The Proposal

Alright, so this is how it happened. I went to California (where Andre is this summer) a couple weeks ago as a surprise to Andre. I had it all planned out with his roommate Richard. They were all going out to dinner as roommates on Friday night, so I went to surprise him there at the restaurant. I walked in behind him and put my hands over his eyes. When he finally turned around and saw that it was me, he acted so surprised, "Babe, what are you doing here?" "Oh my gosh I can't believe you're here." I thought I was the best girlfriend in the world! So, dinner was over and he says, "Hey, I want to take you somewhere!" So I said, "Ok let's go!" Of course I didn't suspect anything because he didn't even know I was going to be there. So he drives me around Santa Clarita and we finally end at this place where he has lights and paper lanterns and all that cheezy, romantic stuff setup. I look around very confused for a few seconds and of course the first thing I say is, "You knew I was coming?!" He ignores my question and proceeds to pour his heart out to me. He said something about happiness and making me happy and making him happy and something else about happiness. I don't remember anything because the entire time I was trying to figure out how he planned this when he didn't even know I was coming! So he gets down on his knees and asks me to marry him and I just say something to the effect of, "I can't believe you knew I was coming!" And then I say, "Of course I'll marry you!" Then we kissed and got all mushy gushy and then his friends came out and I wanted to hit Richard for telling Andre I was coming, but at the same time, I couldn't be mad! How could I be?! Yes, he stole my thunder! It was supposed to be MY big surprise, but they turned it around on me and made it an even better big surprise. Then I got to spend the next 2 days with the love of my life as an officially engaged couple! Life is goooood! Also, I love Andre :) The end!

Dreams Do Come True :)

Well, it's that time. That time in my life that I have looked forward to ever since I first learned what it was. That event that I have yearned for and dreamed about. That time I thought would never come when all I saw was everyone around me (at least that's what it felt like at times) falling in love and living that "fairytale." Yes, it's true. I'm getting married!! I have fallen in love and continue to fall in love more everyday. I am planning a wedding. MY wedding! For real! Yes, I am very, extremely excited. How could I not be?! But the road hasn't been easy. Getting here hasn't been a "fairytale" all the time. Falling in love was a whole lot harder for me that I ever imagined it would be, but lucky for me, I got to go through it with one of the most patient, loving, selfless people i have ever known. These experiences have helped me to know that for the rest of my life, I get to go through happiness, sadness, trials, tears, joy, fear, heart ache and complete contentment with that same person. My Heavenly Father has blessed me with the kind of man I always dreamed of marrying. I prayed and cried over having someone like Andre in my life for what felt like forever but really was only a few years compared to the time I get to spend with him from here on out. We get to spend the rest of eternity getting to know each other, learning about each others' strengths and weaknesses, working through unbearable hardship and experiencing indescribable joy. I feel ready for anything life is going to throw my way because I know I will have Andre right by my side. I am completely blind to the trials that we will face over the next 100+ years together. There are millions of scary things out in the world that can potentially hurt us, come between us and completely destroy us. There are experiences that we will go through that right now, we probably can't even fathom, but we're gonna survive it together. Why? Because that's the only option we are giving ourselves! We're going into this together, and there's no one I would rather do it with! I'm not perfect. Andre isn't perfect. No one is perfect! We both have flaws, we both make mistakes, we most definitely will argue and disagree on things and will probably want to run away from it all. I know that there are things we will find out about each other that aren't so great. I'm not ignorant. I know marriage isn't going to be nothing but bliss and "happily ever after." But I do know that if we go into this commitment with the same desires, goals and determination, we'll be just fine :) In the end, I LOVE Andre, and love can be a very strong thing. I believe it can work miracles. I also believe that when Jesus Christ is at the center of our lives, He will never let us fail. It's not going to be easy, but it IS going to be worth it :)