The Valentine's Day Proposal

Valentine's Day is extra special for Stephan and I because it is the anniversary of our engagement. 4 V-Days ago Stephan asked me to marry and spend the rest of my life with him.

I knew he had bought a ring that summer before when he sold his old truck (he would talk about how my ring was half a truck) and that he had had several "business meetings" with my dad. Every anniversary/holiday I wondered if I would finally get to look inside the little black box he had been carrying around (literally) and showing to family and friends. It was 8 months of pure torture!

On February 14, 2006 (a boring Wednesday) Stephan came to visit me in Tally where I went to college at FSU. I went to classes like any other day and came home to find dozens and dozens of white and red roses all over the apartment. Stephan was nowhere to be seen, but there was a gift bag in the middle of the floor. I think it had a framed picture engraved with "Love is Never Ending" and Godiva chocolates. He came in the room and got down on one knee and I finally got to see what was in the little black box!!!

After he proposed he gave me a card that started "To My Fiancee." Then he showed me his sad attempt to make chocolate covered strawberries (not sure how he messed them up, but he did...gross). Then I realized my fly was down and I freaked out knowing that I had been proposed to with my fly down. I made him re-do it. It had happened so fast I made him propose over and over randomly through the night slower each time.

Unfortunately I had a project to finish so we ordered a pizza while a worked... SO romantic. We waited until the next day to call people because there was something special about knowing that we were the only two people in the world who knew about it. We had a 2 year and 2 week long engagement so I could finish school, but we finally made it to our Big Fat Southern/Military/Baptist/Glamorous/Old Hollywood/Country Club Wedding

Now 4 years later, we've been through: 2 deployments, 2 bases, 1 wedding, 2 dogs, 1 house, too many happy memories to count, too many fights to count :), and through it all he is still the only 1 I want to share my life with.

In our first dance song, Better Together, Jack Johnson says:

"It's not always easy,
And sometimes life can be deceiving,
But I tell you one thing,
It's always better when we're together."

That very much sums up our love for each other then and now.

I love you, Stephan! Even though you suck at making chocolate covered strawberries! Happy Valentine's Day/ Engagement Anniversary!

This is at a wedding about 2 weeks before our engagement. It is also the pic he put in the frame he got engraved for me for the proposal.

One of out official engagement pics. Taken 2 years after our initial engagement and only 2 weeks before our wedding. Better late than never!

I don't think there is any other picture of us ever looking this in love.