New Stuff

Hey Everyone, Ian here.

This is my first blog in a very long time. I've been very busy with work and school and stuff, and so I haven't had much of an opportunity to write here.

If you've been checking out our blog, you'll notice a new background! Sabrina and I decided that we were a little tired of the old background, especially since it really didn't match the Save The Date's that I designed. So keeping with the brand, we've made this blog consistent with the Save the Dates.

If you haven't seen the Save The Dates, check your email, you may have received something from us! If you have, don't forget to pre-RSVP so we can send an invitation!

That's all for now!

-Ian

P.S. For everyone on our list, expect something neat this New Years Day!

Flowergirl Basket Complete

Putting on the blue ribbon.

The brown ribbon.

The flowers. :D

More Christmas Decorations

Pinecone Wreath, Snowman Reed Diffuser, Candles, and 2 plastic boxes.. we also bought two green stockings today. :D

Christmas Decorations!

I went to Kohl's today for the after Christmas sale and got some Christmas decoration for next year for our apartment.



Tree skirt, tree candle holders, star tree topper, and red and creamy white tree garland!

Christmas Break!

So, Ian and I are both on Christmas break from school. Ian is still working but I'm finding some free time to do some fun stuff for the wedding. Today my mom, Ian and I went to look at different wedding cake shops and discovered that they are ridiculous! My mom is wanting to make our own cake. We're going to practice and see what comes of it. If not we will try to find a cheaper cake shop. In addition I bought a basket to decorate for the flower girl, Autumn.


We also bought some letters to decorate the cake table with.. something seems wrong with the "A" so we may go back and see if there is a different one.



Hopefully we can get a lot of stuff done over the break!

We Booked the Honeymoon!

Well it's official! We booked the honeymoon! We plan to visit Estes Park, Colorado from June 7th, 2010 through June 11th, 2010. We are staying in the Sunnyside Knoll Resort in a Spa Suite. We hope to spend time hiking, canoeing, biking, and horseback riding as well as some relaxing time back at the room near the fireplace.

If anyone would like to contribute to our honeymoon fund please visit:

Our Honeyfund

Invitation Making Party #2

Not many people showed but we still got a lot done!

Wedding Collage

I made this collage of things that are either going to be in our wedding or have inspired the wedding.

The Registry

So we changed a few things on the registry. We are now registered for cooking stuff with The Pampered Chef. We have deleted any other kitchen stuff off of the Target registry and the Bed Bath and Beyond registry. We are still registered for other stuff at Target and Bed Bath and Beyond. We are thinking of having the wedding shower be a Pampered Chef wedding shower so that everybody can see the products.

Our Registry Page

The Honeymoon

Hey everybody!

We need your help. Especially those who either live in Colorado or know any good places in Colorado. We are thinking about spending our honeymoon in a cabin/cottage somewhere in the mountains in colorado. We are wondering if anybody has either connections to a specific site or if anybody has any recommendations to a specific place. One place that we are considering is Willow Creek Cottage near Estes Park. We are looking or a place that is around a lot of activities, like bike rental, canoe rental, hiking, etc. Let us know by leaving us a comment. We would really appreciate any input that we could get.

Thanks!

Favors

The containers for the favors came in yesterday! Yay! They were so fun to put together. I'm not going to mention anything else about the favors because I want it to be a surprise for the guests. Be expecting a Save The Date sometime soon!

Only Eight Months To Go!!

