James' Surprise Party

It was James' birthday this past Wednesday, and I had decided about a week previously that I wanted to throw him a surprise birthday party. I started putting my plans into action on Monday, when I pulled aside Kristen and Cole Estrada, both of whom were essential figures for the party. With them, I settled on Friday, and enlisted Cole's help to keep James occupied that evening until 7pm, so that I could get everything ready at the house. Kristen volunteered to take care of decorations, which was awesome (and they turned out great!) and we proceeded from there.

On Wednesday, James and I spent the evening celebrating--we went out to dinner, then came home and he opened the couple of presents I had for him, and then we made a blanket fort in our living room, read books in it for awhile before spending the night there. I'm sure James thought his birthday celebrations were done!

Friday morning was a busy one for me--I went shopping for everything I needed for the party, and started putting things together. Our new fondue pot had come in the mail the day before, which was perfect timing. I even said to James, "We should have a party sometime soon and make fondue!"

Things got a little complicated early Friday afternoon. You have to understand at the outset that I am a terrible liar. (Thinking back to trying to hide our engagement from Master Taralyn...) I cannot come up with stories on the fly.

I thought James was in school until 1:15pm on Friday, which would have meant him getting home around 1:30-1:40pm. So I was pretty startled when he walked through the door at 1:15--and there I was, about to stick his birthday cake in the oven, with a pot full of rice krispie treat residue and a pan of rice krispie treats sitting out.

I frantically told James that the trash was driving me crazy, and asked if he could take the trash out right then. He good-naturedly complied, which gave me enough time to hide the pan of rice krispie treats, and at least wash all the rice krispies out of the pot, though not enough time to wash it completely and put it away, as I had intended to get done before he got home.

James came back in and promptly started doing the dishes (I think he was perturbed at the time that I was washing dishes at all, as it's usually his chore.) Imagine my mind spinning, whirling as I tried to come up with a reason for this cake. Our conversation went about like this:

James: "What's the cake for, sweetheart?"

Valerie: "A special occasion."

James: "What special occasion?"

Valerie: "A birthday party for a friend of mine."

James: "What friend?"

Valerie: "A friend of mine from high school, you don't know him."

James: "Well, what's his name? Maybe you've mentioned him before."

And this is where I frantically tried to think of one of my high school friends that James had not yet met, who we could possibly be going to a party for. James really should have picked up on my hesitation, I thought he was going to call me out for sure.

Valerie: "Jason Healy. I haven't seen him for a long time, but Michael and Whitnee are going, and I thought it would be nice if we could go..."

I think at that point, James asked me why I had made a cake, and I explained that I was supposed to bring a treat, and so I had used one of the many cake mixes I'd been given among my bridal showers (which makes sense--I don't know when on earth we're going to go through all these cake mixes!) James seemed to accept this tale, and I breathed a sigh of relief--

--right until he found the stockpot I'd used for the rice krispie treats. This is our biggest pot, and we'd never used it before. James asked me what I'd been cooking it in, and I had nothing. I replied, "Mystery stuff." James was pretty incredulous, naturally, and I told him he was just going to have to humor me on that one. I thought for sure I'd ruined the surprise, but fortunately, my James went with it.

I went to work shortly thereafter--hoping James would not discover the rice krispie treats, or the groceries hidden in the back of the fridge and next to the pantry--and he came to the studio himself an hour or so later. When my lessons and things were all done, the Estradas had arrived, as James and Cole's self defense group had scheduled a practice from 6-7.  We told James that Jessica wasn't feeling well and I was taking her home so that she didn't have to wait on Cole. This let Jessica come home with me to help with the preparations.

We worked on the food--lots of chopping for the fondue!--and as the hour crept closer to 7, more people joined us. Kristen came with the decorations, Holly and Parker Sorenson arrived, followed shortly by Michael and Whitnee, who, it turned out, had propagated the charade. Whitnee, upon trying to leave the studio, was asked by her mother, Master Taralyn, what she and her family were up to that evening--as James happened to be sitting close by. Whitnee responded that they were going to a birthday party, and when Master Taralyn asked for whom, Whitnee replied, "Jason Healy."

