Engagement and the weeks leading up to it -- Full Story w/pics! Part Three, Final

The Proposal (and bad-timing on the song playing in the background!)

Read Part One Here

Read Part Two Here

On September 24 we joined Eler Beth and Anthony and his parents for lunch at a restaurant on the river here in Jeffersonville.  It is where they had their first dinner date. To keep her from getting suspicious we had Anthony's dad ask to go there.

Andrew had to work that day and couldn't get out of it, so he and Alexandria weren't able to join us.  But Anthony's sisters and his brother-in-law were there, unknown to Eler Beth. Without her seeing them, they hid themselves on one of the decks where they could witness the proposal and film it.

The six of us ordered our drinks and appetizers, and enjoyed nice conversation, along with the restaurant's specialty bread, olive oil, and cheese. I was surprised that Anthony seemed so relaxed.  After they brought our appetizers we ordered our entrees, enjoyed some of our starters, and then Anthony suggested to Eler Beth that they go out on the deck to "see if there were any ducks or geese on the water."  Thomas suggested they take some of the bread with them to toss to the ducks if they were there.

As Anthony and Eler Beth got up to leave the table, Tom excused himself to go to the bathroom (really to join the other kids on the side deck), and Melissa and I got out our phones and poised ourselves to jump up from the table to station ourselves at some of the long windows to get pictures. Thomas elected to stay at the table to enjoy his calamari and watch my and Melissa's purses.

Later Eler Beth told me that she had been really cold and was thinking, when Anthony suggested they go outside, "Oh good! Now I can get warm!"

There were geese on the water. So they tossed a bit of bread.

This is how it went down as Eler Beth later told me.  Anthony said to her, "You know I love you, right?" which didn't set off any alarms, she said, because he's always saying that.

Then he took one of her hands, which also didn't set off any alarms.  He started to take her other hand, but still had bread in it. LOL  She said he turned and tossed it into the river, so he could take both of her hands in his. She had only time to think, "Oh. My. God."  when he went down on one knee and pulled a box out of his pocket.

I knew she was going to turn her head away like that.   

This is where she looked around and saw Melissa taking pictures. She didn't see the others until a bit later.

When he set the box on the rail in order to put the ring on her finger, all of the women in our group were thinking, "Don't let it fall over!"  
   

He asked, and she said, "Yes!"   

I absolutely LOVE the expression his face here.   

Needless to say, she approved of the ring! 

The look you can just barely make out that is taking form in her eyes in this picture? Yeah, that's her thinking, "You knew! I'm going to kill you!" But she won't. LOL  She was very pleased about the whole day.

The weather was wonderful, and so was the day. 

But when we had all gathered on the deck to congratulate the couple and admire the ring, Tom brought it to our attention what the song was that was playing in the background:  "It's a Mistake" by Colin Hay (Men At Work). We got a good laugh out of that 'cause we all knew it was most definitely NOT a mistake.  :)                                                                  

                             

Engagement and the weeks leading up to it -- Full Story w/pics! Part Two

Suspicions and Second-guessing

Read Part One Here

On Wednesday September 20, Anthony asked me if I could find a way to meet him at the jeweler's to pick up the ring. He and Eler Beth were running errands and doing "apartment" things all afternoon, so I wondered how HE was going to find a way to meet ME at the jeweler's.  But I said I would.

Eler Beth is extremely perceptive. She can pick up on a mood very quickly. She reads subtleties behind an expression, and, if she doesn't understand the implication right away, she at least knows that it is there and that it does imply something.  I had heavily impressed this fact upon Anthony when they first began dating and he decided to surprise her with her favorite flowers and candy. He knows it to be true.

He let me know what time he was going to try to meet me, so I told Thomas where I was going and why, and told him I'd also run an errand or two and stop by Kroger, so he could tell Eler Beth when she asked -- and I knew she'd ask -- where I was.  I got to the jewelers and waited. And waited. And waited. I got a couple of messages from Anthony. "Sorry. Still getting the utilities switched over to our names."  "Sorry. I'm having trouble getting rid of her. lol" 

I wasn't too worried about it and figured we'd just do it the next day, so I started on my way home.  About two minutes from my house while I was at a four-way stop I got a message from him that she had gone home and he was on his way.  So I made my right turn, turned around, and headed back to the jeweler's.

He showed me the ring he had chosen, and I approved. We looked at a couple others he liked just to make sure, but I really felt she would like his first choice best. He texted pics of them to his sister and his mom, and they agreed.  He made the purchase, and as he was signing the credit card authorization Eler Beth called him.  So the saleslady and I remained very quiet while he had a short conversation.  He told her he'd realized his car was almost on empty, so he was going out to get gas. (This was true. He'd told me that as soon as he got to the jewelers and he asked me where the nearest gas station was.)  

As the saleslady was putting the ring in its box, Eler Beth messaged him, "I don't know why, but I have this feeling my Mom is over there with you."  He said, "I'm not even at home, love. You're being paranoid."  We walked out to our cars, and I told him he'd better get to that gas station quick!  lol  Almost as soon as I got in my car and began driving I got a call from her.  "I know I'm being paranoid, but I just have this feeling that you're with Anthony."   I could honestly laugh and say, "No, I'm not with Anthony. I'm just running some errands. Is Dad home? Ask him if he needs anything from Kroger."  And, by the way, she had asked Thomas if he knew where I was, and because he couldn't remember where I'd said I was going, he could honestly say he didn't!  lol  He told her I was doing some grocery shopping or something, he couldn't remember.

