A Christmas Engagement Story

The engagement would have caught me completely off-guard, if it hadn't been for the tell-tale signs leading up all week! I knew the kind of rings that Jordan was looking at and, since he had just started his job a few months ago, I didn't think a ring would be heading my way soon.

Jordan and his Mom had been talking about going to Covington to get her heirloom trunk refinished as a Christmas present from his Granny. Since the truck really only holds two people comfortably, they had informed me that I needed to stay home. I wasn't too pleased with the prospect of staying at home all day by myself while they went to Covington without me, but Jordan assured me that it was "really necessary" and that the reason for the trip was actually a present for me. Still frustrated and somewhat mystified, I talked to my friend Katie, who told me that she thought Jordan was going to propose! This had been a subject between me and Katie for quite a while, so it's nothing new for us to speculate.

Jordan seemed excited all week. When I went to a sorority Christmas party with my sister Ashley, he told me that he had some last-minute shopping to do to finish my Christmas present. He even told me the stores that he needed to go to: Hobby Lobby and Walgreens. I could tell that he was especially excited and couldn't wait to give me my Christmas present. Usually we are really good at keeping secrets, but he could hardly contain himself, so I knew this was something big. Katie's suggestion was looking more and more plausible! As we left Thursday afternoon, Jordan's mother was crying and hugging us, so I was definitely suspicious then, but I still couldn't understand how an engagement would be financially possible for us yet.

We had already decided to give each other our presents on Christmas morning. When I woke up, I had a casserole to cook, a Christmas snack tree to make, and cookies to decorate. I had decided we would at least cook the casserole before opening gifts. While I cooked the casserole, I sent Jordan to Walgreens to pick up some pictures we had developed to fill an album we bought for my parents as a Christmas present.

Jordan had four or five presents under the tree and I just had a single package, about 8 x 8 and an inch or so thick. I wanted him to open his presents first.

After he opened his presents (dvds - Taken and The Hangover, sleep pants, and body wash - bar glasses came later), it was time for me to open mine. I don't actually have any pictures of the present itself, because I was too busy opening it! I was nervous and excited. When I opened the present, I found that it was a scrapbook that matched the one he had given me for our first anniversary in 2009.

I'll let you read as I read:

 "Mandi: My Girlfriend

This is Mandi. We've been dating for 27 months, and I want to show you our relationship.

Let's take a look!

This is one of the first pictures I have of Mandi. She and I were going to the zoo! We weren't dating... yet :)

I always thought Mandi was one cool chick. She's smart, funny, thoughtful, caring - so many things...

She's so cool :)

I knew for a long time that I loved Mandi.
I could feel it in my heart.
She means everything to me.

'I love you.'

<-- 80s Ballin'

We had (and still have) lots of fun!

Cowboy hats or Halloween, we have fun. But, it's not just about fun. I love Mandi. Everything about us fits together. I can't imagine us apart.

We've traveled everywhere together...

... I've even been around the world twice to see her!

 We've been sick...

... We've pick-a-nicked

I love to see Mandi smile. It reminds me of how much she loves me...

... and I love her

 We make each other joyous, happy, and loving.

We should always be this way.

(and we will!)

Our hearts tell us that we share...

... a special sort of connection

 ... a love so much refin'd

which makes me end where I began...

... a love not envious, boastful, or proud, but a patient, kind, protective love

Our love always protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres. Without it, we are nothing.

 I love you more than mere words are able to express.

I want to always be with you.

I want to always show my love for you.

Mandi,

Will you Marry Me?"











This whole time, I had been sitting on the floor and he had been sitting on the couch. When I looked up at him, his knee was eye-level to me. Perched on it was this ring:

I've been wearing it on my pinkie finger since we need to get it resized. He had picked it up from his mom's safe-deposit box that Monday, as it's a family heirloom. He knew my ring size was a 9 and knew that his mom had told him the ring was a 6 or 7, but he had tried it on his pinkie finger (which he had determined was the same thickness as my ring finger) and found that it almost fit, so he hoped it would fit on my ring finger. It almost did, but not well enough! We're going tomorrow to get it resized at a jeweler here in West Nashville that my family has used for years. I did manage to get some pictures of it crammed on my ring finger though. This was taken immediately after he proposed:

After the proposal, we called all our family and close friends and finished making the casserole, snack tree, and cookies. We were an hour late to my family Christmas party after all was said and done. We were really happy to share our happiness, ring, scrapbook and story with the whole family. About ten or fifteen minutes after we arrived, my cousin got engaged as well! 

We're so happy and are glad to share our happiness with our family and our friends!