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Thursday, July 20, 2017

how he asked

he liked it, so he put a ring on it!
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I will never forget the first time I met MJHJR. I can remember it SO vividly, as if it happened yesterday. it was a hot, sun-shinny, Sunday afternoon! I was sitting in a coffee shop excited to meet this guy I'd hope could become my boyfriend. I was as white as a ghost, with my heart beating outside of my chest. I remember seeing him from afar as he walked towards the door, in his hat, black t-shirt & jeans on. I jumped off the stool & gave him a hug, as if we'd known each other for years. my stomach actually dropped & I was so giddy/excited/freaking out/trying to play it cool that a cute boy from up north thought he should drive down state just to get coffee... with me! he bought us iced lattes & we proceeded to talk for five hours. fast forward through two years of long drives home, texts, adventures, walks, talks, tears, laughs, kisses, disagreements, new jobs, new houses, new friends, lots of dates, road trips, long phone calls, cuddles & a lot of love... to last weekend! sort of reminds me of how I was feeling last Sunday when I met my fiance for the first time!
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my family tries to be intentional about having family dinners when we can, so last week when my sister texted the fam that her & her husband were hosting a family bbq... of course I didn't think anything of it. in fact I texted MJHJR right away, to give him the heads up that we had family dinner coming up. he of course made a cheeky comment about  how he'd be missing a dumb TV show, before he could agree he would be there. we had just got home from a long weekend in Chicago, so I was eager to tell twin about our trip and how much fun we had! the twins arranged a double date for Sunday afternoon, before the family bbq. if you know me, you know how much I love my family. in fact being around my family is my favorite past time! so none of these plans or activities seemed out of the ordinary.

MJHJR & I generally have a very routine Sunday. we usually go to church, go grocery shopping, relax a bit, maybe go on a walk & get ready for the work week (... that makes us seem old & boring... but I love it). which is why last Sunday didn't seem at all unusual, as we went about our Sunday afternoon as we normally would. not to mention Michael seemed totally laid back & normal.... literally didn't lead onto ANYTHING (boo are you a spy or actor on the side?!). we headed downtown & met the Van's at belle isle as planned. we bummed around the conservatory, looked at pretty flowers & walked through the gardens. tried to convince boo to get us ice cream & pretty sure we mentioned how it would be cool to get married at the conservatory. typical conversations & trailing around to different sights. early on that week linds & I had discussed that we were set on taking a picture together, cause we hadn't seen each other in a while & are always eager to have a nice updated twin-pic, as we call it.

the conservatory was ideal for a cool new twin-pic... however it was rather crowded & sweaty. we wandered down to a different part of the island that leads to a beachfront. the four of us walked down this trail to explore. finally we found a cool tree lined tunnel, that led to the water. it was cute, but I wasn't a fan of the lighting. we got a twin-pic. then I snapped some photos of JV & LV, they were cute... but I felt like there were weird shadows & bad lighting. so naturally, when Linds offered to take a picture of us, I grabbed MJHJR's hand & told her to take our picture across the way in a field instead.
side note: little did I know that just the day before MJHJR was meeting with JV&LV to pass off the ring so he wouldn't have to carry it around all day. so just as they planned while I was snapping pictures of the Van's, Michael was grabbing the ring from Linds purse ... good thing I didn't turn around?!
we venture out of the tree tunnel back into this huge open field. Linds is trying to take a picture of my cute boyfriend & I. meanwhile of course in true MJHJR fashion, he is making dumb faces & flashing gang symbols. I was trying so hard not to get too annoyed ... but I swear boyfran just can't seem to ever take a 'normal' photo when I ask. before I could even begin to lecture him on why he needs to act normal & cute in a picture.... he's kneeling on one knee telling me how much he loves me & asking me to MARRY HIM!?

ME!?! you want MEEEE to MARRY YOU!?! to say I was shocked, surprised, excited, freaking out is all an understatement. my heart was racing so fast & I couldn't stop shaking! all I could say was are you serious & are you sure... not really what I had been rehearsing for the last 27 years. but somehow I managed to say YES .... and sort of stop shaking enough so he could put the ring on my finger. IS THIS REAL LIFE?! we of course have talked & planned on getting married for some time now, but the timing was always a little touchy. I didn't want to be THAT girl always bugging him about it ... and thought here & there it would happen, then when it didn't I just kept telling myself I had some time before he'd ask & really was expecting him to propose in the fall! I thought I was SURE he hadn't talked to my parents, there was no way he had got a ring yet & helllllo I know where he is at all times (clearly not) ... well, I was very wrong ... ha! what a sneaky little thing!

 

Linds & Jeff were able to capture the moment of pure bliss on video & in these perfect pictures! they gave us some time to be by ourselves & enjoy the moment. from there they explained how we were going to the family bbq to celebrate OUR engagement?! and that literally the entire family was there waiting for us!? having our family's close by was SO special & exactly how I'd have dreamt up as the perfect proposal (makes sense he made it happen ;)). everything about Michael's proposal was honestly perfect, exactly how WE would want it; a HUGE surprise, yet laid back, exciting, no big crowds & our family close by! so here we are two years later and you're still giving me butterflies & making my heart race with excitement baby!! it was fun being your girlfriend, I can't wait to be your wife!


MJHJR - you got me so good boo! I am still in actual shock as I type this gazing at my shiny hardware & can't believe you asked me to marry you! I feel like we just met for the first time. I literally cannot wait to marry YOU & become your wife! you are my favorite human & I truly can't imagine my life without you in it! babe you are the exact mix of calm, consistent, funny, wise, caring, weird, encouraging, goofy, quiet, thoughtful, detailed & concerned personality that I need in my life. you make me feel so loved, cared for, comfortable, beautiful, needed & known even on my hardest days! I can't wait for your comic to come out, because you're my favorite superhero! I'm so thankful that our paths crossed when they did ... God knew we needed each other. I had a feeling life with you would always be a Holliday.

I love you bae, hey lets get hitched! 

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