The Beginning

I struggled with the idea of whether or not I wanted to start this blog so soon. I knew that once I got married I would need to jump on the bandwagon and start one like my sisters, but I kind of liked the idea of starting one once I was engaged. I think that planning my wedding will be one of the most exciting events I have and I wanted to make sure that I remembered the process I went through for mine. So to appease that idea, I started this blog. I hope I am not jinxing myself. Brittany did a really good job of pointing that out, but luckily Becca came to my rescue and simply stated that I could delete it if something doesn’t work out. Thanks guys. I have such a supportive family J Well here I am, writing this blog because I feel that life isn’t just about the final destination, but also about the journey.

To begin I will start with the good news. Last night I got engaged. I checked my left ring finger this morning to make sure I didn’t have some crazy wild dream. Last night still seems like a blur but everything was where it was supposed to be this morning. There was a ring on my finger, a big bouquet of red and yellow roses in my living room, and the pictures on the camera to prove that I couldn’t have made it up. I still get butterflies when I think about it. Never in a million years would I have thought that I was getting engaged. Judd told me that he wasn’t ever going to get the ring until January 20^th. Last night was the 15^th. I was expecting to wait at least another week if not more. And I thought I would know when I was getting proposed to. I was expecting the trip to Temple Square, the fancy restaurant, the romantic scenes and the typical (but sweet) proposal in front of all of the ring-hungry girls and their resentful boyfriends. However, that is not what happened. Not even close. But if I had to choose between the way that Judd asked me and the proposal I had in my head, I would pick his way any day.

Two days ago I got a phone call from my boyfriend (and now fiancé) Judd, asking me if I would meet with his stake president from Bountiful. He told me that they were very close and he wanted to meet me before we got engaged. I agreed to it. It seemed like a completely normal thing to me. Little did I know that when he asked me to “meet” with his stake president that he was actually asking me to marry him. So Sunday night rolls around and Judd and I began our trek to the Regional center. Regional center. Not stake center. I didn’t even notice that we were “meeting” with his president at the regional center instead of the stake center. However, Judd made it a point to tell me that they had just had stake conference there and that is why we were meeting him there instead of the stake center. We pulled up to the building and walked in to find an older gentleman posing as a secretary waiting for us. He informed us that the president was running a few minutes behind and invited us to wait there. In other words, that cute old man lied straight to my face. There was no president who was running behind. Of course, I didn’t know that so I just blindly followed Judd when he turned to the gentleman and informed him that we were going to walk around while we waited.

We began walking down the hallway to the main meeting area and made small talk about how this was where we both graduated from high school and how I attended his graduation without him even knowing it (my sister graduated with him). We then walked down the stairs into the main area and began walking towards the first place we ever really talked. A few months earlier during the summer, Judd came to my singles ward where we had first really seen each other. I am sure that we had probably seen each other in the halls at our high school or randomly around Bountiful, but neither of us can recall any of those moments. I remember him walking into the sacrament meeting and thinking he was cute. We didn’t talk or see each other for the rest of the Sunday meetings but after church there was a linger-longer up at the bowery. We both attended and ended up having our first encounter when he asked me if I was also looking for the garbage. To his surprise, (since I was holding a dirty, empty plate) was yes. We went on a trash-can finding adventure which lasted about 30 seconds and then parted ways.

Later that night there was a YSA fireside with Elder Ballard. I attended and afterwards was talking to some friends over at the spot where Judd took me last night. I couldn’t help but notice that he had been staring at me since I first walked over there. I guess he thought I was pretty cute because he had the guts to come over and speak to me. The first words out of his mouth? “Garbage girl, right?” Seriously. The guy is a charmer. I guess from that moment I knew I was hooked. I mean, who says that and finds that the girl he was trying to hit on is actually flirting back with him. However, his luck must have temporarily ran out on him because he later admitted that, although he wanted to, he couldn’t have asked for my number with my date and his date standing so near. But fortune did smile upon him and later that evening at the refreshment table (typical) we met up again and he mentioned that since we were both going to BYU in the fall, we should exchange numbers and hang out. This is when I pulled out my smooth moves and put my number in his phone. I didn’t ask for him to give me his number. I knew that I would be getting a call or text from him within the next few days. Turns out I was right and it all snowballed from there.

So back to the engagement story. Judd and I had walked to the exact spot where he had used that clever pick-up line. Knowing that I was not going to get engaged that night, I thought it was sweet and sentimental that we were standing there. I couldn’t help but get butterflies in my stomach for a second. After all, this is the place where we first talked and realized that there was probably a mutual attraction deep down. I realized that had we not been at that fireside that night that we would not be standing there now. I realized how lucky I was to be in the perfect spot at that exact moment where I could meet the guy I had been waiting for my whole life (Editor’s note: Please excuse all of the mushy-ness, but since I just got engaged I feel that I have every right to act like this). Judd kept walking and suggested that we go on the stand. I figured that we were going to have a mock stake conference only to have the stake president walk in and reprimand us, but to my shock (and I was VERY shocked) something else entirely different happened. We rounded the corner and started to walk up the stairs. Judd spoke to me in his I-am-trying-to-act-like-I-am-talking-like-I-am-nervous-on-purpose voice and asked, “What is this?” I turned to see roses. Big roses. Red roses. Yellow roses. A huge vase full of roses. Next an apple cider champagne bottle. Two glasses. A box. A ring. The most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen in my life. The ring. I stopped moving. I couldn’t catch my breath. The tears were coming. The tears were overflowing.

Thanks Caroline, Becca and Katelyn for the beautiful set up!

Judd had to drag me the rest of the way up the stairs because I couldn’t move. I wasn’t even sure if it was real life or if I was just having a very realistic dream. At this point though, it didn’t matter because Judd had grabbed the ring and was on one knee in front of me. He was laughing and smiling and I couldn’t help but notice that he was also a little teary eyed. He told me he loved me. I knew he did. And then he popped the question. He asked me if I would marry him. Looking back, it all seems like this giant whirlwind and everything was blurred together and I can only remember saying yes through my sobs. Like I said, I was surprised. So surprised. I have never been more surprised or felt that way before in my entire life. I wouldn’t have traded that feeling for the world, though. It was perfect. Everything had been perfect about it.

The ring

Judd grabbed the cider and poured us a glass. I guess he figured that since I gave him the answer he wanted, he could sit back and relax and not stress out over it anymore. But I highly doubt that it is easy to sit there while the person next to you is hyperventilating. But I guess that is something that I have always liked about Judd. He has always been able to act so cool in any kind of a situation. In fact, after finishing his glass of cider, he figured it would be cool to drink mine as well. So he did. Then he decided to mention that we were being recorded and that my two best friends, Becca and Katelyn, were hiding behind the curtains. He whistled to call them out and we reenacted the whole scene to take pictures. I couldn’t have been happier. Even today I feel that I have been walking on cloud nine and doubt I will ever come down. It isn’t everyday that your best friend tells you that he wants to be with you forever. Judd has been one of the greatest blessings in my life and I can’t wait to begin my life with him.

Yeah... He is pretty cute.