Engagement Celebration!

It's been a while since I've posted! I feel like I have so much to share, so I'll split it into a few posts because there is so much! Last Saturday, our amazing friends threw us a very classy engagement party! It was so special! They prepared so many delicious appetizers, we had champagne and dressed up, and we played a little guessing game about Brent and I! Not surprisingly, Lauren Curtis won, but there were others who were a close second!

The night was so much fun, and all of our close friends wrote us a little note on a cute little board. It is now hanging in my room over my bed :). Brent and I have such great and supportive friends!

Maggianos Birthday Dinner

I know this post will be hard to follow considering the last one, but I have to start somewhere! I would like to go back and post about last Wednesday, when I celebrated my birthday with my friends at Maggianos. We enjoyed some amazing family-style food that included mozzarella marinara, sausage and peppers, caesar salad, four-cheese ravioli, and Rigatoni D pasta. So delicious! I was cheesed out by the end of the night! It was such a fun night, and little did I know, everyone but me was aware that we were getting engaged in two days! I am so blessed to have found such a great friend group at Miami! Since I transferred for my sophomore year, I came in with a disadvantage because everyone had already made friends. Thanks to Brent, he introduced me to his great group, and they welcomed me in! I have now found other close friends here through my own activities. This dinner was a great reminder to me of how many amazing and supportive people I have in my life. It is also fantastic to be able to have mutual friends with Brent because it makes it so fun to spend time together! Now that we are engaged, they are completely supportive, and I can't thank them enough! I am so lucky!

My fiance and I...can't believe I'm saying that!!

WE'RE ENGAGED!!!!

Everyone, I'M ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so excited to share this story and all of my pictures with you! It was a fantastic day, and we are so blessed in this age that we have the ability to share with the world! To start, I'd like to share just a few facts about Brent and I and our relationship.

Brent and I met in high school. We were first in class together in 8th grade, but we started to notice each other in junior year history. I had a crush on him, and apparently he knew :). We didn't talk, but there were definitely a few moments in the hall where I got the vibe that we really wanted to! When summer after junior year came along, I got preoccupied and forgot about things for a while. All that changed when he and his brother Jon came in to the world of DQ one day, where I worked at the time. My feelings came rushing back, and there is still an argument to this day of whether he sat on the booth facing the register or away from the register. (In my opinion, he sat facing away, and I was not able to spy on him!) Later that day, he posted on my Facebook wall, and I knew things were going to happen. To shorten the story a little, school started and we ended up in environmental science together. We starting dating at a high school football game on September 5, 2008. This was our senior year of high school. When college came around, we tearfully said our goodbyes and went off to two different schools. I myself went to Taylor University in Indiana, and he went to Miami University in Ohio. We tried our best to see each other as much as we could, which was about every two or three weeks. After this hard year apart, I decided it was best for me to switch my major to speech pathology, and since it was not offered at Taylor, I transferred to Miami University where Brent was. (My parents did not buy the argument that it was all about the major!) After the transfer, it was hard to adjust, but I love my school now, and Brent and I have had so many precious memories that never would have had! I would never take back my freshman year at Taylor, but I am so glad we've had this time for our relationship to grow and to have these years to look back on together!

On September 5th this year, we celebrated our four year anniversary, and now here we are today! After 4 years, 1 month, and 7 days, we are now engaged!!! I can't believe it's happening, but it's been a long time coming and I can't imagine my future without him! Here is the story of our day!

It was October 12th, and we were celebrating my birthday. We were home in Cary for our fall break at Miami. As of that morning, I only guessed that we were going into the city. Brent picked me up and informed me that we were taking the train to the city, and we would be going to the Signature Room on the top of the Hancock building! After grabbing some coffee at the Cary train station, we boarded the train and enjoyed the beautiful fall scenery outside. Brent did not seem nervous or any different than normal. Once we arrived in Chicago, we grabbed a taxi and rode it across the city to the Hancock. This site was sentimental to us because our first date ever was in Chicago for a group project, and our first picture ever was right outside the Cheesecake Factory. We rode the elevator up to the top of the building and waiting in the waiting room for our reservation.

