The Proposal
It all started in May 2011. I (David, the groom) had been looking at rings online and shopping around for a while. When May rolled around and I finally got through all my finals (I was, at the time, a Junior Biochemistry Major at Texas Tech) I began looking in earnest. I had a plan, but it called for waiting a whole lot longer than I wanted too; the Lord stepped in and provided a way to do it sooner. No planner here can even hope to compete with the Lord. With a thankful and humbled heart, I went to Anderson Brothers' Jewelry in Lubbock and after only about twenty minutes of looking I saw it. THE ring. I didn't stop looking around at other designs in the store, but this particular ring seemed to stick in my head. I kept on going back and comparing others to it until I realized I had found what I'd been so long looking for.
I went back home and while Katie and I were talking I accidentally let the brand name of the ring slip (I'm horrible at keeping secrets from Katie…even happy ones..I tell her everything..haha, even if I don't necessarily always mean to do so) Katie, of course, Googled the brand name and started browsing through rings. The FIRST one she saw that she liked, and the one which remained her favorite, was the style of ring that I had chosen. God works in mysterious ways. I of course did not tell her she had found the ring (on her first try...almost frustrating haha.. but not really) Determined as I was to keep the ring a secret from Katie, I couldn't.
She came up to Lubbock and, yes..I took her to the jewelry store. I couldn't help myself.. As it turns out, it was a good thing I did too because the size she had told me was slightly off. She had said she wore a 6; the owner of the store measured her finger at a 4.5 and said that, although they did not have a sizer for it, he believed a 4.25 would work even better. We decided to go with his 30 or so years of experience. Still trying to maintain some level of secrecy about the whole thing (a lost cause as I'm sure anyone reading this can tell by now..but hey, can't blame me for trying right?..) I ordered the ring a couple of days later. It would take from one to three weeks to come in. The only problem was that I was leaving the country for vacation in two and a half weeks, so I did not know if I would be able to pick it up. Once again, the Lord intervened and on the ninth of June, I got the call that the ring was ready.
The following Monday I drove to Lubbock and picked it up. As per my plan, however, I didn't propose just yet.. I had concocted a plan. I needed to talk to Katie's parents without her knowledge. But when to do it??!?? Every time I was near them, Katie was there too.. So, I decided to ask them at one of the busiest times of the year; Camp Meeting. Katie would, probably, be preoccupied with her self-induced duty of hostess. Perfect!! Remember what I said about keeping secrets being hopeless? You'd think I would have learned just not even to try after almost a solid year of absolute failures. BUT, I'm a stubborn kind of guy, so I tried again to keep it a secret that I talked to Katie's parents. And of course..the first thing her eyes told me when I went back outside was that she knew exactly what I'd been doing..
So, we went back to Snyder after Camp Meeting and I moved the ring to my backpack. On the 19th of July, 2011 we went to James and Heather's house in Leander. The previous night, I had talked to the two of them and a plan was set into motion. They set up a hidden camera in their living room and, after a txt from me warning we were getting close, they vacated the premises. Now, as I am sure you the reader are aware by now, I cannot keep a secret from Katie. At all. There is, however, an exception to every rule.
We walked in the house and while Katie was in a different part of the house, I took out the ring, located the camera, hid the ring, and began my pacing.. When Katie came back into the living room, we sat down on our little corner of the couch together, just like always. Katie brought up our first date and asked me if I remembered why the couch was special to us. "That's a funny question" I thought. "If only she knew..but she will in a minute.." That couch, and our corner of it, is a very special place for Katie and me. We sat there together the first time we hung out outside of church, we sat there together and watched "You've Got Mail" and "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" as part of our first date. It was while sitting on that couch that Katie and I shared our first kiss.. And every time we find ourselves in Leander, we sit in that same spot together. So really, the choice for where to propose wasn't a choice at all. All this ran through my head when Katie asked me "do you remember?.."
