reminiscing.

4 years ago...we got engaged!

I wonder if the memories of that day will be as clear as they are now, years from now.  I had been nannying on that Friday.  Matthew flew in from Chicago because he had an appointment on campus in Manhattan.  His parents picked him up at the airport and supposedly drove him to Manhattan for his meeting.  What he really did was meet my parents for lunch at Granite City at the Legends to ask their blessing for us to get married!  Sneaky, little mister!  Then, his parents took him to Manhattan.  The roses he ordered were not there though so he scrambled to find roses and get all set up.  His "made-up" plan was to make me dinner when I got there.  As soon as I pulled up, he came out of his house and said he forgot something and we needed to run to the store.  He said he'd drive and off we went.  It was a little suspicious when he turned the wrong way and was not heading toward any grocery store.  He pulled into the parking lot at College Avenue United Methodist Church (where we first met!) and looked at me funny.  I asked him what we were doing there and he said he just needed to run in real quick and he wanted me to come with him.  I started to wonder...but thought it was really strange that we were going in there at Friday evening!  So we walked in and he led me into the sanctuary.  The tears started flowing when I saw what he had planned...(Matthew would actually say the tears started flowing before he opened the sanctuary doors all the way.)

He sat me down in the chair and shared so many things.  He washed my feet, just as Jesus had done, and talked about how he wanted to serve me all the days of our lives.  I was definitely a mish-mash of tears.

Then, he led me over to the next spot, and got down on his knee and asked me to marry him.  It was in this spot he told me that we first met and talked to each other.  (How he remembered that I'll never know?!)

This church holds a special place in our hearts.  After taking a few pictures in the church, we left and headed back to his house to call our families and a few friends.  We enjoyed a lovely dinner at Houlihan's and spent the whole weekend excited about our future together!