Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I used to celebrate Valentine's Day by dressing in black and listening to "anti-love" music, but now that I've got someone, I'm unsure how to proceed. I'm not sure where my loyalties lie...to my future husband, or to the ranks of singles whose opinions about V-Day I still sorta share (strictly commercial holiday...hmm...). I guess in this entry, though, I'll stick with love.

After numerous demands from various parties to hear the proposal story and see pictures of the ring, I am answering the call! Here's how it went down.

Jacob and I met playing husband and wife in a one-act play last summer.

He was actually engaged at the time, so I ignored my growing adoration until he told me that the wedding was off (which was because of a lot of things, and NOT because of me! I'm not a home-wrecker!). Then I faced the music and realized that I'd already fallen fast and hard. We stayed friends for a while, finally confessed our mutual adoration, and eventually made it official and exclusive. We've been dating happily since August.

Early in January, we both separately had some affirming experiences that made us realize that we wanted to marry each other, and that making that decision would be a good thing that the Lord would be pleased with, and that it could really work. So we continued to think and pray and talk about it a little, and finally, at the top of a hill in Rexburg on night (the very same hill on which Jesse Thorson realized that Kathleen was the one), we decided to get married!

We kept it a secret for a long while, sneakily going ring-shopping and figuring out a date. I told him that I would love a big public proposal, which he was great with, and we both separately thought of him asking me during curtain call of Macbeth, which we're both in. But as time wore on, we both grew impatient. Macbeth doesn't open for another week, and I wanted to be able to tell people NOW! So I gave him my father's contact information, and kept reminding him to call.

So I was impatient. =) Then on Wednesday night at rehearsal, Roger (the director) requested that everyone be in the theatre for Jacob's porter scene, since he's running around the audience and making jokes with them, and it's awkward for him to rehearse messing with an audience if there isn't one there. As we gathered into the theatre for his scene, I thought in my heart, "Oh, if only it could be tonight! I want it so badly!!! I'm so eager and impatient. He could do it during the porter scene. And everyone's here, and it's so perfect. But he hasn't called my dad yet, and I don't even know if he actually HAS the ring, and there's just no way it could be tonight. Oh, but how I wish it was!"

And looking back, I think my crystal child self could sense something in the air. But my grown-up, logical self was saying that it couldn't possibly happen that night.

Anyway, in the porter scene, Jacob gets to run around the audience and make knock knock jokes and make up lines. There's one particular joke when he jumps off the stage at a very particular point. When he got to that part, though, he jumped off the stage and landed in front of me, without saying the line that he usually did. I was thinking "What's going on? Why didn't he interrupt the way he usually does?" And then suddenly he was kneeling in front of me! And grabbing the ring from Jordan, who was sitting next to me! And saying "Will you marry me?"

And I gasped and cried and laughed and said "YES!" and flung myself into his arms. Everyone was cheering and clapping, and then the lights came on and we kissed and he put the ring on my finger. It was especially wonderful to have so many people that we were close to--and people that I've known and loved for YEARS--be a part of the experience...Meredith and Carrie and Scott, Jordan, Nancy, Roger, Gary, Annie. Afterwards, I was so overwhelmed that I just called my mom, texted my sisters, and then made a general announcement on facebook. (I take a moment now and apologize to all my dear close friends whom I didn't call to tell personally. I was orbiting other worlds and must be forgiven any social faux pas.)

It turns out Jacob had the ring all along, and had called my dad earlier that afternoon, before rehearsal. Sneaky boy. =) But he's only sneaky when he's about to surprise me with really really wonderful things. Altogether, it was one of the more wonderful experiences of my life. It was one of those moments of pure, unadulterated magic. Not the hocus-pocus kind, but the I'm-surrounded-by-beauty-and-love kind. The "Alive"-by-Pearl-Jam-in-concert, Sundays-in-Yellowstone-Park, singing-karaoke-in-a-bar-in-Idaho-Falls-for-Carrie's-bachelorette-party, riding-a-motorcycle-around-Rexburg kind of magic.

I'm so excited to marry this man. He is one of the most open, fun, caring, wonderful people I've ever met. I'm marrying my best friend (the one that's a boy, at least), and I can't wait.

So if you're in the Rexburg, Idaho area on July 10th (tentatively), stop by our reception. There will probably be cookies. And dancing. And a lot of love.

Pictures of the ring and a video of the proposal to follow sometime soon!