Although that question only took about three seconds and process, by the time I'd thought of everything you just read, I couldn't take it anymore. I asked Katie to stand up. And from then to the time I slipped the ring on her finger, I'm sorry you'll have to look elsewhere. It's not that I don't want to tell you. I simply don't remember. I had a speech. It left me as soon as I looked into her eyes.. I babbled for a bit I guess.. But the most important part is that I asked. And she said yes. I do remember that pretty clearly, and I don't think I'll ever forget.
I went back home and while Katie and I were talking I accidentally let the brand name of the ring slip (I'm horrible at keeping secrets from Katie…even happy ones..I tell her everything..haha, even if I don't necessarily always mean to do so) Katie, of course, Googled the brand name and started browsing through rings. The FIRST one she saw that she liked, and the one which remained her favorite, was the style of ring that I had chosen. God works in mysterious ways. I of course did not tell her she had found the ring (on her first try...almost frustrating haha.. but not really) Determined as I was to keep the ring a secret from Katie, I couldn't.
She came up to Lubbock and, yes..I took her to the jewelry store. I couldn't help myself.. As it turns out, it was a good thing I did too because the size she had told me was slightly off. She had said she wore a 6; the owner of the store measured her finger at a 4.5 and said that, although they did not have a sizer for it, he believed a 4.25 would work even better. We decided to go with his 30 or so years of experience. Still trying to maintain some level of secrecy about the whole thing (a lost cause as I'm sure anyone reading this can tell by now..but hey, can't blame me for trying right?..) I ordered the ring a couple of days later. It would take from one to three weeks to come in. The only problem was that I was leaving the country for vacation in two and a half weeks, so I did not know if I would be able to pick it up. Once again, the Lord intervened and on the ninth of June, I got the call that the ring was ready.
The following Monday I drove to Lubbock and picked it up. As per my plan, however, I didn't propose just yet.. I had concocted a plan. I needed to talk to Katie's parents without her knowledge. But when to do it??!?? Every time I was near them, Katie was there too.. So, I decided to ask them at one of the busiest times of the year; Camp Meeting. Katie would, probably, be preoccupied with her self-induced duty of hostess. Perfect!! Remember what I said about keeping secrets being hopeless? You'd think I would have learned just not even to try after almost a solid year of absolute failures. BUT, I'm a stubborn kind of guy, so I tried again to keep it a secret that I talked to Katie's parents. And of course..the first thing her eyes told me when I went back outside was that she knew exactly what I'd been doing..
So, we went back to Snyder after Camp Meeting and I moved the ring to my backpack. On the 19th of July, 2011 we went to James and Heather's house in Leander. The previous night, I had talked to the two of them and a plan was set into motion. They set up a hidden camera in their living room and, after a txt from me warning we were getting close, they vacated the premises. Now, as I am sure you the reader are aware by now, I cannot keep a secret from Katie. At all. There is, however, an exception to every rule.
We walked in the house and while Katie was in a different part of the house, I took out the ring, located the camera, hid the ring, and began my pacing.. When Katie came back into the living room, we sat down on our little corner of the couch together, just like always. Katie brought up our first date and asked me if I remembered why the couch was special to us. "That's a funny question" I thought. "If only she knew..but she will in a minute.." That couch, and our corner of it, is a very special place for Katie and me. We sat there together the first time we hung out outside of church, we sat there together and watched "You've Got Mail" and "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" as part of our first date. It was while sitting on that couch that Katie and I shared our first kiss.. And every time we find ourselves in Leander, we sit in that same spot together. So really, the choice for where to propose wasn't a choice at all. All this ran through my head when Katie asked me "do you remember?.."
Although that question only took about three seconds and process, by the time I'd thought of everything you just read, I couldn't take it anymore. I asked Katie to stand up. And from then to the time I slipped the ring on her finger, I'm sorry you'll have to look elsewhere. It's not that I don't want to tell you. I simply don't remember. I had a speech. It left me as soon as I looked into her eyes.. I babbled for a bit I guess.. But the most important part is that I asked. And she said yes. I do remember that pretty clearly, and I don't think I'll ever forget.