It's going by quick but we're still on the ball. It's been a little tough with planning and going to school, but planning seems to be a good break from schoolwork. It gives Ian and I some time to just hang out and plan out our day without thinking about schoolwork! This upcoming saturday the 10th, we are having an "Invitation Making Party" at my apartment for mostly just the wedding party. The cards that are going into the invitations came off the print today at 3:00 so those are all ready to be packaged etc.
For those of you who don't know, Ian got a job at the Apple Store in Pasadena! A lot of you might know but this is definitely an answer to prayer for us. Also, he is doing independent consulting for Open Doors Ministry in Santa Ana. God has been greatly blessing us this past month or so and we are so thankful for that. Thanks for everybody's support and I will hopefully be updating more soon! :D

Ahead of Schedule

Hey everyone! I know it has been a little while but things have been a little hectic and busy with school starting and all. Despite the fact that school started the planning of the wedding still continues. According to theknot.com we are way ahead of schedule. This month we have planned to print the invitation parts so that we have the things necessary to put them together at our invitation making party on the 10th of October. It wont be until March or April until we get them out though. Sometime in October we will be sending out digital save the dates to everyone's e-mail addresses, so be looking out for those in the next month. Another thing is that Ian will be working on constructing our centerpieces in the Biola art wood shop. These will hopefully be close to being finished by the time this semester is over. We have also gathered many contacts from friends (thanks everyone!) for florists, bakers, jewelers, and beauticians. We are on a roll and things are going very smoothly. It helps that we are ahead of schedule on most things and we don't need to be rushing very much. Thanks everyone for your support!

We've Got A Lot Done!

Wow! We have had a busy week! On friday Ian and I registered at Target with my mom. That was very fun. I've been looking forward to registering for such a long time, it was nice to finally do it. It took us about three hours and we didn't even do bathroom stuff! We decided since the curtain that we liked wouldn't scan that we would do the bathroom stuff at Bed Bath and Beyond. Yesterday (Saturday) we got engagement photos taken of us which was awkward but still pretty cool. It was really weird having somebody that we don't know take photos of us. He got some really good shots though. He edited them and had them ready for us by today! Which was super fast. But he is just starting so he wants us to give him critical feedback, which we did and some of the photos are going to be edited further. Here are a few of them:







If you want to see more you can click here. Also, today we registered at Bed Bath & Beyond for bathroom stuff and other additional items. We had a lot of fun this weekend. Another thing is that we are getting a ton of work done on our invitations. We are semi hand making them so it is taking a little bit longer than they usually would. I have already picked out my dress and will be going to the store to try it on tomorrow evening with my maid of honor. We're trying to get a ton of stuff out of the way this summer so that I wont be too stressed out during the school semester. We'll keep everything posted as it comes along!

Status Update…

So Sabrina and I have been apart from each other for almost a week. It has been difficult for both of us to say the least.

As many of you know, Sabrina started her 3 week internship program on Monday. I drove her out, and we got there around 11-11:30 and then checked into her dorm. We then had about 4.5 hours to spend together before she had to be picked up to go to her first class session.

The time flew by, and we walked and talked. We went to Target to get some last minute supplies for Sabrina. Then we ate. And we headed back to the dorm.

About an hour and a half later, Sabrina and I had to say goodbye. It was very difficult. Neither of us wanted to cry, but we did. I was bawling as she walked away from the car and towards her dorm and I drove away. It was not the most fun I've ever had.

Monday, I think, was the hardest day for me. There have been some hard days since, but it hasn't been as difficult as I thought, because we are able to talk to each other every day. Thank God for cellular devices!

Even though we talk everyday, I miss Sabrina very much. And even though I am enjoying my time here in Colorado, I can't wait until I can see my fiance' again!

This time being separated is helping me to realize how much more I really do love her! And I can't wait until I get to cherish her for the rest of my life!

Breaking the Trend

Sabrina is leaving on Friday to go to her internship. It will be the first time in over a year where we haven't seen each other every day.

For most couples, this is normal I suppose. Not for us. It's hard to imagine NOT being with Sabrina. I love her so much! I love spending time with her! I don't know what I'd do if I wasn't.

Sabina and I started hanging out everyday before we started dating when we were just friends. She came with me to Colorado last summer, and we started dating. Since then, we haven't left each other's side (not literally of course). Everyday we make sure to see each other, even if it's only for a little bit. I guess it's one of the ways we show each other that we love the other person.

