HEY!!!

Well well well... Here we are in the middle of July!!! The month is flying by!!! I just can`t believe it!!! All of your emails are making me super trunky!!! ha ha... Everyone is saying ONE MONTH LEFT!  So I am trying to be really focused.  Well... what happened this week that is worth mentioning...

Ummm my companion is going to turn 21 tomorrow... So I have been really sneaky and trying to get some things for her... But it is super hard when we have to go to sleep at the same time and wake up at the same time.  And it is hard when we have to see and hear each other at all times... But I have been staying up late and doing little things at night so that I can put somethings out on her desk tomorrow.  She seems pretty happy.  She left a note in my agenda the other day that said,

"There isn`t a better way to start the mission than with a good friend. I really do consider you more than just a companion.  Thanks for your example and for teaching me everything to be a better missionary.  You really do mean a lot to me and I am happy for you because you are going to see your family soon but I am sad that I have to have a different companion. I will always remember you.  With love- Hna.Orihuela"

Sometimes when I read the letters or notes that my companions leave me, I wonder what example I am giving them, I just hope that they learn something.  And when they thank me for the little things it just makes me think... Isn`t this what friends do for each other... but I guess that some people don`t know how to be friends... they just add people on facebook and call it good!  ja ja

My old companion, Hermana Perez told me that she washes all the dishes alone and eats alone and teaches alone!!! She also told me that she feels alone!!! Poor thing... I guess that her companion isn`t that great of a companion yet... But at the beginning of my mission I wasn`t that great of a companion either... But that is why we are here... Too learn how to be better people.  I know that I have changed a lot...

My companion and I were talking about family experiences one day and I am so happy and grateful for the great family that I have.  She asked me how my brothers and sisters are and I told her experiences about each one of them to describe how my family is.  I told her about Jon, perfect Jonathan, not wanting to eat on the road trip because mom and dad bought the food on a Sunday.  I also told her that he couldn`t say Christopher when he was little and that he called Chis babe for a long time and the name stuck and some of our aunts and cousins still call him babe.

I then told her about Chris` "too yait too yait!" story and about Bradley and the "cops get down" and also about Bradley biting everyone when Nick was born.  I then told her about Nick and his binkie for the first four years of his life and his red pants and his poems.  I then told her about Taylor and her excellent memory and then I told her about Emilee and her "very gentalyyyyyyyyyyyyyy", a very pretty little song that she made up when she was 3 as we were decorating Easter eggs.

So my companion thinks that we have an awesome family... It`s a hard one to beat. IMHO (mom you are going to have to translate my quick references of these experiences so that my thousands of blog readers will understand!  ;) 

And  now she uses the phrase "too yait too yait"!   For example, we are visiting a lot of less active members here so that we can teach their non member family or we can help them come back to church and one day we were in the house of a less active member and his mom was dressed really nicely and we were trying to teach her a bit.  She is about 55 years old and she was so distracted I was wondering what she was waiting and then we heard the doorbell ring. 

Well, in walked a 60 year old bald fat guy and they were walking hand in hand.  When they sat down together on the couch we realized that they were going to go on a date.  -.-  When we walked out of the house I looked at my companion and asked, "She isn`t married to him right??? It looks like they are dating..."  My companion then said in English, "Too yait too yait" I laughed so hard... Too yait is right... How sad it is to date when you are old and fat!!!! man that stinks... There are slim pickings if you ask me! 

What else happened this week... Sorry that this letter isn`t making any sense... I am emailing while emailing so it is kind of difficult.  This might not be funny to those of you who don`t speak Spanish but here it goes... This week I was singing a song that one of my companions used to sing... I have only heard the song once on the radio here... But it goes something like this... "Si hubo terremoto... Si hubo terremoto da da da da da.. da da da da da da...."  What I have been singing for almost 8 months is, "If there was an earthquake... If there was an earthquake... da da da da da... da da da da da da...." 

When my companion heard me singing she then said... "What in the world are you singing"... I then sang a little louder trying to put the words together and she then burst out laughing so hard that there were tears in her eyes... she then said "nooo hermana.... Subete mi moto"  I then was so confused.... What... it isn`t, "If there was an earthquake" and she then said, "NNOOOO the song says, get on my motorcycle!!!"  We laughed so hard for about 5 minutes. 