So we made it through okay.

A couple of days later they were at the mall, just wandering around, getting a bite to eat, killing time, and they stopped in at a jewelers. They began looking at engagement rings and wedding bands, and she commented on a ring that she particularly liked.  He messaged me in a panic, with a pic of that ring, saying that he could always take the other one back and get this one instead!  I told him to tell Eler Beth to send me a pic of the ring.  He did.  She did.  I asked her what she particularly liked about that ring.  She told me she liked that it was dainty and feminine, that the band was narrow, etc.  I relayed that to him and told him not to worry, that the one he bought was perfect for her. It was dainty and feminine, with a narrow band. It was white gold, like she preferred.  She messaged me and said that Anthony was acting weird, and she was afraid maybe she shouldn't have said anything about that ring.

"Well," I messaged, "For all you know, he may have already picked out your ring."

"Oh God!" she messaged, "I didn't think of that!"  So she started doing some back-pedaling, letting him know why she liked that one, and pointing out others that she liked.  In the meantime he texted pics of that other ring to his sister, who also reassured him that he'd made the right choice the first time.

Between us we got him calmed down, but Eler Beth told me when she got home that she could tell he was agitated, and she was worried that she'd made him second-guess himself if he'd already picked out a ring.  Because she was worried about him, she became agitated, and he messaged me that he was worried he'd irritated her!  But eventually everyone calmed down, Eler Beth remained ignorant as to his plans for Sunday, and Anthony was happy with the ring he'd picked out for her.

The next day he told us that his mom and dad were going to come down on Sunday to see his apartment, and he wanted to know if we'd all like to go out to lunch together afterward.  I already knew this, but I feigned ignorance, and we agreed to do lunch with his family. I asked if he knew where we'd go (we already knew it was going to be where they'd had their first dinner date), and I suggested that we let his parents decide, since they'd be the guests. 

And, on a note to close out this part, I will share something Eler Beth told me one day at around this period in time. She said that sometimes she would look up at him and just find herself thinking how cute he is, how sweet he is, and how much she loves him, and how amazing she still finds it, and, "Wow! He wants to marry ME!"

I hope they always find that amazing about one another!

Engagement and the weeks leading up to it -- Full Story w/pics! Part One

I've posted pics from the big day on Facebook, but I'm going to make a post here as well.  Anthony and Eler Beth have been making plans and have considered themselves committed to one another, but they wouldn't make an official announcement until Anthony put a ring on her finger. That was totally Anthony's decision. I guess it was a matter of pride.  

September 17, the Sunday after Anthony officially moved to Jeffersonville, he told me that he was buying the ring that week, and he outlined the plans he had made for surprising Eler Beth with it and a proposal on the following Sunday.  Eler Beth is no fool; she knew something was going on. She knew we'd been whispering about something -- and she had guessed it was "rings" -- for more than a week prior to that day. But she was under the impression that Anthony was still saving up and and looking at rings, so we were able to take her off guard. 

On Monday the 18th he messaged me to ask when would be a good time for him to formally ask "Dad" (Thomas) for permission to propose to his daughter. We knew we'd have to kind of sneak him over so Eler Beth wouldn't know. That evening Thomas was super-tired and decided to nap for a while almost as soon as he got home from work. He asked me to not let him sleep more than an hour, though. I hadn't said anything to him yet about Anthony coming over.  When I woke him up, he said he thought he'd sleep a little longer, so I let Anthony know that Thomas was extremely tired, and we may have to do it another time.

I took a shower, and when I came out I could hear Thomas talking to Eler Beth (who was on the phone with Anthony), so I thought I'd message him and tell him "Dad's awake!" But before I could, he messaged me. "Is that Dad's voice I hear in the background? Should I come over now?!?"  I said sure, and he said, "Ok. Be right there! Just getting my hat!"  Anthony's apartment is only about three minutes from our house.

Then I whispered a word in Thomas' ear, and he slipped out the back door.  Eler Beth was sitting in the living room. She'd been a bit depressed that evening and was feeling anxious about work the next day. To make sure the dogs didn't alert her that someone was out in the drive or on the street in front of the house, Thomas flagged down Anthony in front of the neighbor's house.  Anthony asked. Thomas said, "Of course!"  And Anthony told Thomas his plans for that coming Sunday.

As soon as Thomas came back in, Anthony messaged me to see if he should let Eler Beth know he was outside. I said, "I'll tell her."  Now Anthony's refrigerator in his new apartment doesn't have an ice maker, so I had dug out some old ice cube trays that we don't use and washed them up for him.  I now handed these to Eler Beth and said, "Would you take these outside to Anthony?"  She was sitting in the recliner all snuggled into a fluffy blanket, feeling anxious and depressed, but at that her face lit up. "What? Anthony's here?"  I said, "Yeah, just for a few minutes 'cause it's late. He knows you're a little down, so he came over to give you a goodnight hug."  "Are you serious?!?"  And her blues were gone, just like that! lol