For those who might have missed it. Here's the proposal from Carolyn's point of view.

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Was I surprised?  Yes.  Well, no.  Actually, the problem was that I had started to become an expert at guessing when and where and how Jimmy might propose.  Any night Jimmy wanted to hang out was a potential night Jimmy might pop the question, and I wanted to be completely composed and perfectly prepared to accept. 

It was really quite exhausting.  After a couple weeks of endless guessing and pretending to not be disappointed, I finally came to accept that perhaps God would rather have me cherish my times with Jimmy instead of investigating every detail. 

So, on the week of December 9^th, I made a goal of appreciating the plans Jimmy made for our weekly Friday date night. 

Instead, I found myself getting very frustrated during dinner. 

Earlier in the week, I passed my Registration Exam for Dietitians, so Jimmy reserved a table at the Four Seasons Café to celebrate.  However, during dinner, Jimmy seemed distracted and unattentive.  To make matters worse, he kept his phone out on the table and repeatedly checked for incoming calls and messages. 

Around 8pm, Matt, our pastor called, desperately asking us to help pick up the donated foods from our church’s canned food drive.  Jimmy responded with concern to Matt’s apologetic request and, after my reluctant approval, Jimmy told him we would be on our way. 

We arrived at the church grounds greeted with a dimly lit, almost empty parking lot, and I was fighting to remain in good spirits.  Worried we would be late to the “exhibit” that Jimmy said he planned for us to attend afterwards, I hurriedly headed towards the main building that the canned foods were in.   

Instead, Jimmy coaxed me towards the opposite direction, pointing to the prayer chapel.  I was a bit annoyed, but I followed.   

Wait.  Why does the prayer chapel have white lights glowing through the windows?  And why are there red rose petals covering the walkway?... 

We walked forward through a blanket of red petals, and Jimmy opened the chapel doors to the soothing sounds of Jazz. An endless sea of red roses was illuminated by soft, white lights and candles that embraced us.  As Jimmy guided me down the candlelit path, I kept thinking, “wait, is this actually happening?” but all that came out of my mouth was a bunch of “wait.  WAIT.  wait wait, WAIT.  Wait wait wait!!”   

He led me to a glowing table where a scrapbook of our relationship awaited us.  Listening to Jimmy recount our journey over the past seven months, I could barely hear his words over the shocking realization that he was actually proposing!

He thoughtfully flipped through his artistic creation—accented by gel pens and cute captions—but I was preoccupied with nervousness and anticipation of “the question.”  Finally, we got to the last page. 

A small red box.

Jimmy took my hand and tried to get down on one knee, but the romantic lighting now posed a fire hazard for his khakis. After some awkward shifting and readjusting, he finally managed to kneel and began to speak. 

The only phrase I heard was, “I love you.”  It was the first time Jimmy shared those sentiments with me. 

“Will you marry me?” 

That was my cue. “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!”  All the energy and times that I had previously spent practicing a graceful acceptance went out the window.   

He carefully slipped on the ring.  (And it glimmered and sparkled in the candlelight.  A LOT.)

After a few moments, my sister and a few of our friends popped out from hiding and escorted us back to Jimmy's house.  Surprise!  Family from Houston and a host of happy and excited friends and family greeted us in celebration.

Was I surprised by the proposal? Actually, yes. No matter how I tried to prepare myself, I could not anticipate Jimmy’s thoughtful attention to detail and the special moments that created my unforgettable memory of our proposal story.