Well I am sorry my time is up!!! But I love you all so much!!!! I hope that you all have a great week and that everything goes your way!!! I know that this church is true and that if we are faithful God will bless us even more than we can imagine.

Love you all more than I miss you. 

Love Hermana Welch #1 (Jess) sorry there is no picture-__-

From the Editor:  So!  If you care at all, here are the family references:  Jonathan was about 7 years old.  We had four children with Nick being a brand new baby.  We were living in Omaha at the time and had been asked to speak in a branch that was about 50 miles away.  No problem right?  Well, yes I am lazy and I thought, we will get ready and run through McDonald's on the way there so that we can make it to Sacrament Meeting on time!  (I'm sure it started about 9:00)  Well as Brad was making the order he asked Jonathan what he wanted.  A small voice from the back of the van replied, I don't want anything.  Um.... we're sorry Jonathan, you have such lousy parents that are leading you down the wrong path, but really what do you want?  I'm not hungry.  So, there was the first mistake we made with him!  LOL  

Next is Chris' story of too yait, too yait!  Another Sacrament meeting story.  This time, I passed.  He was realllllly thirsty and about 3 years old, he wanted a drink realllly bad.  I told him he would have to wait till after the sacrament was passed.  This did not satisfy him and he pestered and pestered until he finally figured out that he wasn't going to get the drink. And he began to pout.  He was pretty good at pouting.  After the sacrament was passed, I whispered sweetly in his ear that now we could go get a drink!  TOO YAIT, TOO YAIT!  was his emphatic response like it was going to make me feel bad that we didn't have to leave the chapel!  

Bradley's story entails another very bad moment in mothering.  We had a chevy astro van that we tooled around in in those days and there was a great spot for a little guy to stand in between the two captain chairs in the front.  He would stand there and hang on to the chairs with both his arms and watch for patrolmen.  He had eagle eyes and would holler in the raspiest kid voice you ever heard:  COPS!  GET DOWN!!  It was so funny.  Unless of course you are opposed to little people not being fastened down in their seats. I know I am now!  But if it makes you feel any better we lived in Cody, Wyoming so there weren't too many accidents on the road. And you have to remember that I grew up with my mom's arm for a seat belt.  When she hit the breaks she put her arm out and hit me in the chest at the same time!   I know it's no excuse, but it's all I've got!  

Nicholas had the most stubborn personality as a kid.  He only would wear read pants.  I finally broke down and accepted the fact that he was not going to wear anything else so I began to buy only red pants! He LOVED the Red Power Ranger.  He also had a memory that wouldn't quit and memorized poem after poem in his pre-school. He also liked to perform,  one time I had to drag everyone to the pediatrician because Taylor was sick, he told the Dr.  that he could do the Michigan Ragg and then proceeded to do it all across the room.  Dr. Jameson looked at me and said, "don't you ever give this kid any attention?!?"  Too funny!   And--Nick loved his binkie.  I don't know if he was really four when we got rid of it, but he could do some great tricks with it!  

Jessica didn't put this one in, but I will.  When we would have scripture study before she could read, she would want to take a turn. and it went something like this:  And it came to pass....and then a story about rabbits in the sage brush would make it's way into the narrative.

Taylor was born with a cleft palateand has hadd difficulty speaking and still doesn't talk in a way that is too intelligible, but she does have an amazing memory and she really helps me out.  If I forget anything, she lets me know about it!  

Emilee doesn't think this is a very great story, but she was the singingest baby you ever saw!  We were dying eggs one Easter and her cute little song was a little along the lines of a winnie the pooh number, "very gentallllly" she sang over and over as she encouraged us all to be so careful with the eggs as they might break.  Anyway, way more than you wanted to know, but once you get me started, I can't stop!!  

It is almost time for me to be done with Jessica's blog.  What a blessing it has been for me.  I can't wait to see her, but I get a little weepy to think that these experiences will end soon. Thanks to everyone for reading and for caring and for being our friends.  Cindy.