Saying Yes to the Man of my Dreams

It has been almost a week since I said yes to the man I will call my husband in August. You heard me right...I am ENGAGED! I must say that since I was a little girl I imagined how my husband-to-be would propose. I would dream about the time of year, what I would be wearing, how he would plan the most beautiful question I have ever heard.

I couldn't have dreamed of a better proposal than what Sterling had planned.

On Sunday, December 22, Sterling told me that he would be taking me on a fun date for my Christmas present. We have a bucket list of dates we want to go on, and I took him horseback riding for his Christmas present. Now it was his turn to surprise me. He told me to dress nice. In all honesty, I thought we were going to see The Nutcracker.

The night started at dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Nicola's. He told me that later that night he had rented a limo to take us to go look at Christmas lights. I was so excited, and I still had no clue. We had talked about a possible engagement in January. Little did I know what was coming next.

Because of the busy time of year, "our limo ride" wasn't scheduled until 9 that night {or so I was told} so we had to kill time. We decided to go get dessert at Cedar's Woodfire Grill, one of our favorite restaurants. This restaurant is where we also reconnected after college. We sat at the same table we did many months ago, and Sterling made me rush through my dessert {I still had no clue}.

Many times at the end of our dates, Sterling and I found ourselves in the Prestonwood chapel talking about what God was teaching us. So after dessert, Sterling suggested we head over to the chapel to talk about our quiet times. I was up for this plan, and we headed out to the church. As we neared the chapel, I noticed two people sitting in there, and I told Sterling we couldn't go in.

He insisted we continue to walk into the chapel, and after a closer look I realized that they were two of my best friends - one from Baylor and one from post grad. This is when I realized what was happening. Sterling had only told me two things about my proposal. One, there would be candles {my request}. Two, the proposal would involve a journey.

My friend from Baylor, Rebekah, took me up to the first stool, had me read a letter Sterling had written me, and then she prayed over me. My friend, Meg, then took me to the second stool, had me read another letter written by Sterling and prayed over me.

Sterling then walked back up to the stage and walked me down the stairs where we sat as he told me what I meant to him, what our marriage would look like and then he prayed over us. I remember making myself listen to exactly every word he said, because I wanted to remember that moment forever. He then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. In the midst of all my tears, I said yes and became the future Mrs. Sterling Shanks. {I really like writing that}

He had an after party with some of our family and friends waiting for us after the engagement. I can't imagine a more perfect way to begin our journey than with some of the people that mean the most to us. I will continue to blog about my journey as a bride and a future wife to Sterling. What an incredible gift I have been given. This truly is one of my most blissful entries.