Thursday Thirteen #42 - Engagement Edition

Thirteen Fabulous Things about My Engagement

1. While I had suspected things, when it came down to it I was absolutely shocked.

2. That morning Kevin picked me up so that we could drive to Tulsa. When he was in the kitchen I heard the refrigerator door open and then he commented on something smelling bad. Immediately, my mind was elsewhere. He had mentioned before that whenever we got engaged he was going to celebrate with a Henry Weinhard’s Root Beer. It’s his favorite. I got him a six-pack (shipped from California) for Valentine’s Day. The thought came to mind that he might be putting a bottle in there and that was really the only glimmer of hope that I had throughout the day.

3. I later found out that about 3 weeks before, he had asked my dad’s permission at my cousin’s wedding. While I sat across the room talking to a relative, she noticed Dad talking to Kevin. She asked me what I thought was going on. Joking, I said, “Oh, he’s probably asking Dad’s permission to marry me.” Little did I know…

4. Back in February we finally got to go to the Melting Pot to celebrate Valentine’s Day and have our very belated anniversary dinner. An ice storm in December prevented us from going on the actual date of our first date, so we thought we’d try again. Before we went to dinner though, we went to a jewelry store. And there we found the most beautiful ring. I loved it, but wasn’t expecting anything, and we walked out of the store empty-handed. Of course, I never expected Kevin to purchase it while I was there with him. The lady said the sale ended that weekend and that the ring was the last they had, so I thought maybe he might go back the next day. Then the next day came. And so did another ice storm. Roads were bad, things were closed, and I just knew that Kevin wouldn’t be driving all the way up to north Oklahoma City to get that little thing. It made me sad, but I resigned myself to the fact that we would just have to look more. I never thought I’d get attached to a ring like that, but I loved it. Seriously, it was EXACTLY what I’d dreamed of…kinda all the rings I had ever been interested in put together.

5. He did drive up in all that mess to get the ring. Sigh. When I shared this detail with my PawPaw this weekend, he said, “Now that’s romance.” And it is, isn’t it?

6. Kevin got us tickets to see the touring production of Phantom of the Opera in Tulsa. He had them for a while, but the wheels didn’t start turning regarding a proposal until later, whenever we decided to get married a little sooner.

7. So we drove up to Tulsa. It was a really beautiful production and, oh yeah, we were on the SECOND ROW.

8. Gonna take this opportunity to tell you that Kevin was so…stinkin’…calm. All day. That threw me off more than anything. I don’t know why, but I expected that he would be a little bit nervous or something.

9. Then we drove home (to Norman, which is about 2 hours). I napped for a little while and Kevin said something like, “If I didn’t have to drive, I would just stare at you” because we’re disgusting like that.

10. We got to Norman. He’d been concerned about the weather (we were expecting rain) and had been checking with his roommate throughout the day so that we would know if we needed to change plans for our walk around campus at OU that we were going to take after dinner.

11. Dinner was very nice. We ate at Charleston’s (the place where we first really spoke while seated next to each other at a surprise party). When Kevin prayed over our meal he said something I thought was peculiar about “memorable moments.” But I just let it slide.

12. We drove to campus and parked at the Baptist Student Union. I pulled my hair back because it was starting to get really humid outside. Who am I kidding. It was miserable by the time we sat down. We wandered around the fountains and statues, just enjoying each other’s company. Finally, we made it to the South Oval, walked between a few buildings, and Kevin led me over to a bench so that I could open my present celebrating our 18th month together (June 9). He pulled a book out of the giftbag he was carrying and I recognized that it was a photobook from Shutterfly (I’d made him one a few months back). We sat there, going through the pictures that documented our entire relationship, from the beginning back in December of 2006 to the last part — me graduating from OU. On that page there was a paragraph that he asked me to read aloud.

The past 18 months have been extremely wonderful. You have been such a blessing in my life. It fills my heart with warmth as I look back on our relationship with these pictures. Your life is moving forward with amazing things coming your way. You have graduated from college, so what are you going to do now? We both know the answer to this question with you having a job. This brings to mind another question to ask…

And on the next page was a picture of the ring and “Elizabeth, will you marry me?” and then he was down on one knee with the ring, and I said yes. That moment was like a whirlwind, but it’s one I will never forget. Okay, now I think I might cry. I didn’t when it happened. But my goodness. Look what God has blessed me with.

13. I couldn’t have imagined it any better. Any sweeter, any more romantic, or perfect. I was always a “head in the clouds” kind of child, wrapped up in fairy tales, but a few awful run-ins with the opposite sex during the end of high school and my college years made me pretty bitter and cynical about relationships. A few years ago I would have been the first to tell you that it doesn’t matter who you marry, it’s all work, and no one is really good at heart. While that may be true, that doesn’t mean that God does not have a plan for you.

The response I see in people’s eyes when they hear the story of our relationship and the engagement makes everything clear: God has blessed me by putting this man in my life, this man who wants to commit to a lifetime of loving me, caring for me, our future children, our household, dealing with the problems that will inevitably come along, putting up with my stubborn moods, unintentionally sharp tongue (thank you, Johnson side of the family), and my puppy dog pouting that I will admit to using.

But in the past few days something has happened in my heart. I want to be the best wife I can be. I want to dive into the Word of God, continue growing that relationship, and in turn make my marriage one built on a firm foundation in Christ. I really can’t tell you how I feel. But I hope that I never forget the fact that this is a gift from God. If there was one thing I could tell Little Girl Me it would be that You can have your fairy tale.