Hello all!
Girl here – Leah, to be more specific. It feels a little strange to be writing to people who know all of the secrets behind my engagement! Boy (David) says you want to hear my side of the story. Wow, where to begin!?
I’ll start off by saying March 12th was a hectic morning and afternoon. I had decided to accept a job offer. An hour later, I was presented with a counter offer from another company. There was much debate and several phone calls to family, mentors, and a boyfriend who was “in between classes and work.” My heart was racing, and I was pacing all around the house. It was a very difficult decision because they were both great opportunities. I ended up taking the second offer, which puts me in the same town as David. David called me even though he was at “work” to tell me how excited he was I took the job near him. He wasn’t able to talk for long, but I figured we’d talk later that night.
We were invited earlier in the week by David’s mom to see one of David’s four younger brothers perform in his high school musical. I didn’t find it strange she invited us; we had gone to several shows and thought it was cool we could attend opening night. I figured I’d see it again with David the second weekend of the show. After my mom got home from work, she, my younger sister, and I headed out to Vermontville for the show. We got there earlier than David’s family, but were able to chat a little once they arrived before the show began.
The show was fun, and I texted David after the show to let him know Joe did a great job. We had also been invited to go back to David’s house for brownies after the show, so we headed there next.
When we got to the house, I decided to leave my purse in the car. My mom asked if I wanted to bring in my camera. I declined and said it I didn’t need to. She told me it would be nice to get a picture of Joe and everyone, and I’d never know when I’d see the grandparents next. “Whatever,” I thought, and took in my purse.
David’s grandparents had come to the show and were at the house as well. After we all got inside, David’s mom asked Benny, the youngest of David’s brothers, if he would take me out to the sugar shanty to get some fresh maple syrup for the brownies. (David’s family has a maple syrup business.) Benny was busy playing piano, but David’s mom said, “Benny, would you pleeeease take Leah out?” He got up and led the way out to the shanty.
The shanty is a new addition to the farm, and I figured they had finished out the inside of it. It was very muddy because of all the snowmelt and rain in Michigan, so Benny and I walked on the planks of wood out to the shanty. When we got near the door, I saw Joe on the gator. He patted the seat next to him for me to get on. “I guess they want me to come in from the back side to see what they’ve done,” I thought. Joe and I got stuck in the mud, and his dad had to come push us out. Instead of going around to the back of the shanty, he took me out it into one of the fields. It was wet and cold and rainy, and I wasn’t sure what to think. The thought of a proposal flashed briefly in my mind, but I dismissed it. David was in Virginia.
Ahead, a light was blinking in the dark. There was another piece of farm equipment sitting in the field. David’s second youngest brother, Sam, was sitting in it with the hood of his sweatshirt up. Joe got out and had me get on his back to transfer me to Sam’s vehicle. The ride was very bumpy and loud. Sam didn’t say anything to me and I didn’t ask any questions. “If this is a proposal, it’s too bad Daniel couldn’t be here,” I thought. He was on vacation in the Carolinas.
Sam brought me through the muddy field to the edge of one of the woods. There was another light, and there was Daniel with a lantern. So if Daniel was home, then that meant that David –
I got out of the vehicle and Daniel told me to follow him and where to step so I wouldn’t get too muddy. He began to lead me into the woods.
“So, no spring break at the beach?” I asked him.
“Um, no. I had some homework to do,” he told me.
As we walked further into the woods, I saw a cabin dimly lit by candles and lanterns.
“Go in there, and walk through slowly,” Daniel told me.
By this point, I was excited and was still trying to figure out how David had gotten to Michigan. I entered the cabin and saw all the work he had done. The cabin had two rooms. The first room was decorated with a picture I had painted of the two of us and given to David for one Christmas. There was also a Jones Soda bottle with our picture David had given me before we had started dating. There were wine glasses with votive candles all around.
Pictures of the two of us from the past three years were tacked above and around the doorway leading into the second room. There was also a table with two chairs, a white tablecloth, candles, chocolates, two glasses, and sparkling grape juice set up. As I entered into the second part of the house, David stepped out from the corner. I jumped into his arms to give him a hug.
The next part is kind of a blur and I don’t remember it all. I gave him a hug and he took my hands. I just wanted to look at him and talk to him. I was still so surprised he was home already. I kept holding his hands, but he was trying to get them loose. He reached his hand into his sweatshirt and pulled out a little gray box. Then he got down on one knee.
“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Leah Joy Faust, will you marry me?” is all I remember him saying.
And I said, “Yes!”
We ate the dessert, drank some bubbly, and then called Sam to come pick us up on one of the farm vehicles. As we headed back to the house, we heard what we thought were fireworks going off and cheering. (They were bottle rockets!)
We got back to the house, and David said we should probably go through the front door. We knocked and opened the door, and a large group of our friends and family came out to greet us. I had no idea everyone was there! They had parked their cars at David’s aunt’s house next door and had been hiding in the basement the whole time. A ton of camera flashes went off and there were a lot of hugs and oohing and ahhing over the ring after that!
David pulled me over to the computer because he wanted to show me something. Someone yelled, “It’s not official till it’s facebook official!” So, we made it officially official. And then David brought up the blog.
It was just one surprise after another that night! David told me he had been blogging during the days before the proposal and showed that he had a lot of visits to the blog. I was so shocked! He posted that I said yes, and told me we could read the blog later. Let me tell you, I loved it! It was so special to be able to read what he had been doing and his thought process. It really emphasized how much he cared and loves me. I loved reading about all the planning that went into our special night.
The rest of the evening was filled with dessert (David had brought home a fancy chocolate dessert from the gourmet restaurant where he works) and fun times with friends and family.
A few days later, we went back to the cabin to take pictures and clean up the decorations. We left one picture of us, the one that I had painted, on the doorframe.
We are so excited for this special time in our lives and are planning a July 2011 wedding!
God’s hand was so present throughout the whole day. From the job to the proposal, the timing could not have been more perfect!
There will be a whole post on photographers.