When we were led to our table, this was waiting for us. There were special roses with a birthday note for me, two glasses of champagne, and a personalized menu for my birthday. Not to mention the view!

We sat at our table enjoying the wonderful clear view that we had at our table. We were so lucky to get a clear day! It was the perfect time of night, and we got to see the sunset, and then the lights in the city turn on in the darkness. After enjoying a great time together and an amazing steak, Brent went to the bathroom. Little did I know, he was giving the ring to the manager. When Brent came back, he couldn't eat his steak anymore. He blamed it on being full, but really he was anxious for what was to come :). Suddenly, the waiter came from behind he and placed a dish in front of me. He told me that the chocolate was a box, and that I could open it! My heart started racing as I thought, what's in the box?!?!

When I opened it up and saw the ring, I was in shock! I could not believe that it was real! I do not recall the words that I said or what my face looked like, but I'm sure it was shock! 

I looked to Brent, and he was wide eyed with a smile on his face. He told me a few things that I will leave for us to remember forever, but then asked me if I would marry him. Of course there was no question in my mind! I told him yes, and he placed the ring on my finger :). Here's the best picture I can give. 

After this moment, all of Brent's nerves were released, and I believe they were transferred to me! I could not believe it was real, and I believe all I could say was, waaaaa!!! We enjoyed these moments with the most beautiful view I could ever imagine, and the restaurant gave us a congratulatory dessert. All of the staff were coming over to us and congratulating us. It was an amazing time :). 

We had the waiter take some pictures of us, and I am so happy that we will be able to remember this moment for so long in the future!

After enjoying the night for as long as we could, we made our way downstairs. On the way, Brent shared the story with a man outside of the bathroom, and we also talked to a few random people while waiting for the elevator. When in the elevator, a girl looked at us and knew what had happened, so she gave Brent a smile and a thumbs up. I felt like everyone in the world knew, and I had to keep myself from announcing it to the people in the elevator! When we got down to the street, I believed everyone could tell that we just got engaged, and that they were all admiring my ring. I believe this was my imagination :). We had a few girls take some photos of us in the same spot that we took our first photo ever! 

To add to the wonderful evening, a limo picked us up outside of the building, and we rode back from the city to enjoy a night of celebration with our families. It was a wonderful night of just celebrating with our immediate family, and we decided to share with the world on Saturday morning! 

For all of you who congratulated us, thank you so much! I cannot believe how much love we received, and how many amazing friends and family we have! We are so excited for the future, and can't wait to celebrate with you all! Thank you all! Prayers for our engagement would be greatly appreciated! We hope to continue serving the Lord in our planning, and hope that we can enjoy every minute and grow stronger in our relationship! I'm sure there will be more wedding posts to come :). 

Trust in Him

Monday calls for comfy clothes. This lovely Monday, I enjoyed getting a chance to wear my new sweater and spiky necklace along with comfy leggings and boots. It was great because I was very busy with my three classes, meeting with a professor, lunch with a friend, and lots of other random errands and meetings. Mondays are always very busy for me. I can't believe I am up right now writing this! I am going to regret it in the morning...

Being weird, as usual :)

I do not have any really exciting to say today, so I'd like to share a little saying that is on a plaque next to my bed. A resident gave it to me last year as a gift. It was such a nice gesture! Speaking of being an RA, it has been an amazing experience, and I'm so thankful that God allowed me to serve in this way! I think that I am a good person for the job, and I truly have a passion for my residents. I really do want to be there for them when they need help, and I love every opportunity I get when they actually come to me. Don't get me wrong, I will be so happy when I am not responsible for dealing with drunken girls vomiting and having to lock the kitchen due to too many messes, but these are not the majority of issues that I deal with as an RA. Most of the time I just get to know a very unique group of women who all have different backgrounds and stories. I am going to appreciate being responsible for myself only once I graduate, but I do love the opportunity that I have now. Anyways, here is the verse.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3: 5-6

