the day we got engaged...

one year ago today the man of my dreams proposed to me!

we were on a cruise in the caribbean with my family.  (my dad must have had a REALLY good feeling about this boy since he invited him to come and bought the tickets after we had only been dating a month!)

it was thursday - the last formal night of the cruise.  we were dressed up all fancy and he looked so handsome in his blue tie with his dark hair and tan skin.  after dinner, we went to a show with the fam and then the two of us went for a walk along the top deck.

we ended up at the front of the ship in the "serenity" lounge area - adults only.  we found a secluded area of the deck and sat on some blue lounge chairs.  the moon was big and bright and it was a warm evening with a slight breeze.  we sat there for a while, talking, and then he excused himself, saying he needed to use the bathroom.  i remember sitting there, staring out at the ocean and wondering what was taking him so long.  i was worried that he was feeling sea sick (like i had the first few nights of the trip!).

when he came back he was holding one red rose.  he smiled at me and then walked over to me and had me stand up (at this point in time i had a suspicion of what was coming but was sooo surprised).  he poured out his heart to me and told me how much he loved me and how he wanted to spend forever with me.  then he got down on one knee and pulled out a small box with a ring inside and asked me to marry him! i said YES YES YES! i might have said it more than three times...  he put the ring on my finger and we kissed and kissed and he spun me around.  some people nearby noticed what was happening and cheered for us and clapped.  it was a beautiful, surreal moment and i was so happy!

after celebrating by ourselves and relishing the moment, we went down to my parent's room and shared the good news!  (dustin had talked with my dad and asked permission the night before..) after that, my brother tanner went with us to get ice cream cones.  :)

the main reason i was so surprised was that we had already decided to get married, but we hadn't had the chance to go ring shopping since dustin was working in oklahoma for the summer.  dustin explained that the ring he gave me was a "placeholder" he had bought in okc, because he still wanted to go ring shopping with me.  it was a beautiful sterling silver ring with little diamonds in the middle and on the sides.  i still have it and wear it often.  we went ring shopping the next day on the island of st. kitt's and he bought my ring that day!

i'll never forget the day we got engaged in the middle of the caribbean sea.  it was perfect.  love being married to the man of my dreams.   here's some of my favorite photos from the cruise: