ENGAGED!!

Holy smokes!! Just when you think you have everything figured out, God steps in and shows you the REAL plan! :) I never saw this coming and was completely blown away by the most wonderful man I have ever known. I am so excited to say that I get to marry my best friend!

There have been many requests for the proposal story beyond the basic “He asked me to marry him and I said ‘yes!’”. ;) Continue on, dear reader, to discover how the man I love became my fiancé!

Since we were going to be apart on Christmas, Dan and I had decided to have our own celebration the weekend before (Dec. 17-20) while I was visiting him up in Germantown. Since we both had 4 gifts for each other, we also decided to increase the excitement and prolong the festivities by giving out only one gift per day. After battling Beltway and 270 traffic, I made it to Germantown Thursday night and met Dan at his apartment complex. We grabbed dinner at Panera and exchanged our first gifts. He gave me a Fresh Cut Roses Yankee Candle (it smells heavenly!) and I gave him my flight itinerary for my trip to Michigan (he knew about the trip but not when I was actually going to get there). After dinner, I got to watch him play soccer and took some pictures.

Day Two brought lots of errands for me. I had left my dress clothes in St. Mary’s county and we were going to the Kennedy Center so I had to find a new outfit (Thank goodness for Kohl’s and DressBarn!). I also dropped all my Christmas letters in the mail and got a box off as well. I finally had a chance to breathe in the afternoon for about an hour. Then I got ready and met Dan at his office where he gave me a tour, finished up a few things, then we grabbed dinner at Noodles & Co and exchanged our 2nd gifts. I gave Dan the next Ted Dekker novel in the sequence he’s reading (“Saint”) and he gave me a beautiful ornament to start our collection that says “Our Christmas Together” with a charm that says 2009 at the bottom. It was absolutely gorgeous and so touching! Thank goodness for waterproof mascara! We then rode Metro to the Kennedy Center and enjoyed a lovely performance of Handel’s “Messiah” by the National Symphony Orchestra. When we came out, it had begun snowing! I love those first few hours when snow begins to fall and cover the world in its soft, peaceful blanket. However, I do not enjoy snow in heels! :P

Day Three put us square in the Blizzard of ’09. Dan had told me to be prepared to go out in it though so I layered up and we jumped in the car and made our way into D.C. I was so thankful that day that Dan was from Michigan and knew how to drive in snow. We got stuck a couple of times but it never took more than a couple of minutes to get unstuck. It was also a learning experience as I got to observe Dan as he helped other people get unstuck as well. Such a wonderful man! :) We drove around in D.C. looking for a place to park so we could get out and see the National Christmas Tree and walk around but everything was marked so that we couldn’t park. So it ended up being a scenic drive around in D.C. in what I thought was a valiant effort to go see the Christmas Tree. Turns out my love had ulterior motives! ;) When we got back to Germantown, we exchanged our third gift. I gave Dan a calendar I had put together on Snapfish with photos of us throughout our relationship and he gave me the DVD of “Up”, one of our favorite movies and the only one we’ve seen in theaters. We reference it quite frequently in our day-to-day conversations. :) The rest of the evening was spent around a table of delicious food with good friends in fun conversation.

Day Four typically would have meant going to church in the morning but all activities were cancelled due to the snow so we made another attempt to get to Downtown D.C. This time, Dan found out which parts of the Metrorail system were running and we went to the closest station that had parking. While they were running reduced trains and it took longer than usual, we finally made it into D.C.! It was an absolutely gorgeous day with a beautiful blue sky and sun sparkling off the fresh snow. We walked around to the National Christmas Tree, the Washington Monument, and the World War II Memorial. Then...we went to “our special place”. :) Dan pulled me close and we started to dance and reminisced about the past year and everything that had happened in our relationship. We laughed at the funny moments and recalled the ones that were near and dear to our hearts. Then Dan began to sing to me. I absolutely love hearing him sing any time but it was even more special when he started singing the chorus of one of my favorite songs, personalizing it by substituting my name into the lyrics.

When he was done, he reached into a small pocket and withdrew a ring box and opened it to show me the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. I’m told I sucked in a deep breath when he opened it. ;) Then he asked that wonderful question “will you marry me?” as he got down on one knee. According to Dan, I almost didn’t let him get down to his knee before answering. “Yes! For the rest of my life, yes!” I don’t think I said anything else for a solid ten minutes. He left me speechless! All I could do was laugh and cry and hold him tight as we continued to spin around and almost fall in the snow out of excitement! He held out the ring and allowed me to put it on and it seemed simply perfect. “I get to marry you!”

The next half hour consisted of much joy and some picture taking. I was told I was NOW prepared for my trip to Michigan for New Year’s (Dan had been telling me for two weeks I wasn’t ready). Then he asked me if I was hungry. :) We made our way to one of our favorite restaurants, Olive Garden, where we celebrated and Dan got to open his fourth gift from me: two tickets to a Washington Caps vs. Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game. Up until now, we had held off on calling anybody so that we could spend some time celebrating together. After we left the restaurant, we called both sets of parents, siblings, and a couple of other people. Due to the snow and icy road conditions, I ended up staying Sunday night in Germantown so we got to spend a little more time together that evening.

So there you have it! :) The love of my life is now my fiancé and we are in the very beginning stages of planning our wedding!! Words cannot express my excitement at the fact that I get to marry Dan! That I get to marry this wonderful man is such a blessing, entirely orchestrated by our Heavenly Father.

“Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man’s behalf!” Psalm 66:5

Soli Deo Gloria!
Meghan


“Now you’re my whole life, now you’re my whole world
I just can’t believe the way I feel about you, Meghan
Like the river meets the sea stronger than it’s ever been
We’ve come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then...”