Day 17 - Your favorite memory

Okay, this is long, but I think it's worth the time to read! :)

My favorite memory. Well, I have a lot of REALLY fantastic memories. The day we found out we were pregnant with Evelyn (after years of infertility and disappointments) - especially Josh's reaction when I told him there were two lines on the test. :) The birth of our children. Our wedding day. But my favorite memory is when Josh proposed.

Just as a little background, we met on February 25, 2000. First date was on March 12, 2000. Basically moved in together by the end of that first week (shocking, I know). Said "I love you" for the first time on March 25, 2000. By the following week, we had already decided that we were going to get married. But Josh lost his job (a contract ended) around the second week we were dating, so he didn't have money for a ring. A few months went by, and he got a job at the same company where I was working at the time. He used his first paycheck to buy my engagement ring.

It's so funny. Even though I knew a proposal was going to come at some point, it still came as a total surprise. Josh told me that he was going to have to ask my dad's permission, and that was something that he would have to do in person. We had a trip planned to see them for the 4th of July holiday, so I didn't expect anything until after then.

On June 25, 2000, we had plans to go out with some of my friends. I had promised a friend of mine that I would attend a party with her. This party was at the house of the last guy I dated before Josh! But I had made the promise to her long before Josh was in the picture. So he agreed that we could go. I spent the day with a couple friends. I later found out that Josh had asked them to keep me busy all day so that he could run some errands to prepare for that night. Fast forward to that night. We make an appearance at the party, then we head to the coffee shop where Josh and I met. That was where we and most of our friends hung out.

At one point in the evening, Josh asked me to come with him. He said that he wanted to make a public apology to his friends for not being around as much. And this is TOTALLY something that Josh would do. He had me sit on the couch next to him - I later found out that he had me sit in that spot, because it was where I was sitting the first time he ever saw me. :) I also found out later that they locked the door to the coffee shop so that no one could enter or leave and interrupt him! Oh, and did I mention that the whole thing is on video? My friend kept a camera on me ALL NIGHT LONG. I thought she was just being annoying. I will have to edit out some...uh...choice words that I used on camera before showing the video to our kids someday...

Now is where you're going to think I'm completely clueless, because I still didn't know what was going on. At this point, Josh starts talking and five of our friends hold up these foam board signs that are each decorated with a number, ribbon and confetti. Each number represented a different date in our relationship. The last number was '25'. Josh waited until after midnight, so that it was June 25. He said the 25 was significant because it was the first day we met, and it was also the day that he officially asked me to marry him. At this point, everyone turned their signs around, and they each said "Will you marry me?"

Josh got down on his knee, took my hand, and asked me to marry him. I'm not even sure I let him finish before saying "yes" about a dozen times.

Everyone who was there that night signed the sign with the "25" on it. I still have all of the signs!

But it's not over yet!

A couple of my friends left, and one called about an hour later. She said to tell Josh that she has the box from the ring. I told her, no - I have the box (the velvet one). She said that she had the box that the velvet box came in. I thought it was weird, but I passed along the message. Well, that was her way of telling Josh that it was safe for us to leave.

When we got back to our apartment, Josh said that he left something in his car (we had taken my car that night). In the car was the key to our apartment and the remote for the stereo. When he opened the door, there were all these candles lit, a beautiful bouquet of flowers, a couple glasses of wine, and a box of chocolate covered strawberries from Godiva. He pressed 'play' on the remote, and the stereo was cued to our song (At Last by Etta James). So we danced to our song by candlelight. That was the song for our first dance after our wedding, too.

I think this is my favorite memory for a few reasons. It definitely shows how romantic Josh can be and how in love we were (and are!). It was also something that was shared with a lot of our friends, so it brings back happy memories of a lot of people. But I think mostly it's because it was that moment that I knew I would spend the rest of my life with Josh. That it was going to be me and him. That everything that came after that point was just bonus, really. I knew I had found "the one" and that we were going to spend our life together. There was so much love and hope and happiness in that one moment.

That is my favorite memory.