{Beautiful, Happy, Funny, Real}: He chose me!

Linking up with Like Mother, Like Daughter for {Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}, but for today my Pretty is going to be Beautiful. It's just a bit more fitting for the story being told.

~~~

Four years ago, my now husband, decided that he would ask me to be his wife on the Solemnity of the Assumption of our Blessed Mother. On this beautiful feast day (which I look forward to every year!) he chose me. He decided that I was the one he wanted to love and choose to love on a daily basis. I was the one he wanted to choose Joy with. I was the one he wanted to struggle with. The one that he wanted to journey towards Heaven with. The one that he wanted to start a family with. The one he wanted to grow old with till death do us part. Four years ago today, he beautifully proposed to little old me, because I was the one for him.

When he asked me to marry him, a special part of our journey started. And I will be forever thankful to him for making our special day - the very day that started our journey towards forever - so incredibly beautiful. 

{Beautiful}

To share a little background of the pictures to come:

We were long distance at this point. And if you know anything about long distance relationships, you know they are challenging. Our weekends were our time. This weekend, years ago, we met up in College Station for a wedding. Our beautiful friends were getting married on this exciting day.

At this point in our relationship, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I was soooooooooo ready for this man to propose. As much as he chose me, I had already chosen him too! So, after we attended our friends' beautiful wedding, I found myself griping to my good friends about how obviously, he was not going to propose to me today, or this weekend, so we should all go out and have a good time! My friends agreed and encouraged me to be excited. 

While getting me excited about how much fun we would have that night, they kept encouraging me to dress nicely. All I kept saying was that I wanted to sport my non-bra needing tank + comfy pants+favorite comfy sandles! Haha, it's how I do! Looking back, I don't think my friends thought I was dressed nice enough, but for me, comfort was all that mattered on my non-engagement day. That and hot wings! Hot wings and beer were what I was wanting for dinner because, I'm that girl. So, hot wings and beer it was.

We all went to have dinner and it was great! Also, while eating, Fr. Brian showed up. My friends, who were all in on the secret that was being kept from me, shared with him that today was in fact the day I had been praying for. So, he decided to come to our table and give us a special blessing. I found it odd, but awesome! Who doesn't like to receive random blessing? It's really special to look back and remember that his special blessing was specific for the engagement journey that was to start directly after dinner.

Now, my sweet husband and I had driven to the restaurant together, but we did not leave together. He had gone to the bathroom and was taking FOR-EV-ER and me and my impatient self who was ready to get her fun on, decided to leave with my girlfriend who left behind her boyfriend (now husband) to wait for him. Yah, I was really sweet.

Sweet friend, who I love so much, and I got in the car to get some good parking and wait for the guys. Upon arriving to the parking lot, sweet friend looked over at me and gave me a note. 

GeekMan asked me to give this to you.

I took the note and immediately started to cry. She looked at me and laughed.

Now you know why you needed to dress up?!?

She handed me a phone with some headphones. He had made me a playlist of all our songs with a couple new ones that were special to the evening. I listened to these songs every time I was being driven to a new location (there were four). The note she handed me looked something like this:

The notes were clues to four different locations. Each location had about three clues all pertaining to our dating journey. It was pretty amazing and all things sweet and thoughtful. 

My friend was the driver for the night, and I couldn't have been more happy to have shared this awesome time with her. Also, we had a bunch of other amazing friends stationed throughout the journey taking pictures (Promise these aren't all selfies!). This whole bunch are forever special to me/us. They gave us both such a gift that evening! As much as we were so grateful for their picture-taking and driving skills, we are even more thankful for how they selflessly loved us that night!

The first note took us to a chapel where 24-hour Eucharistic adoration was always held. GeekMan and I had both spent many an hour in this chapel during the later part of our college years. Never together, but definitely sharing our hearts with Our Lord about our lives and each other. 

The next note took me to the place where we first met.

