Goodbye, Old Friend!

Yep, I'm abandoning this here blog.

New name, new husband, new home, new everything! So I guess I gotta have a new blog too.. :P

Here it is! Follow us if you feel the desire!

jessandbenstratford.blogspot.com

Love you all!

One.

Here's how today went:

I woke up, got ready for school, and was about five minutes late to Humanities. When I sat down, Lindsey informed me that the professor had canceled the paper we were supposed to write for next week. Not postponed, canceled. As in I don't have to write it. At ALL! :D This was only the beginning of such a great day!

Psychology was awesome, as usual. We talked about memory and how to study. I love that there's four music majors in that class, so he picks us out of the crowd and compares music to psychology. It makes all the interesting stuff we learn in that class lots more interesting!

Music Theory was wonderful, as always. It was another one of those "this is why I'm a music major" classes. I love days like that.

Band was superb. Dr. Roberts was commissioned to write a piece for the centennial celebration of DSC, and he wrote the piece for the band. And we played it for the first time today. And I LOVE it!! I can't wait to get it all polished up and play it for the whole world!

And after band, I walk out the door of the Eccles with Ben, and the sun is so warm and lovely and amazing! It was just the crowning touch to a perfect morning. Ben and I started singing... "I've got sunshi-i-ine on a cloudy day.. When it's cold outside, I've got the month of May.." and then, because the word "May" was mentioned, we talked about the wedding a bit. And how close it's getting! :D And I told him what Danielle had told me just an hour earlier, that the appointment is set for us to get engagements taken! :D :D Once that's done, we can do the announcements! Ahh! Things are getting crossed of the list, and it feels so good!

And then I went to work. I was all by myself again, so I got to play my music loud and I sung to my heart's content. Until.. my side started hurting around 2pm. It was really weird. And it wouldn't go away. It kept hurting the rest of the day. It still hurts right now, but not quite as bad as before. But I wasn't gonna let a little side-ache stop me from having a wonderful day.

So.. at the basketball game, I cheered my heart out, as usual. Derek Brazeau came and played with us tonight. He is hilarious! And he's a member of the special ed section with me in Music Theory. :P Standing in between him and Ben the whole night was a blast! I laughed so hard I thought I was going to pee!

Oh! And right before the game, Josh texted me and told me to check my email, ASAP. As soon as we got everything set up for the game, I used Ben's iPod to check it. He had sent me an mp3 of the song that I want to use for the Mother-Son dance at the wedding reception. Why is this so wonderful? Because I couldn't find the song anywhere. It wasn't on iTunes, it wasn't on Amazon, nowhere. I almost cried when I saw the attachment. [:

And one more thing.. during half time of the game, Ben said to me, "It's a good thing you're walking at graduation." When I asked why, he told me two reasons. First, they're going to do the whole, "everyone sits in the gym and listens to speakers and stuff" and then the students are going to split up into their individual colleges and walk only with the other students in their discipline. So instead of having to sit in the Burns area forever, graduation will be simple and sweet, and I get to graduate with only the Fine Arts students. :D Second, there is going to be a speaker there that is incredible. I'm not going to say names, because I'm not entirely sure if it's set completely in stone, but let's just say you do NOT want to miss these commencement exercises. It's going to be INCREDIBLE.

And now I'm home, about to go shower, get ready for bed, read my temple book, and go to sleep. Today has been absolutely wonderful! :D

All Is Well [:

Okay, so life got crazy. There was a mile-long checklist that just seemed to get longer everyday. There was miscommunication among family members that caused tension. There were thousands of decisions to be made. (And you all know me.. I'm bad at making decisions) There were piles of homework and housework that loomed larger everyday. There was a point that I felt I wasn't going to make it. I wanted to skip everything about the wedding except the only thing that really matters. Being sealed in the temple. I even asked Ben if we could elope and just get married in a temple somewhere and forget about the reception and the pictures and the luncheon and the flowers and all the million other aspects of a wedding. But I was given some simple and very wise advice. "Take things one day at a time." I took this advice to heart. I wrote it on sticky notes and stuck them to the tv screen on my dresser (the tv doesn't get used anyway). So now I see that message every morning and almost every time I walk into my room. And it's helped. A lot actually. There's still a mile-long list (although we have gotten a lot done this past week), and there is still stress in my life. But it's not as bad. And I've come to realize, that no matter how bad it gets, I have a few things that can help me refocus, regain composure, and remind me that everything will be okay. Those few things are these:

1. My Heavenly Father. I can turn to him in many ways. Whether it be through scripture study, quiet thought, or pleading prayer, I can seek him out and have the Spirit with me always. I can pray for comfort and for peace anytime I need to. I can have light and the knowledge that things will work out in the end, if I only ask. [:

2. My Best Friend. Ben has been an incredible help to me. When I'm falling apart he's the glue that holds me together. When I forget to turn to the Lord, he reminds me that I always have my Father to go to for help. Ben seems to always know exactly what to do and what to say to bring a smile back to my face. Whether it be an extra long hug, a brush of my cheek, letting me soak his shoulder with tears, or a funny little remark.. he lifts my soul from the bottom of despair to the highest heights. I'm so grateful for him and for the wonderful person and friend he is to me.

