The Unfolding of an Engagement in 3 Parts: Part 3

Part 3

On Sunday, January 23, my Great Grandma Dabb, passed away at the age of 94 after a long struggle with failing health. I've missed her birthday cards filled with sticks of gum the last few years. Love you dear Grandma!

But with every passing away, there is a rememberance. Bill and I headed down south on Friday to hear memories of that lovely and inspiring woman at her funeral service. :) It was beautiful and touching to see purple flowers everywhere and to hear one of her great-granddaughters play a song on her own violin. Grandpa Sorenson played a song that he composed himself and it was beautiful as well. I felt nothing but love throughout the course of the service.

Not only did we have my Grandma Dabb's funeral to attend, but this was also the weekend of my mom's best friend's funeral service. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Jan was the one responsible for setting my parents up. Since my mom and Jan were best childhood friends, my mom was asked to speak at Jan's service the next day. Bill and I thus decided we would just spend the weekend at our parents' houses.

Everyone was in town. No pressing plans or places to be. The inspired idea then came up to get mine and Bill's families together for dinner! And both parties agreed. :) Bill called and made a reservation at the Union Grill and all parties involved planned to join up later that evening.

Dinner was great! Valerie was at a birthday party, but otherwise, the whole gang was there! It felt like it went splendidly. Pops got so absorbed in conversation, Bill and I took to watching him pick up some food with his fork, go to place it in his mouth, and put it back onto his plate without ever taking a bite. ;) Despite the not-so-conducive-to-talking-environment of the Union Grill, conversation was had, and our parents were introduced to one another after all this time. And there was much rejoicing throughout all the land! *yay*

The next day we got back into our Sunday best and went to Jan's service at Meyer's Mortuary. Madre did a wonderful job with her tribute, and I was proud. Pops was the officiator of the service and was responsible for announcing the program as well as offering a few words about his cousin at the end. I was proud of him and the things he said too. My parents are wonderful people - let it be known!

We stayed and mingled for a while longer and we got to talking with Grandma Sorenson. She had heard that we had called the Logan temple and set Friday, June 10 for our wedding day. It was then brought to my attention that that was the day of the Dabb family reunion...I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. The only feeling I could feel was one of bitterness. Why wasn't I informed of this? We would be throwing off so many plans by having our wedding day on that day...I seriously wanted to cry right then and there. I was suddenly overwhelmed by wedding things.

As much as I would have liked to have stayed and spent time with family (Aunt Nadine and Elizabeth came in from Nebraska), Bill and I had to be up to Logan so that I could go into work for a bit. It was also my stake conference and I had the adult session to attend to that evening. The car ride home wasn't particularly happy or splendidly pleasant. I just didn't know how to react. Funeral services all weekend...and suddenly there were conflicts with our wedding date.

After spending the entire weekend with Bill, I didn't want to leave him, but I needed to go to work. I asked if he would be willing to go with me to stake conference that evening and he agreed.

I went to work, and the garbages were on the worse side of average. Someone was even kind enough to throw-up in one of the garbage cans for me to take out. Holy Hannah...my day was getting lovelier and lovelier by the minute. I was not pleased.

I came home and got back into my Sunday best for stake conference. Bill had texted me asking if he could stop by earlier than we had originally planned. I told him, "of course," and proceeded to wait for him to show up, still stewing over the little things of the day.

Taylor and Hilary were the only other roommates who were home at the time and they were doing their hair and brushing their teeth and "being busy" when a knock came at the door. ;) I knew it was Bill (and apparently so did my roommates) and ran down the stairs to let him in. When I opened the door, Bill was in his suit kneeling on one knee on my doorstep. I was confused. I noticed he was holding a yellow gerber daisy in his hand and I thought he was just being Bill and brought me a flower to help me feel better! Then I noticed on the center of the gerber daisy sat a ring...wait!...My ring? My ring!

My mind was flitting every which way trying to piece everything together -one of those slow motion moments- when it finally hit that he was proposing to me! "Jessica Amy Sorenson, will you spend the rest of eternity with me?" Asking was only a formality. ;)

"Yes!" And a million times over, "Yes!!!"

