We're Engaged!!!

I have the BEST man in the entire world :)

The Christmas Plan: Jon & I finished all the wrapping of presents 2 days before Christmas so that we could enjoy Christmas morning together. This year my Grandma was set on cooking Christmas dinner. I had helped her with a few things on Christmas Eve along with my Uncle Steve so that it wouldn't be so much of a burden on her come Christmas Day. We were going to my grandma's around 11AM so Jon could spend a little time with my family before he had to go to his mother's for dinner at 1PM.

The Christmas Reality: We woke up at 7AM at his mother's house and started prepping the 24-lb turkey for Christmas dinner. His mom came home at 8AM from her family's house in Charles Town & suddenly realized that there was so much she needed done that we had to help (wrapping more of the grandchildrens' presents, sprucing up the pool table room & the tv room downstairs, straightening up the front porch, and all sorts of other things). We never had a chance to enjoy the Christmas tree & unwrap presents, so I went ahead to my Grandma's house while Jon stayed and helped his mom with the rest of the list of things to do. When I got to grandma's, my dad was already there along with his wife & my little brother. A good portion of the rest of my dad's family was also there waiting for dinner to be ready. Once we ate, I kept wishing Jon could be there since this was probably going to be Grandma's last big dinner that she made for us.

The Heart-Stopper: All of a sudden a knock came at the door, and Jon walks in with that big smile of his that is so infectious! My dad let out a loud laugh that I didn't pay attention to, because I was distracted by how Jon was acting when he was walking toward me. He was sweating & then looked like something was wrong, & he walked right past me and said "I have to go to the bathroom". I immediately became worried that something was wrong at his mother's house, because they were supposed to be eating right about that time, and he looked like he had just went through an awful ordeal. I heard him in the bathroom breathing really loudly (the walls are very thin) & I kept hearing water splashing. Then I remembered dad's weird laugh when he saw Jon, and I thought for a second "Oh my God, is he going to ask me to marry him?"... but that thought was gone in an instant because Jon has a huge problem with being in large groups of people. In fact, whenever I would want to go out downtown or into D.C. to a bar with some friends, he would have to drink a couple beers just to be comfortable enough to go out... needless to say we don't go out anymore unless it is a very special occasion, which has turned out to be a very good thing (we're much happier at home with eachother anyway!). So, I knew he wouldn't be desperate enough to drink on Christmas Day in front of my family, so there was no way he would be asking me to marry him. Absolutely NO way. So, then I thought that something really must have gone wrong & I began to worry. He never argues with his mom, so it couldn't have been that; everything was almost done by the time I left, so he couldn't have forgotten anything really important for her dinner; the only thing I could think of was someone was hurt & he wanted me to go to the hospital with him. That was it. That was the only logical conclusion. My heart started pounding & my brain started going in circles hoping that whoever was hurt wasn't hurt too badly... & then he comes out of the bathroom.

The Good Part: I was about to stand up to give him a hug, and he stood in the way so I couldn't move & looked down at me with his big blue eyes wide open & notably scared. I noticed his whole body was shaking & then he reached in his pocket as he came down on one knee. He pulled out a very familiar box that we received on our last trip to Georgia from a sushi chef as we were eating a romantic meal all alone in the restaurant. We had talked about so many things during that meal, and the staff kept giving us more things to try & then they gave us this neat little box with two origami cranes inside (a symbol of longevity & prosperity in Japanese culture): one was blue for him, and the other pink for me.

"Will you marry me?" he asked as he looked so brave while opening the box to reveal the most perfect ring I would ever imagine having as a token of our love. I am not the kind of girl who likes to wear a lot of jewelry, and rings are especially hard to find for me because my fingers are so ugly & bony. So many beautiful rings look atrocious on me, but he managed to find a gorgeous ring that actually makes me feel beautiful wearing it. And if fit perfectly! I immediately said "Yes... YES!!!" while failing miserably to hold back tears. I gave in & just started crying along with him. I looked up, and I could tell half the people there were trying to hold back tears as well. My dad had a grin on his face a mile wide, and then he said "I was wondering when you were going to show up!". I was suprised and asked "You knew?!?".

Of course he did... I shouldn't have been surprised. Jon knows how important my family is to me.

Thoughts: This past year or so has been awesome because I have been able to see my family more often & Jon actually encourages us to visit them as much as possible. I've never had a boyfriend like that, and now I can't believe I ever lived without someone like that before. I am so lucky :) It's so funny that we are engaged now, because my entire adult life I always imagined being with someone for several years before plunging into this world. But, this is just so right. Nothing has ever felt better than this relationship. And I still can't believe he asked me in front of 3 of my most favorite people in the world (my daddy, my brother & my grandma). I feel bad my mom couldn't be there to see it, but other than that it could not have been more perfect. I could not have planned a proposal any more romantic than this one (and trust me, I've daydreamed about some pretty romantic proposals over my lifetime!). My Grandma was so happy, and I have Jon to thank for giving that happiness to her. Before we left, she took his hands & said "God bless you, Son, God bless you!" as a tear came rolling down her face.

Nothing could ever top this...

Of course, he continues to amaze me all the time :-)