This past couple of weeks has been full on other fronts, but there is still wedding stuff to handle. Here's what we have been addressing.
Not envelopes yet, but the announcements are in the works and Kimmy is very excited about how they are turning out. Simple yet fun and elegant- I would guess.
Tents and location. Had a meeting with the "tent guy" this week and we are trying to nail all that down; how big, exact location on the property, blah, blah, blah. The location is secured- you'll have to wait for an announcement to find out where- and we are trying to think of all the things that might come up; parking issues, bathrooms, power, seating, tables...
The dress should be here pretty soon, so that will be fun to see how it looks in real life.
Starting to talk about the menu and the preparation for that.
Kimmy got the flower girl baskets yesterday- very cute, but not something I will be carrying.
Yesterday at work we had the radio on and "Butterfly Kisses" came on while I was standing in front of her. When he sang "She'll change her name today" that was hard to hear w/o getting choked up, both of us. So there we were, in the showroom of PG with happy tears in our eyes. It will be here and gone before we know it.
And last, but certainly not least, we have a meeting set up to talk with the wedding coordinator next week, to make sure we are on track. Kimmy is doing great- she is NOT Bridezilla.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Cakes, Ceremony and Clothes
We are starting to put things together now. Kimmy and Ian had time while in NC to plan some of the wedding components and she brought those wishes back to us.
So many people have said they want to help do this or that and it is so mice to have a family of families who see this wedding as a time of celebration for our entire community- this is exactly the way that it is supposed to be. This is a fun challenge to have- so many wanting to help.
Some of the things- ok many of the things- I am not allowed to share in the blog because they are supposed to be surprises for the day. In fact, I was told yesterday that there are things that are going to happen that I don't get to know until the time comes. Generally I am not super excited about surprises, but I will have to go with the flow.
So right now we are making decisions on cake things, ceremony components and order, what people are going to wear, who all will be in the wedding and reception items. Most of these things I don't have too much of an opinion about other than I want for them to be right and not done half way.
We are also working on the honeymoon planning. Things like when is the best time to leave, how long should they go for, where exactly should they go and how should they get there. The nice things for them is that they really don't have to be back to work or anything else at any certain time so they can be gone more than a week if they so choose.
The time is coming up quickly and it is both exciting and hard to think about what our house will be like w/o Kimmy here much of the time. It is also difficult to imagine PG w/o her there 3-4 days a week. She is a key component in many places and soon she will be off to her next stage. We are thankful for the time God has allowed us to have this stewardship opportunity and for the godly example she is to so many around her- she is a great example- not perfect- of godly femininity.
BTW- you are allowed to comment on here.
So many people have said they want to help do this or that and it is so mice to have a family of families who see this wedding as a time of celebration for our entire community- this is exactly the way that it is supposed to be. This is a fun challenge to have- so many wanting to help.
Some of the things- ok many of the things- I am not allowed to share in the blog because they are supposed to be surprises for the day. In fact, I was told yesterday that there are things that are going to happen that I don't get to know until the time comes. Generally I am not super excited about surprises, but I will have to go with the flow.
So right now we are making decisions on cake things, ceremony components and order, what people are going to wear, who all will be in the wedding and reception items. Most of these things I don't have too much of an opinion about other than I want for them to be right and not done half way.
We are also working on the honeymoon planning. Things like when is the best time to leave, how long should they go for, where exactly should they go and how should they get there. The nice things for them is that they really don't have to be back to work or anything else at any certain time so they can be gone more than a week if they so choose.
The time is coming up quickly and it is both exciting and hard to think about what our house will be like w/o Kimmy here much of the time. It is also difficult to imagine PG w/o her there 3-4 days a week. She is a key component in many places and soon she will be off to her next stage. We are thankful for the time God has allowed us to have this stewardship opportunity and for the godly example she is to so many around her- she is a great example- not perfect- of godly femininity.
BTW- you are allowed to comment on here.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Missing my Kimmy
It's kind of weird around here with no Kimmy. Grant just got back from LA, so it is a bit more lively here- but I do mean a bit.
