It is official!

After months of talking about it and dodging rumors, on Monday, December 29, 2008, Dan asked me to marry him.

It had been a long day.  Dan’s parents had come up from Louisville to have lunch with my family in Mitchell.  We spent the day sharing history and family stories.  As a special treat we toured the old Sherwood family home (built in the early 1900’s), the Bryantsville Hunger Relief barn (bhrp.org), and Bryantsville Church of Christ.  During the entire day family expected us to make a big announcement.  Little did I know that Dan was waiting until that evening to ask me to be his wife.

Dan and I were staying with my grandpa, on the family farm.  Grandpa’s house for me it one of my most favorite places on the planet.  That home holds countless family memories for me.  Though it had been a long day of family visits we had talked about watching a movie.  So we said good night to my parents at their house and got in the car to make the one mile journey to my grandpa’s.  As we got in the car Dan pulls out his computer, hoping to draw from the wireless signal at my family’s house.  I asked why he was doing this now.  His reply, “My computer is still on and I want to show you something.”  Though we had a signal he wasn’t able to connect to the site.  Slightly upset at the lack of connectivity, he decided to head down the road anyhow.  I thought nothing of it, thinking the website could wait until morning.  The stars had been brilliant in the crisp December sky, so I was not as upset.

Returning to the farmhouse I was ready to get comfortable for the evening.  I wanted to change my clothes, put up my hair, and curl up for the movie.  Something kept me from changing into my sweats though.  I walked out into the living room to find Dan on the couch, holding his laptop and he asked me to read something he had written.  Somehow in the short time I took to put my coat and things away in my bedroom, Dan had reformatted the “rough draft” of a story he had written.  Illustrated with family pictures, and ministry snapshots was a simply worded story of how God had guided and directed our lives from birth in service to Him.  As I read to

 the last page I quickly realized what was happening and Dan slid off the couch and on

to one knee before me.  As I read the  last page, “Will you marry me and spend the rest of your life walking beside me?" Dan recited the words along with me.  He reached into his pocket and pulled out the velvet black box that held a marquise cut solitaire diamond– the exact ring I wanted.

I initial “yes” was covered with tears.  As I hugged him, I wanted to make sure he heard it, so I whispered “yes” again.  A few seconds later he asked, ”Did you say yes?"  I giggled with delight, and repeated myself once again and sealed it with a kiss.