Two years ago at this time, David and I were in a long-distance relationship (he was in Scotland, I was in North Carolina -- we were talking on the phone every day) and knew that we wanted to get married. We were already discussing wedding details and trying to figure out when our respective schedules would allow us to see each other again. Even though we both had no doubts about whether we were going to get married, the "official" engagement had to wait until David could fly to the States to see me and my family. He wanted to "pop the question" in person.
This led to an inside joke between us. During our phone conversations David would often jokingly ask me to marry him -- "practicing," he explained, "for the real thing." Of course, I never answered him -- that was part of the joke.
David flew over to the States to visit me in November of 2008. My 21st birthday was the 23rd of November, and he arrived just a couple days before that. He was trying to think of a way that he could surprise me with the engagement ring, but that was going to be a challenge because 1) I knew that he was planning to officially propose (no surprise there, as we were already beginning to plan our wedding), and 2) I knew that he wanted to propose before my birthday, so that I would have my engagement ring as a birthday present! That didn't leave him very much time to figure out how to catch me off guard!
David arrived on the Thursday, and my birthday was the Sunday. On the Saturday, David dropped me off at work and came back several hours later to pick me up when my shift ended. While on his way to pick me up, he decided that he was going to put the ring box on the passenger seat so that I would see it when I got into the car. He threw his coat onto the seat and thought, "When she opens the door, she'll move the coat and see the ring, and then I'll ask her to marry me." Well, I opened the car door and saw the coat lying there, and all in one quick, unsuspecting move I picked it up, tossed into the back seat, and sat down! Right on top of the ring box! David immediately pulled the ring box out from under me, and without thinking, made a beautiful backhand toss, casually flipping the ring box into my lap.
His exact words: "There, it's yours if you want it!"
I opened the ring box, and there was a gorgeous diamond ring. My response: "Will you put it on my finger please?"
And THAT is the story of how we became engaged. Only later did we realize that David never did ask me to marry him -- even after all those months of "practice!" And I never said yes!
However, he did successfully catch me off guard. :-D
We have had many, many good laughs about our unconventional engagement -- I'm certain that's not the only unconventional thing we've done, but it makes for a good story!
That was November 22, 2008. Two years ago today. And tomorrow we will have been married for 500 days.
Monday, 22 November 2010
Sunday, 7 November 2010
big news
I'm really sorry that I've been so negligent of this blog. I promise that my thoughts are with you, my friends, even though I haven't had the time to post!
So, some of you may have already heard our big news either through Facebook, or through church circles. We are moving to Zambia! My love has been appointed as a full-time lecturer of theology at Covenant College in Petauke, Zambia. You can read more about the college and its related ministries here: http://www.zambianmissionsupport.org/covenant-college/
As you can imagine, there are many details and logistics that must be worked through as we prepare to go. The term starts again at Covenant College on 15 February, and Lord willing we intend to be in Zambia before that date so that we have time to settle in a little bit before David dives head-first into teaching full-time! However, we only have about five weeks to get everything done at this point! We have a few trips planned between now and then - to Skye for a friend's induction, to Wales for a friend's wedding, and then. . . drum-roll please. . . to the States in January!
Yes, we are coming to the States. We are so excited and thankful that the Lord has provided for this! If you are in or near Philadelphia, Norfolk, Charlotte or Greenville, SC -- we may be coming to a church near you! There are many purposes for this trip, among which are 1) renewing our driver's licenses, 2) sorting through our stateside belongings, 3) visiting family, and 4) sharing about the work in Zambia in a few churches that are near and dear to us. We want to enlist your prayers for the labors and laborers there. And in the process of doing so, we are looking forward to seeing many of you, our dear friends! :-)
We'd appreciate your prayers for many things -- here's a few:
1) For all the nitty-gritty and very tiring details to come together smoothly. Such as: our research into international medical insurance, wills and naming next-of-kin (not-so-enjoyable but necessary), shipping companies (cost, logistics, etc), the purchase of a suitable vehicle and possible shipment of said vehicle (again, cost, logistics, timing, etc), the process of David's ordination in the FCoSC (our denomination), the oversight of our Home & Foreign Missions committee as they help sort through all the details with us, the process of applying for a work permit in Zambia and jumping through all the necessary hoops on that end, all the major and minor purchases that must be made, wisdom to know what we should take with us and what we should leave behind (and where we should leave it). Complicating all of this is the fact that we are already living in two countries at once (half our belongings are still in the States) and so we will probably end up with things in storage in both countries. Those are just some of the things that are weighing on us these days!
