Who would have ever thought that the two girls that started the blog promoting independence, loving yourself, and ideas and projects to keep you too busy to wonder where Mr. Right is are both engaged? Yep, it happened, Caroline and I are both engaged. We have both found incredible men, and we are both in the process of planning weddings and rearranging our lives to accommodate the men we love. We want to share these moments with you and bring you into our lives. If you want to know about our relationships... Keep reading.
Kayla's Engagement Story
Let me start by saying that I expected this day to happen about as much as the rest of the world did, which was very little. I had learned to accept and appreciate being single, and then God put this man right in front of me. I couldn't walk away. He was everything I had every prayed for and more. It's like God finally said, "He's now ready for you, and you are now ready for him. You're welcome." I could not begin to tell you how thankful I am for the fact that God is trusting me to be this man's wife. James has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I've ever met. He makes me laugh like a kid, he loves me unconditionally, and his family has accepted me with open arms. Our relationship is full of practical jokes, encouraging and supporting each other, and enjoying life together. We are keeping God at the center of our relationship. We have began a 52 week devotional and we are going to finish it before we get married next March. It is really bringing us closer to our Lord and each other. Ok, now what you've been waiting for... the engagement story...
James had told me we were having dinner with his parents so I began to get ready. I was upstairs drying my hair when he came over. He asked me to come downstairs for a minute where he gave me a card. (This is not unusual for him so I wasn't expecting anything.) Little did I know inside of the card was a key. A key 'to his heart' so to speak. In my kitchen was the lock that had the most beautiful diamond on it. He opened the lock, got down on one knee, and asked me to be his wife. I can't tell you his exact words because I was so shocked that I really don't remember. It was perfect for us. It was just he and I in the kitchen of my house, which will be our house come next March. It was creative, personal, and the most wonderful day. I couldn't be more excited to spend the rest of my life standing beside this man. James was shocked that I didn't cry, and quite frankly so was I. I always cry and all my friends know that. When he proposed I ended up laughing for about 3 hours instead. My face literally hurt from smiling and laughing uncontrollably. Hey, my reaction was strange, but I couldn't control it. Did I mention the diamond in my ring came from his mother's engagement ring??? She gave me her diamond and we had it set in a new band. Needless to say I squalled like a baby. I have never felt more loved, accepted, or appreciated for who I am. This is only the beginning, and trust me when I say I can't wait to see what's to come.
Also, we are remodeling my house. Stay tuned for before and after pictures. Also, check back soon for Caroline's engagement story!
Love,
Kayla
Kayla's Engagement Story
Let me start by saying that I expected this day to happen about as much as the rest of the world did, which was very little. I had learned to accept and appreciate being single, and then God put this man right in front of me. I couldn't walk away. He was everything I had every prayed for and more. It's like God finally said, "He's now ready for you, and you are now ready for him. You're welcome." I could not begin to tell you how thankful I am for the fact that God is trusting me to be this man's wife. James has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I've ever met. He makes me laugh like a kid, he loves me unconditionally, and his family has accepted me with open arms. Our relationship is full of practical jokes, encouraging and supporting each other, and enjoying life together. We are keeping God at the center of our relationship. We have began a 52 week devotional and we are going to finish it before we get married next March. It is really bringing us closer to our Lord and each other. Ok, now what you've been waiting for... the engagement story...
James had told me we were having dinner with his parents so I began to get ready. I was upstairs drying my hair when he came over. He asked me to come downstairs for a minute where he gave me a card. (This is not unusual for him so I wasn't expecting anything.) Little did I know inside of the card was a key. A key 'to his heart' so to speak. In my kitchen was the lock that had the most beautiful diamond on it. He opened the lock, got down on one knee, and asked me to be his wife. I can't tell you his exact words because I was so shocked that I really don't remember. It was perfect for us. It was just he and I in the kitchen of my house, which will be our house come next March. It was creative, personal, and the most wonderful day. I couldn't be more excited to spend the rest of my life standing beside this man. James was shocked that I didn't cry, and quite frankly so was I. I always cry and all my friends know that. When he proposed I ended up laughing for about 3 hours instead. My face literally hurt from smiling and laughing uncontrollably. Hey, my reaction was strange, but I couldn't control it. Did I mention the diamond in my ring came from his mother's engagement ring??? She gave me her diamond and we had it set in a new band. Needless to say I squalled like a baby. I have never felt more loved, accepted, or appreciated for who I am. This is only the beginning, and trust me when I say I can't wait to see what's to come.
