Guest post/perspective, by my husband! 🙂

My thoughts during the weeks before our betrothal were so disjointed, but I’ll do my best to spell out the main parts that come mind.

I have always liked and had a high view of Laura and her family. When she came to stay with my family, I was just more impressed. The more we talked during that time, the more I liked her. Still, I never thought she would be willing to move away from her family, church community, and state.

Then she said it. She said she could live in Illinois! I prayed. A lot. Finally, one night I couldn’t take it anymore. I asked God to tell me if it was the right thing to do. The next morning, as I was getting ready to go to work, Dad walked into my room and said: “I am not telling you that you have to, but I think that you are dumb if you do not marry, or at least think about marrying Laura. That is all.” And he walked out. I then asked him what I should do. He told me to ask Laura’s dad if I could marry her. Dad knew I didn’t want to court, and he didn’t want me to. For a long time, he had told me only to court a girl if I was willing to marry her. He wasn’t going to make me court, but that was really up to the girl’s dad.

Laura’s family was coming to Illinois the next week or so, so I waited and prayed for a couple more days. Then I finally got up the guts to email her dad and ask to talk to him when they were here. He said we could. My chance came that Sunday on the 2.5 hour ride to the Blick’s.

I guess Dad had talked to him for 3 hours the day before, but I didn’t know that at the time. I am very thankful that he did though. No one knows me like Dad does. He knows the good, the bad, and the ugly, and, even if I wasn’t trying to hide anything from her dad, Dad would still be able to paint a clearer picture of who I really am.

Anyway, during our conversation, her dad mostly asked me what my life goals were (not the easiest thing to answer, by the way) and if I was really ready to settle down to the glorious task of taking care of a wife. Oh, and that even if I thought Laura was perfect, that she isn’t. He told me things I would need to know about her. Then he asked me about a courting/engagement time frame.

By this time we were almost to our destination, and he still had not told me one way or the other. Right as we were getting out of the car he said, “Shame you don’t have a ring with you.” And, well, let’s just say I had a moment.

Then I told Dad, Mom, Colton, and Grace, and proceeded to have the worst headache I’ve ever had. I spent the evening trying to sleep it off and not make eye contact with Laura before we headed home.

The next morning I still tried not to make eye contact with her as I had lightning fast meeting with our dads before heading to work.

I had asked Colton and Raquel to help me get a ring at 10am. I had 2 hours to wait, so I walked around like a fool. Then I went and got the ring – the first one I looked at (it reminded me of her, so I got that one). After that it was back to work. I had 2 more hours to wait, so I walked in the woods trying to clear my mind. It didn’t work, and I still probably looked like a fool.

Then Laura and her dad arrived. She and I went for a walk. I asked her to marry me, she said yes, and I became the happiest guy in the world. We talked for 3 hours out there before coming back and talking to the dads for a bit.

As we drove home (BY OURSELVES!), we called her brother and sister. That was so funny! They didn’t know it was coming!

Once we got home all we wanted to do was sit by each other and hold hands, but the dads wanted to party. So we went out for dinner. It turned out to be one of the best times of my life because, for the first time in my life, I got to hold the most wonderful and lovely girl in the world in my arms and tell her how much I loved her! To just be together and be in love on that car ride was when it hit me that I was hers and she was mine. I was one of, if not the, best moment of my life. I sat there in the van holding her in my arms, with the sun setting, and I had to just stop and thank my Heavenly Father for my wife-to-be and for all the blessings He had poured out on us. After dinner, on the way home, she fell asleep, for the first time, in my arms.

The next morning, she left, and so began one of the best and hardest times for us. We were separated by 8 hours and a lot of miles. It wasn’t for too long though, and we had a wonderful time going from friend to best friend to the kind of friend that someone who is not married cannot understand.

Thank you and good night!

And, for the record, I am guilty of everything that Laura said I did, and I agree with everything she said in her last post.