Finally the time was at hand. Cole texted to let us know that they'd left the studio, and we waited eagerly. When James walked through the door, we all called out, "Surprise!" His face was stunned! I wish I had gotten a picture of it. He came in, and greeted everyone. When I gave him a hug, he raised a brow and asked, "Jason, huh?"

The party itself turned out very well. My fondue was a success, if I do say so myself. We played Rock Band for several hours. James and I love Rock Band. I might be slightly addicted to it. But everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. We were also joined by James' best friend Damian, and his friend Olivia, and I could see that their presence made James very happy.

About halfway through the party, we sang to James over his birthday cake. He was encouraged to try punching out his candles--quite the feat!

He did very well at it, all things considered.

Just after nine, our dear Ruth joined us as well. There was a little more Rock Band, and then we played a board game called Tsuro, which Kristen gave to us for our wedding present. It was so much fun!

At the end of the evening, we took a picture of Cole & Jessica, Holly & Parker, and me and James--three couples all formed at our taekwondo studio, in spite of Master Taralyn's half-joking (or maybe not-so-joking) "No Dating" policy. We have captioned this photo:

"Courtesy of the Beyond Sports Taekwondo Dating Service"

All in all, James' surprise party was a great success. It made me happy to see him enjoying himself, and to know that he'd never had a party like this before. And I of course loved the chance to celebrate my James. =)

Wedding Day!

{James' point of view}

At last came the big day, the day that I had been looking forward to more than any other day in my entire life. All the wedding preparations had been made, we had packed everything successfully, and we had spent the night before at one of Valerie's friends' home in Roy to save us the travel time on the morning of the wedding. Overall, everything was going smooth up to this point, but I could not believe that my wedding day had actually arrived! The surreal feeling continued throughout the day, to be honest.

On our way up to the temple itself, we had a little bit of an adventure trying to figure out the interstate entrance to go north, but we arrived without incident, although Valerie's mother was starting to worry whether or not we'd show up at all! We presented our recommends to the temple workers at the front desk, and because we were getting sealed, we each had a worker assigned to escort us through the process. After we separated into our different changing rooms and I had changed, I waited outside the changing room because her wedding dress had about 20 feet of lacing to do up. I was feeling this distinctly odd mixture of anticipation and nervousness.

When she finally came out of the changing room, I was almost literally floored with how beautiful she was. I had seen her dress a few days before (although she told me for months I couldn't see it until the wedding, and tormented me with that constantly), but there was just something about seeing her dressed in white, her face absolutely radiant, that struck me in a very powerful way. I realized she had dressed up like this just for me, and the fact that I was about to marry this beautiful woman finally seemed real to me.

We went down to the celestial room to await our sealing, and while we were sitting together, we could barely say so much as a single word. I felt so overcome with love for Valerie, with the emotion being augmented by the love I saw shining out of her eyes for me.  This was not the first time I felt we could've stayed in the celestial room forever, hand in hand, but it was certainly the strongest time I had ever felt such a thing. It was almost with regret that I left that room with the love of my life, but that was quickly replaced with feelings of awe as we entered the sealing room. Seeing so many of our closest friends and family sitting there, waiting to share this special day with us, was a moment of incredible happiness, made all the stronger by the fact that I was sharing it with my Valerie.

The sealer gave us some advice on remembering the covenants we had both made, in and out of the temple. After he was done with that, he called us up to the altar, and pronounced the sealing on us. During the sealing, I remember thinking how very surreal this all felt, that there was no way I was actually getting sealed to the beautiful woman kneeling across from me. He finished the sealing, said Valerie and I could kiss across the altar, and so we did.