I'm really sad that she's going. I'm also a bit scared. I'm not scared that things will change between us. That isn't going to happen! But I'm scared because its a change. I'm also scared that something might happen to her while she's gone, or while I'm gone. I'm trying not to think about that because, well, everything is in God's hands.

I'm also really excited for Sabrina. This internship is something that she really desires to do. It is in the field that she wants to pursue, and her heart is 100% in it! I love seeing her love kids with disabilities when most of the world just looks down on them. She is able to show love to the kids and the parents by helping with whatever is needed, and by developing a loving relationship that mirrors Christ with them!

The flip side of Sabrina leaving for her awesome internship is that I will be going back to Colorado for a couple of weeks to spend time with family and friends out there. I'm super excited about that, but still, nervous for the above mentioned reasons and one other: I'm flying to Colorado.

I have flown several times. Several times since 9/11 and not had a problem. But, during those times that I flew, I didn't have anything to lose. Now that I'm engaged, if something happened, I would have a lot to lose! I don't want to leave Sabrina behind! But I know that I have to trust in God, because His timing is perfect! I'm sure that everything will be fine, it's a slight fear in the back of my head.

So, we're breaking the trend as of Monday. It is going to be tough, and I can guarantee that we will be calling each other at every chance we get, finding out what the other has been doing and encouraging each other along in the process.

I believe that this will be a wonderful chance for us to grow. And so, let us grow!

Color Scheme

So.. We chose a color scheme and a paper. But Ian and I decided that we are going to keep it a surprise! You'll see it when you receive the Save the Dates!!! We are continuing to work on other wedding stuff like choosing our wedding party and thinking about how to pair them up. That's kind of fun. We'll keep you posted on other stuff that is going on.

Engagement Video Diary

Hey everyone, it's Ian. It's 2:45am July 4th, 2009 and I just finished preliminary content layout for the engagement video diary that I am putting together.

The diary basically goes through Sabrina and my journey throughout the day through our engagement.

I can't tell you much about it right now, but it is a combination of both video taken on June 16 as well as still images that were shot that day. Other than that, you'll have to wait and see what happens!

I have both been very busy, and very lazy when it came to doing this project, and so that's why it has taken so long for anything to get done. So I apologize for that.

But, maybe we'll include this special Engagement Video Diary DVD in invitations, or maybe even as a wedding favor?!? Who knows! I'll have to check with my fiance!

Keep checking out the blog for news and updates as they are available.

Ian

Patterned Paper and Color Schemes!

It's me again (Sabrina). Today Ian, my mom, and I went into L.A. to look at some paper stores. We were trying to find a good cherry blossom pattern to use for invites and other paper related things for the wedding. We already knew that we wanted the pattern to include cherry blossoms. We went to a store called Soolip in Beverly Hills but they didn't have too big of a selection. The lady that worked there did refer us to some other places though. She told us we should go to a place called The Paper Source which was also in Beverly Hills. We went there and Ian really liked this paper.





We were going to buy a sheet to play around with but Ian found out that this store also has a ton of wedding invitation supplies that you can either use to make them yourself or they offer custom invites. I was looking around at the invites when I came across this pattern.





It was displayed in a selection like this:





We then found the chocolate and pink pattern in a set like this:





We are torn as to which cherry blossom pattern that we like better. The blue and red one really pops but the brown and pink one is subtle but very pretty. When we got home from L.A. I found the patterns online and created these color schemes.




Chocolate, dark pink, pink, and green.




Pool, red, pink, and chocolate.


We are not sure exactly which one we are going to pick but which ever one that we choose will dictate the color scheme of the wedding. Feel free to leave comments to let us know what you guys all think!

Wedding Dress Shopping!!!

Hello everyone! This is Sabrina.

