And they lived (adjective) ever after.

Wow... I guess that I haven't realized how long it has truly been since I wrote my last blog! Life has been moving so fast during the last couple of months. Seriously, there is always something going on. No joke.

Okay, so where should I begin? Maybe at the beginning of December, I suppose? My birthday was on a Tuesday this year. Real cool, I know! I went home after my class and spent the day with Mark, and we went out for supper that night. It was so nice to be able to just kind of relax and spend some quality time together. As the month wore on, I kept thinking and talking more about what it would be like if Mark and I were to get married some day. Each time I brought it up, he would simply look at me and say that he thought it would be a better idea to wait a couple of years and see where life was taking us then. (Little did I know that he had already bought my ring!)

On December 22, we left after church for a quick trip down to Duluth to visit a cousin of Mark's before the Christmas season hit us with full force. We both had already received our Christmas presents from each other at this point. I gave Mark a 10" Jiffy propane auger, and he got me skis, poles, and boots for cross-country skiing! I think that we were both pretty excited, plus we can use them to do fun things together. I'll admit though, we are not very good at keeping secrets from one another! HOWEVER, Mark did keep on of the biggest secrets EVER from me. How he did it, I will never know because:

1. I'm nosy.
2. I pay VERY close attention to things.
3. I ask questions.
4. I always double check bank statements.
5. I can tell when he's lying. (Not that he does it often, though!)

We both brought our skiing stuff with us in hopes that we would get the time to go for a quick, fun, romantic date. We couldn't find a park that had good ski trails, though and it was 3:30. It gets dark early in Minnesota this time of year! I had actually said that if this park did not have a ski trail that we were just going to forget it and go do something else instead. We pulled in and sure enough, there was a pretty good ski trail awaiting us. I was excited. This was going to be my first cross-country skiing adventure, and I was needing a good workout. The trail was along a river when we started off and after a while, it turned off and went into the woods. I started heading off into the woods and Mark called me back to alongside the river with him. We back tracked and crossed a bridge to the other side of the river to go on a trail there. I was finally getting into the groove of things. I felt like I was going SUPER fast (probably not) and everything was great, but then, we came to a little hill where my confidence quickly left me. Mark was already at the bottom of the hill and it was one of those moments where I thought that I was going to prove to him just how quick of a learner I was. Long story short, I think I fell down four times on that one, small hill. Real impressive I know.

At the bottom of the hill was a waterfall. The river was covered in ice, but the water was flowing so fast  at the part that the water wouldn't freeze and it was absolutely beautiful. Mark leaned up against a tree and asked me to come stand by him. He wrapped his arm around me and we just stared and it for awhile. He looked at me and said, "Isn't it breathtaking?" I can't really remember what I said, but it was along the lines of "yes, it's so pretty." He then took me by the hand and said "but not as breathtaking as you." He got down on one knee, took out the ring, asked me to spend forever with him, and we lived happily ever after. Okay, maybe not quite, but everything is true up until this last sentence. He took me by the hand and started getting down on one knee when my mouth had to wreck the beautiful moment. "Mark if this is a joke, this isn't funny. Mark seriously, this is NOT funny! What are you doing?!!" Those are some of my exact words at that moment. In my defense though, if your significant other had "faked" asking you to marry them before, would you believe them?!

He just sat there and stared at me the whole time that he reached into his pocket for the ring. His eyes were glistening with tears and happiness (Don't tell him that I said anything about the tears!! He'll deny it.) He opened the box and it was at that point and time that I knew that this was for real. The dream that I have dreamed for the past 20 years of my life was actually coming true. I was going to be able to marry a man that meant everything to me. The man that makes me smile, giggle, laugh, cry, happy, smarter, kinder, sweeter, etc. The list seriously goes on and on.

He looked up at me and said "Will you spend forever with me?" My hands were shaking. My heart was pounding. Of course though, I left him hanging. I didn't give him an answer right away, because I was so shocked and in awe that I just assumed that he knew that I was going to say yes! I did say yes then after he asked me for the second time and I have never seen him happier than he was right there in that moment. It's giving me butterflies and causing tiny droplets of tears to form along the outer corners of my eyes right now as I replay everything in my mind. I also had never been happier in my entire life.

So now, I find myself trying to plan a wedding! Things are going very........slowly. :) I am not good at making important decisions and I feel like there are so many things that I need to take care of and get checked off the list sooner rather than later! Believe me, if you have any tips or suggestions, I'll listen! I do know that we are getting married on August 9, 2014 at the Sion Lutheran Church in Lancaster, MN at 6 PM (for all of you farmers out there!) and our reception will follow at the Kittson County Fairgrounds in Hallock, MN. We have reserved a block of rooms at the Budget Host Inn in Hallock, and you are welcome to make reservations as you like!

Thank you for your prayers, kind words, thoughts, and cards as we begin our journey towards becoming husband and wife. We are blessed to have found each other and to have such loving, wonderful people supporting us. Again, thank you! It truly means more than you could ever imagine.

P.S. Remember how I subtly mentioned before that Mark already had my ring then? He actually had it for TWO MONTHS before he asked me. What a brat. ;) Oh, and when my parents went to tell my brothers that we were getting married, Dad said "so, how would you guys like to have a new brother?" There immediate impression? Crap, Mom's pregnant! Not quite, just a bigger, older, tougher brother-in law. haha