Nat in the Hat: Our Story Part II: The Engagement

In my last blog post, Our Story: The Beginnings, I wrote about how John and I met, got to know each other, began dating, and became best friends.

At Christmas time, just about a month and a half after we starting dating, John went home for Christmas. I figured that if I missed him, that would be a good sign and if I didn't miss him much, then that would also be a sign. I was surprised to find that I missed him like crazy!!!! We talked and/or skyped and texted every day he was gone and we got to know each other a lot better. It was great to find that our conversations were never awkward or boring and we never ran out of things to say. When he got back, we began talking hypothetically about getting married. As the months went by, we talked more seriously about it. On March 1, right before going to a surprise dinner my coworkers and I were putting on for my boss, John and I decided we were going to work towards getting married.

1 March at a surprise dinner party

Things got a little sticky for a while, with John getting laid off from work and the stress of not knowing whether or not I'd get into graduate school and such. Our faith was definitely tested, but somehow everything worked out for the best. In April we decided we would plan for the wedding in August and unofficially announced it to our immediate family.

In July we decided to stop waiting to officially announce our engagement.

We really enjoy going on motorcycle rides together. For quite some time, John and I joked about going up to Squaw Peak, known as the local "make-out" spot in Provo. But neither of us had ever been to the Squaw Peak lookout, though we'd heard it's pretty, so we decided to go on a ride up there. Plans fell through, but we were still talking about going. At this point in time, I was taking summer classes up in Salt Lake City.
On 15 July, before leaving for my class, John suggested that I hurry home so we could finally go on our ride to Squaw Peak. It was perfect weather for a ride, and I was excited to go. We had picked out a wedding ring a couple of weeks before at a super cute antique store called Cat's Cradle in Provo. However, I didn't think John actually had the ring yet, and I didn't think he'd asked for permission yet, so I didn't expect the proposal.
We rode up to Squaw Peak as the sun was setting. It was just after rain, and the weather was gorgeous. We sat on a stone wall overlooking the valley, talked, and just enjoyed one another's company. After a little while, John pulled out the ring box and said, "Do you want it?" I was super duper excited! After teasing me for a minute, John put the ring on my finger. A little unorthodox maybe, but it was perfect!

The view from Squaw Peak

Engaged!!!! :)

The ring and John's tea set--sorry I don't really have a nice closer up picture

For those who didn't know what was going, it seemed like the shortest engagement ever--engaged on 15 July, married on 16 August. Some people wondered how long we'd actually known each other--and if we were rushing into things. We'd known each other long enough, and we definitely weren't rushing into anything. I had a wedding dress nearly a month before we were "officially" engaged, and we had started making plans even before that.
Sometimes life throws unexpected curveballs. Sometimes we think that our plans are perfect, and God steps in and says, "There's something you need to learn first" or "There's something better up ahead so hang on while I shape and mold you to prepare for it". Sometimes we get frustrated thinking that our plans aren't working out how they're supposed to. But then looking back we realize that God truly could see the bigger picture. He knew that we had more potential than we realized, and he arranged everything so we could achieve that potential. I realize this is very vague, but I just wanted to say that God is so good!!!! He is so aware of us, our needs, our wants, our fears, our heartaches, our mistakes, our achievements, and the things that will truly make us happy in the end. I am so happy to be on this journey of life with John!!! He is my best friend and I look forward to experiencing the joys and the sorrows of this life with him. I'm excited to learn and grow as an individual and as a couple throughout this journey. :)

Some of our engagement pics (I totally recommend our awesome photographer Artography by Kami) :