Yesterday I went dress shopping at David's Bridal with my mom, my maid of honor, Melissa, and one of my bridesmaids, Marissa. We started out the day by going to Millie's restaurant with my mom and Melissa. Marissa had to do Vacation Bible School until 12:00PM so we order her a sandwich and she met us at Millie's. We then drove to David's Bridal where I tried on a TON of dresses. I must have tried on at least 10-15 dresses. It was pretty intense and tiring! I sort of had an idea of the type of dress that I wanted but after trying on so many dresses I basically completely switched over to a completely different dress style (I can't say what type of style or anything on here because Ian reads this!). It took a long time to narrow it down to one dress but eventually we found one that I liked the most and that was the most flattering. I basically went home yesterday with my mind set on that dress. But I wanted to try to look at other places and the sale that David's Bridal was having ended monday so I had a little bit of time to look around at other places. We made an appointment for monday just in case I still liked that dress the best.

The next morning I went with my mom to Mary Me Bridal. It is a boutique in Orange that carries a lot of really expensive dresses. When we walked in I filled out a registry card. She asked what our budget was and we said about $1000 and she basically just told us to find dresses that we liked. She didn't pay much attention to us after that. We didn't stay long in there because 1) the dresses were too expensive for our price range and 2) the lady payed more attention to the rich customers.

The second place that went today was Alfred Angelo in Brea. I had looked on their website and they had some cheaper dresses but most seemed to be pretty highly priced. We filled out a registry form and started to mark dresses in the catalog that I wanted to try on. I went into it not expecting to find anything better than what I found at David's Bridal. The lady that was helping us was named Ingrid and she was very nice and helpful! I had tried on about three dresses and I had liked the first one that I tried on the best. The last dress that I tried on, the fourth one, was the one. I can't say now what it looks like but I know for sure that Ian will love it! We bought the dress today and it is being ordered in my size right now. When it arrives at the store I will get a call to come in and that is when alterations will be made on the dress and it will then be stored in a controlled closet until closer to our wedding day! I am so excited to see my dress when it comes in in my measurements!

Tomorrow Ian, my mom, and I are going to be going to look for japanese paper to use as a design in all of our save the dates, invites, escort cards, etc. We are planning to have a semi-asian themed wedding without going too far over board. It is from the paper that we will create our wedding color scheme. Everything seems to be coming together pretty quickly and I am so excited to do more planning!

Sabrina is going dress shopping tomorrow…

Sabrina is going dress shopping tomorrow. That should be fun for her and her friends and moms.

I'm glad that I don't have to go, so that she can have time with her friends, with her mom, and shopping, and talking girl stuff.

Shopping for me is something that I thought I liked. That is until I went shopping with a girl. See, as a guy, when I go shopping, I go and get what I want, then stand in line, pay, then drive home and use whatever it was that I just got.

That's not how it is with girls. Not at all. And that's okay. It's just not for me.

I will go shopping if Sabrina wants me to go, but I am only mentally there for an hour at the most. Anything past that and I go from 100% to 2%.

Even though I am glad that I won't be going (besides the fact that I am not suppose to), I kind of wonder what happens during those times. What do women talk about? What do they do? Think?

I wonder...

The Proposal—Ian's Side

Planning for a special event is never easy for me. When I think of things I can do for Sabrina my mind suddenly goes blank. What can I do to make things special? What can I do to surprise her? How can I make this an amazing day?

That was how it was when I planned things for our 1-month anniversary and that was how it was when I was planning things for our 1-year anniversary/engagement!

My story goes back further than just a couple of days before the proposal. There was a lot that had to happen first before I could get down on one knee and ask Sabrina to marry me!

--------------------
Background
--------------------

My plan for proposing goes all the way back to December 2008 if not sooner. It isn't easy to remember long distances of time like that. I knew that I wanted to marry her, and I decided that I would propose in the summer.

After spending Christmas in California with Sabrina's family, both Sabrina and I drove to Colorado where I'm from to visit my family and friends there. My mom was also visiting my brothers and came all the way from New Hampshire to visit them. I wanted Sabrina to be able to meet my mom, and spend more time with my family and friends to see how they all interacted together.

