And doesn't it seem that the 100 level classes are oftentimes either easy (more of a test of attendance) or ridiculously hard (to weed out the weak?)

Here's what I like:
Dance
Children
Food
Writing
Teaching
the Outdoors

So...dance teacher? Nutritionist? Middle school English teacher? Hermit living in the mountains?

I want a sense of direction here!

And soon would be nice, because how can I plan a wedding when I'm thinking about which classes I'll take next semester?

Excuse Story

Hey All!
It feels like it's been awhile, probably more for me than for you. Sorry! I have some awesome stories to tell, but tonight's not the night. Even though I know you're still dying to know the engagement story, see the ring, and read about ALL the wedding plans. And Holy Cow, there are a lot!
Right now, though it's bed time. But wait, it's only just past 10!
Here's the quick story:

I got a job doing this:


So I can get this:

(Quick wedding detail: We're driving through Canada--Alberta and BC--on our honeymoon, which is why I picked a Canadian penny...)


So I feel less of this:


So I don't turn into this:


Anyway, that's why I'm going to go do this now:

Good night!