Let the wedding planning begin!!! One year ago (and some change) I was proposed to by my best friend and the most special person I have ever met! Ryan Stephens, whom I met in middle school, is the most caring, loving, and down to earth person. We saw each other grow, and odly enough, Ryan overlook my awkward years of braces, wind pants, Fury jackets, and buck teeth. He saw me grow into the person and I am today and he truly loves me for me. He would give anyone the shirt off his back and he would do anything for anyone. He believes in the dreams we have togeher and believes in me. He makes me want to be a better person and he has changed my life in a way that I never knew God had planned.
The Proposal of a life time: It all took place at my grandparents house on a weekend where our entire family was in town. The weather was beautiful and God had his hands in this day. (I am tearing up). I had no idea that my life was about to change in the most amazing way.
The weekend of Halloween (Payton Dawn's Birthday) my entire family was in town for my uncle Bob's wedding. Go uncle Bob! :) We celebrated all weekend, enjoying family and friends and experienced their beautiful wedding. They are an amazing couple and I couldn't be happier for them. That weekend I saw my uncle Bob's life change in amazing way and I saw God work in his life. The wedding was at a quaint chapel and had a country-side feel. It was so pretty! Everyone was excited, laughing and sharing all of the great moments together. Little did I know that the day after the wedding, my life would change and I would soon make those same wedding memories for myself.
The wedding came to a close and the sweet couple drove off in their get-away car as we waved good-bye. The next day, I woke up early to have brunch with a few of my best friends at Seven47, which is a local bar that also serves some killer breakfast. Leslie Carroll (my sorority sister from TX) was in town that weekend and a Sunday brunch to discuss the events of the weekend was in order. There is something about getting five girls together to recall the weekends events. It's like Sex in the City at every meeting. If someone where to over-hear our conversation they would definitely get a good laugh out of it. We always have something interesting to recall and laugh about. Sadly, Leslie was leaving us to head back to TX that day. We always hate to say good-bye but we look foward to that next fun, girlie weekend and that Sunday brunch that always follows.
After brunch, thinking it was going to be an average day, I headed to my house to find my mom and Kris frantically getting ready. Ryan had showed up to my house and everyone was a little frazzled. I thought it was strange, but I figured everyone was just tired from the exhausting weekend we had. We had plans to go to my grandparents and eat lunch before the family left town that weekend. Ryan had arranged for his parents to join us so they could "meet my family before they left". I was looking forward to introducing my out-of-town family members to Ryan's parents.
When we got to my grandparents everyone seemed wide-eyed, over-excited yet a little stressed. I grew even more weary about the strange activity at my grandparents house, however, still keeping in mind that we all had an exhausting weekend. We introduced Ryan's parents to everyone and began to eat lunch. Once lunch was over my aunt Cindy began to open her birthday presents. We didn't get to celebrate her birthday because she lives out of town, so we wanted to honor the occasion while everyone was in town to celebrate. My aunt slowly opened each gift, as I encouraged her to frantically rip open her gifts. She passed them around, talked about each item, and slowly read each card. I kept thinking to myself "this is one strange day". It wasn't our family's style to slowly open presents. hehe. What I didn't know is my aunt Cindy was stalling so my dad could arrive and not miss the big momemnt that was about to occur.
After the gifts were opened, everyone got silent. I was being chatty cathy while everyone sat in anticipation. I saw my grandpa give Ryan a pat on the shoulder and to my surprise out of the corner of my eye I saw Ryan stand up and begin talking to everyone. His speech started with his love and appreciation for my family and his. He expressed how he felt so blessed to be a part of my family and how much he has enjoyed every moment. Ryan often expressed his appreciation for things, so this was totally his style and came of no surprise to me. After he expressed these feelings to my family, he then turned to me. That is when I immediately knew something big was about to happen :) Ryan, in front of my entire family, expressed his love for me and that he wanted to take care of me for the rest of my life. I immediately began to cry and felt my life change before my eyes. He asked for my hand in marriage that day and I said YESSSSS! I screamed, showed of my beautiful ring, and cried all day long. My family cried and laughed as we talked about the events leading up to this day. We all knew it was hard for Paula to keep a secret and we congratulated her on her success! hehe. Most of all, it was hard for everyone to hold back the excitement that this day would bring. Ryan told me how he had plotted the entire thing and we laughed. It was one of the most special days of my life.
I was so glad that Ryan's parents were able to be there for such a huge milestone in Ryan and I's life together. Ryan's mom and I cried, hugged and laughed together. We expressed how exciting our lives would become and how we were thankful to have one another. That day God gave me the most amazing in-laws a girl good ask for. Yes, I am crying right now. hehe. Ryan's family is warm-hearted and loving, just like Ryan. They touch everyone's life in an amazing way. Ryan's mom has loved me like her own from the beginning. I remember the first day I met his family. I felt like I had known them for years. Hugging me and treating me like a daughter, Ryan's mom and I have grown extremely close. The same is with Ryan's step-dad Darwin. He always knows what to say when you are having a bad day. One joke and you forget all about what the world threw at you that day. He is so positive and caring and would do anything for anyone, just like Ryan's mom. Ryan's sister's are just as special. God blessed me with the two most wonderful sisters. I was an only child growing up, so being blessed with the relationships I have built with Summer and Casey is extremely special. Casey, Summer and I laugh and make memories just like sisters. Ryan's grandma Viv, aunts, and uncles are just as amazing. His grandparents "down south" are truly wonderful as well. I didn't realize all of the love that would surround me when I said "yes" to Ryan on that day, November 2. Ryan's entire family has touched my life in ways I will never forget.