Also, we are remodeling my house. Stay tuned for before and after pictures. Also, check back soon for Caroline's engagement story!
Love,
Kayla
Caroline's Engagement Story
Just like my dear friend said above, I think people expected me to get engaged and find love about as much as I expected it for myself... never ever. About a month or so before my soon to be husband, Todd, and I met I had told God I was perfectly fine with being single for the rest of my life. The difference between saying it that time verses four years ago, is that I actually meant it this time... But God had better plans. That's when the one and only Todd Holman asked me on a date.
Todd and I went to the same high school but he was a few years ahead of me, so I never got the chance to get to know him... but boy do I remember thinking he was the cutest thing I'd ever laid eyes on. Fast forward 10 or so years later to the day he asked me on a date, because mutual friends said we might be a good match. My initial thought was, "Absolutely not. I remember this guy! Football player, Shady McShady, womanizer, out of my league.... etc, etc." Little did I know, he actually is the complete opposite of womanizer and shady and happens to be the most gentle and respectful man I know. I decided to go on a date and give Holman a chance, and the rest is history, except for the funny part where a cow C-section ruined the engagement. (This is not a joke).
The weekend that Todd asked me to spend forever with him I got stuck being "on call" for my job working with a Veterinarian. When I'm on call, there is about a 10% chance I will actually have to assist with an emergency animal situation that takes longer than an hour or so. Taking his chances, Todd had planned to propose to me this particular evening. To make a long story short, I'm elbow deep in a cow's stomach assisting with a C-section when I feel my phone buzz. Once I got cleaned up, I checked my phone to find a message from Todd explaining how upset he was that I couldn't make it to dinner. I had NO idea that he had set up the most perfect evening for me so that he could propose.... How's that for bad luck?
The very next week Todd told me to meet him at his grandparent's house for dinner. I showed up to the most beautiful candle light dinner which he set up on the mountain over looking our hometown. We watched the sunset, laughed about finally having a date night to ourselves, and he asked me to walk to the edge of the overlook with him to finish watching the sunset. (I may or may not have joked about pushing him off the bluff, totally oblivious to the fact he was about to ask for my hand in marriage. Sorry babe). He got on one knee and I immediately started crying, which instantly turned into an excited scream of something along the lines of, "ARE YOU FOR REAL? WE'RE DOING THIS?! YES! YES!" We spent the next few hours celebrating with family.
Being in love and finding "the one" has been one heck of a ride for me. Most of our date nights have been entertaining my precious daughter Adalee (who happens to think Todd hung the moon), a couple of hours here and there binge watching Netflix, and lots of late night dinners after a 12 hour shift, but Todd never complained. Never compared our relationship to any body else, never asked me to bend over backwards to make our relationship meet the world's standards of a perfect relationship. We've kept God in the center and continue to do so because after all, He's the one who put this hunk of a man in my life for forever.
One of my closest friends and I went out for dinner tonight and she said, "I hope I find a Todd Holman. Every girl deserves a Todd Holman." I couldn't agree with her more. Every woman deserves a man who honors her, encourages her, builds her up when she makes mistakes, laughs with her, respects her, offers countless messages after a long day, supports her dreams and accepts her flaws (because I have enough to go around), and as much as I hate to admit it, puts her in her place when she needs it (ya'll know we need it more often then not so better to accept it now).
Kayla and I are so excited to start the next stages in our life of wedding planning, remodeling, building, managing time and money, and just down right livin'. We can't wait to share our dos and don'ts in this thing called life.
-Caroline
