There's A Mansion, Oh That's Prepared Just For Me...

Wedding Wednesday

{via}

I have had a fairly boring past couple of days. Mostly me getting back in the swing of things. We're in the middle of VBS at Midwest City, which is one of my final acts as the volunteer youth director. This means I wake up at 6:30ish, go to work until 5pm, go straight to the church and help out until VBS ends around 8pm. I then go home, snack on something, go to bed, and start the cycle over again. Told ya it was boring.

So for lack of better things to blog about, I thought I'd start my own Wedding Wednesday series! I don't know how many weeks I'll spread this out for, so we'll see how it goes :) I love all things wedding and I can honestly say that I loved every moment about being engaged. I had fun with the planning process and everything! The only thing I didn't like was the feeling that I was NEVER getting married. I don't know how some people were engaged for 2+ years. The 1 1/2 was long enough to me!

Speaking of engagements, that's what my post today is! Because after all, you can't have a wedding without an engagement :)

Phil and I knew after we got back together in May of 2006 that we were in it for the long haul. Our relationship was very solid and we talked very seriously about our future together the entire summer. Shortly after school started, I made the suggestion that we look at rings at the mall. I mean, if he's going to get me a ring soon, he might as well know what I like ;) So we go to the local mall in OKC and stop at Zales. We look around for a little while, and then I saw it. THE ring. The one I have had dreams about. I swore the lights in that area became a little brighter as soon as my eyes locked in on this beautiful ring. I ask to try it on and it fits perfectly. Phil can tell I'm smitten because he can't stop smiling at me. As they talk about financing, the sales lady lets me keep it on. I am usually not a very vain person, but I could. not. stop. staring. at. this. ring. on. my. hand. I'd move it around, lay in on the table, and just giggle loudly on the inside as I imagine wearing this ring for the rest of my life. Once they finish up, she asks for it back and my heart breaks just a little :( I'm told the ring is on layaway and he'll be making payments for it.

Now, to be fair, I was a 20 year old who is about to make a big step in my life. I have watched "A Wedding Story" and "Perfect Proposal" on TLC for YEARS and I have an issue with relinquishing control. Knowing the perfect man had the perfect ring on layaway, I wanted to make sure he'd have the perfect proposal story. In order to do that, I had certain conditions. Again, I was a snotty 20 year old with high standards and big control issues. He had to keep this in mind, (no pressure Phil):

Cannot be on a holiday

Cannot be near my birthday

Preferably in the fall since it's my favorite season

Cannot be at a public place in front of hundreds of people

MUST be a surprise

I'm sure there were more, but those were the main ones.

Around November, my poor little head was reeling. When is he going to do it? How is he going to do it? Will I be surprised? Will it be a GOOD, romantic surprise? Will I be proud to tell people about it or embarrassed? How much longer must I wait? I thought about this all the time. Poor Phil and I were already having weekly fights because we missed each other. (Side note: at this point in our relationship, Phil had started grad school in Norman and I was still in Tulsa) This long distance relationship was really hard, but we knew it'd be worth it.

The week before Thanksgiving break, I have a conference in OKC. I've talked about O.I.L. (Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature) on here before and that's the conference I'm referring to. This particular year, we were staying at a really run down hotel just east of downtown. We were always looking for cheap hotels that didn't mind loud college students. Throughout the week, I would call Phil and talk, but we didn't have a lot of time to hang out. One particular afternoon, Saturday November 18th, I had a longer lunch than normal. I called up Phil and asked if we could hang out for awhile since I've been so busy. He agrees and we go to lunch. At once point in the conversation, I mention something about him making a payment on the ring, (which I still say to this day he told me he did, though he denies it every time). He tells me he hasn't done anything with the ring since we picked it out in early September. With this simple phrase, all those feeling of anxiety about worrying about getting engaged, and of course lack of sleep due to this conference, I just lose it. My blood starts to boil, my face gets hot and small flames appear in my eyes. I tell Phil that I'm tired of everything. Tired of worrying about when he does it, how he does it, etc. I told him to just do it when he's finally ready because I'm tired of thinking about it. With that, I tell him I need to head back, (which I did), and we'd talk later. The rest of the day, all I can think about is how awful I was. I continually tell my BFF, Annette, that I'm just being a brat and I need to make up with him. That evening was the O.I.L. Governor's Ball. This means I'd have to pay $10, ($20 if Phil came), to watch everyone get drunk and not eat anything because the food would be gone quickly. I text Phil while we're still in session and asks if he'd be willing to accept my apology and go to dinner with me, just the two of us. He tells me sure and I feel better the rest of the time. When Annette and I go back to our hotel room, she started to change for the ball while I relaxed by watching "The Wedding Singer" on TV. I heard a knock on the door, and have a feeling it's Phil.

Phil walks into the room holding a wrapped box. It's wrapped in Christmas paper and I ask him what it's for. He tells me it's a gift to say "I'm sorry" for our fight earlier. I told him that wasn't necessary, but thanks anyways. I unwrap the gift and it's a Cinderella snowglobe from Walgreen's that I had seen a few weeks earlier. I thank Phil telling him he's really sweet. He tells me to flip it over to listen to the song it plays.

Time Out: It was explained to me that when life altering things happen to you, you have no idea what's going on. I always thought I'd figure out when Phil would propose. He (and I) don't have much of a poker face. Looking back now, I could have flipped the snowglobe in it's box to hear the song, but I just naturally took it out of the box anyways. Funny.... Time In:

I open the box, and take the snowglobe out. I flip it over and see this...

I quickly look up at Phil who is now on the other side of the bed from me on one knee. He says something beautiful I'm sure, but my ears are burning and ringing too loudly. Whether he asked me to be his wife or to marry him, I said yes, surprisingly very softly since I can be pretty loud. Phil stands up but stays on the other side of the bed. I tell him he can join me and he walks slowly over to me. Phil told me later that was one of the scariest moments of his life. I'm sure he was still calming down afterwards. We have our picture taken, but I never did ever see it. That's ok with me because I had been dressed up and running around for over 12 hours that day. We go to Chili's in Midwest City for our dinner and then stop at my parents house to announce the good news :)

This is our hands on the way to Chili's

These were taken at Phil's Norman apartment the next day after church

Here's the infamous snowglobe

In the end, it didn't matter how the perfect man gave me the perfect ring. All that mattered was he was going to be mine and he chose me. I couldn't believe the man that God created just for me was in my life so early on. How blessed am I that I am married to my best friend? Very much so. I am proud to tell my engagement story to anyone that cares because he did do a wonderful job AND followed all the criteria I asked him to :)

And no, I didn't forget the music!

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - Your least favorite song
Day 03 - A song that makes you happy
Day 04 - A song that makes you sad
Day 05 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of somewhere
Day 07 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 08 - A song that you can dance to
Day 09 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 10 - A song that you want to play at your funeral

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

"No More Night" by David Phelps
Day 11 - A song that makes you think of your best friend
Day 12 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 13 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 14 - A song that describes you
Day 15 - A song from your favorite album
Day 16 - A song from your favorite band
Day 17 - A song from a band you can't stand
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 19- A song that you wish you could play
Day 20 - A song from your childhood
Day 21- A song with great lyrics
Day 22- A song you love with no lyrics
Day 23 - A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 24 - A song that you could never get tired of
Day 25 - Your favorite song at this time last year

Hope y'all are having a great week so far! Halfway to Friday...

Peace,

"No More Night" By David Phelps