And because I know you all want to read the story, let me 'splain.
On Saturday (before Easter), Caleb took me out to Lake MI (my favorite place in the WORLD) and he brought an awesome picnic (it involved bacon and fruit juice!) and the day was nearly perfect and we walked on the beach and I was totally expecting him to propose. And then he didn't.
And then he took me out again on Wednesday, and he still didn't. I was getting confused. (And - let's be honest - impatient.)
On Thursday, we went to the Frederik Meijer Gardens. He turned his phone ringer off for me! I teased him about that a little bit. At one point, though, he said, "Oh no! I forgot to tell Mike (his roommate) that dinner is in the oven." You should know that Caleb doesn't leave dinner in the oven for Mike - ever. So he texted Mike about that. A few minutes later, Mike texted back. Caleb read it to me, "Do I have to turn the oven off?" You should know that Mike is not that stupid. We kept walking around outside and at point I thought, "Why is there someone who looks like Mike holding a camera and ducking behind a bush?" but I decided not to comment on it. Then (while we were in the Kid-Sense Garden, actually), Caleb got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I, in true Leah-form, responded, "Yes! Yes! I thought you'd never ask!"
Then Mike and his girlfriend Laura, who is considerably more talented at ducking behind bushes, came and took non-creeper pictures of us.
Anyway, turns out he was planning on proposing on Saturday, but the jeweler chipped the diamond. And then they thought it'd be ready on Wednesday, but it wasn't. So we got three dates out of the deal - plus they gave him a discount on the ring (which delights my Dutch heart oh-so much).
To those who want to know, no - we don't have a date yet. We were looking at one in August, but it's my dad's softball tournament. So we're still working on that. And it's kind of a headache.
The real headache, though, was yesterday at church. Because Caleb works there and I've gone there since birth, everyone wanted to talk about it. I walked into church and literally could not even make it through the lobby without talking to 9 people first. My little brother commented that I couldn't walk 2 feet without someone wanting to talk to me. "Congratulations!", "Can I see the ring!", "Oh, how lovely!" - while I appreciate all of these, I seriously got interrupted while we were singing. I'm like, "Thanks, but I'm praising Jesus right now! Ogle the ring later!" (I didn't actually say that, for the record.)
What annoyed me, though, was the people who said things like, "Oh, you've been keeping secrets!" I said (and I did actually say this), "Not really. We've been sitting next to each other in church for four months, holding hands and leaning on each other. If you'd have asked, we would have told you." And my mom said, quite sarcastically, "Funny how they never put a 'We're Dating!' announcement in the bulletin!" (I love my mom.)
I did receive one really lovely comment, though. There's a woman at church who often says very insensitive things, especially to me because she's known me for so long. And while I always know she doesn't mean it how it comes out, it still hurts. So when I saw her coming toward me yesterday, I admit it - I tried to pretend I hadn't seen her coming and get away. But she called my name. And then blessed me so sweetly. She said, "Is it true what I heard? You're marrying the best man? And he's marrying the best woman?" I nearly cried because I have never heard anything so sweet come out of her mouth - not to me, anyway!
Anyway, my wedding plans are coming along. I couldn't sleep the other night, so I've already got invitations designed and a dress pattern picked out (who wants to sew it for me?). And I've got two of my three bridesmaids... I'll ask the other one when she decides to make time in her schedule for me. :)
Oh, and Cara, my maid of honor, decided that the situation called for sparkly nail polish, so my nails are bright purple-and-blue sparkles. :)
Love and more Love,
Leah Joy
