Proposal: Origami Hearts, Parks, & a Cravat

It was around 6:30 pm on Friday, June 29. I had just gotten home from working a 10 hour day without a break and had ended my work day by taking patients from the adolescent pysch unit bowling. Needless to say, I was exhausted. I got a text from Nate asking what I was up to that night. I decided to be cheeky and told him I was going to wash my hair. Shortly after that, the door bell rang. My roommate Alicia had ordered a pizza and so I let her get the door. Instead of a pizza delivery man there was a GPS and a note folded into a heart (Nate gave me various origami pieces through out our courtship).  The note read:

This is the beginning of a great adventure for the both of us. Today I need you to find me somewhere around Pocatello by following the GPS I have given you along with clues I have left behind. I am sending you locations that have become dear to my heart, so at each destination look for the heart shaped clues. I will try to keep the clues close to where you stop your car. Best of luck, and I love you! Proceed to location 03 on the GPS favorites. Clue: The roots for my love run deep. P.S. Hurry, I am probably pacing nervously wherever I am if you can't find the clue you can always cheat and call me :P 

I had a feeling what was coming. I spent a little bit cleaning up, but tried not to take too long for Nate's sake. I jumped in my car and drove down the hill to a park by where both of us lived.

The second note read:

Welcome to Scarino Park! I came here to play a million times as a kid, but recently it has taken on new meaning. In this park we made a decision that starts my dream of living life along someone I love. That day {May 31, 2012} will always be in my memory as the one of the happiest I have ever had. Your destination is 06 on the GPS. You'll know it when you get there. Clue: I didn't need a SIGN to know the FIRST time you left my side you would also leave a HOLE in my heart. (Corny? You know you love it!)

 Nate didn't have the exact GPS location for this park and so it took me to an apartment complex which happened to be right across the street.

The note behind this sign read:

Ah, the old disc golf course. You had to see this one coming a mile away. I can't ever play without being reminded of our first "dates" (and the other boys you brought along.) {I brought along one boy and it was once} It was while playing that we really became friends and for me our friendship will always be the core our of relationship. I am lucky to have the privilege of walking through life with a friend like you. Your next destination is 04 on the GPS. Clue: I could sit here all day talking with you.

I knew the place where he was talking about, but had difficulty finding the note at the pavilion (I was looking on the poles and tables, not on the benches). I even asked two random girls that were hanging out at the parking lot if they had seen a red origami heart. I did try call him to cheat on the third clue, but apparently his phone didn't get service with where he was at. Part of our first date we went back to Nate's house for hot chocolate and tim tams, so I tried to call his mom to see if I was supposed to go up there. Finally, Nate got service and was able to call me and give me more of a direction. He tried to place the heart as close to where he remembered sitting (and if my memory is correct, he was right on).

The final note read:

Phew, that was a long drive from the last clue. {Note the sarcasm, it was really just up the street} It was here at booth barn field that we sat down and talked for the first time. You know the story here. It only took me four months from that time to "ask you out" and seven to actually ask you out. My admiration and love for you has grown leaps and bounds since then and we are still only at the beginning of love. I look forward to a lifetime of mistakes and growth but also happiness and joy. Your next destination is 09 on the GPS. From there turn left up City Creek Trail Road (the dirt road.) Stay on that road till you see my car on the left (marked as 02 on the GPS) Clue: I can't wait to see you there.

I didn't know if Nate and I were going to be hiking somewhere or not. As you can see in the last picture, I wasn't wearing the best shoes to go for a hike it. I texted Nate to see if I needed hiking boots and he told me that I didn't.

As was on this adventure I was listening to a mix of music by Frank Sinatra, Michael Buble, and similar artists. However, I kept going back to "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Moonlight Seranade" both by Frank Sinatra. I remember driving up into the hills and thinking how beautiful Pocatello looked (normally I don't like the way that it looks).

