our day of days

this is cindy here, about to give you a run-down of yesterday's events. i think the shock of it is finally starting to sink in, so i can kind of think straight, enough to post this, i hope. :-) let me just say that i am marrying the man of my dreams, and all the pictures you see of this extravagant celebration were straight from him and his heart of gold. jason, i love you and cannot wait to be your wife. it is an honor greater than words can express.

so yesterday morn, we headed up to our favorite spot in fayetteville- mt. sequoyah- and sat in the outdoor church for awhile, just talking, reading scripture, praying, etc. we had just finished praying, and were both already on our knees, when he turns on his ipod (aka-an amazing music machine) and it starts playing one of my favorite movie score melodies from Legends of the Fall. next thing i know, he's got this white box in his hand, and in all simplicity and genuineness, says, "Cindy, will you marry me?" it all happened so fast, that i think i just sat there staring at him for i don't know how long. when i saw the box, i thought, "well, that looks like a ring box...so what else could fit in there?" i honestly expected a proposal at the end of the year, so i was completely, totally, and utterly surprised. (mission: accomplished, jason) i finally got my wits together to say something that he translated to a "yes", so we just sat and hugged until he motioned for his awesome mexican roommate Roger to come out from hiding behind a tree, and take some pics of this amazing moment. Roger, you are a wonderful friend. Thank you for being there.

so once my knees stopped shaking and my heart was calm enough to start walking (the weight of what just happened didnt' hit until like 20 minutes later), we drove to the hospital to show his mom/sister/bro-in-law who were waiting to be released with their new and beautiful baby, parker. (or 'paker', as patrick likes to call him) then marsha left b/c "she just had to go buy parker a stuffed animal, b/c he was the only newborn in the nursery w/out one". so she mysteriously left, and only now do i know why...b/c she had to be at camp war eagle (the new camp ozark on beaver lake) to get ready for a surprise birthday/ engagement party that jason had been planning for over 2 months. unbelievable! who is this guy?!

so we go out on the lake w/ our dear friends chris & katie to wakeboard, but we had decided to take a quick "detour" to camp war eagle so katie could ask about a job, and so we could see all the developments. as we pull up to the dock, i see these 2 women walking down, and just staring at us. then one of them shouted, "surprise!", and i instantly recognized my mom's voice. i knew i was about to be shocked beyond my capacity, b/c if mom was there, then other v.i.p.'s in my life must be there. so i walk up to this pavilion, where jason told me "potential campers' parents were getting a tour", only to look upon some of the most familiar and loved faces that i know. i tell you what, it was INEXPRESSIBLE JOY that whole day. a very clear glimpse of heaven, having all of your favorite people who you love and know love you back, all there together, just celebrating life! it was so sweet. thank you to everyone who was there and made it one of the most blessed days of my existence.

WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
...praise God from whom all blessings flow...