We are excited to know what Kimmy and Ian are thinking about the possibility of going to NC- but not so we can put in our 2 cents worth but so we can better know how to pray for them. It is going to be exciting to see what God does with these 2 young people, with so much potential and life in them- what will our Great God do with these 2 pots?
Much of our lives as parents are getting them ready for this day and then they just go and it is important for us to actually let them go wherever the Lord leads them. Missing my little girl and thinking about how this is their first trip together w/o any one else with them and knowing that Ian will take good care of her and protect her.
We are excited to know what Kimmy and Ian are thinking about the possibility of going to NC- but not so we can put in our 2 cents worth but so we can better know how to pray for them. It is going to be exciting to see what God does with these 2 young people, with so much potential and life in them- what will our Great God do with these 2 pots?
Much of our lives as parents are getting them ready for this day and then they just go and it is important for us to actually let them go wherever the Lord leads them. Missing my little girl and thinking about how this is their first trip together w/o any one else with them and knowing that Ian will take good care of her and protect her.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
North Carolina Seminary
We are still planning a wedding but right now things are a bit slower than they were before. Life always seems to come in spurts.
Kimmy and Ian are currently in NC checking out a seminary. Ian was invited but one of the board member-I think- to come and visit, and so they both flew back and are staying with a family that built their home to do these kinds of things. Kimmy said that Ian has a huge up stairs apartment kind of location and she is staying in another apartment kind of thing behind the garage. She said they are staying in the "same house" but if they got any farther apart they wouldn't be.
I digress a bit here. When she was flying out- to go to California to meet up with Ian- Teresa had dropped her off at the airport and as she was walking away Teresa said she was thinking about guys hitting on our cute little girl. She was thinking that she hoped the guys would just leave her alone.
Kimmy was in line to check in at the Alaska counter and a bunch of guys came and stood around her- the UW men's basketball team was flying to California for the Pac-10 tournament and she was standing in the middle of them. She had to call and tell me- she thought I would appreciate that.
Back on track. Kimmy called from NC and said she was very tired but they were really encouraged so far with just the short time they were there. She will keep us updated. Please pray that God would make very obvious for them both if this is where He would have them to start out their life together. This is a huge decision and God can make it really easy for them if He opens, or closes, doors. If they like the seminary and all that goes with it, they will then look for jobs and housing while they are there.
It is both fun and sad to see my little girl so grown up. As parents this is what we are training our children to do- go forth- but there is still sadness as they start the leaving process. They are merely stewardship opportunities for us and God has been so gracious to us to give us amazing kids.
On a selfish note- we are going to miss Kimmy at PG when she leaves. She is such a great asset to our business but it will also be fun to see what God does with her training in our business, and the rest of her life, as He leads them into this next place.
Kimmy and Ian are currently in NC checking out a seminary. Ian was invited but one of the board member-I think- to come and visit, and so they both flew back and are staying with a family that built their home to do these kinds of things. Kimmy said that Ian has a huge up stairs apartment kind of location and she is staying in another apartment kind of thing behind the garage. She said they are staying in the "same house" but if they got any farther apart they wouldn't be.
I digress a bit here. When she was flying out- to go to California to meet up with Ian- Teresa had dropped her off at the airport and as she was walking away Teresa said she was thinking about guys hitting on our cute little girl. She was thinking that she hoped the guys would just leave her alone.
Kimmy was in line to check in at the Alaska counter and a bunch of guys came and stood around her- the UW men's basketball team was flying to California for the Pac-10 tournament and she was standing in the middle of them. She had to call and tell me- she thought I would appreciate that.
Back on track. Kimmy called from NC and said she was very tired but they were really encouraged so far with just the short time they were there. She will keep us updated. Please pray that God would make very obvious for them both if this is where He would have them to start out their life together. This is a huge decision and God can make it really easy for them if He opens, or closes, doors. If they like the seminary and all that goes with it, they will then look for jobs and housing while they are there.
It is both fun and sad to see my little girl so grown up. As parents this is what we are training our children to do- go forth- but there is still sadness as they start the leaving process. They are merely stewardship opportunities for us and God has been so gracious to us to give us amazing kids.
On a selfish note- we are going to miss Kimmy at PG when she leaves. She is such a great asset to our business but it will also be fun to see what God does with her training in our business, and the rest of her life, as He leads them into this next place.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
"Who's the Guy and do You Approve?"
