#3: The proposal

3. proposal: how it happened, how long were you engaged for? was it a total surprise? pictures of that... etc

Amber and I talked about marriage quite a few times before I actually popped the question. Everything was just going so well that it naturally progressed to that. :-P Actually, I think it took me a few months for me to get over "post mission" culture shock and realize that it was ok to fall in love. We talked about how many kids we wanted, how we planned to raise them, along with plenty of other in-depth questions that you would want to ask a potential candidate for a never ending companionship. These conversations most likely lasted the majority of the month of June (I say "most likely" because I don't remember. I am a guy, you know.) I also don't remember when we actually decided to go ring shopping, but the fact that I am guy and actually agreed to do so tells you how much I love her. :-D "We went to Jared" and we found the perfect ring. It was a bit more costly than we were planning, but the financing was interest free, so it worked out perfectly. They did not have the ring in her size, however, so they said it would be a few days (up to 2 weeks). I had arranged to pick up the smaller version of the ring the next morning (Saturday) so that I could propose to her sooner rather than later. When I went in to pick up the ring, the jeweler told me he had good news: he was able to resize the smaller ring! I was stoked because I knew Amber would be thoroughly surprised.

That night, we were at the Walker's house (where she was living at the time). My plan was to get her where we first remember being together. When we were in high school, I had come to her house and hung out multiple times. During one of those "hang out" sessions, Amber and I found ourselves alone at the piano. Why you ask? Well, Amber wasn't having a good night, and I, being the marvelous friend that I am, was talking to her about it and helping her feel better. This memory is a great memory for both of us because it was one of the first times that we connected as friends. Years after this experience, while we were dating, the piano became a place where we found ourselves often and it quickly turned into "the first place we met" (neither of us remember when or where we actually first met). So, naturally, I got her back to "our place", the piano, and there I very poorly began to try to pop the question. It went something like this: 

Amber: Playing the piano.
Nick: "So, I have a question to ask you..."
Amber: "Oh yeah?" (Expecting a diamond ring and happily ever after)
Nick: "...uh...."
Amber: "......."
Nick: "What color is your toothbrush??" (Yeah... I know, I was really nervous!)
Amber: "...um.... orange?" (She was pretty bummed)
Nick: "Oh. Well... mine is white."
Amber laughed.
Nick: "I have another question."
Amber: "Ok...." (Not expecting much this time)
Nick: (Getting down on 1 knee) "Will you marry me?" ( I could barely pull out the ring I was so nervous)
Amber: "Yes!!"

Now, here's the good part. As I pulled out the ring, I started to put it on her ring finger. Amber was expecting the smaller ring and she started to say "that's not going to fit" because she was expecting it to go on her pinky finger. But, I slid it perfectly on to her ring finger and she was shocked, but it made it 10 times happier for her because she didn't have to wear her engagement ring on her pinky for 2 weeks. And that is how, when, where and why we got engaged (from my point of view of course :-P). For those of you related to us, I'm sorry for the annoying little details that you've heard 100 times. For everyone else, enjoy! :-)

Amber and I were engaged for a little over 6 weeks. We have been married for 2 years, 8 months and 3 days and we have loved every minute of it.