This verse is very pertinent in my life right now because I am at a point where lots of decisions are being made for my future, and my life is going in a whole new direction. Lately, I've been praying for direction in where I am supposed to go to graduate school, and where Brent is supposed to work. This verse gives me encouragement in my worries. God has control over the plans, and I will trust that he has my best interest in mind. I've seen him lead me to the perfect places many times in my life, and I have confidence that he will do it again. It is such a relief to know that I am being taken care of! On that note, I hope that all of you reading this are trusting God with your lives, and are following his direction. I know that he has led me to know you, and I am very thankful! I would not be who I am without you!

It was an amazing fall Saturday yesterday! I had a fantastic day! It started off with stopping by Brent's house to play with their dog Maggie. After some puppy stress therapy, I joined Courtney and Megan Uptown to see Pitch Perfect at the Princess Theater. I will miss this place when I graduate! For those of you from my home, it is most similar to Woodstock Theater. It has only 4 movies showing at a time, and is very tiny. The movie ended up being even better than I expected! Being a previous musical person myself, I really enjoyed the acapella and the dancing. After seeing the movie, we decided to enjoy the beautiful day and get some coffee. We sat Uptown with our first pumpkin spice lattes of the season and enjoyed the scenery of the colored leaves while talking. When the clouds started to appear and it got colder, I went to meet Brent at Buffalo Wild Wings with some other friends to watch the Miami football game. We had fun hanging around there for three hours, but were disappointed to see Miami lose. We gave up in the fourth quarter and opted to rent a movie instead. Brent and I watched 21 Jump Street and he had his typical movie snack, which is popcorn and m&ms. It was a very relaxing day, and I enjoyed not being too worried about homework looming over my head!

Today I wore one of my favorite and most comfortable outfits yet this fall! I think I'm going to be bringing back the shorts and tights frequently! My new sweater and scarf were so comfortable and warm for this chilly fall day. So glad sweater weather is here!

It's Bonus Day!

Wow, it's been a while since I last posted! Sometimes I wait until the last minute at night, and I'm too tired. This weekend has been great, and is going to continue! I've had exams on Monday the past two weeks, so most weekends I've been stressing and spending most of my time studying. The reason that I call Saturday bonus day is because I do not have classes on Fridays, so Fridays seem like Saturdays, and Saturdays feel like a bonus day! You can read about this theory in more detail in one of my previous posts. 

The highlight of my past few days was going to Chick-Fil-A yesterday with all of Brent's housemates and his brother and sister Jon and Lauren. After enjoying some chicken strips and waffle fries, Lauren, Megan, and one of their other friends Abby went Uptown to a new boutique. We had fun trying on some clothes and spending time together. It started pouring rain last night, which of course, I enjoyed. We left the boutique just as it started, and I was stuck on duty for the duration of the night dealing with the crazy women of Hamilton Hall. I really love my job, but sometimes weekends are hard being in charge of two halls when the majority of women come back intoxicated. I will be soooo glad when I graduate and don't have to be a mom to 150 other women! 

Here are some of the highlights of my life the past few days in pictures! The weekend has just begun, so there will be another post soon. My new delicious choice of breakfast and the occasional lunch :). 

New cheetah shirt with turquoise, loving the combo this fall.

The gorgeous and most photographed building in Ohio, which just happens to be right on my quad! MacCracken Hall!  

My lovely home for this year and last, Hamilton Hall. You can't see it too well because of the trees, but it's a great place! I'll take a picture once all the leaves are gone sometime. 

Mercedes and I on our way to dinner at my place of work, 1809. We shop together a lot, and as you can tell, we have very similar taste!

My hottie boyfriend, Brent, sporting an outfit that I especially loved :). Looking good with his blue shorts, sperrys, white polo, and grey sweater.