Almost every time I tell someone that Kimmy is getting married they follow that with something like, "Do you approve of the guy?". So let me tell you a bit about Ian Lugg.
As I said earlier in the blog, they have been good friends for a long time, so there is not much that will surprise them in the future. They may have expectations of changing something about each other, but they certainly already know each other well.
Ian is a leader, in a quiet sort of a way- so the opposite of Kimmy. He is very contemplative, thinks a long time about his answers, doesn't need to be talking just to talk, works very hard, has a great reputation with those who know him a little and those who know him well and he loves the Lord and Kimmy. What more can a dad want than for his daughter to fall in love with a godly man who desired to follow God and let Him provide whatever may come?
When God made Kimmy He had Ian in mind for her and vice versa. He planned for our 2 families to go on vacations together, both with kids and just parents, He planned that they, and we, would be in ministry together so each one could see how the other responded in different circumstances and how they then dealt with their sin. He made Ian to be good at school and Kimmy to be good at other things.
Some families have the idea that when their kids get married they are losing a son or a daughter, but in this case we already have a daughter and we are adding another son to our other 3 sons.
So to answer the question for you- "Yes, I and we, are very much approve of our new son and Kimmy's future husband". There will be challenges for them but we are excited to see what God is going to do in and through their lives for His Kingdom.
Please pray that they would both have wisdom and discernment to know where the Lord is leading them and what He has planned for them to do from eternity past. These next few months and years will really shape their lives as a family and it is often difficult to know exactly what God is calling us to do- it is no different for Ian and Kimmy than it is for any of the rest of us.
Ian we love you!
As I said earlier in the blog, they have been good friends for a long time, so there is not much that will surprise them in the future. They may have expectations of changing something about each other, but they certainly already know each other well.
Ian is a leader, in a quiet sort of a way- so the opposite of Kimmy. He is very contemplative, thinks a long time about his answers, doesn't need to be talking just to talk, works very hard, has a great reputation with those who know him a little and those who know him well and he loves the Lord and Kimmy. What more can a dad want than for his daughter to fall in love with a godly man who desired to follow God and let Him provide whatever may come?
When God made Kimmy He had Ian in mind for her and vice versa. He planned for our 2 families to go on vacations together, both with kids and just parents, He planned that they, and we, would be in ministry together so each one could see how the other responded in different circumstances and how they then dealt with their sin. He made Ian to be good at school and Kimmy to be good at other things.
Some families have the idea that when their kids get married they are losing a son or a daughter, but in this case we already have a daughter and we are adding another son to our other 3 sons.
So to answer the question for you- "Yes, I and we, are very much approve of our new son and Kimmy's future husband". There will be challenges for them but we are excited to see what God is going to do in and through their lives for His Kingdom.
Please pray that they would both have wisdom and discernment to know where the Lord is leading them and what He has planned for them to do from eternity past. These next few months and years will really shape their lives as a family and it is often difficult to know exactly what God is calling us to do- it is no different for Ian and Kimmy than it is for any of the rest of us.
Ian we love you!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Dress
I'm going to skip ahead a bit and I may or may not go back to fill in the time between these posts.
I would guess that one of the most special days in the life of a little girl is dreaming about and anticipating the day she picks out her wedding dress- I may be wrong but it does seem this is a pretty big deal. If you think about it it is kind of crazy that so much time and thought goes into something that only lasts a few hours or gets worn one day- but that's how we are with some many other things as well. I also understand that the wedding dress is something that will be seen in the wedding day pictures for the rest of their lives, so let's get it right.
So Kimmy's big day was the day after Christmas- in 2009 that landed on a Sat. There are not too many places to pick a dress and so the scheduling is not too difficult. One of our options was part of a bartering company that I belong to. I won't get into too much of the background on this except to say that I tried really intently to make sure that we had all the bases covered before entering this day because I didn't want any unnecessary drama because of me. The other stop was going to be a place where many brides go but is less "fancy"- probably not the best word but you get the idea.
The reason this day was chosen was because Kimmy wanted to have as many of the bridesmaids there as possible and some were in town for the Christmas break. So now we have a huge day for Kimmy and an audience to share it with.
I threw a little more wood in the gears by volunteering to do a talk show on the radio with a designer friend of mine. I told her that I needed to be on the first hour because I had been invited to go shopping with all the girls. I felt very privileged to be included knowing that most dads would not care a bit about what dress was picked as long as the price was right. But I guess- I know- I am not like most dads in this area. I actually care about the color and how it looks. In fact, the radio host said on the air that I was a "fashionistia"- meaning I like fashion. The girls got a good laugh at that as they listened on the way to the store.
So, as I was on the air the girls were all caravaning down to the first store- the one on my program. Kimmy apparently tried on 6-8 dresses before I arrived and had taken more than a few of those off the list- she had really like the very first dress she had tried on. I rolled in and went into the store to see my little girl in a wedding dress. I don't know that I was really prepared to see that- but she looked beautiful.
Of course some of the dresses were not right at all for her, but some were very nice. I hadn't seen the first one until later on in the morning and so I was using other dresses as a baseline for selection. Finally she decided to try the first one back on so I could see it. As soon as she came out I knew it was the one. Perfectly simple yet elegant- like Kimmy. I can't give more details because that would potentially wreck the surprise, but she looked amazing.
We then had the other girls/ladies try on a bunch of different dresses- all kinds of colors, shapes and sizes trying to imagine what they would look like in the wedding colors and trying to figure out which would best suit the style of the day and also the shapes and sizes of the "cast". If all the girls are size 2 and the same height and skin tone then there is no issue getting a dress that looks amazing on them all. But that is not often the case as is true with the guys. A suit that looks great on one guy might look bad on anther for all the same reasons- it's just that most of the time the guys don't really care what they look like, they just want to know how soon they can get out of their "get-up".
So with all that in consideration they tried many dresses on and then made what seemed to be a good decision. So- Kimmy's dress selection was her very first one and the others had picked one as well. I then asked the lady working there about doing this in our normal bartering fashion and she told me that they didn't use this company. So, after I had called to ensure that all was in order and Kimmy had made the appointment based on this info and then they had made all the selections were made they told us that this was not going to work. Kimmy was very disappointed and reasonably so, but it was Sat.- the day after Christmas- and I didn't know who to turn to.
We had another appointment at the other place and so Kimmy hopped in my truck, in tears, and we drove to the next place. I made a few phone calls and started the ball rolling to see if I could salvage the first stop, but there was certainly no guarantees at the point that this would indeed happen.
We went to lunch in between stops and I still didn't have a resolution completed before we started going to the next place. From the restaurant to the the store was literally only about 1 mile, but since it was the day after Christmas it took almost the entire 45 minutes that we were "early" to get there. Big surprise there. Then of course parking was a nightmare, but we were finally in the store. An added note- I hate going shopping on any of these kinds of days because it seems so inefficient.
As soon as we walked into the store I knew that we were not in the right place. I have never shopped for wedding dresses before and all I had to go on was the fabric and packaging in both stores- no dress had been tried on at the second location. I asked Teresa if it was my imagination or was the product as this place way less quality than the first- she confirmed my suspicion.
Kimmy and the girls tried quite a few on and some were fine, but at least for Kimmy there was no comparison in any at this store to the first one- not even close. In the mean time I had received a phone call stating that the other location just didn't know exactly how the program worked and that I had not talked to the right people the first time through and that we would be able to make it work if we wanted to go that direction.
So, at the end of the day we had just a bit of drama- not compared to what it could have been- a bunch of great looking dresses selected and a happy dad and bride.
On a similar note- it is difficult to know what to expect as the father of the bride. Even though I have watched the show and laughed at "George's" response it is hard to know what something like this is going to cost and how much time and dollars should be thrown at this event. We obviously want this day to be a celebration of what God has done in the lives of 2 great young people, but you can spend a fortune if you so choose.
Kimmy will often say, "what do you think the budget should be for this?". I really have no idea on most of it because I don't know who is even supposed to be paying for this, that and the other thing; do we really need that and is there a better way to do this for just a few dollars more, and the list of questions is unending. So, I am trying hard to not be "George" but at the same time enjoy the process and have this day be as special and inclusive as possible on all fronts.
So, to end this post- Kimmy, and the rest of the ladies, are going to look lovely and I can't believe I am the Father of this beautiful bride to be. It will be a fun and for sure a tear filled day for me. But for those of you who know me that is no surprise.
Kimmy- thanks for letting me share the "dress day" with you.
I would guess that one of the most special days in the life of a little girl is dreaming about and anticipating the day she picks out her wedding dress- I may be wrong but it does seem this is a pretty big deal. If you think about it it is kind of crazy that so much time and thought goes into something that only lasts a few hours or gets worn one day- but that's how we are with some many other things as well. I also understand that the wedding dress is something that will be seen in the wedding day pictures for the rest of their lives, so let's get it right.
So Kimmy's big day was the day after Christmas- in 2009 that landed on a Sat. There are not too many places to pick a dress and so the scheduling is not too difficult. One of our options was part of a bartering company that I belong to. I won't get into too much of the background on this except to say that I tried really intently to make sure that we had all the bases covered before entering this day because I didn't want any unnecessary drama because of me. The other stop was going to be a place where many brides go but is less "fancy"- probably not the best word but you get the idea.
The reason this day was chosen was because Kimmy wanted to have as many of the bridesmaids there as possible and some were in town for the Christmas break. So now we have a huge day for Kimmy and an audience to share it with.
I threw a little more wood in the gears by volunteering to do a talk show on the radio with a designer friend of mine. I told her that I needed to be on the first hour because I had been invited to go shopping with all the girls. I felt very privileged to be included knowing that most dads would not care a bit about what dress was picked as long as the price was right. But I guess- I know- I am not like most dads in this area. I actually care about the color and how it looks. In fact, the radio host said on the air that I was a "fashionistia"- meaning I like fashion. The girls got a good laugh at that as they listened on the way to the store.
So, as I was on the air the girls were all caravaning down to the first store- the one on my program. Kimmy apparently tried on 6-8 dresses before I arrived and had taken more than a few of those off the list- she had really like the very first dress she had tried on. I rolled in and went into the store to see my little girl in a wedding dress. I don't know that I was really prepared to see that- but she looked beautiful.
Of course some of the dresses were not right at all for her, but some were very nice. I hadn't seen the first one until later on in the morning and so I was using other dresses as a baseline for selection. Finally she decided to try the first one back on so I could see it. As soon as she came out I knew it was the one. Perfectly simple yet elegant- like Kimmy. I can't give more details because that would potentially wreck the surprise, but she looked amazing.
We then had the other girls/ladies try on a bunch of different dresses- all kinds of colors, shapes and sizes trying to imagine what they would look like in the wedding colors and trying to figure out which would best suit the style of the day and also the shapes and sizes of the "cast". If all the girls are size 2 and the same height and skin tone then there is no issue getting a dress that looks amazing on them all. But that is not often the case as is true with the guys. A suit that looks great on one guy might look bad on anther for all the same reasons- it's just that most of the time the guys don't really care what they look like, they just want to know how soon they can get out of their "get-up".
So with all that in consideration they tried many dresses on and then made what seemed to be a good decision. So- Kimmy's dress selection was her very first one and the others had picked one as well. I then asked the lady working there about doing this in our normal bartering fashion and she told me that they didn't use this company. So, after I had called to ensure that all was in order and Kimmy had made the appointment based on this info and then they had made all the selections were made they told us that this was not going to work. Kimmy was very disappointed and reasonably so, but it was Sat.- the day after Christmas- and I didn't know who to turn to.
We had another appointment at the other place and so Kimmy hopped in my truck, in tears, and we drove to the next place. I made a few phone calls and started the ball rolling to see if I could salvage the first stop, but there was certainly no guarantees at the point that this would indeed happen.
We went to lunch in between stops and I still didn't have a resolution completed before we started going to the next place. From the restaurant to the the store was literally only about 1 mile, but since it was the day after Christmas it took almost the entire 45 minutes that we were "early" to get there. Big surprise there. Then of course parking was a nightmare, but we were finally in the store. An added note- I hate going shopping on any of these kinds of days because it seems so inefficient.
