I am finally getting around to writing our engagement story. Just so you know, I am breaking it up into two parts. To read more about what led up to our engagement, you can go to the "Labels" section to the right of the screen and click on "Our Story."
Matt and I "officially" began dating March 10, 2004. We finished out that semester at college, both as seniors. But, due to changing my major in my second year, I still had a few classes left, so I was not able to graduate. Matt did graduate, however. It was at graduation time that I first met his parents. I was SO nervous! He assured me that they would love me, and that his mom would probably give me a hug the second we met, but still. I was totally "freaked out." What if they hated me? His dad is an evangelist, after all! I was intimidated! Well, I am sure you can assume by now that I passed the test and they approved of me (at least I think so!). And yes, the second I met Matt's mom, she gave me a BIG hug! :-)
That summer was pretty much the longest one of my life. It started off great. My brother, Andrew, got married in New Hampshire, so Matt drove down the 6 hours for the wedding, and then I went back with him to his house for a week. But then, I flew home and Matt spent the summer up north at the camp in Nemeska, Quebec. It is quite remote there, with sketchy cell service, so we didn't get to talk all that often. When he wasn't at the camp, he was traveling around with his dad.
Meanwhile, my parents were in the middle of moving from Lakewood, Colorado to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They had not found a house yet, so my mom and I spent the summer staying at friend's and family's houses, as well as traveling around with my dad and staying in hotels. I missed Matt so much. But at the same time, I look back with fond memories of that summer because I was able to spend so much one on one time with my mom. Seeing as how I got married the next summer, I think the Lord worked it so we could have that special memory together.
Well, summer ended and we headed back to school. I was entering my second senior year and Matt was going back as a grad student. School started out great and Matt and I spend as much time together as possible. There is a policy at that school that guys and girls cannot be "off campus" together without a chaperone until the girl turns 23. I was only 22, so we either had to get a chaperone to go somewhere with us, or we just hung out on campus.
We had not been back to school for very long when a "natural disaster" in the form of Hurricane Ivan hit the Gulf of Mexico. The whole school went into lock-down and we all spent what is one of the longest nights of my life in shelters. Of course, Matt was in a separate shelter than I was. Hurricane Ivan did a lot of damage, but all that is in and of itself a whole other story, one that I may tell you someday.
So, the hurricane was in September, and after that we resumed school and life as normal. Usually Matt and I were able to spend a lot of the weekend together, but that changed when he started interning at a church in Mobile, Alabama. So I usually did not see him at all on Sundays.
Well, it was nearing the end of October, and Matt suggested that we take a Saturday and go do something fun with my family. At that time, my brother, Andrew, and his wife, Danielle, were on staff, and my sister, Amanda, was a freshman. It just so happened that Danielle's sister, Deana, was on staff and an approved chaperone, so we made plans to all go out to eat then go to the park and play games. I was suspicious of nothing and just thought that it was going to be a relaxing day with family away from school.
That morning, I got ready and was riding down the elevator to go meet up with everyone. Also in the elevator was my good friend, Miranda. It was a very crowded elevator and I can still remember us, crunched up in one corner. "What are you doing today?" she asked. I told her, then she smiled at me and said, "I bet you are going to get engaged today." I laughed. Ha! "No way. He doesn't have a ring. I don't even think he can afford one right now. So no, it isn't happening today. Its gonna happen at Christmas." I told her. "Ya, right" she replied with a smirk on her face. She really did not know that it was going to happen, she was just guessing. I again told her it was in no way going to happen that day because Matt didn't even have a ring and I knew it would happen at Christmas when he came to visit me. And I exited the elevator to go meet up with Matt and everyone else.
Well, let's just say I would soon be eating my words...
Until next time....
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