The sun was going to be setting soon and the evening light was rich and golden. There was a fork in the dirt road and neither one really went straight. I started to go down one of the dirt roads, second guessed myself, turned around and then headed back to the fork and headed down the other one. I called Nate again after being on the other road  for a while and it turned out it was the first round that I was suppose to go down. Unfortunately, there was no place to turn around and so I had to drive it in reverse a good 200 yards.

I was beginning to see parts of City Creek Trails that I recognized. There are these little areas along the trails where people have cut out some of the branches and bushes and you have this private alcove. I remember on a hike up there thinking it would be a perfect place for a picnic proposal. This isn't what Nate had in mind; it turned out to be much better.



I turned the corner and I saw this:

I started to laugh only because I did not expect him to do that. Nate usually teases me about liking what he called "bonnet books" (19th century romances).  I get out of the car and walk over to him.  As he pulls a read origami heart from his coat pocket and gets down on one knee he tells me, "I have one last heart to give you and it's mine if you will be my wife." He unfolds it and there is his grandma's engagement ring.

I start to cry and I said "Yes" and quoted the 2005 Pride & Prejudice by saying "Yes! A thousand times yes!"
Then we kissed and took pictures.

I then asked if he would dance with me. I rolled down the window of my car and played "The Way You Look Tonight" (since I knew I would never see him in that outfit again).

Forget the knight in shining armor, I prefer a gentleman wearing a cravat.

Engagement Photos: A few of my favorites

 Typical engagement

 

I liked the lighting on this one

 This was the only serious photo Rachel got of us because I ended up laughing before the picture was taken.

 Nate is really good at looking out into the distance. Perhaps this is because he had to admire me from afar for so long before he got the courage to ask me out.:)

 

Nate keeps threatening to make this his profile picture. We knew when Rachel liked a photo because she would have more options of the photo with different filters. This one had the most options. Nathan said she chose the right filter for this one. It certainly makes me look more creepy.

 

One thing I noticed as I looked through these photos was that I was laughing in a few of them. It just reminded me how lucky I was to be marrying a man who knew how to make me laugh.

We took a few pictures on a porch swing. When Nate put his arm around me he said, "I could stay like this forever." I'm glad, because that's where I intend to stay.

What She Did Right: Celebrate the Little Things

My fingers fumbled to find the cool steel doorknob. I walked over to the long two toned wooden conference table and placed on it two boxes of donuts with signs reading "Happy National Nurses Week! Thank you for all that you do!" One of the social workers on my treatment team later asked me if I had brought in the donuts. I replied in the affirmative. She said "That was nice of you."

I smiled back and said, "My mom taught me to celebrate the little things."

My mom had decorated our bright red Toyota Previa with streamers and a sign reading "Happy Summer" on one of the rear windows during the last week of school. She had the windows rolled down and ragtime music by Scott Joplin blared from the car's stereo. I remember going to the high school to pick up my siblings. Now, I can only imagine the mortification that they felt as they got into the mini van. As for my elementary school self,  I felt like a pageant queen on a float. I remember yelling "Happy Summer" and waving to girls that I knew as we drove by.

What She Did Right: Double the C, Double the S, and You'll Always Have Success.

Two lights above my mother's chair at the table were the only ones giving off light in the kitchen. Darkness lingered outside the bay window in our kitchen.  It was early one school morning.  I had procrastinated on yet another book report. I was supposed to do a puppet show based on a scene from The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. I was simply planning on drawing figures, cutting them out, and attaching them to drinking straws with tape. For my extremely creative mother this wouldn't do. We used felt for clothing, popsicle sticks for the bodies, wooden balls for the heads, and fimo clay for the hair. She knew that if we put the puppets in the toaster oven the sticks would burn on the rack. So, instead she took a muffin tin and packed flour in each of the cups. She then put the puppets in the cups and the flour held them upright as she placed them in the oven.

What amazes me about this experience is that my mom was heading to Utah that morning. Which means she would have all the laundry done, dinner for the next several days planned and prepared, and usually cleaned the house right before she left. On top of all this, she had taken the time to help her daughter so that she could get a good grade on her sixth grade book report.

