I first noticed Brandon's Eharmony profile because of his boldness. He clearly stated his beliefs - from his belief in Christ to his thoughts on politics, he wasn't hiding. And that was exactly what I was looking for. Though we don't agree on everything, we do agree on the important things. What stood out to me is that he was clearly a strong believer in Christ and he put family first. To this day, those are my favorite qualities about Brandon. And I've discovered many more things to love. He's generous, self-sacrificial, smart and goofy. We always know how to have fun! Before I went in to Wild Eggs for our first date, I prayed that this would be the last first date of my life. The Lord answered my prayers. I'm so excited to spend the rest of my life with this amazing man. - Rebecca

It was a lovely August morning, three days before our anniversary date (we celebrate every month on the 19th). I was suspicious that he wanted to ask me to marry him on the 19th, since we were planning to go to a nice restaurant where we shared our first fancy date. But three months in is too early, right? I remember I started feeling sure I wanted to marry him about a week or so before this, but I wanted to make sure our relationship was real and that I wasn't just being led by emotion. To Brandon and me love is "more than a feeling," to quote the Boston song. It's a commitment. It's self sacrifice. The same kind of self-sacrifice that Jesus gave on the cross, dying for our sins, the death that we, as sinners, deserve. That's the kind of love Brandon has shown me from the beginning and it was just sinking in that this was real. There really is someone out there who could love me self-sacrificially, putting me first, and who is willing to go so far as to die for me. That's a kind of love I can't express and I feel grateful for that love every day. My heart wells up at the thought. It's so much deeper than the butterfly, ooey-gooey love of The Bachelor or that we see rom-coms. It's real and it can be relied upon. He made me breakfast and we were enjoying some quiet time together while Grandma was asleep. He blurted out, "Will you marry me?" It was so sudden, I had to take a second to register. "Yes!" I said, then paused. "Wait, really??" I asked. "Yes, really!" We shared a kiss and giggled. I think he must have felt a bit dazed because he said, "And I don't regret it!" "Well of course you don't regret it. You asked me 10 seconds ago!" We both burst out laughing. It might be a simple proposal, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

To understand this story, you have to understand that Brandon's not good at surprises. That's obvious by the fact he wanted to know every detail about the ring I wanted. We ordered a custom ring shortly after we got engaged so that it had everything I could possibly dream of - rose gold, an oval center diamond, a halo of smaller diamonds around it and two larger blue topaz gemstones on either side. Simple. Elegant. Unique. Perfect. They promised it would be ready by Thanksgiving at the latest. As you can imagine, I was anxious to get it. The date approached and they assured us still that it would be ready by Thanksgiving. I asked Brandon every day leading up and imagined showing off my new sparkly ring to the whole family on Thanksgiving. The night before Thanksgiving I called him and asked him once again, "Is it ready?" *Sigh.* John Brandon Reeves wove a brazen tale of how he went into Jared's and saw that the center diamond was off center. Three people in the store looked at it and all agreed. It wasn't ready. The sales girl was on her hands and knees begging forgiveness and Brandon gave her quite a talking to. I tried not to let it bother me, but I was disappointed. That's everyone's first question when they hear you're engaged: "Where's the ring?" And once again I would have nothing to show for it. On Thanksgiving, 23 of my family members showed up, the largest in recent memory. We started going around in a circle praying about what we're thankful for. When it got to his turn, Brandon said he was thankful for the usual: me, family ... but he had something to confess. He had told a big lie. 'What?' I thought. 'This isn't the time for confession!' Before I knew it, he pulled out the ring and was on one knee. As the family snapped photos all around, I knew he had given me not only a gorgeous ring, but the grand proposal of my dreams.

So Rebecca's rendition of the event is good, but not the whole story, so I'm going to fill in the rest. As Thanksgiving got closer and closer, Rebecca got more excited (and nervous) about the ring. She would ask me every time we talked for updates on the ring, and every time I'd tell her that it wasn't here yet. Unbeknownst to Rebecca, I had talked to her parents about my idea of how I wanted to propose (See Rebecca's column for details). It was the day before Thanksgiving and I finally got the call from Stacy (our jeweler) and she told me that the ring was in and it was so beautiful. I was so overcome with joy that I convinced my boss to let me leave early so that I could go get it. When I arrived, Stacy told me how people were trying to buy it, but I rejected all offers. With the ring in my grasp, I realized that I had to come up with the one thing that would be the most painful thing to say to Rebecca. I needed a lie. My heart sank with this realization, knowing that it would completely crush her soul when I told her the lie that the ring wasn't ready. But I told her anyway and told the most brazen (and unbelievable) lie to her. And she bought it, much to my surprise. It's Thanksgiving day and everyone is at the table and Scott puts our plan into motion. He starts off the prayer and eventually it gets to me. My heart was beating so hard, I felt like everyone could hear it. Doubt creeped into my mind and all my prepared sentences vanished. I took a breath and found my proposal and started my "prayer". When I confessed to lying to Rebecca, I got down on one knee and purposed to the love of my life. Shock was all over Rebecca's face as she gasped at the sparkling ring. The next thing I knew, she took the ring from my hands and examined it, while I'm still on one knee. She had the biggest grin on her face. I dragged her back to reality and put the ring on her finger. It capped off a great night. Also I don't think Rebecca ate dinner, but everyone saw her ring.