An open letter to Brett and Sariah

Dear Buriah,

Acting on the old adage that the early bird gets the worm, I am now beginning my submissions of possible names for children that may come into your family. Outside of the obvious James, there are some great options which have come to mind that reflect a good deal of our family culture. Hence, I am appointing myself to the Naming Committee for your future children and my removal can only be effected by a unanimous vote of all other committee members.

1. In light of our family tradition that it is better to call someone Fred than to call them Hey You when you cannot remember their name, and in view of the fact that after years of this tradition Brett became the de facto Fred in our family, and with the additional weight of our support of BYU basketball whose star this year is from a line of Jameses so long that he was named Jimmer to differentiate him from all the other Jameses in the family, I propose that your first daughter be named Fredette.
2. While working at the temple the other night I saw a temple file card for a woman who had been born in Uruguay in 1902. She possessed a name so lyrical that it seemed a waste not to add it to the list of names for Wilson granddaughters in honor of their mother's missionary service in Uruguay. The name was Petrona Sanabia Susoni Gusoni. If this name never appears on an official Wilson family birth certificate, I think it is a shoe-in as a "pretend" name for all tea parties held in your home over the next twenty years. Just be sure to invite Mrs. Blobins as well to avoid any problems with hurt feelings.

Thanks for your careful consideration of these important matters.

Love, Gramma LaRae

Speaking of Hungarian culture...

Brett learned how to crack a bull whip while he was in Hunary. He brought home a couple of whips and I love watching him work a bull whip. Everytime he cracks the whip I am surprised by how loud it is. The purpose of swinging the whip is to get the tip of it moving across the speed of sound, so the crack is actually a mini-sonic boom! You learn something new every day.

Congratulations are in order!

This last weekend brought a visit from Brett and Sariah, and an ENGAGEMENT! It's official, they have decided to get hitched. Brett wanted to propose in Reno at the Reno temple, because the first time they talked seriously about marriage was in October 2007 at the Reno temple. At that point they had dated on and off (mostly on) for about a year, but both wanted to serve missions. Brett had his call and Sariah was completing her paperwork. Brett entered the MTC in January 2008 and departed on March 16. Sariah entered the MTC on March 5 so their time in the MTC overlapped. In fact they ran into each other within minutes of her arrival. And the missionary guidelines weren't the only thing that prevented much communication between them there. Brett had just started his consecration week (speak Hungarian ONLY) the day she arrived. For the rest of their missions, her parents and Brian and I forwarded on their emails to the other one. They exchanged a few hand-written letters as well, but stamps from Hungary to Uruguay are expensive and letter-writing time was also at a premium.
Since arriving home on December 10th, Brett has spent almost every spare minute with Sariah catching up and obviously planning ahead. They've known each other 4 years and are ready to take this relationship to a whole new level. We've spent time with Sariah and had her in our home twice. She is an exceptional and bright woman who is easy to be around and always ready to have a little fun. She is majoring in Dietetics and wants to work on a MSW so she can do nutritional counseling for eating disorders and diabetes. Brett is working on a degree in Neuroscience with hopes to attend medical school. He has secured a position as a research assistant with two neurologists at IMHC in Murray.
Brett and Sariah plan to marry in May - they have their eye on the 8th in the Oquirrh Mountain temple in the southwest Salt Lake Valley. After they take a short honeymoon, we are planning a trip together to Hungary, where Brett will play host and tour guide to Sariah, Brian and I as we travel around that beautiful country. We hope to visit people and places that are special to him and get a taste for the Hungarian culture.
Congratulations to both of you on finding a love you want to commit to and on your decision to marry in the temple! I really look forward to the months ahead as we plan to celebrate your marriage.