We were married. I was actually married to Valerie Mechling Holley! It is impossible to describe my feelings at that moment, but I assure you all, they were the most joyous I have ever felt.

We got up from the altar, and started receiving congratulations, beginning with our parents. It struck me again that all of these people had come for us, to support us in this beautiful day. After we had finished with that, we went to the changing rooms, and I changed into my white tuxedo. I'd be lying if I didn't say I felt pretty darn slick. Anyways, we both finished changing, went to one of the side exits, and exited the temple to applause from those waiting without.

Thus began the pictures. Now, I'm not saying I didn't enjoy the pictures, and I'll be eternally grateful for them, but it was very, very cold outside that day. It couldn't have been more than 10 degrees, I swear. As good looking as my tux was, it certainly wasn't made for warmth, I can assure you. That went on for about an hour, and by the end of that, I thought my hands were going to fall off. Finally, we had finished, and we were able to go change, pack everything up, and head back home. That 1-1/2 hour drive was an incredibly special experience.

We got to the Bangkok Grill, where we holding our luncheon, precisely on time. That was rather pleasant, and I very much enjoyed a toast given by my best man, Damian Parente. We headed back to our home (ours!) for a couple of minutes, then on to the Sun River Gardens for our reception.

We took some more pictures, this time in a much warmer environment, and had an excellent reception. Tons of friends and family showed up, and overall it was a very enjoyable experience, despite the fact we didn't get to sit down for more than 5 minutes at a time.

The time came for us to leave on our honeymoon to SLC, so we changed, packed up again, and debarked together on our life as a married couple. I still can't believe I'm married to my Valerie, my love, my wife. But I know that, whatever may happen, we are now going to be together forever.

Wedding Day!

{Valerie's point of view}

The day before our wedding was a busy one. James and I completed our last preparations: we finished packing, I got my nails done, James finally sold his apartment contract (huzzah!), and I baked his groom's pie (a key lime pie I promised to him months ago). James went and got JENNY cleaned, as she was to be our getaway car, and picked up tuxes for himself, his groomsmen, and our fathers. Of course, when he got back with the tuxes, we decided he should model his tux for me. I have to tell you, I was very pleased. My James is a handsome man, and his white tux (with tails!) showed him off to the best effect. =)

That evening, we drove up to my maid-of-honor's house in Roy. We spent the night there because it was only 30 minutes' drive from Brigham City, as opposed to the hour-and-a-half from our home. We spent a pleasant evening with the Haycock-Hayhurst clan before retiring to the bedrooms provided for us. Was I nervous, you ask? No, I truly wasn't. I slept okay that night, though not all that much, simply because I was so excited!

January 3rd dawned bright and cold. My mother has been praying for weeks, if not months, for good weather on my wedding day. (My brother got married at the end of December two years ago, and there was a blizzard that day. Not only did that prevent most people from coming, but he and his wife got in a car accident that day and totaled our parents' SUV. Yikes!) Her prayers (and a few of my own!) paid off, because the skies were clear all that day. Of course, we were repaid with bitterly cold temperatures....

I woke up just before 7:00am and started my preparations, taking my time. Melissa started working on my hair around 8, and it turned out so perfectly. Around 8:30am, we were joined by Nicholas Chacon, one of my best and dearest friends from the college days. Nicholas was my only true "out-of-town" guest, having traveled from Michigan just for the wedding. He visited with us for an hour or so as we got ready for the day. It was about 9:45am when James and I left the Haycock's and headed to Brigham City.

We weren't due at the temple until 10:30am, though I had hoped to be early so I could take my time getting ready. Of course, we then got turned around trying to get on the freeway, making us even later than we were already. I checked my phone and found half a dozen frantic calls from my mother by the time we got there. But we arrived at 10:30 and were immediately swept into the bustle--there were 11 wedding at the Brigham City Temple that day! For a smaller temple, that meant things were pretty crazy!

