Jonathan and I got engaged on March 30, 2002. After only knowing each other for 7 months we knew we were soul mates and meant to be together forever! It was Easter weekend and we had flown to Dallas to celebrate the holiday with his family. I had picked out and designed my own ring and knew that it would be arriving in Dallas the same weekend we would be there. Cheating a little bit I know. I told Jonathan that I didn't want to see the ring until it was mine. I had only seen the wax molding at this point and it was green with no bling, a pretty scary sight! Well thanks to reliable Fed Ex my ring arrived right on time and Jonathan didn't keep it a secret. He kept taunting me with the box the entire day. We also had to travel to another town to go to a special mall for a surprise for me. I had no idea what it was and it was bothering me. I was told I couldn't look in the trunk of the car because that's where this top secret gift was. Whatever, all I really wanted was my ring anyway. I kept asking him all day if I needed to get dressed up for our evening plans and he would always say no. What!!! I couldn't wait any longer and after much pleading he decided to take me to a fancy dinner. I couldn't believe that I was getting ready for my proposal. I am not one for surprises and like to know everything in advance so I was totally stoked! Before dinner he took me to Grapevine Lake and pulled the mystery box out of the trunk. It was dark out and I could barely see the box but it looked like a bird house to me and I was getting a little bit scared. I kept thinking why did he have to drive to another town for a dumb birdhouse? All I wanted was my ring and at this point I was really frustrated, childish I know but totally me. Finally when we were down by the water he opened the box and pulled out a teddy bear. That's right no birdhouse just a dumb bear. Where the heck was my ring! I began searching in the dark around the bear's neck, arms, and legs looking for a little shimmer and it was no where to be found. Then he told me to push the bear's hand. At this point all I was thinking was I don't care about this dumb bear and the lame music it's going to play, I want my ring!!! Well to my surprise Jonathan got down on his knee when I pushed the button and it had his voice recorded inside. Way cool and mad props for my soon to be hubby. I can now listen to my proposal anytime I want and can even play it for our kids. The recording says, "Abby, I love you and I want to spend eternity with you. WILL YOU MARRY ME?". Then, in his hand I saw my RING and fought back tears while I answered with a YES! Then he took me to a fancy restaurant for dinner. If I wouldn't have been so impatient his original plan was to give me the bear the next morning for Easter and propose to me then so we could have it video taped as well. My impatience totally ruined that plan. It was still a great evening and one I will never forget.
