Our Story Part 2: The Engagement

When one thinks of Friday the 13th, they think of all the "bad" that our society has associated with this date.  However, to me, this date will always be special...
It had been four years that John and I had been dating and four years of college at Delta State.  If any of you were or are in a sorority, then you will truly understand the magnitude of a candlelight!  I always asked John if I was going to get a candlelight.  But I knew he had to be ready, so I quit asking.  I knew I had wanted to marry him for a long time, and I knew he felt the same way.  He just needed to be ready to take that next step.  I told myself if I did not get a candlelight, it was ok.  No matter when or how he proposed it was going to special!
So the beginning...It was August and my sorority was preparing for recruitment (7 days of no sleeping and constant deliriousness).  We were at the dorms getting ready for our nightly recruitment party when I got a call from John.  He had called to tell me that he had signed up for a 1 month deployment to Germany that next year.  ( it ended it being cancelled, but it starts the story)  Now, dating someone in the military, I knew it was always a possibility but had not had to deal with it just yet.  It was about to and I was not ready for him to be gone.  It hit me hard, but I knew it was his job and I just needed to start praying for his safety.  After  I got off the phone, a sweet friend of mine started joking around saying, "Well, maybe he will just have to propose. " This got us laughing and me in a better mood!  Little did we know, she would be right.
Recruitment ended and we began to get ready for our Senior year to start that Monday.  It was Friday the 13 and about 10am the chapter received a text from our president saying there was going to be a candlelight that afternoon at 4 in the chapter room.  

(Side Note:  What is a candlelight you may ask?  Well, it's the greatest thing ever!  Whoever is engaged secretly tells the president or leaves a note for the sorority to meet in the chapter room on a given date and time.  No one knows who it is, which is the best part!  We all get in a circle, sing a special song, and pass around a candle.  Well, on the third time around the circle, whenever the candle gets to the sorority sister who is engaged, she blows out the candle to reveal her engagement!!)

Back to my story.  So I call John and say, "Hey, guess what?  There is a candlelight this afternoon and I bet everyone is about to start calling and texting asking if it is me."  (There had been multiple up to this point and all thought it was me).  So, for the rest of the day I ignored calls and texts because I was tired of saying IT'S NOT ME!!!!

4 o'clock rolls around and everyone is convinced if it's not me, then it must be Rachael.  We all get into the chapter room and form our circle.  It's Carrie, our president, to my left who starts the ceremony, and Rachael to my right making me the last person to get the candle after each pass.  It starts.  The candle passes around once....twice....and a third time.  It goes all the way around the circle to Rachael who passes it on to me.  I look at her in confusion expecting her to have blown it out.  I pass it back thinking maybe Tyler is going to jump out and surprise her.  She gives me this grin and passes it back.  As I take the candle, John had snuck up behind me and blew it out over my shoulder.  I was in shock, ya'll!  He gets down on one knew, pops out a beautiful ring, and asks me to be his wife!  I think I squealed in every way you can squeal!  I was so thrilled and excited, I just remember giving him a huge hug.  (He asked me later if  even said yes, which I did!!!)  I was engaged!  John had planned out every part of it so that I could have my candlelight!  He went to Jareds!  This next step in our lives was going to be so exciting, and we couldn't wait to start planning.  The date was set, July 10, 2011....

After we got engaged!!

Friday the 13th, August 2010