We're Engaged!

Well, it finally happened! On Saturday, August 5th, Mark proposed!

It was completely unexpected. Well, I knew that the proposal was coming sometime soon, but the actual night I had no idea. Here's how it happened.

We went to the wedding of my friend Meghan. It was held at a lovely country club north of the cities, and we had a really great time. The weather cooperated, the food was delicious, and the music was great to dance to.



At the wedding, I caught the bouquet - by pushing other girls down and diving for the prize!



Two months earlier, I caught the bouquet at my cousin Tony's wedding. That's two bouquets in two months. I was starting to feel like it was really my turn. On the car ride home, I was giving Mark a hard time about it, saying that someone must be trying to tell him something.

When we got home, he asked me to sit down on the couch because he had a surprise for me. I was not expecting anything like a proposal at all; in fact, I thought that he was going to play a new song that he learned on the guitar or something. I sat down on the couch and thought, "I'm so tired. I hope that he plays the song and then wants to go to bed!" Little did I know...

When he came out from the back bedroom, he had his hands in his pockets and his knees were shaking a bit. I was a little confused that he didn't have the guitar - are anything in his hands, for that matter. What kind of surprise was this? He stood in front of me and started his speech. He told me that he'd been wanting to do this for so long, but that so many other things had gotten in the way. He'd been waiting and waiting for the perfect moment and the perfect time, but he just couldn't wait one more minute to ask me this or he was going to explode. Then, he got down on one knee, and he asked me to marry him.

I fell right off of the couch. Somewhere in there I screamed, "You're not really doing this, are you?!" I had NO idea what was happening. Before I knew it, I was off the couch and on the floor kissing him and crying. I was kissing him so much that he didn't hear my answer - yes, of course! - and had to actually pull away from me to say, "What is your answer?!"

We stayed on the floor like that for quite some time, in complete shock. I was in shock because I completely did not expect to come home from the wedding and have him propose. And, I think that he was in shock, too, because he completely didn't plan to do it that night. It just felt right, and he felt the moment, and he just couldn't wait.

I love so much that the man I love couldn't wait to ask me to marry him. He was so excited and is so thrilled to be marrying me, that he just couldn't take it anymore. He had to ask! I was so touched by that, and I think it's truly one of the most adorable things I've ever heard in my life!


Here's the ring with all of the little accessories that I got. I tried so hard to take a good picture of the ring, but it didn't turn out. But I wanted people to see something! So, I thought that I'd at least put up this picture of my amazing ring with the lovely, little blue box...and all that comes with it!

The rest of the night, we just lay around in each other's arms, letting it all sink in. I didn't sleep much that night. I decided to wait until morning to call my mom, but my mind didn't quite get the concept of time that night. I woke up three times between 2:00am and 6:45am. Finally at 6:45am, I just decided that it was time to get up.

I called my parents at 8:00am, and no one was home! They were both working! Because I wanted my parents to be the first people in the whole world to know, I had to wait two more hours to tell people. It was brutal waiting. But, it was all so worth it in the end. Calling my family and friends has been so fun. I've gotten such fantastic reactions from everyone - shrieks into the phone, followed by congratulations, followed by excitement and just pure joy for Mark and me. Mark's family and friends reacted the same way - with pure excitement. It's been so great to be surrounded by people who are just as thrilled as we are!

The planning will start sometime soon, although I truly want to take my time and let this all sink in. I want to enjoy this time in my llife as much as is humanly possible. We haven't set a date yet, but it will be some time away. We're thinking June of 2008. Plenty of time to plan plan plan!

It's a little crazy that with a simple question and a simple (but GORGEOUS!) ring, our entire lives will change. I am no longer - and will never again - be a girlfriend. I am a fiance. And someday in the not so distant future, I will be a wife. With a husband. And an eternal bond of marriage. It's crazy how just a little question can change your life so much.

I'm so excited for all of the wonderful things that that question will bring us.