He slipped the ring onto my finger and I was giddy as a six-year-old. Forget my seemingly crummy day, this was now one of the best days ever!

Hugging and kissing and skipping and prancing ensued. Happiness. This man...wow...I love him. I love Bill with all my heart!!! I ran up the stairs and showed Taylor and Hilary and bounded down the stairs and hugged and kissed My Bill some more. I couldn't slap the smile off my face!!! And now things were as official as they could possibly get. I could scream the news to the whole world!!!

But we had to go to stake conference first! ;) And now we were late!

So off we went. We all slipped into the back of the gymnasium in the overflow. I don't really remember a word that was said. I was only a bit distracted.

By the end of conference, my neighbor Shannon had noticed my ring and had spread the word. The girls from my ward were so sweet and sincere as they offered congratulations and shared in the excitement with me. :)

"When did this happen?"
"Five minutes before we got here." :)

And I've been positively comfortable with my descision to marry Bill ever since! He's the man I'm going to marry. The one I especially love, and will only come to love more throughout time. :)

     Dear Bill,
           I love you!
                Love, Jess (MWAH)

And thus an engagement came to pass!

The Unfolding of an Engagement in 3 Parts: Part 2

Part 2
We went home that Saturday to go to the Ogden Temple to do baptisms for the dead and visit family. My mom and I were going to go to the Bridal Faire in Ogden (she planned on going to this before Bill had even asked Pops. I think she sensed something was coming...haha). And Bill hung out with his mom for the afternoon.

In the dressing room of the temple, I ran into one of my oldest and dearest of friends! It was Alyssa! We had played together practically every day from the time we were eight years old until we were eleven (And then we both moved). Oh my heart!!! It made me so happy! It had been a year or two since I had last seen her! She asked me if Bill and I were still together and how things were going in that area of my LIFE. It hit me that she was the first friend that I'd get to tell the news to! I thought it was so appropriate. :) The girl I had always grown up making silly movies and playing House and Barbies down in my basement with would get to share a little piece of this excitement with me! It kind of made me tear up after she left the dressing room. How positively neat. It can all relate back to my firm belief in everything happens for a reason. :) (Love you Lyss!)

Afterwards, Bill dropped me off at my parent's house. Dad was there to greet us with a huge smile and seemed to be walking on eggshells - not sure of how much information he could disclose (had Bill told me that he had called and talked with him?) Finally the tension was released when we briefly mentioned, "Hey, we're engaged." :)

Unfortunately, my mom's best friend Jan had passed away either that day, or the day before from gall bladder cancer (Jan is also my dad's cousin and was the gal responsible for setting my parents up in the first place. Thank you Jan! Without you, my parents may have never met, and I certainly would not be here today...and I never would have found my Bill. How differently our lives could have turned out because of the influence of one woman). I made mention to madre that I had run into Alyssa at the temple and got to tell her the great news! That kind of set my mom off into tears as she thought of her best friend growing up. It broke my heart to see my mom crying - it always does - but it was nice to have been around at that time so I could understand what my mom was feeling.

Soon thereafter, madre and I set out for the Union Station with smiles on our faces. Bridal Faires are an intense ordeal. I had barely come to the realization that I was getting married and, unlike most twelve-year-old girls, I had never planned my future wedding. I had no idea what I wanted!

Reception centers? Luncheons? Table decorations? Dresses? Photographers? Cakes? Catering? Flowers? Rings? Hair? Nails? Tanning? Dieting?

Vendors coming at you left and right can be frightening, but I made it through the chaos with the help of my momma and a cup full of Zeppe's Italian ice.