My mother helped me get dressed. I wore my wedding dress for the sealing, and since it laces up the back, it takes some effort to get into. But that meant a little extra time in the brides' room, which was truly beautiful. I found this picture online:

Once I was dressed, I was taken back out to my James. The way his eyes lit up when he saw me! We were guided then to the Celestial Room, and I spent most of our time there just staring into James' eyes. We briefly visited the endowment room for our short veil ceremony, because I had been previously endowed. That was pretty special! Back in the Celestial Room, James said, "I guess it's official!"

Shortly thereafter, James and I were guided into the sealing room. It was full of our family and friends. I about burst with excitement at that point. The sealer spoke at length, and focused mainly on the ordinances and blessings of the temple. I tried very hard to pay attention what the sealer was saying, but it was definitely a challenge! At last, he instructed James to bring me to the altar. We knelt across from one another and the sealing ceremony commenced. My whole world narrowed to this single point as I was sealed to James. After we had kissed across the altar, we rose and stood together, and we were presented as Brother and Sister Holley. =)

We greeted all those present, which was lovely and very emotional for me. We were then taken back to the dressing rooms to ready ourselves for going out to greet the rest of our guests. When everyone outside was ready, James and I erupted out of the temple to great applause.

We took pictures outside the temple for an hour or so. It was about 17 degrees, and everybody was freezing. I had a cloak, which I put on eventually, but I didn't want all my pictures to only show the cloak, when I loved my wedding dress so much. What was funny, though, was that I got more comments and compliments on my cloak than on my dress! Alas. My mother insisted that it was just because the cloak was more unusual.

We took mostly group pictures. James and I had planned to take more pictures of just the two of us, but it was simply too cold. (One of the last pictures we took, we were told to kiss, and I couldn't tell if we were kissing or not, because my lips were numb!) So we headed back in to change into our Sunday clothes to travel to our luncheon.

Our luncheon was at the Bangkok Grill in Orem, a delightful Thai place we both enjoy. The food was delicious and the company even better. After eating, I mingled a bit with my people while James chatted with his family at the table. The luncheon finished with a toast by Damian Perente, the best man. It was perfect--the toast was funny, it was teasing, and it was tender and sweet.

We went from there to the Sun River Gardens, where our reception took place. Soon after arriving, the picture-taking recommenced (and never stopped!). I wish I'd had a chance to look around a bit more. I never got to see the sign-in table, the decor on the tables, or much of the room beyond what I could see from up front, because pictures flowed straight into the reception line, and from there it was a constant stream of our wonderful guests to greet!

The reception turned out so perfectly, for me. The ambiance was all I had hoped for--the greenery, the soft lighting, our wedding playlist playing in the background, and the hum of conversation from all my favorite people. I know reception lines have a sometimes sour reputation, but I loved mine--I loved seeing and talking to everyone who came, if only briefly. My face hurt from smiling so much, and not a single smile was false! I loved every moment.

We cut our wedding cheesecake with James' red katana--this follows a Taekwondo family tradition. You know, for all that there's an unofficial "no dating" policy at our studio, five couples have now formed and married from the studio, several of whom have cut their cakes with a sword. James and I had a blast with it. And we only smeared a little cheesecake on each others' faces. ;-)

A little later, I tossed a little bouquet, which Kristen "caught." (It fell to the ground, but Kristen touched it on the way down, so she had best claim.) James tossed my garter, which was caught by young Dallin Anderson. I love seeing that kid blush!

We greeted more people for awhile, and then at the end came our dances. James and I shared our first dance to "For Always" sung by Josh Groban. Neither of us really dance, but it was still a very tender moment for us, swaying to our song, even softly singing to each other.

skip to 1:45

Next came "What a Wonderful World" -- I danced with  my father, and James with his mother. Also a very tender moment. My daddy told me how proud he was of me, and that meant all the world. After we'd handed our parents back to their spouses, James and I went to change. 

