Save the Date(s)!

It’s gettin’ real now, folks! There are a few dates I have been meaning to put out there for people, except, well, life and all (I may have been a bit preoccupied with other matters lately….).

The first is BYU’s Education Week is nearly upon us. !!! I have had a few people ask me for details about that, so in case anyone is interested the times and locations for my classes will be:

–Finding Joy and Peace Amidst Tragedy and Trials (this one will be just me); Monday, August 21st, 11:10 PM–12:05 PM, 207 Martin Building (MARB) 

–Learning from Life’s Challenges (co-taught with my father, Ken Alford); Monday, August 21st, 3:10–4:05 p.m., Varsity, Wilkinson Student Center (WSC)

(And just FYI that you can purchase a Monday only pass if you want. Or only mornings. Or two days, or evenings, or….yeah, it’s flexible.)

The other is that yes, we have a wedding date! (OK, truthfully I’ve known it for a few weeks and then I kept getting distracted by other things when I would sit down to blog about this. Sorry!) We will be getting married on October 10th (10-10 should be easy to remember, right?). Which leads me to my next piece of business….the reception.

Here’s the thing. You may have picked up on the fact that these past three years have been, um, challenging for me and my family. Lots of great and even miraculous moments, but plenty of hard as well. So I am more than ready to now celebrate. I. Want. To. PARTY. I can’t think of anything better than being surrounded by people I love, from all parts of my life. As well as meeting and being with people who are important in Jaime’s life. (Remember how joyous and energizing I found the funeral viewings to be? Think of how much better a wedding reception will be then!)

There are so many people whom I love dearly. Family (I have a big extended family), neighbors, ward members (current and previous), high school friends I am still in touch with, dear college friends, widow/widower friends, coworkers, handbell players, my book club, my children’s friends, parents of my children’s friends who have become my friends too, and then of course the many, many people who have taken this journey with us the past three years and have ministered to and connected with us in such meaningful ways. So how in the world do I begin to guesstimate an approximate number for a guest list?

We’re having the reception in the ballroom of the Provo Library, so there will be plenty of room for lots of friends. I don’t feel like I can just blindly put an invitation out on my blog or on Facebook, though (there is the food to try to plan for, after all). But if someone wants to come celebrate with our family, then I want them there, too. (And it will be a pretty awesome Chilean/American fiesta mashup, with dancing.)

I do worry some that in the craziness of wedding planning and everything else I will inadvertently forget to send an invitation to someone important (I know, I know, we’re all important, Suzanne). So would you please do me a favor? If you would like an invitation to our reception (the wedding ceremony itself will be much smaller, likely mostly close family), would you please leave me a comment or send me a message requesting one? Also let me know your address please, even if you think I already have it (or if you want to simplify my life even further, an email address where I could send an electronic version of the invitation – yay for being in the 21st century!).

I think that wraps up my business for the time being. I do have updates and photos and vacations and other happenings I would like to get documented on this blog, but it will have to wait for another time. Adios for now!