“the sky is perfectly blue. the clouds are perfect too. and here I am with you, what could be more right?” –Winnie the Pooh

You know that special day you dream about when you’re a little girl? The one with all the flowers and the beautiful white dress and, most importantly, your prince charming by your side? I used to dress up in my Ma’s nightgowns, beg my little sister to walk me down the aisle, pick some wildflowers from the backyard, and pretend that I was the most beautiful bride in the entire world. I can still see myself twirling around, dreaming about falling in love for the first time. Little did I know that the first time was all it would take.

Two days ago was one of the biggest days I’ll ever have. The date was September 4^th, 2010. It was the day after sweet baby Luke James Thornton was born (at 3:16 p.m., might I add) and the day before my grandma would have celebrated her 66th birthday. It was also the day that my very own prince charming asked me to be his forever. I am officially the soon-to-be Mrs. Troy Jerome Bargeron! Upgraded from a girlfriend to a FIANCE. YAY! If I could put all my excitement into words, I would be doing that right now. The problem with that is I can’t even wrap my own mind around how excited I truly am and if I can’t do that, then I know there’s no way possible that I could do it for you. All I know is that I have spent the last seven years of my life watching a boy turn into a man, loving him more and more every single day, and now I get to be his wife.

I always pictured how my engagement day would go. I’m a hopeless romantic, and engagements and weddings have always been (and always will be) my absolute favorite. To say that my own engagement surpassed what I thought was my dream engagement with flying colors is still an extreme understatement. Everyone has a story. Here is ours. :)

Teesh told me during the first week of July to keep September 4^th opened. I wracked my brains for two months trying to think of what it could be. I googled concerts, events, plays, etc. and never found anything. I even vented to some of my best friends about how I couldn’t find anything that had to do with the 4^th. I love surprises, they’re my favorite. Except for the surprises when you know something is going to happen, but you don’t know when—now those I can live without. I always obsess about them and try to figure them out until they happen. My con-artist of a boyfriend knew that I would obsess, yet still decided it would be fun to keep me in suspense

I was SO relieved when September 4^th finally got here! He said he would pick me up at 5:30, so I lounged around all day before getting ready for our first date since April. Talk about deprived. :) He got here, we talked to my family for a few minutes, said our goodbyes, and got in the car. He drove his Chevelle, which is always a treat, and as soon as I got in the car he whipped out a blindfold. He tied it on, I played what I called the blind man game the whole way, and 25 minutes later, we reached our destination. He came around to my side of the car, helped me out, and lead me down a path for a few minutes before telling me to stay put.

I stood there for about 45 seconds (that’s a long time when you have no idea where you are!) until I heard what sounded like a shutter from a camera. I quickly heard TJ say, in a super shaky voice, “Uhhh, that was a…goose.” Clearly I knew that was no goose that I had heard and my heart started racing! He told me to take off the blindfold and when I did, I was standing in front of the bench where we were sitting when we had our first kiss. There were a dozen pink roses laying out on the seat, and a sign taped to the back of the bench that had two pictures of us printed on it and “What would you do?” in big letters in between them. At that point I was 100% sure what I would see when I turned around, and I was so excited that I couldn’t turn around—all I could do was squeal!

Seeing him down on one knee in front of me is my new favorite memory. I couldn’t stand still to save my life; I squealed and bounced around and squealed and bounced around some more all before he even opened his mouth. I also noticed a familiar face holding a camera behind him, and screamed out “Hey Lauren!” in the heat of the moment. Even after seeing my spazziness at its best, he still decided to stay on that knee and speak the most beautiful words I’ve ever heard:

“In 7^th grade math class, you were the very first girl to ever catch my attention, and you’re the only girl that’s ever caught it and kept it. Seven years ago when I asked you to be my girlfriend, I had no idea I would be on one knee in front of you right now. If you would be my wife, I would be the happiest man in the world. You’re the only thing I’ve ever needed and could never live without. I love you…(pause to open the box)…Will you marry me?”

My response: *squeal**bounce around**squeal**bounce around some more** “YES! YES! YES!” *leap into his arms**squeeze him to death**smile so big my cheeks hurt**bounce around**squeal some more**stare at my ROCK!* (and p.s. I’m still stuck on that last part).

The best part of the proposal? Hearing a loud “YEAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!” come from behind us right after he put the ring on my finger. When we turned around, there was a group of teenage boys standing on the bridge, fist pumping for us. It. Was. Awesome.  Those boys probably don’t know this, but I won’t ever forget them! The other best part of the proposal? Lauren Long and her AWESOME self took pictures of the entire thing. I had told Teesh a couple years ago that I would love to have pictures of my engagement some day, and what did he do? He continued to spoil me by making it happen. Lauren, you are INCREDIBLE and we are SO thankful for how much you helped us!

Once we walked back to the car, I immediately grabbed my phone and started to make my first phone call. He stopped me and said “Why don’t we go to my house and show my parents, go to your house and show yours, and then tell our friends. I think our families should be the first to know.” Did I mention how amazing my fiancé is? That suggestion pretty much proves that he’s going to be the best husband in the whole world—always putting family first. :) I loved that idea, so opted to stare at my ring and kiss his cheek the whole way to his house.

When we pulled in, got out of the car, and started walking up to his door, I noticed a huge white tent in the backyard as I cut the corner. I looked at him, saw that goofy grin that let me know something was up, and peeked even further around the corner. Not only was there a tent set up, but it was overflowing with all of my favorite people in the whole world. His family, my family, and all of our best friends were there to help us celebrate! Seriously? I was FLABBERGASTED! Engagement party: CHECK! :-D There is absolutely NOTHING ELSE that could have happened that would have made that day any more perfect than it already was. Not only did I get to spend the evening with all of the people that mean the most to me, but I also became the future Mrs. Troy Jerome Bargeron…FINALLY!

"What would you do?" :)

with my family!

my soon-to-be family!

with most of my very best friends in the whole world!

see that pretty girl in the green? that's our flower girl. :)

always daddy's little girl. always.

me and my MOH!

Freeman couldn't get off work to make it to the party, but he didn't hesitate hugging my neck as soon as he got off!

just the three of us. :)

 like I said, obsessed.

thank Jesus for my Emilie Carol!

it's facebook official! YAY!

I haven’t slept since it happened. I’ve stayed up planning til the wee hours of the night and then when I finally crawl into bed, I wake up every five minutes to think about how much I love my fiancé and look at my ring some more. These next 10 months are going to be THE MOST FUN I’ve ever had in my whole life. If I were any more excited than I am right now, I think both my brain and heart would explode into a billion little pieces. I can’t wait!

I am marrying my best friend, the one who makes me laugh, the only one who makes me mad as a hornet, the one person that knows me better than anyone in this whole world, the boy who gave me my first real kiss, the most humble man of God I’ve ever known, the single most caring and compassionate person ever created, the one who keeps my calves in shape with how tall he is, the only one for me. My precious Teesh.

07.16.2011 <3

“If every marriage failed except one, I guarantee you that one would be ours.” –Corey to Topanga, Boy Meets World