Leaving the reception did not go as smoothly as we might have hoped--there were more people who wanted to greet us, and then when we got out to the car, we discovered the keys were missing, as Melissa still had them, inside. My brother had also covered the car in shaving cream, of all things, in addition to the streamers that were wrapped all over it. Once we finally got into the car, we drove straight to a car wash so James could take care of JENNY. We ended up going back to the Sun River Gardens because we'd forgotten a few items. After taking care of a last few things with Melissa and my dad, at last we were on our way.

Our wedding day was as wonderful as I could have hoped for, and more. It truly did fly by, I couldn't believe it had already come and gone. I still have moments where I can't believe it's past, and I am a married woman. But being married is the best. The other night, James and I were sitting in bed together, he reading a book, and I playing on the computer. I looked over at him, and I just started giggling a little. I'm living with my best friend, and I love every moment. The best part is? We get to be together forever.

Part 4: Engaged!

{Valerie's point of view}

On the morning of Sunday, September 23rd, I attended the Brigham City, Utah Temple dedication broadcast. It was an incredible service. I had been through the open house with my parents, a week or two before James and I started dating. I had fallen in love with the temple at that open house. It is an incredibly elegant building. The decor reminded me of the Salt Lake Temple and others of that pioneer era, without the overwhelming ostentation that makes me feel out of place in these older temples. I loved being able to participate in the dedication, and I will always remember that occasion. (Not least because of the connections it now holds for me.)

I impatiently whiled away the afternoon until it was time for my date with James. At his house, we had liver and mushrooms, and it was sincerely delightful. (So much better than the bite he'd shared with me at Mimi's Cafe!) I was pleased to see how well he could cook, and I loved sharing this meal that he enjoyed so much.

After dinner we went down to his part of the house. We played the piano for one another, and sat talking for awhile. Eventually James asked me if I would like to go on a walk, to which I happily assented.

We drove to a nearby park in Provo, and walked the grounds immersed in conversation. It was a pleasant evening, breezy and a little cool, but comfortably so. After walking for some time, we settled down under a large pine tree to continue talking.

Our conversation skirted marriage a couple of times. I could sense the general direction of James's thoughts, but of course at that point I thought it was just talk, and vague talk at that. James started to use metaphors, which greatly amused me. He talked about buying a house (obviously comparing it to getting married): when you're going to a buy a house, you don't rush into it. You check out lots of houses, maybe even rent one or two for awhile, so you can figure out what it is you really want in a house. But when you find the right house, you'll know. He then talked about jumping off a cliff, and how scary it is when you're looking over the edge, how the most terrifying part is jumping into the air, but once you surface from the water, you realize how awesome it was, and how glad you are that you took the leap.

Honest to goodness, I thought he was still just talking. I didn't dare to hope that it might be something more. I mean, I had realized that we both had very strong feelings for one another, and I had the sense that James and I might get married--but we had talked about how we had only been dating for a short time, and how both of us didn't want to rush into anything.

But James said it right: After exploring his metaphors at length, he looked at me and said, "If you know something's right, how much time do you really need?"

He faced me then, both of us sitting under that pine tree. He looked me in the eyes and said, "Valerie, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

I can't even describe the emotions that erupted inside of me. "Yes!" I cried out, before I totally freaked out. I think I must have said, "Oh my gosh!" or some equivalent thereof at least fifty times. I was stunned; I couldn't believe he'd actually asked me to marry him! I was ecstatic, of course, beyond jubilant! I was completely overwhelmed with my love and adoration of this man. But what was strongest of all was how right it felt. I hadn't prayed before that about marrying James, but in that moment, I received the Spirit's confirmation. I knew that it was right, that this was God's will for the two of us.

We reveled in this incredible moment for awhile, but the desire to share the news grew rapidly within me. So I decided it might be a good time to introduce James to my parents. No, James had not met my parents before he proposed. There's two reasons for this--one, my mother, bless her heart, is hopelessly nosy about my dating life and two, I just hadn't wanted to get her hopes up so early in this relationship. So though they had known I was dating James, I had not clued them in to how serious it was getting, let alone introduced them to my sweetheart.