2) For safety in all our travels, for strength and endurance and patience and good health for all of us, and particularly for Elijah as I think he's going to be one of the most widely-traveled babies by the time he is one year old! He has many hours in buses, trains, and airplanes ahead of him, poor wee man. So far we are very thankful that it appears the Lord has blessed us with a son who is a good traveler, but we continue to pray for these travels to be as easy upon him as possible.
We are very, very excited about this new place God is leading us to. Some have expressed surprise that we are leaving Scotland. We are surprised (in a way) to be leaving Scotland -- we didn't have any "intention" of leaving, nor any indication until now that we might be, but we were seeking the Lord in all these things and open to following wherever He led, and He has made it very clear that He brought us to Scotland for a purpose, and now He is taking us to Zambia for a purpose. And we are very thankful for His continued guidance and provision. It is encouraging to have direction!
I will try to post more photos soon -- but if it takes a while, have patience (but don't give up on me!). As you can see from the list above, we will have a lot calling for our attention, and you can add to my list a baby and a husband who both need lots of cuddles and attention and care each day! :-)
So, some of you may have already heard our big news either through Facebook, or through church circles. We are moving to Zambia! My love has been appointed as a full-time lecturer of theology at Covenant College in Petauke, Zambia. You can read more about the college and its related ministries here: http://www.zambianmissionsupport.org/covenant-college/
As you can imagine, there are many details and logistics that must be worked through as we prepare to go. The term starts again at Covenant College on 15 February, and Lord willing we intend to be in Zambia before that date so that we have time to settle in a little bit before David dives head-first into teaching full-time! However, we only have about five weeks to get everything done at this point! We have a few trips planned between now and then - to Skye for a friend's induction, to Wales for a friend's wedding, and then. . . drum-roll please. . . to the States in January!
Yes, we are coming to the States. We are so excited and thankful that the Lord has provided for this! If you are in or near Philadelphia, Norfolk, Charlotte or Greenville, SC -- we may be coming to a church near you! There are many purposes for this trip, among which are 1) renewing our driver's licenses, 2) sorting through our stateside belongings, 3) visiting family, and 4) sharing about the work in Zambia in a few churches that are near and dear to us. We want to enlist your prayers for the labors and laborers there. And in the process of doing so, we are looking forward to seeing many of you, our dear friends! :-)
We'd appreciate your prayers for many things -- here's a few:
1) For all the nitty-gritty and very tiring details to come together smoothly. Such as: our research into international medical insurance, wills and naming next-of-kin (not-so-enjoyable but necessary), shipping companies (cost, logistics, etc), the purchase of a suitable vehicle and possible shipment of said vehicle (again, cost, logistics, timing, etc), the process of David's ordination in the FCoSC (our denomination), the oversight of our Home & Foreign Missions committee as they help sort through all the details with us, the process of applying for a work permit in Zambia and jumping through all the necessary hoops on that end, all the major and minor purchases that must be made, wisdom to know what we should take with us and what we should leave behind (and where we should leave it). Complicating all of this is the fact that we are already living in two countries at once (half our belongings are still in the States) and so we will probably end up with things in storage in both countries. Those are just some of the things that are weighing on us these days!
2) For safety in all our travels, for strength and endurance and patience and good health for all of us, and particularly for Elijah as I think he's going to be one of the most widely-traveled babies by the time he is one year old! He has many hours in buses, trains, and airplanes ahead of him, poor wee man. So far we are very thankful that it appears the Lord has blessed us with a son who is a good traveler, but we continue to pray for these travels to be as easy upon him as possible.
We are very, very excited about this new place God is leading us to. Some have expressed surprise that we are leaving Scotland. We are surprised (in a way) to be leaving Scotland -- we didn't have any "intention" of leaving, nor any indication until now that we might be, but we were seeking the Lord in all these things and open to following wherever He led, and He has made it very clear that He brought us to Scotland for a purpose, and now He is taking us to Zambia for a purpose. And we are very thankful for His continued guidance and provision. It is encouraging to have direction!
I will try to post more photos soon -- but if it takes a while, have patience (but don't give up on me!). As you can see from the list above, we will have a lot calling for our attention, and you can add to my list a baby and a husband who both need lots of cuddles and attention and care each day! :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
