Sunday, September 24, 2006
We’re engaged!!!
The following I wrote at almost 3am on Thurs, September 21st. More pics are coming soon! I've included editorial comments in italics.
It actually happened, and it feels SO surreal! And he did such a good job at surprising me - tonight was the best night…and then he added the proposal.
It's date night, so we started off by eating at Carrabas (one of my favorite restaurants). After dinner, we stopped by his house and then headed off to look for a good place to take a walk. It was really pretty outside, and his allergies had calmed down enough so that he could get out - we definitely weren't going to let this opportunity slip away.
We went down south to this building complex that borders Zilker Park. The parking garages in this complex have a GREAT view of downtown, and we've been trying to get some pics of the skyline for a while. We took pics for a while, hung out and just had a good time. After that, we still wanted a walk, and decided on the Capitol. He hadn't been there since he was little, so I used my ID and got us in (after hours). I showed him my office and we went up to the routunda. We took more pics and while we were taking a picture of the dome, a DPS officer came rushing up to tell us that the Capitol was closed. Then he asked how we got in, and then I told him I was staff and used my badge to get in. After looking at my badge, he told us we could stay. We hung around for a bit longer, and then walked around the Capitol grounds.
One the way back to our car, we stopped at the old oak tree on the east side of the cap - it crazy, knotty and it's branches touch the ground in several spots - and kinda looks like an older version of the oak tree outside our church. It was fun to see the Cap through his eyes, reminds me why I love that building so much. After that we headed back to the car, and I figured at that point we would head to my house.
David headed toward Mopac - I was thinking…I don't live near Mopac anymore…but kept my mouth shut. When he was exiting onto 2222, he was like "we'll take one more picture tonight." I knew he was headed to Mt. Bonnell - a lookout spot where you can see most of the city, downtown and Town Lake. We had stopped by on Sat night but there were a TON of people there and I wasn't feeling great, so we didn't stay (I'm still clueless at this point…yea, I know). Tonight there were several but not tons. We headed up the hill, me in my heels, him in his long sleeved dress shirt. Both of us were out of breath when we got there - and the spot we wanted to view downtown was taken. We headed back up to the area that overlooked Town Lake. I sat down and we just talked and kissed. Then he asked me how much I loved him. I responded with "I love you as much as…" (I'll spare you the mushy details) After we played that game for a while, he asked me, " Do you love me enough to marry me?" I answered "Yes." (At this point, I didn't know what to think, so I laid my head on his chest.) David asked me what I was thinking and my response was "I think I'm a little confused!" His response was "Well, let me clear it up for you." As he said this, he took both my hands and got down on one knee. As he asked me to marry him, he slipped a ring on my finger. I am totally freaking out and can barely breathe.
Let me interupt my story to insert a fact that I have absolutely no recollection of, but that David just told me. Apparently right after he put the ring on my finger, I said "That was smooth." I don't know why I said it, nor what I was talking about. He said it was really random…and it totally was. I seriously don't remember say ANYTHING between the ring being put on my finger and my answer to him. 
My answer was "Yeeess…." - very hesitant, I could just barely squeeze air out of my lungs to make any noise. He smiled and asked "Are you sure?"
After a second I finally responded with "I can't talk…" He smiled at me and said "Will you marry me?" I said "Yeah….Yes!"
We hung out took more pics and then headed to the car so i could see the ring. It's beautiful - set so that light comes in from all over and you can see the whole diamond - all the way to the bottom tip. It's incredible. He did SUCH a good job.
It's beautiful, and I'm so thankful for tonight. I woke Steph and Mom up, then called Stephen, who wasn't quite in bed yet. Then I headed inside and proceeded to wake up both roomies who were UBER excited with/for me. I tried to call Dad and Peter, but to no avail. (I finally talked to them both before I went to work on Friday.)
It's now 3am and I have to work tomorrow - well at least show up…don't know how much I'll be able to concentrate on doing. Already people were asking us about a date (Stephen and Tiff) and so after everyone went to bed, we talked and confirmed that January is the target date.
I'm so tired now but I am so thankful that today is here! It seems crazy that I can think about wedding stuff, that I can talk weddings and look at bridal magazines and go to bridal expositions. My brain has been going a hundred miles a minute, and poor David finally asked if we could give it 24 hrs. Good idea. Goodnight!
I hope you enjoyed this account. I'll post more as I know more! Sorry it's so long - I am long winded when telling stories…feel free to comment!