One night, I met with my friend Brandon to hang out and talk. I told him that I was going to propose to Sabrina in the summer. He was excited for me.

--------------------
Planning
--------------------

Like I said before I had no idea what to do on the day I was going to propose. I still didn't even know when I was going to propose. So I decided to pick a date before I did anything else. I chose the 1 year anniversary of our 1 month anniversary which was July 16. I thought it would be perfect because our 1 month was the first dating landmark that we hit, and so it seemed right to mimic it with a proposal.

There was a problem though. Halfway through the semester, Sabrina decided to apply for a 3 week internship at Joni and Friends. I didn't really think anything of it. Helping families with children who have special needs is something that Sabrina is really passionate about, so I was all for it. The problem occurred when she got accepted into the internship. As it turns out the internship was July 13–July 31. During the time that I wanted to propose to her, she would be gone!

Now I had to figure out what I was going to do. I was a little depressed, because I was hoping to do it on that day. Now I was left with a choice though, either move the proposal up, or move it back. Seeing as how I wouldn't be able to wait until the end of summer, I decided to do it earlier. 1 month earlier. I decided to do it on our anniversary!

Now the question came up again, what was I going to do? Luckily I had lots of help.

My first idea was to take her to the Pomona Skyspace by James Turrel. The art exhibit uses different led's to light up a canopy at certain points of sunrise and sunset. The exhibit frames the sky and changes how the viewer sees the color of the sky during the two settings of the sun. I was going to take her during sunrise, and propose there. But that would be too simple, and as my room mate suggested, an easy give-away that I was going to propose.

So the idea had to be expanded, and I had a friend, David Carlson, help out with the next idea. His thought was to take her to this botanic gardens by his house, find a nice place there and propose. Sounded good to me, but what would I do in between a 4-6am sunrise and a 12-2pm garden tour? More thought had to be done.

As June came around I was disappointed because the sky was a constant grey. Apparently there is this thing here in California called June Gloom. That pretty much ruined my sunrise idea. If there are clouds in the way, how in the world would we see the sunrise? So I scratched that and decided to do something else.

The next step was getting a ring. Sabrina had been sending me links to rings she liked online, and so I had a pretty good idea of what she would like. Thanks to a large income tax return, I was able to purchase the ring and store it safely in my room. I kept it a secret for a good half a month. She didn't know that I had purchased the ring, and didn't even think that I was ever going to plan to get engaged any time soon. She was frustrated and almost cried a couple times when I would lead her off track by saying that it would be a little while before I could propose. When she was frustrated, I hugged her, and smiled because even though she didn't think I was doing anything, I had everything almost figured out!

With lots of help I finished planning. I was finalizing things all the way up until the night before I proposed. On the 15th everything was set and I went to sleep. Tossing and turning I couldn't fall asleep for a couple hours. I kept thinking, "By this time tomorrow, I'm going to be engaged!" My heart would race, and it would take me even longer to fall asleep.

----------------------------------------
Anniversary and Engagement
----------------------------------------

At 8:30am on June 16th, I showed up to Sabrina's house with breakfast. Before we ate, she gave me my anniversary presents. Here we go with the awesomeness:

1. Wok
2. Bamboo Steamer
3. Japanese cookbook
4. Wok cookbook
5. Japanese art book
6. Japanese art posters
7. 3D sidewalk chalk

Now it was my turn!

I had a total of 5 surprises to give to Sabrina throughout the day. Each time she received a surprise, I would give her a handwritten card with a little love letter in it. The card also revealed the surprise that she was about to get! Each time I gave her a card, I recorded it with my camcorder (keep this in mind, this was a setup for later!)

Surprise #1 was breakfast. I made pancakes, and scrambled eggs. I brought strawberries, and orange juice to complete the meal.