So, late that Sunday night, we just showed up at my parents' house. They were clearly surprised, and the four of us awkwardly gathered in the kitchen for a minute or two as my parents tried to gauge why, after refusing for three weeks, I had suddenly brought this guy over. And then James looked at them, said that he had something to tell them, and announced that he had asked me to marry him.

My mother burst into tears. My mother is not a crier. I could probably count on my fingers the number of times I've seen my mother cry, so I was sort of at a loss. I went to hug her, and she demanded of me, "What did you say?" Laughing, I assured her that I had said yes!

We spent some time with my parents that night, so that my parents could get to know James a little, and talking through some of our initial plans. We were asked where we planned to get married. Both James and I would have chosen the Mt. Timpanogos Temple, but it was under construction, and no one knew when the construction was going to be completed. I was unwilling to have construction in the backdrop of my wedding photos, and James agreed. And that's when we settled on the Brigham City Temple, which had been dedicated that day. It will always have a special connection for us.

It was difficult to part ways that night. James expressed some concern that it was all a dream, and that he'd wake in the morning to find he'd imagined the whole thing. That's certainly how it felt to me! I texted him the next morning to assure him it was not a dream!

I was in a right state on Monday. I started calling my closest friends that morning to let them know the news. When I told my friend Anna that James had proposed, she literally dropped the phone. Picking it up, she exclaimed, "I'm coming over right now!" and hung up.

That morning, I don't think I got anything done at work, besides talking to Whitnee, Anna, and Jessica. The challenge came later that day--James wanted to be with me when we told our master instructor (my boss) Taralyn. The problem being that I had to work side-by-side with her all afternoon before James arrived at the studio, without revealing my state of bliss. The worst was when Master Taralyn, Whitnee and I went out to a late lunch. Master Taralyn asked me what I was doing that evening, and I froze. James and I were planning to go ring shopping that evening! "...Stuff..." I dumbly responded. Whitnee, rolling her eyes, supplied, "She's going on a date." She must have thought I was a total space cadet (which I was!). Finally James arrived at the studio, and though we had planned to tell Taralyn after classes, I couldn't bear another moment. We went into the office together, and tried to get her attention--which proved difficult! It was really awkward for a few minutes, until James told her that we had something to tell her. When we had her full attention, James announced that we were getting married. A full five seconds must have passed before she said, "Tell me you're joking." It was several minutes before we could convince her that we were serious! Her reaction was the most stunned of anyone's.

After classes finished that evening, James and I went to the University Mall. I can't even tell you how excited+nervous I was to go ring shopping. We had briefly looked online the night before, so I had a general idea of what I wanted. But the ring I ended up choosing was nothing like what I had imagined for myself! We went to several stores, before and after finding the one, so I could ensure that I was really happy with it. I was. James took me out to dinner to celebrate, and then on the way to our next destination, he drove us up to the hillside above Pleasant Grove. There he got down on one knee with the ring, and asked me again to marry him, to which I jubilantly responded "Yes! Again!" With ring on, we continued on our way.

You see, the next destination was his parent's house. It was with some trepidation that I approached this first meeting! James's mother and brother had been traveling for about 24 hours straight, and I knew that she was very tired, and not much in the mood for guests. I was nervous about making a good first impression. James brought me to the house, and introduced me to his mother and three of his brothers who were in the house at the time. Without much ado, he announced that we were engaged--and they were not at all surprised! Charmaine had guessed, when James had been so insistent that she meet me that particular evening, and told the boys so. We stayed for awhile that evening, and I enjoyed getting to know Patrick and Daniel, who visited with us. They seemed to like me well enough, although James was mortified at one point--Charmaine told them that I was a Democrat, and one of the brothers, aghast, called me a "liberal drone." I thought James was going to kill something! But I just laughed. My own brother has called me worse!

