To start the story, we had been discussing marriage for a lot of months. We both knew from the beginning, actually, that the reason we were dating was to determine if we could possibly be successful together for the long term. We dated for a long time with that in mind and although we didn't know right away that we wanted to be married, we did know very quickly that we were meant to be together at this period in our lives. Nathan supported and strengthened me so fully by helping me see that I could do anything...with or without another person. And I discovered that I also strengthened him in his weaknesses. We also just felt a lot of enjoyment being together which relieved a lot of the stresses of single-parent life. We had concluded that life was better together. Of course, there were some differences between us that took some time to settle into healthy compromises. After struggling for a long time with these differences and with my insecurities of committing and dedicating myself to someone else completely, we both finally felt at peace with the idea of growing old together. And we started making plans. At that point most of our conversations on marriage had to do with parenting and home arrangements. We discussed traditions we wanted to include in our lives, things we wanted to do to help the kids adjust, and how we wanted to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our home. We also spent a lot of time discussing our hopes for the distant future...our goals and plans for after our kids were independent adults.
Along with distant plans we had also discussed our more immediate desire to travel together. We had been a couple places throughout the state, but what we were really craving was the beach! Allow my indulgent interjection here...Nathan is such a pleasure to travel with. He and I can talk for hours in the car and it's also very comfortable to just sit quietly with each other. He comes prepared for trips and thinks of important details that help vacations to be more smooth and enjoyable and he doesn't get offended when I start bossing his driving around from the passenger seat (horrible habit...I know). He is very unselfish in his suggestions and finds more enjoyment when everyone is having a good time. I could go on, but this is getting long...and you all just wanted the engagement story :)
We had been wanting to go to California together since we had first became friends. We finally decided that now was the time. So off we went (thanks to kid help from my mom and dad) on a two day trip the day after Valentine's Day. We wanted a relaxing no-obligations trip, so we didn't make very many plans. One thing we were sure of is that we wanted to go to the San Diego temple while we were there. We decided that would be the first thing we did after checking in to our hotel. Afterward, we thought it would be nice to go to the beach at sunset. So we checked in, changed (two different rooms, of course) and headed to the temple. It is so beautiful! I'd never been inside the San Diego temple. It is so grand. When we were done and stepped outside it was already pretty dark. We had missed the sunset at the beach, but oh well. We wanted to get a picture next to the temple, but there weren't very many people around, so I suggested we just take a "self-y". Nathan insisted that someone would come by soon, so we just walked around the grounds. At last we found a couple who were also enjoying the grounds of the temple. We asked if they would take a picture. The man was very willing and took a few different shots for us. He asked if we wanted any more and Nathan said, "Yeah, can we just get one more please?" Then things got weird. He started pushing me away from him a little. I kept scooting to be closer to him. I looked at him funny and asked, "Why are you pushing me away?" He didn't respond and moved away from me more. And then he bent down on one knee.
Imagine my surprise! I had known this was going to happen sometime on the trip, but I was really expecting it to be at the beach. Our "photographer" saw what was happening and started shooting. It is fun to have some pictures of the actual moment of our official engagement. Nathan said, "Will you please be my wife?" And I said, "Yes" through huge, uncontrolled smiles. He put the most beautiful engagement ring on my finger, we thanked the couple that got our pictures, and then we spent the rest of the weekend just feeling love and gratitude for each other. And I spent a good portion of it staring at my hand and my handsome fiancé. And that concludes our engagement story!
