Ready for a new adventure

The air was finally clear after raining for most of the day and we were ready to get on the road to the most magical place on earth. At the very last minute, a friend told us he wasn't feeling well and would no longer be able to go. This would be the first time we went to Disneyland, just the two of us. But we thought nothing of it. Why waste a free night.  Who could have predicted that this night would be the start of late night conversations, "good morning" messages, and countless hours of talking about anything and everything. Who could have guessed that a night at Disneyland would lead to the start of this unexpected journey...

The most difficult decision that we were facing during the registration for International KADIWA Conference was whether we would mark ourselves as single or in a relationship...  At this point, LJ & I had only been dating for a few months. He was excited to show me the Philippines he grew up in and wanted to make sure this experience was a memorable one for the both of us. On our second day, we attended in Central Temple. Afterwards, LJ asked if we could go to the sanctuary to hold a prayer together. Little did I know, it was there and then he would also ask if we could officially cement our relationship.  Looking back now, I can't think of a better way for us to begin our future together.

It was the Friday after thanksgiving, when we arrived back at cabin after seeing the sites in Big Bear, everything was ready. We opened the door and I shouted, “Let the adventure begin!” as a cue for the music to start playing. We were greeted by a trail of rose petals leading us to the living room upstairs, as well as a trail of 7 paper lanterns which had silhouettes of some of her fandoms, and 7 candle lights in mason jars- attached to them, pictures of important moments in our relationship. We went through each jar as I told her what each of those moment meant to me. As we headed up the stairs, 4 paper lanterns were arranged with silhouettes that say, “I love how…”, as a preview of what was waiting for us upstairs.  As we approached the living room, she screamed in awe “Oh my gosh!” as we were greeted by a live string quartet, whose been playing the song Air on a G String by Bach on repeat. Even more, the room was filled with 75 candle lights in mason jars with tags attached to them stating the things I love about her, the things I love about our relationship, and the things I love about us. All she needed to do was say the words “I love how” and then read the phrase on the tag. We then headed to the middle of the living room, in the middle of a circle of our photos together. There, on a small table that has the last mason jar with a photo attached to it, was the photo of the night when we first seriously talked about our future together; the night when we both decided that we are ready to take the next step forward. And right next to it was the golden snitch, which is the box for the engagement ring.  I am weird. But she loves me for who I am. She told me once that I am her personal weirdo. So I picked up the golden snitch, bent my knee, and opened the ring box, as I asked her “Can I be your personal weirdo, forever?”  She said, “Yes!! Of course!”. Proposal Video Link | https://youtu.be/qaBVOW0V3Io