Surprise #2 was a 1-hour professional massage reservation. I gave her $80 to spend on any type of massage that she wanted. She would get to choose whatever she felt comfortable with! I waited in the lobby for the entire hour. While waiting I made a few phone calls to my mom, and to David to make sure that everything was set for the next surprise!

Secret Surprise! After she was done, I told her that we were going someplace that wasn't written in a card. I didn't want her to know where we were going. I needed to keep her on her toes! We went to my friend David's house. I had things planned for him and his girlfriend to be there. We would all go to the next surprise together…this helped to throw Sabrina off the trail that I might propose.

Surprise #3 was going to the South Coast Botanic Gardens. I gave David the camera, and he recorded me giving Sabrina the next envelope. Since David was now going to be recording me giving Sabrina the envelopes, she wouldn't be suspicious when I had him recording when I proposed! David was going to "show us around the gardens" and I was going to find the perfect place to propose! At the gardens we walked around and took a lot of couple pictures. At one point, Sabrina noticed a really nice gazebo and wanted to take pictures there. She wanted to go and take pictures there. I wanted to do that later, because THAT was going to be the place I proposed!

We walked around a great deal of the gardens and at some point David told me that it was already 1:30. I had plans for 2 at another place, and so we had to turn around and go back to the gazebo, so I could propose!

Surprise #4 proposal! We came to the gazebo to take pictures. Sabrina wanted to take pictures of David and Chelsea first. After they were done, they took pictures of us. When the pictures were done, I went and got the 4th envelope. Sabrina started to follow me and I looked back and said, "Stay there!" (in a nice tone). I told David to start recording, telling him to get up close.

I gave Sabrina the envelope, and reached into my pocket, grabbing the ring with 2 fingers, grasping it in my hand. I stood next to her and waited for her to open the note. After a brief hesitation, she did. Instead of a little love letter, like all the other notes had, this note only had one sentence, "Will you marry me, Sabrina?" I knelt down and proposed!

She took the ring and bent down and started hugging me. Then she started to pull me up to my feet. We hugged and I spun her around. Then I put the ring on her finger!

After a lot of spinning, and hugging, and kissing, David and Chelsea left, and Sabrina and I went and sat under a tree by the gazebo for a little alone time. She kept saying "You did it! You did it!" It was amazing!

After several minutes of us talking and cuddling we got up, signaled David and Chelsea to come back. And then I gave her her last card, and final surprise.

Surprise #5. A celebration lunch. I didn't tell her where we were going. That was still a secret. All she knew was that we were going to lunch. But it was more than that. I had our good friends Melissa and Abe come and meet us at the place to celebrate too! She was very happy!

Sabrina called her mom, and we got into the car. David drove us to Lucielle's BBQ in Torrance, where we met up with Melissa and Abe. We all celebrated, and ate some amazing BBQ. Sabrina loves meat, so I knew that this would be the perfect place to go!

-----------------------
After Thoughts
-----------------------

Here are a few extra tidbits for what also went on that day.

1. I wanted to make sure that I documented the day. I love looking back and seeing lots of pictures of fun times and special events. I wanted to remember very clearly how it happened!
2. I made sure that I recorded Sabrina and I each time she opened a note from me containing her surprise. By doing this, I made sure that she wouldn't get suspicious when the time came to propose, and David was recording us with a camera.
3. When we got to Davids house, I strategically gave him the camera, so he could document Sabrina and I, so that way later, she wouldn't get suspicious.
4. Also at David's house, I looked up directions to Lucielle's BBQ, and sent them to Melissa and Abe so that they could meet us there at 2pm. It ended up being closer to 2:30 when we all actually met up though.
5. When I proposed, David turned the camera sideways. I didn't expect that he would do that. Oh well, good thing I know my way around video editing software!
6. I was really nervous throughout the day even though I knew that Sabrina was going to say yes.
7. After I proposed, it didn't seem real. It still kindof doesn't.
8. After I proposed, I sent a lot of friends and family a text saying it did it. 30 seconds later I had at least 12 new text messages.

