Adventure #4: Engagment

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." - Jane Austen

July - September 2012     

    Now that we were in love, what was next? We decided to continue to date and let the relationship progress the way it was supposed to. Soon after we had told each other "I love you," we drove up to Ogden to meet Jordan's family. Jordan said they were excited to meet me after everything they had heard about me during the vacation in Idaho. I was excited to meet them as well. We spent the weekend with his family, and it was great.  His family was so loving and welcoming. 

     Once we got home to Provo, we started talking about each other and our relationship. Jordan said something like, "You know, I really think that this can work." I have no idea how I understood that he was talking about marriage, but I knew and he knew. By saying "this," he meant "our relationship." And by saying "can work," he meant that our relationship has a good chance of leading to marriage. Either way, "marriage" was now in our relationship's vocabulary.

     Again, we decided to not be too hasty and take our time. Even though we both wanted to get married, we took our relationship day by day.  We wanted to make sure that our feelings stayed the same over time - and they did. In fact, our feelings grew each day. It was amazing to experience. Everyday our love for each other grew stronger, and everyday we wanted to get married more and more.

     We often talked about serving a mission together when we were older.  In our church, members are given the opportunity to serve a mission as a married couple when they are older and have already raised a family.  Those discussions meant a lot to me, and it was also something Jordan had always wanted to do. It was nice to know that some day I would finally be able to serve a mission and preach the gospel.

 The drive to California.  :)

     Marriage became a very real option, and so we took a trip down to California so that Jordan could ask my dad for his blessing. It was another great weekend with family. We continued to learn more and more about each other.  And what we did learn only made us love each other more. My family loved Jordan. Being the only daughter, I knew it might be hard for my dad to let me go off and marry some guy. But since Jordan wasn't just "some guy," my dad knew Jordan would take care of me for the rest of our lives. My dad could see how much Jordan loved me, and how much I loved him. And without further ado, permission was granted and we were on our way towards marriage.

Jordan and I at the San Diego, CA LDS Temple

     We had gone ring shopping once or twice, but just to browse and figure out what the heck the four C's meant. Before we knew it, school started and Labor Day weekend was here! Jordan asked if we could go ring shopping again on the holiday Monday so that we would have plenty of time. The Saturday beforehand, we went on a double date with a friend to hike the Y.  After our hike, Jordan said he wanted to go on a drive up the canyon. To explain, there is a highway that you can drive on that takes you all the way around a mountain. Into one canyon and out the other side in another canyon.

     We drove while the sun was setting, and it was beautiful. Unfortunately, when we got a little further behind the mountain, it started hailing - and I mean hailing! We thought our car was going to be damaged because the hail fell so hard and fast. The weather was especially strange being that it was the first weekend in September. But nonetheless, we were still in Utah, which means the weather can change in the blink of an eye.

     While we were driving in the hail, we got stuck behind a truck with a trailer driving very slowly. Jordan seemed very anxious and wanted to pass the truck. But because the road was so narrow and the weather was bad, we had to wait it out. 

     By the time we got out to the other side of the mountain, it had stopped hailing and the night sky was clear. Instead of heading towards the freeway to go home, Jordan turned towards a neighborhood. He had told me a few weeks before that there was a swing that overlooked the entire valley, so I thought that 's where we were headed. 

     We parked the car and started to climb up a hill, but nothing was there. Jordan seemed confused, and I wasn't too thrilled about walking around in the mud with flip-flops on. We walked up another adjacent hill, and I saw a couch.  A couch? In the middle of nowhere? Hmmm... now that I think about it, that's the same couch from our apartment complex. 

     Somehow Jordan had arranged for some friends to drop off the couch so that we could sit and enjoy the view... but it gets better. 

    We walked up to the couch, and I see that Jordan's guitar and a bouquet of roses are sitting on the couch. We sat down, and Jordan asked me to play a song for him, which I did.  And then he played a song for me. He sang "Then" by Brad Paisley, and I cried like a baby because it was so sweet.

 Some of the lyrics are: 

I remember trying not to stare
The night that I first met you
You had me mesmerized
And three weeks later

In the front porch light

Taking 45 minutes to kiss goodnight
I hadn't told you yet
I thought I loved you then

Now you're my whole life
Now you're my whole world
I just can't believe
The way I feel about you girl
Like a river meets the sea
Stronger than its ever been
We've come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then

     After the song was over, we just sat and enjoyed the moment. A few minutes later, Jordan said that he had lost his phone in the couch. I knew it wasn't on my side of the couch, but I humored him and helped him search through the cushions.

     I found something, but it definitely wasn't Jordan's phone. I couldn't tell what it was because it was too dark to see. Jordan (who had his phone the whole time) took out his phone and shone the light on the thing I pulled out of the couch. It was a missionary name tag with the name "Sister Brassell" on it (which is Jordan's last name). I knew immediately what that meant.  It meant that I would wear that same type of name tag after we had grown old together and decided to serve a senior couple's mission.  It meant that he wanted to spend his whole life with me.

     Before I could realize what was going on, Jordan was down on one knee with a little box in his hand.  I couldn't help but smile because I knew the words he would say next: "Kristen, will you marry me?" 

This is just a few minutes after Jordan proposed.  :)

    
    He put the ring on my finger (which was absolutely beautiful, by the way), and I hugged him until he was blue.

    We were engaged!