The Big News!!!!

The day has finally come! I waited for the Big Question for so long and finally this past Christmas I was delighted to open the best present I've ever received. The honor of spending forever with the man of my dreams. Dusty was very lucky I am oblivious to most things out of the ordinary. On Christmas Eve I spent the first half of the day sleeping since I'd been working so much. Meanwhile, he took advantage of the situation by going to pick up my ring. Knowing I am such a lengthy sleeper, he decided to stop off at his soon-to-be in-laws to show off the shiny new ring. Then he made another stop at his Mom's work to show her the ring as well (and probably build up the nerve to actually go through with it all). Finally he figured I'd be waking up and he decided to come home to me. No surprise there, he found me sound asleep. Not only was that enough of a risk for me to find out what was up, he had the nerve to wrap my ring inside of a present I already knew I was getting. So come Christmas morning I had already decided that this Christmas was not going to bring any new engagement. Little did I know how sneaky my boyfriend was, when I opened my last present and tried to act excited. Then he started prodding me to try it on. Model it for him. "Go on, put your hands in your pockets, like you really like it!" The second I felt that little velvet box, my heart fluttered, skipped a beat, then pounded in my chest so hard I could have heard it. All I could think was, 'Please don't be a joke! Please be the real thing!!' From that moment on, I had tears streaming down my face. I couldn't stop kissing and hugging Dusty, my Fiance!!

The ring is absolutely perfect. The diamond on the right is a gift from Dusty's mom, Kathy. It was the diamond in her wedding set for over 20 years. She was lucky enough to upgrade recently, but we were able to keep her original diamond as a family heirloom to hopefully carry us through many many years to come.

THANK YOU KATHY!!!

That day was such a blur, an endless grin, and hugs coming in from everyone. We first went to the Edgmands for breakfast and presents, then to Dusty's grandparents', the Kenners for lunch and visiting with family. Afterward it was back to Dusty's parents' house to open presents and see his Mom's parents, the Mitchells along with his cousins, Ashlee and Katy, his aunt Teri, and his sister and her girls. It was so great to share the news with everyone and tell the story over and over and over. It wasn't until then that I found out they all knew days before at the Family Christmas Party where I was teasing Dusty for not proposing yet. They all did so good at keeping secrets and keeping me in the dark!! Thanks for that everyone! At this point in the day it was time for yet another meal. It was back to my parent's home for tradition of Turkey dinner with Sandi, Angie, Colby and Cassie. We got to start all over again with the story and the ring and the ooohs and aahs. So fun to see them again and get to share the news with them that day. After all of the family parties and meals and dinners and congratulations, we went to the Averett's home for the annual Christmas get-together where Marie was sweet enough to toast to us and all of the other wonderful achievements of the year. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day.


Now it's just planning extravaganza!!