Sadly, this was not a one time occurrence.  I remember one Wednesday morning, in the spring of my eighth grade year, when I asked my mother to proofread my ten page report on Jane Austen 45 minutes before we were supposed to be out the door. There were countless other times that she helped me with school projects.

Why double the C, double the S, and you'll always have success? You're more likely to have success if someone else working along side you.
 

What She Did Right: Taking Time

My room is dark and a pile of used tissues lay next to my damp pillow. I hear a gentle knock at the door and my mom tells me that dinner is ready. I tell her I'm not hungry. A couple minutes later I hear another knock and my mom enters my room with a concerned look on her face. She sits at the foot of my bed and gently rubs my leg as she quietly listens to me as try to explain in high pitched voice interrupted by the occasional sob what is the matter. She obviously hasn't eaten dinner and there are things on her to do list that still need to be done, but I can tell that all of her attention is focused me and my problem. I can't remember what these problems were that felt so insurmountable at the time, but I can remember that she listened, that she cared, and somehow magically knew what to say to make it better.

What She Did Right: Modesty is Worth the Sacrifice

My mother and I stood in the junior's department in Macy's and were looking at a beautiful lavender empire waist gown with a beaded bodice. A sales associate saw my mother and I looking at the dress and told us that the dress also came in green. "It's beautiful," I said longingly, "but what it needs is sleeves.".

I had been invited my sophomore year to go to Senior Ball with a group of friends. I love to get dressed up and so I couldn't wait for the prom dress shopping to begin. It was spring break when my mother and began the search. All the dresses had spaghetti straps, halter tops, or were strapless. It turns out the sales associate was also LDS and had faced this ordeal before with her own daughter. She recommended that we search online.

We went home that afternoon and I took a nap. When I woke up, I went downstairs to the computer room and my mom had found a website that sold prom dresses with sleeves. I was amazed as I scrolled down the screen and saw how many choices I had. The pictures were only thumbnails and I couldn't expand but I got the feeling of what the dresses looked like. The dress I wanted had a corset bodice and box pleated skirt. Unfortunately, there was no option to order the dress from the website and have it shipped to the house. The closest vendor of this line was in Citrus Heights, an hour and a half away.  My mom felt that it was worth it. She called and placed the order to the bridal store.

My dress came in on a Friday. The next day I had a choir performance and so my mom left our house in the morning, drove the hour and a half. I tried on the dress and I felt like Cinderella. We were probably at the store for a total of 30 minutes. Then we drove another hour and a half to Hayward where my choir performance was held.

The next year, we would drive up to the Sacramento area again for a dress for Junior Prom. I remember as we drove home, I turned to my mom and thanked for making that trip. She turned to me and said "Thank you for dressing modestly."

I'm glad that I didn't lower my standards for "special" occasions and for having a mom that taught me that modesty is worth the sacrifice.

What She Did Right: Mother's Day

When I was home this past Christmas, I had mentioned to my mom of something she had done for me when I was younger. Her response to that was "I'm glad someone remembers the things I did right because all I can remember are the things I did wrong." In honor of Mother's Day, I will write an experience each day for this week of the things my mother taught or did for me. Happy Mother's Day, Mum. I love you heaps!

Mario Kart Love Song

This past weekend, Nate's younger brother, Clint, participated in Mr. CHS. It was a fundraiser for cheerleaders. It was basically a beauty pageant for guys, just not taken so seriously. Like in any beauty pageant, the guys had to do a talent. One of the guys sang this song. He wasn't the one who wrote it, but I still thought it was pretty creative for whoever wrote it. I loved playing Mario Kart with my siblings on the Nintendo 64.

Patience and a GPS

"Now, brothers and sisters, we have available to us a tool even more remarkable than the best GPS...It is through the promptings of the Holy Ghost that we can be brought safely back onto the right path, and it is the atoning sacrifice of the Savior that can return us home."

-M. Russell Ballard

I'm taking an institute class where we read general conference talks from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency. This past week, we read two talks by President Uchtdorf. One of them was Continue in Patience. In that talk he said, "Often the deep valleys of our present will be understood only by looking back on them from the mountains of our future experience. Often we can’t see the Lord’s hand in our lives until long after trials have passed. Often the most difficult times of our lives are essential building blocks that form the foundation of our character and pave the way to future opportunity, understanding, and happiness."

