We’re getting married.... again!

Michael first saw me on some generic dating website, probably Plenty of Fish but who really knows. After striking up a conversation, Michael attempted to showcase his witty sense of humor, which unfortunately was not received well... I think the best way to describe my response would be "crickets". A few months later, we both somehow managed to swipe right on each other on Tinder. Although Michael found it odd that I would match with him, after previously giving him the cold shoulder, he figured "what the hell". You know how they say timing is everything? I guess he manged to catch me at the right time. We spoke fairly briefly before planning a first date. Michael asked me to meet him at the movie theater in Wake Forest, so that he could reveal his grand plan to go play putt putt... (fun fact: to this day, we have never seen a movie in the theater together.) Michael showed me a fantastic time, courting me all over Wake Forest but you know what really won me over? That winning sense of humor that turned me off just a few months before.

Michael and I knew we were meant for each other pretty early on, so by the time our first Valentines day together rolled around, I was just sure a proposal was in my VERY near future. I began dropping hints on a regular basis, some subtle and others not so much. Valentines day came and went. Poor Michael patiently allowed me to pester him for another 4 months or so. I did eventually do enough digging to find out that he did in fact have a ring, and it needed to be re-sized. With this new found Intel, I researched a jeweler that could re-size something quickly, because I could not handle waiting another day. (Fun fact: The ring Michael had, had stashed away for quite some time was the one that his father had given his mother). I strong - armed him all the way to the mall, under the guise of "going to get Natalie some new walking shoes". Once we arrived, we found out that the joke would be on me, the ring was going to need a whole new setting. Once I nosed myself, into the jewelry shop with the coerced invitation of "do you just wanna come in?", we decided to make my ring into a solitaire and put the two side stones into earrings for Natalie. All because I am the embodiment of patience... Might I also mention how great I am at relinquishing control? Once the ring was complete, I finally had nothing to do but wait. A week or so later, after I put Mason to bed, and got in my PJ's, I met Michael in the kitchen. I was fully prepared to eat some ice cream in my PJ's. For some reason the Giant was still in his street clothes, this was odd and off putting because typically within minutes of arriving home he is in his "pajorts". As I was scooping ice cream, Mike knelt down behind me and told me that he could think of no better place than in the kitchen of our first home together, where we have had so many happy memories with our children and friends, to ask me to be his wife. So I mean obviously I said yes.

If it hasn't been fully covered yet, I am not a big fan on waiting for things. Shortly after we got engaged I began "jokingly" telling Mike that we could just pop down to the justice center and "knock it out". I was just so excited to be his wife, I could not wait another day! I think we are beginning to see a pattern here. Anyway, one day I threw it out there and he said "let's do it” because he is a very smart man and understands that Happy Wife = Happy Life. We decided that we were ready to be family, and we did not want to have to wait to tie the knot, but at the same time I did not want to rush the wedding planning, so in a sense, I got to have my wedding cake and eat it too. All this is to say, that we are so excited to celebrate with our friends and family, and to make vows to each other (that we actually remember) in front of all of our loved ones. We are married on paper, and in the eyes of the court, but we need the ceremony to really make it official!