Engaged!!!

At noon today, Jonathan David asked me to be his wife. Here is the story...

I woke up at 7 am this morning, bright and chipper for a new day. On impulse, I called JD and offered to get he and Andy (his best friend from home who is staying over for a few days) some Starbucks. After I brought back their drinks and pastries, JD and I headed off to our Thursday morning class as usual. Class was good, nothing out of the ordinary - just a 3 hour seminar. After class was dismissed, I waited in the hallway FOREVER for JD to go to the bathroom (he had gone earlier in the break so I wasn't surprised that he needed to go again.... apparently it was nerves). However, unbeknownst to me, JD was attaching a microphone to his chest, underneath his shirt. He came out of the bathroom, I made some sort of remark about the length of time he was in there, and we walked out of the building.

Now, I normally have class after this, but I had already decided I would miss it in order to work on the paper that is due tomorrow... so we walked in the direction of home together. Our conversation was very normal and engaging as we discussed class. JD wanted to show me something that was written on the building of Royce Hall that actually pertained to our class, and so I was quite distracted by looking at the roof and enjoying the day. After walking through the corridor of Royce Hall, we started to walk by the fountain that sits between Royce and Powell Library (a gorgeous spot on UCLA's campus). He casually said to me, "homegirl, I have a question for you" to which I replied, "well I have an answer for you.? He then said, "so when are you going to marry me?" (He does this allll the time so it was nothing new to me. I gave him my typical answer, "whenever you ask me...." and at that moment, he dug into his backpack and got out a jewelry box with the ring in it. He got down on one knee and said great things and asked me to be his wife. Of course I said yes a bunch of times before he even finished and we hugged and kissed and then heard applause... As it turns out, we were being videotaped by Andy and RO Smith and his wife Mindy (middle school leaders at Bel Air). JD's mike recorded the entire conversation and one of my best friends even popped her head out of the crowd. JD had it all planned out and a few special people were there to witness the proposal.

After some more pictures and staring at the ring, we walked home and headed off for a day of fun activities. JD had prepared a wonderful picnic and we went to the Getty to eat lunch. Throughout lunch we started calling our parents and talking about the date, etc... After lunch JD took me to Bloomingdales so I could buy a dress for dinner. We had a great time picking out a beautiful dress and then, after a shower and getting ready, JD came into my apartment with flowers, wearing a suit, and Andy walking close behind with the camera. We took more pictures and then went to this great Italian restauraunt on Ocean Blvd. for dinner. The night ended with us watching the video tapes and talking with friends. It's been absolutely surreal.
So the date is set... On October 21, 2006, JD and I will become Mr. and Mrs. Groves. Ahhhh!!!! This has been such a special day. My ring is gorgeous (thanks to my amazing cousin who did an incredible job picking out the diamond), my fiance even more gorgeous, and God is so good. I can't even begin to tell you all of the details that God blessed us with throughout this process, but I can tell you that this day has been more special than I could ever have imagined.

Blessed be His Name