3. My Music. Music calms my nerves, it lifts my spirits, and makes me dance while I clean my room. It generally just makes me happy [:

4. Exercise. It's a great stress relief, and I'm just learning the extent to which it can help me feel better, even if I can't get out of bed the next morning from soreness :P

I know that things will be alright, that I'll make it to May 21st alive, well, and happy! All I have to do is take it one day at a time. [:

Perfect? I Think So.

Life's not super crazy.. yet. But it's getting there. I think once this week is over everything is going to actually start happening, and I'll actually have to start getting stuff done. Which is super awesome, and super terrifying.

I'm so excited to get going on planning everything that has to do with a wedding, and to start having everything fall into place (crosses fingers), but I'm also terrified every time I look at the mile-long list of things that need to be decided and done by the time the big day comes. And if you know me, you'll already know that I'm horribly indecisive. Maybe all this decision making I'm doing lately will help make that indecisiveness go away.. Haha, who am I kidding, right?

I'm going up north this weekend with my soon to be in-laws. While we're in Salt Lake, we're going to go to Salt Lake's Premier Wedding Show at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building & Lion House. I was looking at the pictures from last year.. and let's just say I'm can't wait to go!! I'm so excited to go and get more ideas of how to do everything, but.. I think I'm mostly excited about the fact that we get to test-taste a lot of "wedding food" aka desserts and yummy hors d'oeuvres. :D

Today, I went and looked at a yard that might be a possible venue for the reception. And it was, no joke, perfect. Absolutely gorgeous. Majestic staircase, huge lawn, dance floor, gazebo, and pond.. complete with swans. I was practically drooling. I really REALLY hope it works out so that we can have our reception there. [:

So.. Many.. Rings!

I feel like everyone in the world is giving & receiving rings!
Here are just a few people that have gotten engaged in the past week or two..

Ben & Me
Natalie & Sam
Brandon & Britt
Lyndee & Russ
Jacki & Kade
Lacey & Tony
Mindy & Rudy
Amanda & Matt
Lachelle & Kevin
Joe & Delcie

aaanndd..
Ashley and Hayden got married a couple weeks ago,
And SaDee and BJ are going to have a baby!

Things are about to get super crazy.. haha.

Engagements & Things

(I wrote this Friday, December 24.. the night after Ben proposed)
Well, it's official boys and girls.. I'm getting MARRIED!! To the most wonderful man I've ever known (besides my dad). Last night was incredible. Ben and I went and did baptisms for the dead at the temple, and afterward we walked around the grounds for a little bit before sitting on the front steps. We started talking about the day last year when we sat in the exact same spot. Ben was waiting for his family to get to the temple so they could go do sealings for the dead, and I was just hanging out on the grounds because Danielle was at a doctor appointment at the hospital across the street. Ben texted me and amidst the small talk he told me where he was, and then I told him I was there too! So I went and found him, and we sat on those steps and talked until Danielle was done with her appointment. After we talked about that day, Ben started listing all the reasons why he loves me. He said some of the sweetest things I'd ever had anyone say to me. I told him that he was making me cry, and then he said, "Well, I'm going to make you cry some more." And then he got down on his knees in front of me and pulled a little box out of his pocket. I started going into hysterics. He opened the box and asked the question, to which I of course said "yes!" And yes, I did cry. A lot. I can't think of any better time or place to get THE ring. Both of us still overflowing with the spirit from doing baptisms, and on the steps of one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Ben is going to be mine, for time and all eternity. And I'm so happy! When we pulled up to my apartment, Danielle called me. They were at Chili's and had locked the keys in the Yukon. I just happened to have a spare to the car, so it was Jessica to the rescue! I didn't want to leave Ben, but he needed to go home and get to bed because he's sick. So I grabbed the spare from my room, and headed over to Chili's. I got there, and my parents and Kyler and Semaya were across the parking lot at a clothes store. I met them halfway across the parking lot and we were just chatting, when someone asked me what I was going to do the rest of the night. I said I was probably going to go home and laugh and cry and scream and jump around. Haha. When I was asked why, I held up my left hand. When Danielle realized what I was showing them, she punched my arm a couple times and kept saying "oh my gosh!" and then she calmed down a little and grabbed my hand and told me that the ring was so pretty. I got lots of hugs and congratulations. [: If it's that way with my parents, I can only imagine how much attention I'll be getting the next few weeks. Haha. It seems like everyone in the whole world is getting engaged. Natalie got engaged yesterday too! And so did my friend Jacki Kimball. The funny thing, is that a couple of weeks ago Natalie and I were talking about how cool it would be if we both got engaged on the same day... and it totally happened! She texted me mid-morning yesterday telling me she got her ring! There are going to be SO MANY weddings this spring. Ben's brother Brandon is getting married in June, Natalie is getting married late May or early June, and I'm getting married May 21. It's so insane! But so super cool! My mom doesn't know yet.. I'm going up there tonight to surprise her for Christmas and to tell her and the kids about my ring.. :D And Ben and I aren't going to say anything to his family.. we're gonna see how long it takes them to figure it out :P And then, once everyone in our close family knows, we'll go public and put it on Facebook and all that jazz. This is crazy. I'm getting MARRIED!! I've always dreamed about it, but I can't believe it's happening! It's a whole different ball game now.. [:

It's December,

and I just found a ladybug. Outside. Alive. [: