engaged we were!

I was flipping through my travel journal and realized it was 2 years ago that brad and I were engaged. I had no idea he was even going to propose so I really would have been shocked to know a short 2 years later I'd be a married mother of 2! It was so fun remembering all the little details. My parents didn't want me to go so close to starting nursing school (I missed orientation), Brad was adamant that I leave on good terms with my dad, I had no idea why...
Before he proposed I spent the day on my own exploring NYC. I was anxious to meet up with him, then he got stuck on the subway almost 2 hrs. I talked to my sister Melinda and complained "I wanted to see wicked tonight, but Brad wants to go walk across the Brooklyn bridge, ugh...oh well." haha. We got pedicures, ate pastries, and had a perfect stroll across the bridge, the sun was setting over the city skyline and it was romantic. I realized it wasn't such a bad idea after all, little did I know how great of an idea it really was! We ate yummy pizza then walked around a little park. Brad was being a little funny trying to find a private place so he could give me a kiss. Finally we found a perfect spot on some rocks by the water, we had a beautiful view of the bridge and the city all reflected in the water.

I suspected nothing because we'd never even had a serious relationship conversation let alone discussed marriage. Suddenly the conversation turned serious and brad began to get down on one knee. My initial thought was that it was some cruel joke, but then he reached into his pocket and I realized it was the real thing! It was so perfect and romantic, it was like a fairy tale. It felt so right, it was an easy yes. We both said, "What do we do now? We've never made it this far..." I asked when, he said we'll figure that out later, but I knew it'd be everyone's first question.  So we took a few pictures and called our parents and a few others, everyone was shocked!  Brad's dad welcomed me to the family and said we were a good fit. My dad said we were both fun and adventurous and needed to make sure not to do too many wild and crazy things. (we had just got back from sneaking into Cuba) My parents were anxious to find out if I'd even said yes. I was impressed Brad picked out a ring I like, I was more impressed he was so brave to propose when he wasn't certain of the answer. It was old fashioned and I loved it.

My dad gets soo excited about big news and just can't keep a secret, if I'd listened to my voicemail it would have ruined the surprise. My sister called them and he said "have you heard the big news? My mom wanted me to tell her so she grabbed the phone and said "oh, don't listen to anything dad says, he's being SO weird today." my sister bought it. Haha...
It was such a special time, I wish I could go back and relive it.
I wrote about the whole thing on my plane ride home and as I wrote I felt overwhelmed with a strong confirmation that this was the right thing for me and Brad was who Heavenly Father intended me to be with all along. Other heartaches I'd experienced suddenly meant nothing, I wish I could have seen into the future and saved myself some pain.  I began to cry with joy and probably confused my fellow passengers.
Anyways, I love trying to plan out my life even though it never goes as planned. The surprises keep it exciting!  Saying yes was definitely one of the best decisions I've ever made.