Show and Tell: Engagement Story!

Today is Show and Tell Tuesday with Andrea at Momfessionals! Today's show and tell is how you met your partner, became engaged, etc. I shared how Dave and I started dating two weeks ago, so I'll share a different story here.

We started dating on July 2, 2009. The following January, we started talking about getting married and in February I left school a little early one day and we looked at rings. (Little did I know he had already been doing his research!) Dave had worked small jobs here and there since he got home from Mexico in October so we had been spending a lot of time together. He worked weekends in Chicago and hurried back home so we could spend the week together when I wasn't working. One of those times I went with him so we had a fun day in Chicago! 

One time in the fall when he was home for awhile, we decided to go to Chicago to visit his sister and her family. We looked into tickets to NYC and they were reasonable, so we hopped on a plane to NY and had a date in the city! We got there in the morning and left that evening. 

Just for fun, here's a picture from summertime when Dave was home from Mexico to visit me.  

Back to the story :) He worked two weeks in Toronto, CA and came home for a week for Thanksgiving. He took smaller jobs like that and it really was perfect for us! I had been dreading the end of February so so much. He was leaving to go and work in Canada for two weeks, then he'd be working pretty much every day for the next several months. In other words, our months of seeing a lot of each other were coming to an end. I kept thinking it'd be easier to be away from him if we were engaged. I might have even mentioned that to him a time or two. (Haha!) The last evening we spent together I kept hoping he'd surprise me with a ring and an important question. I was extra bummed when he left that time. He was gone and we weren't engaged. I wasn't sure when we'd see each other again, but it was at least two weeks away. 

He worked in Canada while I plugged away at school. That's a mentally tough time to be a teacher. It was two months since Christmas break and Spring Break was still a month away. 

On Tuesday, March 9, I was sitting on my bed writing a blog post about "making it through" the tough days at school. I heard someone come in the door and it was Dave! And he was all dressed up! And he wasn't supposed to be home for several more days. And I had talked to him last night and he wasn't coming home. He was at work in Canada! I jumped up to give him a hug and we went into the hallway. The next thing I knew, he was on one knee saying beautiful things and asking me to marry him. I was still so shocked he was there, I said yes and gave him a hug. I completely forgot about the ring. After a couple minutes he asked if I wanted to see my ring. :) of course! :) 

We shared the news with my family, then drove around sharing the news with his family and some of my friends. What a fun evening!! We went back to my mom and dad's house and they surprised us with a party.

They threw everything together while we were driving around. :) 

We got married four months later, one year exactly after our first date. 

It's been almost five years since we started our married journey together and I couldn't ask for a better husband and dad for my kids!