As soon as we walked into the store I knew that we were not in the right place. I have never shopped for wedding dresses before and all I had to go on was the fabric and packaging in both stores- no dress had been tried on at the second location. I asked Teresa if it was my imagination or was the product as this place way less quality than the first- she confirmed my suspicion.
Kimmy and the girls tried quite a few on and some were fine, but at least for Kimmy there was no comparison in any at this store to the first one- not even close. In the mean time I had received a phone call stating that the other location just didn't know exactly how the program worked and that I had not talked to the right people the first time through and that we would be able to make it work if we wanted to go that direction.
So, at the end of the day we had just a bit of drama- not compared to what it could have been- a bunch of great looking dresses selected and a happy dad and bride.
On a similar note- it is difficult to know what to expect as the father of the bride. Even though I have watched the show and laughed at "George's" response it is hard to know what something like this is going to cost and how much time and dollars should be thrown at this event. We obviously want this day to be a celebration of what God has done in the lives of 2 great young people, but you can spend a fortune if you so choose.
Kimmy will often say, "what do you think the budget should be for this?". I really have no idea on most of it because I don't know who is even supposed to be paying for this, that and the other thing; do we really need that and is there a better way to do this for just a few dollars more, and the list of questions is unending. So, I am trying hard to not be "George" but at the same time enjoy the process and have this day be as special and inclusive as possible on all fronts.
So, to end this post- Kimmy, and the rest of the ladies, are going to look lovely and I can't believe I am the Father of this beautiful bride to be. It will be a fun and for sure a tear filled day for me. But for those of you who know me that is no surprise.
Kimmy- thanks for letting me share the "dress day" with you.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Will You Marry Me?
In January of 2008 Ian- Kimmy's now fiance- came to me during his Christmas break and asked if we could meet to talk. It was no surprise to me what was coming.
He asked if he could pursue our Kimmy with the goal of marriage. We talked for quite a while about what that might look like, with him being in California and her being here. What he thought about the timing of the engagement and ensuing wedding, employment and things like that. We decided together that it would probably not be best for them to get engaged in January of '08 and wait until he finished school- in May of '10- to get married.
I am not a fan of long engagements and neither was he- he just knew that she was the one and so we started to move forward. Keep in your mind that they have been very good friends since elementary school- so it is not like they don't know each other.
We made the decision not to tell Kimmy what was going on- which I knew would be hard- but if we let her in on the secret then they might as well get engaged. It was hard for her not knowing if Ian actually really cared for her, if he was going to find someone at college... and so we tied to encourage her along the way without telling her what had already taken place.
There were many tears on the cheeks as we talked on walks together and Teresa and I tried to assure her that Ian was not looking for someone else, without letting the cat out of the bag. This was hard to keep up, especially when he came home for the summer, but we managed to pull it off.
In early June of '09 Ian came to me again to try to figure out a plan for the engagement and plan a bit more of what the future might look like for them. Again, together we decided that he would ask her to marry him on July the 1st. He really wanted to ask her in front of the entire church, after a Sunday evening service, but that just didn't work out. Their whole mind set is that this marriage is a celebration of what God has done in 2 lives and to really celebrate that with their entire church family. So we made another plan.
On Wednesday, July 1st, after our youth ministry meeting, SKH (youth pastor), call them both into a "meeting" in his office. This was nothing more than a decoy. Here is what happened.
Kimmy had always thought that, for whatever reason, she would get engaged in our "romantic" driveway. 2 days before this we started to call some friends and tell them that Ian was going to ask Kimmy to marry him and that they wanted to share this night with many of our extended family. They were sworn to secrecy, for obvious reasons. It was actually comical on some of the calls that some did not know who the guy was. They had done a good job of not being exclusive I guess.
So we had 2 or 3 photographers, a violinist and about 50 people over to our house. The neighbors graciously allowed us to park all their cars in their driveways and so after the service they all came over, while Kimmy was in a meeting, and we hid them behind fence and little out building. We had candles lining the driveway and Ian stood in the center of a bunch of rose petals in the shape of a heart.