Thank you to everyone who helped me plan this day! I really appreciate all your help and support!

The Proposal - Sabrina's Side of the Story

June 16^th, 2009 was our one-year dating anniversary. Since Ian always has some big surprise up his sleeve I was expecting for it to be an amazing day. The day began with Ian arriving at my house at 8:30am. I had a present waiting for him at my house. He opened my present, which was a wok filled with a Japanese Homestyle Cookbook, a wok cookbook, a Japanese art book, a Japanese artist poster set, and a shirt. He was very excited about the present because he loves asian cultures. After this he sat me down in front of his camera and gave me a little card with a number one on it. I opened the card and it said that he was going to be serving me breakfast that he had made that morning. It also said that there would be four more surprises throughout the day. We sat down and ate a wonderful breakfast of eggs, pancakes, strawberries, and orange juice. It was delicious! I was excited to see what surprise number two was going to be!

Inside of card number two read that he was giving me eighty dollars to go to a one-hour professional massage! Oh, I knew it was going to be a great day! We got in the car and drove to the massage place. When the massage was done we got in the car and he said that he was going to drive me somewhere and that this was not in the surprise cards. About 20 minutes later we arrived at our friend David’s house where him and his girlfriend were waiting for us to arrive. I wasn’t quite sure what we were going to be doing.

He sat me down in David’s kitchen and gave me the third card, which told me that we were going to be going to the Botanic Gardens with David and Chelsea! I was a little thrown off by the fact that David and Chelsea were coming with us, but I didn’t mind. We explored the Botanic Gardens and saw a lot of different kinds of flowers, and trees, and grasses, and it was really beautiful. I felt like I was in the wilderness but I was in the middle of the city! As we were exploring I saw a beautiful gazebo on a hill and I wanted to go take pictures in it. Ian said that we could do that later. I didn’t make anything of this. We walked by a lake and I figured that if he was going to propose in the Botanic Gardens that he would probably do it here! I was a little disappointed as we left the lake and moved on to different scenery. David told Ian the time and Ian said, “Oh, we should probably get going because we’re on a strict schedule!” We started walking back but stopped at the beautiful gazebo to take pictures of each other. As we walked up I told David and Chelsea that we would take pictures of them first so that I could show them what I wanted our pictures to look like. When their turn was over Ian and I went under the gazebo to take pictures. I didn’t think anything was going to happen but when we were done Ian walked away to get the next card. He said, “Wait! Stay there!” So I stayed and I was caught off guard and thought that maybe this was it, or maybe it wasn’t. I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I kept telling myself that it probably wasn’t going to happen today. As I opened the card I was thinking, “But what if it says, ‘Will you marry me?’” So, I continued opening the card and when I opened it up it did say it! It said, “Will you marry me, Sabrina?” I looked at him as he got down on one knee and asked, “Will you marry me?”

I was in shock! I couldn’t believe this was happening. David and Chelsea were frantically taking pictures and video of the entire thing! Almost immediately I bent down to pull him up to give him a hug. We spent the next couple minutes spinning around and kissing. I started to cry a little bit and he whipped the tears. David and Chelsea went away for a little while so that we could spend some alone time together to talk. We sat under a tree next to the gazebo as I proceeded to keep telling Ian, “You did it! You did it!” I was so happy. David and Chelsea returned and Ian gave me the last card with the last surprise in it. The card said that now that we’re engaged that we are going to have a late lunch and celebration! Ian had invited our friends Melissa and Abe to meet us, David and Chelsea at a nearby Lucille’s! It was delicious! Afterwards we drove back to my house to have house church where we announced our engagement and showed them the video recording and pictures of our anniversary/engagement. It was the most wonderful day and I am so proud of Ian at how good he was at keeping me on my toes. I am very excited to be the future Mrs. Ian Banks!

Well that is my side of the story. I wonder what Ian has to say…