To have and to Howell

Rachel and Cole were fortunate enough to be in each other's lives years before they started dating. Cole, always a willing patron of a good Irish pub, was lucky enough to get to see Rachel almost every Saturday when he would stop in for a drink and a bite to eat while she worked. At that point they were just friends until one weekend they were both planning on attending the same U.S, soccer match taking place at Lincoln Financial Field. They didn't go together, in fact they weren't even sitting near each other, but that night instead of getting on the subway to head home Cole got over his nervousness and decided to turn around and text Rachel to see if she wanted to meet up after the match. That moment was one of so many happy moments yet to come since after that, neither of them wanted to be without the other. Even though they shared that amazing summer together and knew how they felt inside, they hadn't actually planned on being together since Rachel was planning on being away in a different country and neither knew what the future would bring. All the time apart did, however, was make them both realize how much they missed one and other. So much so in fact, that just one day before Rachel returned from doing outreach work in Haiti, Cole couldn't even wait for her to step back on U.S. soil before asking her to be his girlfriend. Since then they have enjoyed three years of love, laughter, dog parenting, and building a home together.

Knowing that he wanted to ask Rachel to marry him and that Christmas is one of her favorite things ever, Cole decided to find some way to combine the two. It was their first months in the house they bought together so there couldn't have been a better setting especially since she'd always commented that she would hate a big public proposal rather than a more personal one. Jumbo-Tron "Will you marry me?" at the Eagles game was out of the question. So Cole decided that what better way to pop the question than during the holiday season in their new home. He had purchased a custom xmas tree ornament shaped like a gift box, that also doubled as a jewelry box. He planned to use his sister to get Rachel out of the house under the guise of going out for manicures and lunch at one of their favorite restaurants. The out of the blue invitation was welcome but aroused some suspicion. Going for total surprise, Cole thought his cover was blown. Luckily, Rachel had no idea what was to come. While she was at lunch he placed the ornament on the tree which was a relief since he had been hiding it in the house for 2 nerve racking weeks. When she returned and they both relaxed for a bit, heart pounding Cole acted coy and asked her where "that ornament" came from. She looked and was genuinely confused since they both knew every ornament on that tree. Cole retrieved it, still keeping up the confused act until he opened it. Rachel couldn't process it right away but when he got down on one knee her face said it all. Ecstatic tears began to well up as Cole asked her to be his wife. After 5-10 very nervous seconds Rachel, having caught her breath thankfully, said yes making Cole the happiest man alive. It will certainly be a tough Christmas to top.