To the Boy in The Picture

Looking at this picture, almost a year and a half later, I still smile like the first time I saw it. I can see myself riding in my mom's car two days before I went on a last-minute decision of a Spring Break trip facetiously declaring that the next guy I dated, who better have one zealous personality, would live far, far away. I can remember awkwardly running through the sand, Tara's floppy hat flying in the wind, just trying to find a bathroom, and suddenly turning around when I heard a boy's voice yell out behind me. I can see the stool at the kitchen bar where I sat later that night when the same green-eyed boy plopped down beside me and smiled. Mostly, I remember taking pictures with my friends that night, and due to a weird feeling in my stomach, I told the guy that I had only been talking to for a mere hour that we should take a picture.Well..

The boy in the picture, as I constantly remind him, was my sarcastic wish come true. 

(As I found out the night I met him, he had quite, to say the very least, the personality, and would be moving to Houston in August for his job.)

The boy in the picture, who just happened to stop by our beach house on March 14, 2011, for one afternoon with his friends on their way to Pensacola, has completely changed my life.

Because, you see...

The boy in the picture, is now my FIANCE.

Yes, I am ENGAGED, and I still smile at the thought of it even though it happened almost three weeks ago. The story is quite similar to the one above. I had just arrived at the beach (where we met) with my family when the boy in the picture drove in from Houston. He had been there for no more than ten minutes, when he asked me if I wanted to go and fly a kite. I, being the dramatic diva that I sometimes am, refused to go and tried to explain to his thick skull that we would be going to dinner soon. Yet, he was persistent, so I finally agreed to fly the kite. Due to the futile winds and broken kite, we soon surrendered and decided to walk down the beach instead. A few minutes into our walk, literally, out of nowhere, six to eight dolphins started jumping out of the water. I was mesmerized. I have always loved dolphins (I pretty much thought it was my duty as a child to grow up and help Flipper). I ran to the water's edge with excitement and watched, yelling for Andrew to come see. That's when I turned around to find him...

When I turned around, the first thing I saw was the ring box. Simultaneously, I started shaking, laughing until I snorted (does ANY girl ever think she's going to snort in her proposal) tearing up, and screaming at him/asking him what he was doing. He proceeded to say a lot of sweet things; most I don't remember because I was talking just as much as he was(only completely typical and fully expected) in the midst of my excitement/complete and utter shock. Then he got down on one knee, asked me to marry him, and made July 28, 2012, the best day of my life. We then ran back to the condo where I told my parents (who had known the entire summer), and minutes later, his family walked through the door. We spent the rest of the night and week celebrating at the place where it all began with the most special people surrounding us. It was a wonderful week and the absolutely perfect proposal. Did I mention that an entire restaurant serenaded us with "Happy Marriage to You"? That, my friends, is a whole different story for another day. 

I think the best way to sum up my feelings are found in a moment of the proposal. Right after he proposed, Andrew stood up, pulled a Bible, with my new name, out of his pocket and read Proverbs 3:3-4 which in part states.

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; write it in the tablet of your heart."

To put it simply, yet so accurately, God knew the tablet of my heart when He planned and then sent the boy in the picture into my life. HIS love and faithfulness never left me, and He, alone, has overflowed my cup by blessing me with the fiance that I could have never imagined yet have always dreamt about. For that, I am forever humbled and eternally grateful.

and..

To the boy in the picture: Words could never express how thankful I am for you. For the best friend that makes the most ordinary, extraordinary. For the irreplaceable laugh that brightens the darkest corners. For the Razorback fanatic who will cause me to hear SportsCenter in my sleep. For the hand that has held mine through prayers. For you coming into my life like a bull in a china shop and making every single broken dish worth it. For the past year and a half and all the ones to follow. Ultimately, for making me the happiest and luckiest girl in the world and for simply being the tablet of my  heart. I love you.