Crazy Little Thing Called Life: Engaged 4 Years Ago...Oh MY!

Four years ago, today, Nick asked me to be his bride. I (obviously) said yes. I'm so very glad I did. I just wanted to take a quick trip down memory lane about the day he asked me.

It was Thursday, May 1st. I was asleep at the house I shared with Mikkie Fullagar (now Mikkie Williams) and Mandie Fullagar (now Mandie McIlroy). :) Nick showed up at our house, and said, "Get ready, I'm taking you to get your nails done." Some think I should have known something was up then, but I didn't. We had a class together that semester, and Nick had told me that he was going to take me to get a manicure to pay me back for all the help I gave him in the class. It was a film & lit class and Nick hates to read. So, I just thought this was his "Thank You" from helping him with class. I got ready and we headed out. We went to a nail salon, and I put my name on the list. Forty-five minutes later, they still hadn't called my name. I asked how much longer it would be, and they said at least another hour. I told Nick, "Don't worry about it. I'll get my nails done some other time." He said, "No, let's go to a different one and see if they can fit you in." THAT's when I should have been suspicious. What guy will sit for hours at a nail salon with his girlfriend?! :) We headed to a different nail salon in town. They were able to work me in immediately. I'm not a huge fan of fake nails, so I just had them paint a French tip on and got the manicure. We grabbed a quick bite to eat, then headed to Nick's house for a while. We watched some TV, I have no idea what it was. Then, around 4:00pm, Nick got a text from his roommate, Aaron. Aaron said that his truck had broken down, and he needed Nick to come pick him up from the ranch they both worked at. Nick told me what the text had said and told me to hop in the pick-up. I said, "No, I'll just wait here. All three of us in your pick-up will be kind of squished." He pretty much forced me to go with him. We drove the 15 minute drive to Andy's ranch. We drove about 2 miles into the ranch, and up on top of this hill. We pulled up to a barn, and he parks the car, turns off the ignition, and climbs out of the truck. I tell him, "Just leave the truck cranked, I'll stay in here." It was May in Stephenville, which isn't the coolest time of year. Plus, we were on a ranch and I was wearing sandals. Nick turned to me and said, "No, come with me." We almost had an argument, but I conceded and got out of the truck. We're walking up this hill towards the barn, and I noticed he was carrying some gloves. I asked, "What are those for?" He replied, "I'm going to try and help Aaron get his truck started before we leave." I, ignorantly replied, "Oh, okay." Little did I know that a ring box was hidden inside one of the gloves. We reached the top of the hill and there was a magnificent view of the rest of the ranch. Nick abruptly stopped, turned to me, took my sunglasses off, then said, "The last two years have been great, and I'd like to make it many more." I said, "Have you asked my parents?" He said, "Yes, and with their blessing." That's all I needed to hear. I, very enthusiastically, said, "YES!!!" He slipped the ring on my finger, hugged me, kissed me, then pointed to a bush behind him. He said, "See that bush?" I said, "Yeah." He replied, "Matt's in there taking pictures of this!" I was flabbergasted! Out crawled our music minister/very good friend in head to toe camouflage. Did I mention it was hot that day?! He had been hiding in a bush, waiting for us to appear to capture a very happy moment for me. I'm so glad Nick had the foresight to have Matt do this for us. These are some of my favorite pictures of Nick & I. As we were leaving the ranch, I called my parents and sister, Nick's parents, brother & sister-in-law, my best friend Hannah, aunts and uncles, my youth minister Rick, and my senior Sunday school teachers Margaret and Ed Sewell. They were all so happy for us.

That evening, Nick & I ate at Pasta Fina, then went to College Life. He planned the proposal for a Thursday so we could tell all of our friends right before everyone went home for summer. I was over the moon, and all of our friends were there to celebrate with us. Plus, everyone had just finished finals, so everyone was already in a euphoric mood. :) One of my dear, dear friends, Kathryn, went to school about an hour away in Brownwood. I called to tell her the happy news, and she immediately rushed down to see us. She ended up spending the night with me.

I love Nick very much and am so thankful I said yes 4 years ago!