My mom and I went to lunch at The Old Grist Mill and had a little heart-to-heart. To be honest, I was more excited to be engaged now that family knew, BUT I was still scared spitless about this whole thing. Why wasn't any of this sinking in? And why wasn't I giddy like most girls seemed to be? My mom and I talked about when she got engaged to Pops and other things that helped me feel a little more comforted. It was nice to know that I wasn't alone in those particular fears I had. I know it's hard not to have those feelings of doubt, but it all essentially boils down to having faith....and everything else will mix together nicely. ;)

Mom had a Sentsy Party scheduled for that afternoon, so we needed to get back home quick. Family friends walked in, and family in general stopped by. As each of them came through the door, mom was so excited to tell everyone, "It's FINALLY official. Jess and Bill are engaged." :)

That night, Bill and I ran back up to Logan and went ring shopping. Laynette was a mutual friend who worked with us at Housing and had a second job at Fred Meyer Jeweler's. We started there to get a feel for things and start narrowing it all down to what I would like. I had never been ring shopping in my life - no previous engagements, no pseudo engagement-ring-shopping-dates-just-for-fun...here I was staring into backlit glass displays of sparkling rocks, and one would perhaps be mine! This was kind of fun...and disappointing at the same time. Laynette performed her job perfectly and was helpful in giving tips and opinions. There were just so many options. Simple rings, but not like something I could get from Claire's. Ornate, but not gaudy. Classy, but not too expensive. Ugh...I just wasn't feeling it for anything there! We spent an hour and a half searching amongst all the rings, and I was discouraged. Reverting to my "I-Hate-Shopping-Mode."

We went to Morgan Jeweler's after that, hoping for a much better experience. And that it was! We walked in, and within the first five rings I had tried on, I knew exactly what one I wanted. I was in love!

Bill put a down-payment on it. Okay, okay...this was even a bit more real. But it wasn't on my finger! And I wouldn't know when it would be. That element was to remain a surprise.

We went and grabbed Frosties after our cumbersome, but enlightening adventure, and Bill dropped me off at my apartment. All my roommates were just getting in from an Aggie basketball game and there was much excitement in the air! I had all the stuff from the Bridal Faire in my arms and then Tay asked me how my day was. Now I could tell them!

"I'm engaged!"

And much happiness ensued!!! :) This engaged business was growing on me.

The Unfolding of an Engagement in 3 Parts: Part 1

Part One
On Sunday, January 16 - The eight month mark of "Happy-Knowing-You-This-Long-Dear" Day - We were sitting on Bill's couch after scripture study and I was just about ready to leave. My scripture bag was zipped and I had slipped my Sunday shoes back on.

Bill asked the usual question, "Any last thoughts, comments, concerns...?" To which I replied (as usual), "Nope." Then I asked, "You?" (Because usually when Bill asks me this question, he has something he'd like to bring up. *wink)

Bill and I had been dating for eight months at that point. We just fit together! There were few severely dramatic moments in our relationship and we basically lived LIFE with the intent of one day getting married. Deep down I felt like I always knew Bill would be the guy I'd be lucky enough to marry! It was just a matter of when (as well as a matter of convincing myself that I'd be emotionally prepared for the LIFE of marriage). We had been talking about getting married for ages and ages it seemed. I thought we were just having another one of those conversations when he told me he'd like to start taking the steps to making things more official between us. I'm sure he was a little miffed with me when I wasn't acting overly-excited about the idea. My response was probably something along the lines of, "Okay. Sounds great. Let's keep moving in the direction that we're going then and eventually we'll get there."

Then it occurred to me that he was essentially proposing to me. Oh!

I had to let my brain analyze that for a moment.

I was sitting on the couch committing to THE biggest decision of my LIFE. Already having that peaceful feeling that he was going to be the man for me, was nice: Of course I'd marry him! But now? We're discussing this now? I don't think anything was clicking. Where was the sparks? The singing birds? The Olympic fanfare?

Was this real LIFE? Yes. Yes it was.

I went home, not really feeling that this was happening. We went so far as to even pick out a few dates in June when we could possibly get married! I was contemplative. Quiet. I let it sit with me throughout the week.

I stopped by his place that Friday night after a hockey game. He had texted me earlier saying that he had some news for me! So I popped into his room and asked what it was. He told me that he had called my dad that evening. (You think that something would have registered here too. Nope. I'm a little slow on the uptake.) ;) He told me about their conversation. Suburban stuff...business stuff...asking my dad if he could marry me stuff...

WHAT?!?

Really? Happiness exploded inside me!!! This was real! He had asked Pops! And Pops said, "Yes." We were golden!!! So we started looking at wedding rings online right then and there and planned to go ring shopping the following evening for date night.