The next day was also full of phone calls and visits to announce the news. Kristen saw my ring when she got to class that day, and freaked out--but I told her she had to get the story from James after class. We also went to Ruth's house to visit and share our news. Her reaction was perhaps the best of anybody's, she was so ecstatic for us. It made us both very happy. We waited until that evening to go "public" so that James could personally tell his father, who was traveling, and his brothers who live out of town. When all our closest family and friends had received their calls, we posted to Facebook. The outpouring of love and congratulations was truly astounding.

Part 4: Engaged!

{James' point of view}

The day after our phone conversation, September 23rd, just so happened to be the day of the dedication for the Brigham City temple. That was a rather enjoyable dedication to view, but frankly I was rather distracted throughout the service and the rest of the afternoon due to my preoccupation with Valerie and where we appeared to be rapidly heading. I was eagerly anticipating seeing her again that evening when I was to cook her dinner.

I prepared the food, Valerie showed up when she said she would, and we had an excellent meal, if I do say so myself. We visited and played my piano for a while afterwards, and then I suggested we take a walk in a local park. We walked around for a little while, then sat under a beautiful tree for further conversation. I remember it was rather cloudy that evening, and it started to drizzle part-way through our time at the park.

Our conversation had been pleasant overall, and we slowly drifted back to the topic of marriage when we were talking about Valerie's sister's wedding. It quickly became obvious to me that Valerie had very strong feelings for me, and that there was even the distinct chance that she might actually want to marry me! However, we also talked about how we had been dating for such a short period of time, and that we didn't want to rush something so important. It was at that point that, after agreeing with her, that I started to compare our situation to buying a house: You look around at a bunch of different houses, you learn what you like and don't like in a house, maybe rent one or two. When you find the house, however, you know it almost immediately. You don't want to rush into anything you're not ready for, but you know it's the right house for you. I then related proposing to jumping off a cliff; the first step is absolutely terrifying, but you're always grateful you took that step. In case you were wondering, yes, I like metaphors, and yes, I was incredibly nervous.

It was at some point during my spiel that I realized that I was going to propose that night, and the idea of doing so was freaking me out! Finally, with my entire body just about seizing up with nervousness, I said to her, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" She broke down, but not without first gasping out, "Yes!" I was stunned, first by the fact that I had actually asked the question, and second that she had said yes. She said yes! My gosh, I had never expected the night to turn out like this!

In somewhat of a daze, Valerie asks me to meet her parents. No, neither of us had met the others' parents at this point! We drive over there, I meet her mom and dad, and then I tell them that I had proposed to their daughter. That was only slightly less nerve-wracking than asking Valerie to marry me. They were both somewhat overwhelmed, as is to be expected, but I had very good first impressions of them. Because my parents were both out of town, and my mother was getting back the following night, we decided to wait and tell my parents until then.

The following day, I woke up and went about  my normal school schedule, but it was with some literal trepidation that I had dreamed the events of the night before, so I sent Valerie a text asking her if it was a dream. Fortunately and kindly on her part, she told me that it was not. When I got to the Taekwondo studio that evening, we both told our master, Tara. She was so stunned, she didn't believe us at first!

That evening is when we went shopping for Valerie's engagement ring. I won't comment on the terrible salesmanship of two of the sellers we went to, but we eventually found a ring that Valerie loved. Before taking her to meet my mother and other family, I proposed to her again the proper way, and she said yes again (I won't deny that I was the slightest bit worried she would've changed her mind by then.) My family was pleased to meet her, if somewhat outrageous in their remarks because my family is rather right-wing politically, while Valerie is a Democrat. Thanks, Daniel.

After calling the rest of my family and people I cared about to tell them about our engagement, we posted on Facebook, enjoyed the massively positive response, and began our lives together as a newly engaged couple!