the proposal!

Our one year anniversary is in FOUR days!  I just can't believe it's almost been a year since Mr. H became my husband!!!  It's so crazy.  

I thought I'd share our proposal story with you.  It's very special to me and it was documented thanks to Mr. H and the help of my wonderful boss and co-worker!!


Here's our proposal story in the words of Mr H.......

Where do I begin? In thinking about how I was going to propose I knew I had to create something special and memorable for the both of us, something they would make a movie about. Anica knew that the proposal was just around the corner, which forced me to be extra creative, because I had two goals when it came to the proposal which were 1) Make it be a Surprise 2) Photograph the moment, as I only want to have to do this once!

February 21, 2011 (i.e. President's Day) 

So needless to say I had a lot of work to do, so I decided to seek the help of her boss Catherine Clay who was a huge help in pulling all this together, and could not have done this without her help.

I knew that Anica would expect me to propose on a Friday - Sunday, so I had to first eliminate those days, as they did not work in my favor in making it a surprise. This in turn made me think of Monday as the perfect day. The additional benefit to this day was the fact that it was Presidents day and it was an office holiday for me, but Anica had to work and help her boss for a trip she was going on the following day. Everything was working out perfectly!! 

Not only was I aware that Anica would not expect me to propose on a Monday I also knew that proposing at 11 in the morning would not be a thought process she would have in dreaming about how I would propose. Additionally, I had a last minute business trip to Phoenix, AZ on Tuesday, and told her I was leaving Monday morning to fly out and prepare. Brilliant I thought!! Not only is she not going to expect me to propose on a Monday, but also when she gets to the office she will think I am halfway to Phoenix, AZ. 

The Beginning of Forever

Now that you understand the background of everything here is how Monday went down.

Sunday night I couldn't sleep, as I knew I was about to take one of the biggest steps in my life. I finally get up, make some coffee and spend some time in the Scriptures and sending some E - mails to some friends to prepare my Heart for what I define as the Beginning of Forever.

At about 10 o'clock I head out and pick up some last min items such as flowers and the like and then head North to Plano and wait patiently outside Anica's office and wait for Catherine to give me the call that Anica has left to run some errands she had set up to get her out of the office, in order to allow us to set up. The set up was simple, table, flowers, ring, and two crafty women armed with a camera and video camera to capture the moment.  

Once Catherine, Brooke and I got everything set up all we could do was wait. By the way, this was about the time that everything was setting in that I was about to Propose! Finally we hear her coming up the stairs and my hope is that she would see the roses petals on the floor and it would it her what is happening. Nope not exactly, suddenly we hear the words... "Is something burning?" Not sure what to think at this moment, other than she still has no clue. Little does she know that her life, my life, our lives are about to change in the matter of 1 second. 

She walks into the room, and just stares at me taking all that his happening in. The 15 feet she had to walk from the hallway to where I was seemed to last forever. Which in a way was good, because I had no idea what I was about to say, and figured I would wing it as best I could. By the time she got to me I was able to collect my thoughts and say, well I don’t actually remember what was said but it ended something like. Anica Will you Marry Me? No response, didn’t hear a no so I proceed to put the ring on a very shaky hand, and then get the response, "Thank You” from a very happy and slightly teary eyed blue eyed brown haired girl." Mission Accomplished.

And if that wasn't enough

One of the things that hit me one afternoon as this whole planning process was going on, was how cool it would be to try and tie her family and my family into this very special occasion. So several weeks prior to the proposal I started setting the stage, made a few phone calls and slowly started letting people in on the after proposal surprise. The benefit was that the majority of the people that I needed happened to live up here in the area.

The place was also perfect, Urban Crust Pizza, a quaint local joint that Anica and her boss visited quite often. Having the location directly across the street from the studio was also special, as she would think of this as normal for us to go there and celebrate.

After the proposal, we eventually made our way across the street to the venue, which Anica at this time, believed it was just a lunch date for her and I to celebrate, but little did she know. We slowly made our way up the stairs and I could barely contain my excitement as I saw all the family at the top of the stairs. Needless to say she was very excited!

The after the proposal family & friends lunch was just as awesome and special as the proposal itself. The love and joy that Anica and I felt that day was unbelievable, and a wonderful sign of such wonderful family we have to help encourage and support us for the next 60+ years. 

A huge Thank You goes out to my boss Catherine Clay and co-worker Brooke Gehm for helping us remember the memories that were created below. Thank You!!

It was such a special day and it will always be one of my favorite memories!  Thanks Mr. H for making it so special!!!!