Kimmy drove into the driveway and noticed the candles and Ian standing there, but she waited to get out of the car. She was a little freaked out because she then knew something was up. I don't think she had any clue until that moment. She finally got out of the car and went to stand in the "heart" with Ian and he got down on one knee and told her that he wanted to spend the rest of his life serving her and asked if she would marry him.
Along the way I had told some of my friends what was happening- everyone coming over to watch- and some said, "what if she says no". I told them, "You don't understand. there is no one else on the list and this is the only man in the world she wants to marry". It's a good thing we were right.
We then stayed up until midnight partying with all our friends. Ian had made a sign that said "Ian loves Kimmy". This is significant because they had never really shared their feelings with each other before.
There were lots of hugs, from everyone- tears of joy, many words of encouragement and I think the night was a great success and brought glory to our Lord. BTW- they are intending on having their first kiss at "You may kiss the bride".
So none think that he asked in a gray t-shirt, he changed clothes because it was July 1st and it was rather warm. This is the night.
He asked if he could pursue our Kimmy with the goal of marriage. We talked for quite a while about what that might look like, with him being in California and her being here. What he thought about the timing of the engagement and ensuing wedding, employment and things like that. We decided together that it would probably not be best for them to get engaged in January of '08 and wait until he finished school- in May of '10- to get married.
I am not a fan of long engagements and neither was he- he just knew that she was the one and so we started to move forward. Keep in your mind that they have been very good friends since elementary school- so it is not like they don't know each other.
We made the decision not to tell Kimmy what was going on- which I knew would be hard- but if we let her in on the secret then they might as well get engaged. It was hard for her not knowing if Ian actually really cared for her, if he was going to find someone at college... and so we tied to encourage her along the way without telling her what had already taken place.
There were many tears on the cheeks as we talked on walks together and Teresa and I tried to assure her that Ian was not looking for someone else, without letting the cat out of the bag. This was hard to keep up, especially when he came home for the summer, but we managed to pull it off.
In early June of '09 Ian came to me again to try to figure out a plan for the engagement and plan a bit more of what the future might look like for them. Again, together we decided that he would ask her to marry him on July the 1st. He really wanted to ask her in front of the entire church, after a Sunday evening service, but that just didn't work out. Their whole mind set is that this marriage is a celebration of what God has done in 2 lives and to really celebrate that with their entire church family. So we made another plan.
On Wednesday, July 1st, after our youth ministry meeting, SKH (youth pastor), call them both into a "meeting" in his office. This was nothing more than a decoy. Here is what happened.
Kimmy had always thought that, for whatever reason, she would get engaged in our "romantic" driveway. 2 days before this we started to call some friends and tell them that Ian was going to ask Kimmy to marry him and that they wanted to share this night with many of our extended family. They were sworn to secrecy, for obvious reasons. It was actually comical on some of the calls that some did not know who the guy was. They had done a good job of not being exclusive I guess.
So we had 2 or 3 photographers, a violinist and about 50 people over to our house. The neighbors graciously allowed us to park all their cars in their driveways and so after the service they all came over, while Kimmy was in a meeting, and we hid them behind fence and little out building. We had candles lining the driveway and Ian stood in the center of a bunch of rose petals in the shape of a heart.
Kimmy drove into the driveway and noticed the candles and Ian standing there, but she waited to get out of the car. She was a little freaked out because she then knew something was up. I don't think she had any clue until that moment. She finally got out of the car and went to stand in the "heart" with Ian and he got down on one knee and told her that he wanted to spend the rest of his life serving her and asked if she would marry him.
Along the way I had told some of my friends what was happening- everyone coming over to watch- and some said, "what if she says no". I told them, "You don't understand. there is no one else on the list and this is the only man in the world she wants to marry". It's a good thing we were right.
We then stayed up until midnight partying with all our friends. Ian had made a sign that said "Ian loves Kimmy". This is significant because they had never really shared their feelings with each other before.
There were lots of hugs, from everyone- tears of joy, many words of encouragement and I think the night was a great success and brought glory to our Lord. BTW- they are intending on having their first kiss at "You may kiss the bride".
So none think that he asked in a gray t-shirt, he changed clothes because it was July 1st and it was rather warm. This is the night.
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