Summer ended, and soon we found ourselves busy with all the fun things that fall had to offer. We spent most of our time hiking, going to the occasional movie and spending lots of time with our families.
Life was good and full...and I was dating the only man I had ever loved.
I remember one night late in November, I sat down to plan a few wedding details. No, he hadn't proposed to me, and I knew he would probably wait a year or so, but I still wanted to write out a few things that were important to me. Namely, I knew that I wanted a fairly classic wedding with my colors being dark red, champagne and black. I went to sleep that night wishing we were already planning a wedding.
I was ready to marry that guy!
Unbeknownst to me, Josh was already putting plans into motion to propose. He and my dad had snuck into my apartment while I was at work to get my class ring, so Josh could use it to order my engagement ring.
Before I knew it, nearly four months of dating had passed. We spent a lot of time with his twin brother and his wife, Susan. So much so, that we had planned to have a Christmas dinner and gift exchange mid-December. I didn't think anything of it, because Josh and his brother are practically attached at the hip. So, having a quiet Christmas celebration together made perfect sense.
December 11th arrived. A close family friend was having a Mary Kay Open House near my parents home. She offered to do my make-up that day, and I was thrilled! I remember picking out gifts for everyone, and driving home to meet Josh after work.
We had reservations at Ashley's Restaurant in downtown Little Rock. The drive down there was very quiet...if you know Josh, this was pretty unusual. He was also very distracted and fidgety. I kept asking him what was wrong and he said he was just tired.
When we arrived at the restaurant, Jacob called Josh to say he was running late. He wasn't. He was actually already there waiting for us to be seated. Once we had sat down and had our order taken, he popped up with his video camera. I feel like I need to mention that they had just had their firstborn baby and seeing Jacob with a video camera was not unusual, either.
I asked where Susan (his wife) was, and he said she was in the bathroom. Then, the guys said we needed to open presents. I told them that no, we needed to wait for Susan to arrive. The guys were like no, we gotta open gifts now.
At this point, I am starting to get suspicious. Fun fact: Susan was not there, never planned to be there, and Jacob just kept stringing me along to make it even more confusing. LOL
I hand Josh his present: it was an Italian Cookbook. He hands me my gift to open: It was a charm bracelet. Beautiful at that! But, I remember telling myself that this wasn't the big moment.
Fun fact: The guys are really hamming up at this point. They were making a BIG deal out of the bracelet. I'm also silently thinking they are NUTS. And they are.
Then, Josh hands another present. It's a small box, but ya'll it wasn't THAT kind of box. I open the gift to find a box of Peanuts ornaments. If you know me in real life, I am obsessed with Charlie Brown and Snoopy. I was squealing, because it was perfect.
Well, as I open the dainty box of ornaments, out falls my ring.
Josh gets down on one knee and asks me to be his wife.
I said yes. Of course. ;)
Everything after this is a bit of a blur...I remember the yummy food, and the special dessert and the waiter asking me at what point I had figured it out!
I remember all the phone calls and the long drive back to my parents house where we fell asleep. The funniest thing about the entire night is that the minute we got to my parents house, Josh face planted on the blow up bed they had set up for him in their living room and fell fast asleep. I love poking him about it...it's hard work asking your girl to marry you!!
