Engagement Story

Kelly's words are in red.
Mickey's words are in blue.

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Mickey & I had been talking about marriage and getting engaged for awhile and had been talking more and more seriously about it all for a few weeks prior to the day he proposed. We had decided that we would go together to pick out the ring, but we really didn't know when as he was waiting on a check from his website's advertising company. So, finally, the check came and we decided we would go shopping sometime during the week of May 14th.

On the morning of May 13th, we went to church together, as usual, but instead of staying for the 11:00 service when our "Bible Time for 3's" class (which we taught…when there were students, rarely) did not make we decided to leave and go shopping for the ring.

The first thing we did after we left the church was to go by his apartment and straighten it up. We were also killing time and getting rid of some nervous (the good kind of nervous) energy that way, now that I think about it.

I had asked a LOT of people where they thought I should get the ring. I got a variety of answers, but the most favorable recommendations were for the Shane Company, which is where we ended up going.

So, we went to the Shane Company up in Alpharetta just shortly after 12:00 noon that day. We had NO firm idea about what we wanted, bur our saleslady, Tema, was awesome and she took her time with us to make sure we were getting exactly what we wanted. At Shane Company, for those that don't know, you pick out the stone and setting separately and then they set it for you. We narrowed our setting choices down to two - one thinner band with small diamonds on either side of the solitaire or a wider band with a solitaire in the middle. Ultimately, we went with the wider band with a round solitaire. So, once we had all that picked out, they took the stone and setting back in the back and created my ring. The last time I saw it before Mickey proposed was when it was in two pieces…he wouldn't let me see it after the jeweler was done with it.

Not that it was much of a surprise at that point. :)

After he bought the ring, we went back to his apartment and he told me I had to leave for a little while so he could put his plan into action. I wanted the proposal to be a surprise, so I gladly obliged this request. So, I went to Publix for half an hour. I finally went back to the apartment and I feel like I must have floated to the door. When he opened it, I saw that he had put candles on the table and my Bible was lying there, closed. I dropped off the grocery bags in the kitchen and tried my best not to look around too much because I didn't want to ruin the surprise of the proposal at all.

Of course, I had put the bulky ring holder in my pants pocket, hoping she would notice it, so the upcoming surprise would work better. However, she never saw it...

Mickey had me sit down at the table and he put my Bible in front of me and told me turn to I Corinthians 13 and read him verses 4-13. I asked him if he had book-marked the place for me because I was sure I'd never find it the way my hands were shaking (out of pure excitement, of course). He said that he was sure I'd find it and that's all he'd really say. Naturally, I opened up my Bible to the total wrong place, but as I started flipping, it fell right open to the right book, chapter and all…because the ring was there instead of a bookmark. He took the ring out of the Bible and had me read the verses to him.(I Corinthians 13:4-13: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud...and now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.) So, as I was reading this, I started to cry a little bit and so did he…but they were tears of pure happiness and excitement. When I was done reading, he got down on his knee and proposed. Of course, I said YES!

After the proposal, we started calling our family and friends to let them know. He told me that he had called my mom before to ask for her blessing, which I thought was really cool. We also went to visit some friends that day - first we went to see Joan and Dan Frost to tell them and to ask if Dan (who was a minister) would be a part of our service…he said yes. Then we went to see Daniel Herring & Shannon Reed to tell them.

We tried to surprise them by saying that we wanted to see Daniel's new apartment. He believed us. However, we told him to call Shannon and have her come over too, and that kinda gave it away...

That night we went over to see our friends, Charlie, Alice, Jessie & Carly Marus to tell them. We celebrated BIG time there with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries.

I LOVE chocolate covered strawberries.

Our proposal day was wonderful - sharing the great news with our family and friends was such a blessing. October 27th came around quickly and was such an amazing day. And, to think, it only gets better...

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