I'm Engaged!

It's real! It's finally happening! I am getting married to the person I've been waiting for and praying for my whole life. I'm speechless. I don't even know what to say or where to begin or how to describe what I'm feeling. And it's the morning after, haha! You would think I might have calmed down a little by now, but alas, I woke up an hour before my alarm this morning and simply COULD NOT go back to sleep. I just lay in bed staring at my ring and thought to myself, "Michael asked me to marry him. I'm engaged. I'm getting married. Michael asked me to marry him. I'm engaged. I'm getting married." Even now, my heart is racing!

It's such a peaceful feeling knowing that this is right. That I'm marrying the right person. Michael is everything that I have ever wanted. He has all the qualities and traits that I need in a husband, in someone I will be sharing the rest of my life with. Even in my prayers, I could not have imagined(and I have a pretty big imagination!) someone so utterly perfect for me.

Ok, and for those of you who are simply dying to hear the story, here it is!

Michael took me Christmas shopping out of town yesterday. We both still had presents to buy for people on our lists, so we decided(or maybe he did, I don't know now!) that we needed to spend Saturday finishing our shopping lists. He was in a good mood all day, which I thought faintly odd considering traffic was atrocious and the crowds were insane. I just chalked it up to him being in the Christmas spirit(December is Michael's favorite month, and he comments all the time about how much he loves Christmas lights and Christmas music). We finished our out of town Christmas shopping around 3:30, and decided to head back to our small hometown. I was so tired! I kept saying that I wanted to take a nap when we got back, and I actually fell asleep in the truck on the drive home. When I woke up, we were at a small shopping complex at home. I thought, "More Christmas shopping? Wow, Michael really is in the Christmas spirit today." He was still going strong, "I still want to go here, and here, and here. And what do you think about shopping downtown? I want to go to some of those little shops around there." I rubbed my eyes groggily, "Yeah, sure, Ok." By the time we got downtown, it was dark, and most of the shops were closed. He took me to a frozen yogurt place instead and we ate a large frozen yogurt. I thought to myself, "This is a treat! We never eat dessert before dinner!" As we were leaving, he suggested that we stroll in the small park downtown and look at all the Christmas lights. Downtown is very pretty during Christmas time due to the Christmas tree in the square, the spot-lighted post cards, the fountain, and the lights on the telephone poles. It was cold, and misting rain, so we walked for a little while until I suggested we drive the truck around and park it in front of the Christmas tree and fountain. Still having no idea what was going on I thought, "If he wants to enjoy all the Christmas lights, let's at least do it in the warmth of the truck!" So we walked back to the truck and parked it near the fountain. We sat for a few minutes enjoying the view and talking about the day. Then he turned up the music in the truck, and lo and behold, guess what song was playing? Faithfully by Journey. (For those of you who don't know Michael, his favorite band is Journey. Has been for a long time. This past summer, I surprised him with tickets to one of their concerts on the Revolution tour. We both had the time of our lives. Anyway, from the time he told me he loved me a little over a year ago, this has been his song to me.) I love this song, just because of the meaning behind it, and the fact that we have adopted it as "our song," as cheesy as that sounds. During the song, he asked me if I wanted to go take pictures of the lights real quick before we left. As we were standing in front of the fountain, he pulled me close, looked in my eyes, and said, "Jana, I love you. I don't want to spend another Christmas without you. I want you in my life to share my name, my home, my heart, my future." As he was talking, I could hear his heart beating furiously. Then he took my left hand, reached inside his pocket, and got down on one knee. "Jana, will you marry me?" He held my left hand as my right hand flew to my mouth. I said, stupidly, "Oh my gosh!" Then I realized, "Oh yeah, I'm supposed to say yes!" So I nearly shouted, "Yes!" By this point, I was shaking so badly that he could hardly put the ring on my finger! Then I was half-laughing, half-crying, saying over and over as he hugged and kissed me, "Oh my gosh! Are you serious? Is this for real? Is this really happening? Oh my gosh!" I think I was near hysterics for a few minutes. He actually had to pick me up and put me in the truck, haha!

After a few minutes, I was starting to think clearly, so I shouted, "I have to call mom and dad!" Ever so calmly, he said, "Don't call them. You can't tell them this kind of news on the phone. We'll just have to drive to see them. We'll go to my parents' house first, then we'll go see yours." I was so elated that anything he could have told me at this moment would have made sense, so I agreed. When we walked inside his parents house, my whole family was there, too! That was the second surprise of the night! He said, "I wanted your family and my family to be here to see this." And the rest is history!

The rest of the night, I was on the phone with friends and family, spreading the news. By the time we went to church this morning, almost everyone had heard. And now, after eating lunch and enjoying watching the Saints win yet another game(13- 0) I am so peacefully excited. I didn't know that emotion could exist until last night, but it's true. I have been incredibly blessed with peace and anticipation, and with the knowledge that this is right. I could not ask for more.