Engagement!

So, you might be asking, or perhaps you are not, how did Andrew ask Ellen to marry him? Well, I am going to tell you, whether you want to know or not. Let me start out by saying I knew for a long time that I wanted to marry her, I knew after a few months that I was going to ask her. The only problem was I did not have sufficient money for a ring. I made numerous adjustments in my life, like trading in my Tacoma for a more practical car. I developed a budget and I started thinking about how I spent my money. By Christmas I was debt free, hooray! After that I began saving for a ring and I started getting serious with Ellen about my intentions. She was also getting serious about her intentions on wanting me to ask her lol. Our conversations about marriage began to get heated up and she could tell I was pretty serious about our relationship. I began to ask her about rings as well as the styles she liked, it was pretty conspicuous. One day we were watching something on her computer and she told me there was a picture on her computer that she wanted me to see, what could it be? It was her DREAM ring of course! I think all the girls understand what I am talking about. It was quite a ring, it looked dazzling, I kind of wanted it for myself. I do not think Ellen looked at the price tag though, still a dream is a dream :) I decided to look around at the nearby shops to see if I could save any money. I could not find the ring in the picture and truly nothing else compared to it, just like Ellen. I had a decision to make….I could buy her a different ring or spend the money on the one she desired. It was a no brainer, Ellen is the girl of my dreams and I wanted her to have that ring. I knew God would help me pay for it. I engineered a schedule to pay for it in three months. I purchased the ring online and waited with anticipation. The miraculous thing was I received a bonus the following day which covered the ring expense :) Now, I had to wait, it said 7-14 days for delivery. I could not wait, I was so anxious! I began working on a plan for the engagement.  I also, met with Ellen's Dad and let him understand my intentions, her parents were so excited! I had so many ideas, so many thoughts. I needed it to be special. I came up with the idea to visit Cumberland Island, a secluded Island that was only accessible by boat. They have a ferry that transports you to and from the Island.  So, I had the plan, I had the ring, I had Ellen's attention. Now we just needed to embark. Well, here comes the difficulties. The first weekend I hoped to go, it rained all day. What a bummer! The following weekend, I caught a serious cold and could not make it out of bed. I was beginning to wonder if we would ever get engaged. Meanwhile, I kept telling Ellen we were going on an adventure day. Finally, April 7, 2012, it was time to catch a ferry and get to Cumberland Island. I woke up that morning and packed a lunch for me and Ellen. The island has no food or drinks available you have to bring everything on to the Island. The ferry was leaving at 11:00 AM, so I wanted to make sure we got there on time. I picked her up and told her not to forget the black & white camera. Oh yeah, the "black & white camera", I gave her two disposable cameras for our first Christmas. We used one of them in St. Augustine and I told her to save the other one for a special occasion. I decided a long time ago that no matter how I asked her to marry me, we would use that camera on that day. So, here we go, off to Cumberland Island. We get there, really early, I wanted to make sure we did not miss the ferry ;) We walked up to the counter and the attendant said "did you make any reservations". Reservations? AHHHHHH! Reservations! He put us on the stand by list, that meant we could only get on if somebody did not show up. I was crushed. I was panicking. Ellen did not understand. She's like "no big deal, we can do something else". I am like "NO, WE ARE GETTING ON THIS ISLAND, I DON'T CARE IF WE HAVE TO SWIM!". Fortunately, somebody did not show up (thanks God). We get to the Island, it's such a beautiful day. Cumberland Island has wild horses and a very old mansion. It was such a magical place. After walking around for a while we head to the beach. We set up our blanket and unpack our lunch. Half way through eating, Ellen is starting to realize perhaps Andrew brought me here for something special. She starts probing me on why we came here and why did we bring the B&W camera. I said calmly, "for an adventure day". I then asked her if she wanted to go for a walk. We start walking and then I remember that I cannot forget the camera, so I run back, really I needed to get the ring in my pocket, I think it was pretty slick. I meet her and we continue walking. I am so nervous and excited, she has no idea. We were joking around and then I stopped her. I began telling her how much she means to me, and how she is the girl for me. She then starts crying and I mean CRYING! She holds on to me so tight, I do not think I was breathing lol. Finally, I am like, "Ellen you got to let me go, because I need to do something". I get down on one knee and I ask Ellen to be my wife. Looking up at her and beholding my future wife was the greatest moment in my life, I could not put into words how Ellen makes me feel and how happy she makes me.  Well, there is the story. This is not the end though, it's only the beginning of the wonderful journey God has us on. Thanks for reading!