engaged!

jimmy and i are engaged! he proposed on march 1, 2010 at the grand lux cafe in downtown chicago. he surprised me after picking me up from Bible study by saying, "let's go do something fun."it was almost 10:30 by the time we got to the restaurant, so there were just a few other people there having late dinners or dessert. jimmy and i split a sandwich and then he started telling me about some of the events in his life that he considers major turning points. it all seemed pretty unremarkable, and i had convinced myself that he wouldn't propose that night, so i was totally relaxed and just enjoying the chance to do something spontaneous with him. then he told me to close my eyes and suddenly i was suspicious.

i sat with my eyes closed for what seemed an eternity and then he told me to open my eyes. "i've lost my train of thought" he said. by then, i was pretty sure that he was going to propose, and i practically ran to the bathroom to fix my hair a little bit and make sure i didn't look too tired at the end of a long day. hehe

when i came back, we talked a little bit more and then he told me to close my eyes again. this time i knew it must be "the moment", and i was trying so hard not to peek. :) he read me a letter i had given my dad for christmas about 10 years ago. in the letter i had given my dad a blank key and told him that it represented the key to my heart. someday when a man gave me that key, i would know he had my dad's blessing to marry me. jimmy told me to open my eyes, and then he gave me that blank key.

right after he gave me the key, our dessert arrived - with the open ring box on the tray with our creme brulee. i was totally surprised and jumped up to give him a kiss and hug. the super

amazing waitress said, "put on the ring. it's so sparkly!" and i told her that he hadn't asked me to marry him just yet. she left and he pulled out a letter of his own. he had written the sweetest letter about how much he loves me and how he can't wait to share his life with me and how Christ is and always will be the center of our relationship. when he finished his letter, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! of course i said YES and then he put the ring on my finger. the moment was pure bliss!!!!!

everyone in the restaurant started clapping and cheering for us and our waitress came over to take a picture while we still had the most ridiculously huge grins. everything about our engagement story was perfect. jimmy surprised me with his spontaneity and yet managed to have a beautiful letter prepared. he picked out the absolutely most dreamy ring and gave it to me in a fun way. by the time he proposed it was 11:30 so the restaurant was almost empty but there were still a few people there to share our excitement, and that was surprisingly fun. and of course, the best part is that i walked into the restaurant with a boyfriend and walked out with a fiance! :)