In our institute class, our teacher has stop and reflect after each talk. He has us write what the message was saying and how are we supposed to apply it to our own lives now.

This talk made me think of an experience that I had last month. I had taken Nate home to meet my family. I took him to do some of the touristy things in the Bay Area. Even though I lived in there most of my life, I managed to avoid driving into San Francisco. Someone else always drove or we took BART. I knew that I would have to be driving, so I brought my GPS with me to help get around. To get to and from the city you have to switch several freeways, and the GPS would tell me when I needed to exit.

One afternoon, Nate and I went to the beach. As we headed back, we hit some heavy weekend traffic. My GPS sensed that there was traffic and told me to take a certain exit. Having only driven from the city once, I wasn't entirely familiar with the freeway system, so I decided to trust my GPS and exit. It took me to Macarthur Street exit. Nate and I soon found ourselves in a not so pleasant area of inter-city Oakland. We passed houses and stores with windows that were boarded up or covered with bars. I soon became scared and upset with my GPS for leading me into what appeared to be unsafe area. I wanted to get back onto the freeway as soon possible and just get home. However, the GPS continued to take us on a windy detour. Nate tried to joke around and that was making me even more agitated. Once I realized that he was simply trying to lighten the mood, I appreciated it.

Eventually, we began to driving through streets lined with buildings that had been kept in better condition. My shoulders began to relax a bit more and once again, we were back on the freeway and made our way home.

I found that I had to trust my GPS to get me back home. The satellites that helped guide the GPS were able to take in the bigger picture and as long as nothing malfunctioned, I would get back home. How often are we headed down a path in our lives heading towards a goal and we are taken down another? The road that we are traveling appears daunting and a bit unnerving. Sometimes, we may not understand why we asked to take a different road, especially when the road that we were on was comfortable and familiar. President Utchdorf said "eventually I learned that God’s promises are not always fulfilled as quickly as or in the way we might hope; they come according to His timing and in His ways... Looking back, I know for sure that the promises of the Lord, if perhaps not always swift, are always certain." I learned this past week that patience isn't just waiting and enduring, but also trusting and moving forward as best you can.

My Nerdy Valentine

My nerdy valentine

Sweet, comic book reading valentine
You make me smile with my heart

Nate had just suggested that we not give gifts but spend time together for Valentine's day. However, I really wanted to get him something (and it turns out he didn't stick to this plan either). I thought about getting him a gift card to a restaurant here in town. That was my plan until the day before Valentine's day. The night before Nate and I were talking about things that we could do together. He had told me about wanting to try out a recipe from a comic that he read online. On Monday morning, I was on pinterest and stumbled upon one of my pins.

Nate is a pretty big Star Wars fan. So I thought this would be perfect for making pancakes. As I continued to look around on the website, I also found these:Star Wars pancake molds!

A pancake pen. It helps put the batter into the molds.

Nate was super excited about these and apparently I am "the coolest girlfriend a guy could ask for." I was rather nervous about how they would turn out. There were mixed reviews on the website, but as long as we sprayed the molds really well and filled them up only half way they turned out pretty well.
I'm pretty crazy about this Star Wars nerd. :)

Happy Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day. To me Valentine's Day is to celebrate love, romantic and non-romantic love alike. I really enjoy decorating for holidays and got a little carried away with my cricut this year.

This reminds me of a homemaking craft from the 1990's.

The one of valentines I made for Nate (this one had all the sappy stuff inside).

Nate got me carousel roses (one of my favorite flowers) and Reese's peanut butter cups. :)

Nate and I wanted to make dinner for Valentine's Day. We thought about making spring rolls. Apparently Idaho isn't the best place to look for oriental food. He was running all over town looking for ingredients. We ended up making fried rice. Nate's mom taught us how to make a recipe that is used in a bunch of Chinese restaurants around town. Can I tell you it made me ten times more nervous to be cooking anything with her in the kitchen. Nate's mom is not judgmental, but I am afraid of what she might think of my cooking skills (or lack thereof).

