10 years (Engagement & Anniversary)

Since this blog is also our family journal, I am (finally) going to record some of our history. So, if you are sensitive to the mushy, this is probably not the post for you. :)

Sonny asked me to marry him just before Thanksgiving in 1999. (We think it was the 20th of November.) He came to visit me in Michigan and we planned to fly back to Arizona together to spend the holiday with his family. We knew we were going to get married and decided to go ring shopping when we were together in AZ. So, when Sonny asked if I wanted to go to the lighthouse, I didn't think much of it. I've always loved the Little Sable Point lighthouse. Even though I worried about going in such cold weather, I didn't complain because I was going with Sonny. Who cares how cold it is when you are with the one you love? :) So, we braved the freezing weather and hiked to the side of the lighthouse closest to Lake Michigan. We had gone there together before, during Sonny's first visit back to Michigan after his mission. I remember arguing over the Northern lights. :) It's always so nice to be someplace you love with someone you love. I sat down on one of the large (freezing cold) boulders and Sonny stood in front of me. He took my hands and made sure I was warm. You would think I'd know what was about to happen at this point, but I am such an idiot. Still no clue. We talked for a minute and then he sang to me. He sang "True Companion" by Marc Cohen. Long before that night, I had told him how perfect I thought that song was. It was so sweet of him to remember me saying that and to sing to me there, at the foot of a beautiful lighthouse with the moon shining down on us and the sound of the waves softly crashing in the distance. Again...you'd think I knew what was coming for sure now, wouldn't you? Nope. Not me. I was just thinking, "Awww. How sweet is this man I love? Swoon swoon swoon...perfection...romantic...swoon. Won't it be lovely when we go ring shopping and can become officially engaged?" Good grief, I am slow! After he finished singing to me and I was reduced to a puddle of goo, he fished in his pocket and I knew. Finally. I knew. He brought out the ring box, opened it with a smile, and said, "Megan, will you marry me?" I was utterly shocked and completely caught off guard. I said YES, but I also probably said a lot of dumb things like "Are you kidding me?" and "Is that really my ring?" I remember being so shocked, but so utterly happy. I could feel The Spirit and I my whole heart felt so full of peace and joy. I was so excited for the future that I could feel stretching out before me into the eternities.

For Sonny's 10th anniversary gift, I took the girls to the lighthouse where their dad asked me to marry him and did a little photo shoot. (I didn't have time to have the photos framed, but I will follow up with a finished picture to show you what I will be doing with them.)

This is our rock. :)

Little Point Sable (or Little Sable Point) Lighthouse

What we have to show for the last 10 years. :)

Marrying Sonny was the most brilliant choice I have ever made or ever will make. We have seen the darkness of Hell and the light of Heaven in our time together on this earth. We have struggled, we have worried, we have fought. We have striven, we have supported, we have loved. We have become better people for those things. We have become the people we were always meant to be. I am so very grateful for my husband and all that he has taught me about love and about life and about Heaven and my Father there. I am thankful for his endless love for me and his incomprehensible belief in me. Because of these things, I have been able to do and be more than I ever thought I could. He is the most amazing man I have ever known. How incredible to see the effects of his love on my life and the lives of our children. I am humbled and so grateful for it. I am so very blessed to be married to my greatest hero and truest friend. Sonny said it best in the card he made for me:

Like two trees

We have grown together
Your branches supporting mine
My branches supporting yours
Our roots forever intertwined
Our leaves changing to the same seasons

God planted us here
Through storms and winter we will stand
Stronger, and older, and wiser
Destined to see life's challenges narrowly
Through a glance rarely stolen from each other

Our best years still ahead
Though grand already
Yet grander still we shall grow
As we stretch towards eternity

We had a horrrrrible time trying to decide how to celebrate our 10th anniversary. We wanted to go on a Mediterranean cruise, but since we still haven't sold our dumb house in North Carolina, we didn't think it would be very responsible. We also considered going on a cruise to the Bahamas or Bermuda or something, but we just didn't feel really excited about that for some reason. Finally, we decided to go to Chicago and attend the temple there. (A temple is a house of the Lord that has been prepared and dedicated for sacred gospel ordinances. It is a place of worship and prayer and a place where families are sealed together for eternity. It's truly so beautiful and special.) Since we were married in the temple, what better place is there to go to celebrate that amazing day? We definitely made the right choice. It was so special! We felt so happy. After the temple, we went to a really neat restaurant called Wildfire and had the most delicious food. The next day, we went shopping and leisurely drove home. It was low-key and relaxing and beautiful and romantic and we felt like newlyweds again being without kids or time restraints or agendas. Special thanks to my mom for watching our girls so we could have such a lovely time away together!