God has truly blessed me and I can't wait to see what he has in store next.
The Proposal of a life time: It all took place at my grandparents house on a weekend where our entire family was in town. The weather was beautiful and God had his hands in this day. (I am tearing up). I had no idea that my life was about to change in the most amazing way.
The weekend of Halloween (Payton Dawn's Birthday) my entire family was in town for my uncle Bob's wedding. Go uncle Bob! :) We celebrated all weekend, enjoying family and friends and experienced their beautiful wedding. They are an amazing couple and I couldn't be happier for them. That weekend I saw my uncle Bob's life change in amazing way and I saw God work in his life. The wedding was at a quaint chapel and had a country-side feel. It was so pretty! Everyone was excited, laughing and sharing all of the great moments together. Little did I know that the day after the wedding, my life would change and I would soon make those same wedding memories for myself.
The wedding came to a close and the sweet couple drove off in their get-away car as we waved good-bye. The next day, I woke up early to have brunch with a few of my best friends at Seven47, which is a local bar that also serves some killer breakfast. Leslie Carroll (my sorority sister from TX) was in town that weekend and a Sunday brunch to discuss the events of the weekend was in order. There is something about getting five girls together to recall the weekends events. It's like Sex in the City at every meeting. If someone where to over-hear our conversation they would definitely get a good laugh out of it. We always have something interesting to recall and laugh about. Sadly, Leslie was leaving us to head back to TX that day. We always hate to say good-bye but we look foward to that next fun, girlie weekend and that Sunday brunch that always follows.
After brunch, thinking it was going to be an average day, I headed to my house to find my mom and Kris frantically getting ready. Ryan had showed up to my house and everyone was a little frazzled. I thought it was strange, but I figured everyone was just tired from the exhausting weekend we had. We had plans to go to my grandparents and eat lunch before the family left town that weekend. Ryan had arranged for his parents to join us so they could "meet my family before they left". I was looking forward to introducing my out-of-town family members to Ryan's parents.
When we got to my grandparents everyone seemed wide-eyed, over-excited yet a little stressed. I grew even more weary about the strange activity at my grandparents house, however, still keeping in mind that we all had an exhausting weekend. We introduced Ryan's parents to everyone and began to eat lunch. Once lunch was over my aunt Cindy began to open her birthday presents. We didn't get to celebrate her birthday because she lives out of town, so we wanted to honor the occasion while everyone was in town to celebrate. My aunt slowly opened each gift, as I encouraged her to frantically rip open her gifts. She passed them around, talked about each item, and slowly read each card. I kept thinking to myself "this is one strange day". It wasn't our family's style to slowly open presents. hehe. What I didn't know is my aunt Cindy was stalling so my dad could arrive and not miss the big momemnt that was about to occur.
After the gifts were opened, everyone got silent. I was being chatty cathy while everyone sat in anticipation. I saw my grandpa give Ryan a pat on the shoulder and to my surprise out of the corner of my eye I saw Ryan stand up and begin talking to everyone. His speech started with his love and appreciation for my family and his. He expressed how he felt so blessed to be a part of my family and how much he has enjoyed every moment. Ryan often expressed his appreciation for things, so this was totally his style and came of no surprise to me. After he expressed these feelings to my family, he then turned to me. That is when I immediately knew something big was about to happen :) Ryan, in front of my entire family, expressed his love for me and that he wanted to take care of me for the rest of my life. I immediately began to cry and felt my life change before my eyes. He asked for my hand in marriage that day and I said YESSSSS! I screamed, showed of my beautiful ring, and cried all day long. My family cried and laughed as we talked about the events leading up to this day. We all knew it was hard for Paula to keep a secret and we congratulated her on her success! hehe. Most of all, it was hard for everyone to hold back the excitement that this day would bring. Ryan told me how he had plotted the entire thing and we laughed. It was one of the most special days of my life.
I was so glad that Ryan's parents were able to be there for such a huge milestone in Ryan and I's life together. Ryan's mom and I cried, hugged and laughed together. We expressed how exciting our lives would become and how we were thankful to have one another. That day God gave me the most amazing in-laws a girl good ask for. Yes, I am crying right now. hehe. Ryan's family is warm-hearted and loving, just like Ryan. They touch everyone's life in an amazing way. Ryan's mom has loved me like her own from the beginning. I remember the first day I met his family. I felt like I had known them for years. Hugging me and treating me like a daughter, Ryan's mom and I have grown extremely close. The same is with Ryan's step-dad Darwin. He always knows what to say when you are having a bad day. One joke and you forget all about what the world threw at you that day. He is so positive and caring and would do anything for anyone, just like Ryan's mom. Ryan's sister's are just as special. God blessed me with the two most wonderful sisters. I was an only child growing up, so being blessed with the relationships I have built with Summer and Casey is extremely special. Casey, Summer and I laugh and make memories just like sisters. Ryan's grandma Viv, aunts, and uncles are just as amazing. His grandparents "down south" are truly wonderful as well. I didn't realize all of the love that would surround me when I said "yes" to Ryan on that day, November 2. Ryan's entire family has touched my life in ways I will never forget.
God has truly blessed me and I can't wait to see what he has in store next.
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