Now this is a cute story! :up:
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It's one of those things that makes you run outside and scream at the top of your lungs so that everyone will know.
My beautifulgirlfriendfiancé and I got engaged two days ago; January 15, 2011. Here's how it went down:
Back in November, over Thanksgiving, I paid her parents a visit to receive their blessing and get the green light to go buy a ring. I called ahead of time (which I'm sure threw up a red flag since I don't regularly call them to chat...) and told them I wanted to come see them. When I showed up there was some small talk, but it wasn't long until we just got down to business. There was a pause in conversation and I took the opportunity to let them know (confirm their assumptions) why I was there. We weren't far into the conversation before her dad started to get choked up, her mom was blowing her nose, and I was doing everything I could to hold it together... They are good parents, and like any good parents they love their daughter. Nevertheless, I did receive their blessing and started the process of looking for a ring.
I had never done this before. I was as lost as a 6 year old with ADD in a corn maze. I first went to this jeweler just down the road from my apartment. I brought my roommate with me for moral support and a second opinion, but I really didn't know where to start. Fortunately, I remembered that one of my girlfriend's best friends had looked at rings together about 6 months earlier. (We have been dating for almost two years, we just graduated, and we're in our mid-twenties, so I guess she knew it would come sooner or later.) So I got in touch with her friend and brought her with me on my second trip. She pointed out the exact ring that my girlfriend fell in love with. Now... For an unemployed, unexperienced in jewelery, new graduate, the intimidating price tag almost made me reconsider my recent life decisions... :help: I did some research and I realized the ring she liked was top-of-the-line and I could find other rings very similar to that style... The good thing about this trip was that I did learn what style she liked: vintage setting, white gold, oval diamond, and lots of sparkle. Easy enough...
Fast forward about 3 weeks (I won't bore you with ring shopping, it was a tedious process) and I found a setting I knew she would love. The only problem was that there was no stone in the setting. Well, I say it was a problem... It's only because I had to make another decision on a diamond. Being the extremely picky perfectionist that I am, it took a couple more weeks for the store to get new diamonds in for me to look at in the ring. The would get a couple in, I would be dissatisfied, they would return them and request more... This happened a couple of times, but I finally found the perfect oval diamond (in my price range) to fit in the ring. When it was all said and done, I was extremely pleased with the purchase and they had the ring put together in less than 24 hours.
I picked up the ring last Wednesday. Not knowing I would have the ring so soon, I wasn't quite prepared for the actual proposal. I had been thinking about it, but it really didn't come together until Friday. I decided to take her to her favorite restaurant in town on Saturday night. It's this sushi place that has amazing food. They have this pizza roll, which may sound disgusting, but is actually the most delicious sushi I've ever had. So before the big night, on Thursday I went by there and asked them for a stack of cocktail napkins. I had to explain to them what I was doing, but they were very willing to help me out. I took the napkins home and started to write on every one a different reason why I love her.
I stopped at 49. I had been reading and re-reading Song of Songs for the past few weeks and I really wanted to incorporate a verse on one of the napkins. So on the 50th cocktail napkin, I wrote Song of Songs 4:9. It says, "You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace."
I had some money left over from the ring, so I figured I might as well get some flowers and things to improve the scene. Once again, I recruited the help of my roommate on this one. While we were at dinner on Saturday, I gave him a spare key to her apartment and all the items to prepare a place for me to propose. I asked him to take some string and push pins to hang each of the napkins along the hallway at the entrance of her apartment. At the end of the hall is her kitchen, with a large table where I asked him to place the flowers, some candles, and the last napkin with the verse written on it. The lights were all turned off, and everything was ready.
We had an amazing dinner. She had wine, I had a Winter Lager, and arguably the best sushi in town. (Although I couldn't finish mine because I was so nervous...) Afterward, we stopped by a frozen yogurt place; one where they let you serve yourself and scoop your own toppings. It was an amazing date, and in her mind it was nearly over as we got in the car and headed home.
I told her I left my keys in the car. I'm not sure if she really fell for it, but she unlocked the door anyway. As she opened the door and turned on the lights, she froze. Time froze. My heart stopped, and hers probably did too. The moment I had anticipated was finally here and the moment she had no idea was coming stopped her in her tracks. We stood at the door for a solid 3 minutes before either of us moved. I urged her to go in, read the notes, and to not ask questions. She moved down the long hallway, reading each one. Then the flowers and candles came into view and even though she already had tears in her eyes, her emotions really got the best of her. My heart was racing and I quickly got a frog in my throat. She finally read the last note with the verse, and as she turned around, I dropped to one knee, pulled the ring out of my jacket pocket with shaky hands, and asked her to marry me through tear-filled eyes.
It was very emotional, and much less smooth than I had imagined... I thought I might be able to hold it together, but I was wrong. And it only got worse. It took an hour for us to pull ourselves together enough to start making phone calls to all our closest friends and family. And of course that only caused more tears... We were so excited and happy and upset all at the same time.
The past two days have obviously been very draining; emotionally, physically, spiritually. We had some friends over last night to celebrate, and today we finally feel like we can enjoy each other and enjoy the decisions we have made. We know there is a lot to do in the coming months, but right now we are going to bask in our love and praise God that he has already blessed us beyond what we could imagine.
thering
Josh
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