5 Years! (Re-Living the Proposal)

Our engagement photo. (Sorry for the bad quality)

I'm still in shock that I have officially been married for 5 years.  I guess when you marry your soul-mate, the time really flies.  To make a loooooong story short, Stuart and I met while I was on a date with another guy.  We had this one mutual friend who just knew we were meant for each other, so he kept putting us in situations where we could hang out.  Not too long after we met, I arranged to get dumped by my boyfriend, so that Stuart would be clear to ask me out.  Not too long after than, we went on our first date.

Next step: the proposal (a year later).  I totally ruined it.  It was summer, and in Texas that means hot.  This makes me irritable.  I had to take my car into the shop, and we had contractors at the house we were staying in.  Pretty much a 'perfect storm' to put me in a bad mood.  Well, it just so happened that I was trying to cut back on my coffee intake so I had switched to half-caf coffee.  On a morning when I had to be up at 6:30 to get my car to the shop, there was no way on God's green Earth that I would be having half-caf.  I went for the real stuff and made a cup of full-caf coffee.  As my pot was brewing, Stuart stumbled sleepily into the kitchen, at 6:30 AM, on his day off.  He looked at me quizzically, I asked him what he was doing up, and he mumbled, "I forgot to do the dishes..." And, yes, he did start doing the dishes in his pajamas.  What I didn't know is that there was a diamond engagement ring in the half-calf coffee container.  If you know me and my obsession with coffee, then you know how awesome a proposal this would've been.  However, I, in my caffeine-desperate frenzy, ruined it.

Later that evening, in order to put me in a better mood after my crap-tacular day of car fixes and work, we went for a dress-up dinner at a local restaurant, then went for a drive under the stars.  We drove out into the Texas Hill Country and opened the moon-roof. We spent about an hour driving around, talking, and enjoying each others' company and ended up in Boerne.  This is a small town just north of us that is cute and quaint.  We parked near main street and walked to the town square.  There is a gorgeous, white gazebo in the middle of it, and yes, we danced.  Partway through, Stuart 'noticed his shoe untied' and bent down to fix it.  Next thing I know, there is a shiny bling thing staring up at me.  I of course started to bawl like a baby and shouted "yes."

One short year later, we were married on 7/7/07 (that's a whole 'nother story!), and 5 years after that we are healthy, happy, and blessed with a fabulous Little Girl.  Here's to many, many more years!!!