After Nate brought me home, I didn't want to go to sleep because that meant that Valentine's Day was over. It was a great first Valentine's Day with a valentine.

The Golden Question

My marriage prep professor taught the girls in his class that one of the best way to bring up the topic of marriage was to ask the golden question. He told us that we should ask our boyfriends, "If we were to get married, when would that be?" This to was to help signify that we were ready to take the next step in our relationship without stealing our boyfriends' thunder.

I wouldn't say that we are getting pressure, but Nate and I are certainly getting a lot of nudges and questions from different people around us. "I want an announcement!" "Shouldn't you be saving your money? You may have to buy a ring later this year." "Nova Scotia? That would be a great place to go on your honeymoon." "I know its too soon to ask but does this mean...wedding bells?" I think these questions and statements are not meant to put pressure on us and are simply curious and well meant. Nate and I have even done some light forward thinking like that. My laptop is slowly dying and Nate encouraged me to buy a nice one because "once you get married all the money just seems to disappear."

One nudge really made me giggle. My roommate, Alicia, said, "I have something for you. These were given to me when I was getting serious [with my ex-boyfriend]." She gave me two books. They made me giggle. Nate came over shortly thereafter and I showed them the books. I thought it would be funny if we took a picture of us reading them.

"He expects me to do WHAT?!"

I asked Nate how he feels about all of these hints, pressure, suggestions, questions, whatever you want to call them. He simply replied, "We both agreed that we need more time." I'm glad he doesn't feel pressured to move too quickly. It's been a long time since I've been in a relationship and I intend to enjoy it to its full extent.

I landed me a beau!

Meet Nate (one of the left). We met last April after the singles' wards were reorganized in Pocatello. The first time we really talked was at a BBQ FHE activity in May. He told me later that he wanted to ask me out then. I would invite him and his best friend, Travis (on the right), over to the house for game nights and parties.

Sometime around mid-August, Nate invited me to go play disc golf. We got in the habit where we would go and play disc golf on Mondays (my day off). I didn't know if these were dates or not. I didn't want to ask because we had become good friends and I didn't want it to make it awkward. There was one time Nate and I had a "tee time" for 3 o'clock. Another guy who had been asking me out on quite a few dates asked me to go play disc golf at 4 o'clock. This other guy is really shy. I thought it would be a good chance for him to meet other people. So I combined the disc golf "dates." It turned out to be more awkward than beneficial. This was the last date that the other guy asked me out. :)

I got to know Nate better on these "psuedo dates" (after all these were planned, pair off, and paid for... when we bought icees after the game). However, I still felt like conversation didn't flow as well as I wanted. I also didn't know how he felt and I didn't want to get hurt, so I didn't allow myself to like him. There was one Sunday in October where Nate was sitting next to me in church (this was typical). I was leaning forward and he had put his arm behind where I was sitting on the back of the pew. I leaned back and he had moved his arm back. Apparently Travis and his then fiance, Rachel (middle right), gave Nate a hard time about chickening out. He told them "I'm trying."

On November 15, Nate was working in the same city as me. He asked if I had gone to a certain restaurant in town. I told him I hadn't and he said we should go sometime. That's the first time he got somewhat close to asking me out on an actual date (although it was kind of like soft baptismal commitment). We have yet to go to the restaurant he asked me out to. :)

The past couple of the months, Nate had been working at ski swaps in different states. He was gone on one of these the first weekend of December. We had a break the fast after church. My roommates had gone home and the only people I really knew were Travis and Rachel. I have to admit I was a bit hesitant to sit with an engaged couple because engaged couples have the potential to be very "lovey dovey." I walked up to them anyway and started talking with them. They invited me to sit with them. Rachel said something along the lines of, "Let's get some food and then we'll analyze your situation with Nate." Which, I'm not going to lie, I was hoping to do that with them. Rachel was very blunt about it. She stated that Nate liked me and that he turned bright red when she confronted him about it. Travis said he knew something was up because Nate is usually a very outgoing unless he is around a girl that he likes. This made me feel better about conversation not flowing on our "pseudo dates." It also gave me the courage to be more flirty because it wasn't until the last couple of weeks of November that I decided that I liked him.

