Engagement Night from AJ's Perspective

Hi Everyone!

July 15 will be a day I will always remember. The plan for the day was set in motion when I received Chrissy's fathers approval to request her hand in marriage. I wanted to keep Chrissy on her toes, as she was persistent in wanting to know when I was going to ask. In fact, Chrissy had the engagement down almost to the day. So, I had to do things different then I originally had plan so I could throw her off.

I bought Chrissy matching earrings to give to her Monday night (July 14) to throw her off a little bit, but I decided to wait to give it to her the next day at dinner (I will touch bases on that in a few minutes), but instead I bought her a card and a box of chocolates and wrote a note and left it on her bed.

My idea for July 15 was to take Chrissy shopping and then take her to Va. Beach for a twilight dinner and follow by a walk on the beach. What Chrissy didn't know was the kind of restaurant that I was taking her to. I wanted it to overlook the ocean, so we can look out while we ate.

In the middle of dinner, I made an excuse to run to the bathroom and to get a camera for us to take pictures at the restaurant. What Chrissy didn't know is that I took the time to get the earrings and finish putting the bear together. I did not want the earrings to be in my pocket, as she may have seen it and thought something was up. Towards the end of dinner, I had the earrings on the chair and I told Chrissy that I loved her and that I wanted to give her something (the earrings). As I took it out and gave it to her, she look stunned and surprised as this was the moment. As Chrissy mentioned on her post, she realized that this wasn't it (and her face showed that as her demeanor had changed).

As we finished dinner, we went to the truck to get the cooler and the bag with the bear and a blanket to sit on while we are on the beach. We went out to the beach and we found a spot for the both of us to sit. There were people around us and it was my desire for us to have a very private romantic moment. I silently prayed that God will give us some privacy, so I can asked my love to marry me. As time went on the crowd around us thinned out and the majority of the people around us were just taking a stroll down the beach. I decided to start the proposal by telling Chrissy that I have written something, and that it was Thirty Reasons Why I Love Chrissy. I advised her that the order goes from being funny to being serious. After I read off the list, I told her that I had something else for her and I turned around and grabbed the bear out of the bag. I took the bear out and had the ring on a pearl necklace around the bear's neck. Then I played the message that I recorded for her and then I took the ring off the neck of the bear (which I had a hard time) and got on my knees and I asked my love to marry me. It was priceless to have seen her facial expression, because at that time her face had a look of awe and totally surprised by the whole thing.

From there, I told her that I had a few other things for her. I took out a wedding dress for the bear that I bought her, and then chocolate covered strawberries for us to eat in celebration.

I loved that night, as the one that God has chosen for me said yes and now we can begin our journey together.

As it is said, that is the rest of the story.