Our Engagement Day

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April is our wedding month so I’m sharing all about love and marriage! This is part two in my little series about our love story.  If you’d like to see what has happened in our story up until this point, check out THIS post about how we met! :)

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So picking up where we were last, Mikey and I had just begun our courtship.  We began texting more consistently.  He began to meet my extended family.  We told certain people that we were in a courtship (we were advised to keep it private until we had decided whether or not to move forward into an engagement).  These people kept us accountable.  We went out to the movies or other activities, with my parents and siblings mostly. We refrained from going out alone and spent much time at my parent’s house instead.  We would sit outside for hours on my parent’s terrace and talked, listened to sermons or did a devotional together. We went through a book called Preparing for Marriage.  We asked each other all the questions in that book and more we found online.  After praying, seeking counsel and talking, we decided we did want to move on with our relationship.

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Fast forward just two short months and it is June 10th.  It was a random Tuesday, with nothing exciting going on. Mikey was working that day (or supposed to be, anyway) and I went out on a girl’s day with my cousin.  The plan was for her to come over and pick me up.  So I got all dressed up, did my hair and makeup as suggested by my sisters and waited for her to come.  When she got here, it was raining.  I opened the gate and as she drove in, I heard something shatter.  She ran over a box.  When I ran out into the rain to check it out, it was a box addressed to me!  A box of a dozen red roses from Mikey with a vase.  The vase was shattered, but thankfully, the flowers were intact.  :) We couldn’t stop laughing and I was even crying over the excitement.

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Our first stop was to do our nails.  I didn’t think anything of this, but she even asked me at one point if I would be ready to say yes if Mikey proposed today.  Of course I said, “yes!”  After a nice time at the salon doing our nails, we moved on to an even funner project: trying on wedding and bridesmaids dresses!  We went to Miracle Mile and stopped in the shops and began trying on wedding gowns.  I wasn’t even engaged at this point, so I thought this was kind of wrong. I also felt guilty to be doing these things without my mom and sisters…but it was so much fun!  We went into almost all the shops on the street and tried on all kinds of different wedding and bridesmaids dresses.

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All the while I was texting Mikey and he kept answering me in little short, sporadic texts because he was “working.”  He really wasn’t.  He was actually at my parents house helping them set up and prepare…or just nervously walking around…who knows. ;)

Back to our girl’s day…our last stop was at Nordstrom to retouch our makeup!  My cousin told the lady at the counter that we were going to a party and had to get it done.  The lady was kind enough to do it.  And I still was totally oblivious and thought nothing of it!  After that we headed home… My cousin was asking me to fix my hair and things like that.  I thought she was crazy because we were just going home, but again, thought nothing of it and did it anyways.

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When I got home, my mom was waiting for us.  My mom told me my dad was outside and wanted to talk to me.  I was so sure he wanted to talk to me because he was upset that I was trying on wedding dresses.  I said bye to my cousin and started heading outside.  I asked why it smelled like bacon and my mom just said “grandma’s been cooking.”  So I went outside and followed the sound of the leaf blower to where he was supposed to be.  As I turned the corner of the house, my dad yelled out, “my job here is done!” and I instantly saw Mikey there.

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The first words out of my mouth were, “what are you doing here?!”  I was so sure he was at work!  But he told me he wanted to make today special.  He led me to a table where he had created (with the help of my talented sisters and mother) a beautiful area.  There were lights strung throughout, a banner that says “always remember” and a table full of memories.  On this table were cards we’d written each other, our Bibles open to verses that meant something to us as a couple, a card from the UNO deck that we played so often, pictures of us everywhere.  I was so confused about what all this was.  But what gave it away was this journal that we had been doing called One Line a Day: A Five-Year Memory Book. In this journal, we had written one line every day since my birthday (it’s really cool, because you can write on the same page for that specific day for the next 5 years and see everything you’ve done!)  Amongst many other things, I located the journal that said “Mikey proposed.”  I was shocked and didn’t think it was true.

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But it was.  With many sweet words, we prayed together, Mikey told me everything I meant to him, how excited he would be to spend the future together and how much he loved me (that was the first time he told me he loved me!).  And with that, he got down on one knee, and using my full name and presenting me with the most beautiful ring I have ever seen (to this day ;)) asked me to marry him.  I was shocked.  Of course I said yes!  I was over the moon!  I always thought I would cry when proposed to, but I was too excited.  There were no tears!  Only joy.  We stood out there a little longer, just talking and enjoying the moment.

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Finally, he led me inside where all of my family was along with uncles, aunts, and close friends were.  That’s when I cried.  I couldn’t believe this was real.  Everything was just beautiful and everyone was so happy for us.  (And about that bacon smell?  My mom had made little snacks and that was what I was smelling when I walked through the door. haha) We spent some time taking pictures and enjoying our engagement day!

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The following evening, we announced it at church.  Of course it was a huge surprise to everyone because we had kept our courtship so private.  So many people were excited for us and that meant the world!  We were so glad that “the Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” (Psalm 126:1-3).  This was one of our verses for our relationship.  And every day, it continues to be true.

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Up next: WEDDING DAY!

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