So that night I text him. He was on his way back from L.A. I had asked him if he brought me back any warm sunshine. He told me he did but it had a very short shelf life. He offered a big smile to warm me up instead. I decided to to take the leap and be obviously flirtatious. I told him that a smile may not be as warm as a kiss but it will have to do. He said that statement left him dumbstruck and would keep him up thinking all night.

He got back from LA the next day and came to FHE that night. The activity was a progressive dinner at the bishoprics' home. He was in the same car as me. I was in the middle between him and another guy (which left me with very little shoulder space). To give me more room, Nate put his arm around my headrest. I tried to lean in, but his arm was pretty high so it was awkward. I tried to be very obvious.. That night I texted him again and through our conversation he admitted that he liked me and that he has wanted to ask me out for a long time.

The next night (Dec 6), he came over and asked me out on a date. He put his arm around me and I turned to put my arm around him. He kissed me (which is not what I had planned. Apparently he didn't either). I was hoping to take it slow with him (although technically it was moving slow considering that he took 7 months to ask me out on a date). That's the night that both of us felt we became official.

That Thursday (Dec 8), we went on our first official date, miniature golf (we seem to like golfing activities). It was fun because it wasn't like typical awkward first dates (that happened on the pseudo dates). He told me that Travis had sent him a text and invited me to his and Rachel's sealing that Saturday. We knew that Nate would be getting a lot of trash from them for waiting so long to ask me out, so we decided to give them a hard time back. We decided to pretend that we got engaged during the week and Nate even came up with a story how he proposed (while decorating the Christmas tree). After playing our game, we went back to his house where we had Tim Tams and hot chocolate. It's also when I met his parents (so much for taking it slow). His mom is so much fun and is easy to get a long with. His dad is just like Nate (or the other way around). He walked me home and we said good night. It was a pretty awesome first date.

You may be wondering if Rachel and Travis fell for our "quick engagement". Yup, they did (although Travis was a little suspicious). We told them as we were getting ready to take pictures outside the temple (so we didn't have lie in the temple). We told them to keep it secret and we didn't tell them that it was a joke until the reception that night. :) Things have been going well since.

You may also be wondering about me calling him a "beau." Two summers ago, while I was home after I graduated, an elderly lady in my ward approached me. She asked, "When are you going to land a beau?" Normally, I would get annoyed when people I hardly know asked me about my love life, but the wording for that question was so perfect, I couldn't help but smile. When I went home for Christmas last month, I ran into her again. She asked me the same question. I smiled and happily replied that I had landed a beau. She smiled and said that had made her day.

I'm sure glad I landed Nate.

2011: A year in pictures

Alicia's Birthday
and the Birthweek was born
We don't celebrate our births for just a day, we celebrate it for an entire week.
Charlsee, Alicia, Me, and Phylicia.

Charlsee's Birthweek
All the roommate with Charlsee's last unicorn cake

Charlsee's Birthweek
Coldstone at home night

Summer cookouts
Crystal, Alicia, and Crystal

My Birthweek

My Birthweek
Playing games

My Birthweek
My roommates took me to Lagoon for the first time

We stopped to see the Brigham City Temple, which is under construction, on our way back from Lagoon.

Charlsee and me on waiting for the fireworks on the 4th of July

The juice cleanse of 2011
It only lasted a couple of days

Memorial day hike
Matt, me, Charlsee, Alicia, and Kody

Lots of dinner and game nights.
Kody helping with the hosting (Brad on the right).

Trip home in October

Mum, Kate, and Ellie-Jane at the beach

Trip home in October
Taylor, Kathy, and me after our traditional dessert date

My friend, Travis, got married in December

1st Ugly Sweater Christmas Party

Alicia, Crystal, Charlsee, and Me
I won most likely to be worn in a nursing home in the sweater contest.