Let's gather & celebrate

It was Fall Retreat in Carol Cottage at Camp Bonclarken, all of the campers were gathered downstairs to play a group game. We began with 'signs' and my hand sign I chose was the hang loose hand motion surfers use and as soon as I chose this sign this blonde headed boy with the most amazing blue eyes voiced out... "What! You stole my sign!". As a rising sophomore girl I immediately thought he was cute and I started to 'flirt'. When I say flirt I mean at our worship time during the retreat I moved a very good friends gym bag (Wade Wilson) to where I was sitting so I would be beside this cute blonde boy and hold his hand during prayer. Wow! I am such an amazing flirt. I was very shy and fall retreat was only a long weekend and I needed to get his number so I found him on Instagram, what a Generation Z act! I direct messaged him saying that I didn't get his number at fall retreat. We texted all the time! Our families started to catch on and with similar parents neither would let us hangout with the other til our parents met each other. So yup... our first 'date' was with both sets of parents at Cheddar's in Gastonia, NC. A super awkward picture of us was taken on that brisk January night with Jacob's hand on my shoulder like the good Christian boy he was haha. But all jokes aside, that night my mom told me she could already feel us getting married later on in life. Well momma, you were right and OH how my heart is overjoyed by it!

So, the Proposal! What an exciting moment in both of our lives! A little backstory, I had invited Emily's parents and brother to come down and surprise her after the proposal. The day was June 22, 2019 and we had just arrived to Charleston, SC with my parents after a week-long trip at Holden Beach, NC. We had gone into downtown to walk around and visit some of Charleston's cool shops! I then asked Emily if she wanted to go down to the Battery to take some pictures and she agreed! So we started walking down and my nerves started kick in. When we got to the battery, my mom distracted Emily while my dad passed off the ring to me. After that, I was looking for the right place to ask the big question. The cool thing about the battery was that it was where my dad proposed to my mom! I wanted to propose at the exact same spot (the Gazebo) but there was a wedding ceremony taking place, so we had to go with plan B. So we went over to the walkway near the water. All this time, Emily's family was hiding in bushes! We decided to take some pictures of my parents and then of Emily and I. My nerves were increasing and with split-second decision making, I got down on one knee, sending Emily into shock! I then asked those beautiful four words, "Will you marry me"? It took Emily, a few seconds to grab her composure, as she was not expecting this at all! However, She said Yes! We were so excited and hugged and kissed each other and then the second surprise came into play. Emily's family emerged from the bushes to celebrate this monumental moment and Emily was just overwhelmed with joy. This day and moment was so beautiful and one that I will cherish for the rest of my life! God has done and continues to do amazing things in our lives and I cannot wait to see what He has in store for us!