The story of how we met is quite the interesting, funny, and special one that I definitely need to get down in writing soon. But for now, know that it was a Film class that had our paths cross. A film class that I thought would just let me watch fun movies (The class didn't happen how I thought it would. And, no fun was had for me in the end.). And, a film class where lots of fun was had by GeekMan since he was a movie buff and because he got to see me, of course!

So, with that tidbit of information, my notes took me to the building where our film class was held.

At this point, I was wondering when I would get to see GeekMan to hold him and hug him and love him! But, the hunt was not over yet. The next location disclosed from the note I found at the foot of our film building took me to a Marian grotto at a different church that was so special to our relationship. We attended many a Mass here and received so many spiritual blessings from people we met there, the priests, the organizations, retreats, and so much more!

Below is a picture I'm including for Theme Thursday. The theme today is faith! Our faith lives were so nourished in this place. Not only in the grotto, which is where my next set of notes was found.... 

...but, also for our engagement story. I know Our Lady was praying for us this evening and throughout our relationship. I know, because I asked this of her. And, what mother would not respond to her child's request for prayer?

My last set of notes took me to my final destination. It was to the park that had a very special bridge. It's the bridge where we walked, many years back early in our sophomore year of college, and held hands for the very. first. time. 

 The journey up to this point was amazing and filled with so much love and reminiscing! I was crying tears of joy and happiness the whole time (We're talking major snot-face here!), all the while offering prayers of thanksgiving to Our Lord for blessing his little daughter so abundantly.

So that lengthy bit of our engagement story is my beautiful.

{Happy}
So happy was I throughout this little scavenger hunt! But, not as happy as I was when I finally got to meet him on the bridge.

Prior to seeing him, I found our friends. One of them set up a video that he had made for me to watch while I wait for him on the bridge. The video was a compilation of pictures of our relationship. Old and new. Fun and funny. And all things in between. {Insert incredibly embarrassing snot-faced me here too}.

Once the video finished, the amazing man that God blessed me with, walked up to me and made me the happiest women in the world. I'll let this next series of pictures share my happiness.

AMAZING! I had never been so happy ever before! Not in this way. This was a special happy.

 {Funny}
Now enter funny. After he proposed and I said, "YES!!!" our friends started cheering and running towards us. But I wasn't just yet ready to share that little moment with them. I wanted just a tiny bit more time to relish and take it all in. To hold him and tell him I love him over and over and over again. So, GeekMan hollered, "Not yet!", wherein they all immediately quieted and returned from wherever they had been hiding.

Awkward!

After I had my moments, he yelled out, "She said YES!", and then we were surrounded by all the wonderful friends that helped make our hearts feel so full.

Next, the girls were asking to see the ring. The very ring I hadn't even seen! It was so dark, and as much as the ring is the outward sign of our promise, I was just elated about the promise. We all laughed a bit and found some light where we could see my little gift. It was beautiful!

Another funny is this picture below. If you know anything about my husband, you know he is famous for closing his eyes for pictures. We took a handful and they all pretty much looked like this:

And the last funny is that my sandle (my most favorite pair) decided to break on me. There was no fixing these sandles which left me walking back through the park with one sandle in hand and the other on foot. I was that cool kid at her own engagement party.

 {Real}
At the end of this day four years ago, GeekMan made a promise to me. And, the most real thing about it all, is he has kept his promise.

My husband blessed me abundantly on that very special day. The day that started our special journey towards marriage. The incredible journey that has brought us to where we are today - two beautiful boys and lots of love later.

i love you, babe.

&

Happy Feast of the Assumption of Mary!

~~~

Found this quote from The Catholic Wife via her FaceBook page and had to share:

"The Feast of the Assumption of our Lady prompts us to acknowledge the basis for this joyful hope. Yes, we are still pilgrims, but our mother has gone on ahead, where she points to the reward of our efforts. She tells us that we can make it. And, if we are faithful, we will reach home. " - Christ is Passing By, 177

Mary, Mother of Our Lord, pray for us.

(Head on over to Fine Linens and Purple for more Feast of the Assumption posts!)