Two years ago today, Morgan asked me to marry him! How quickly time passes. I feel like it was just yesterday that Morgan was down on one knee... :) I wanted to get these memories out while they are still so fresh in my mind.
May 10, 2009 was a Sunday. Morgan had asked me awhile ago if he could take me on a special date. He was preparing to leave for Texas, where he would be working at a camp all summer. We wouldn't see one another for three whole months, and he said he wanted to do something special.
This Sunday also happened to be Mother's Day. We had breakfast with my parents that morning before church. My dad was taking my mom on a mysterious Mother's Day getaway. After a sweet breakfast at Big City Bread, my parents said "goodbye". My dad and Morgan even pretended they were saying goodbye for the whole summer!
After church, Morgan told me to go home and get ready for our special date. He said to wear comfortable clothes. I also knew we were bringing Sadie with us, so I thought we would be going on a hike. I thought he was taking me to Tallulah Gorge. My suspicions were almost confirmed when Morgan picked me up and we headed in that direction. We were driving into the Carolina Mountains. On the drive (and actually all day long), Morgan had been acting strange. He was very quiet and distracted. I asked him what was wrong, and he said he was sad about leaving for camp. I totally bought it. I told him it would be OK, not to worry about it, that we should enjoy the time we had left together.
When we passed Tallulah Gorge, I was really confused. We pulled over on the side of the road and Morgan told me I had to wear a blind fold. Maybe it should have been obvious at this point, but Morgan was sort of famous for his extravagant surprises while we were dating. I didn't really think anything of it.
After several minutes of driving around winding mountain roads, we pulled to a stop. I heard gravel crunching beneath the tires. Morgan told me I could take my blindfold off. When I did, I realized that Morgan had taken me to my favorite place in the entire world, Lake Nantahala. Some family friends have a home there, where I stayed often as a youngster. It is a very significant place for me spiritually too, and Morgan knew this. When we were dating, I told Morgan all the time how much I wanted to bring him to Lake Nantahala one day. When I realized that's where we were, I felt like crying, I was so happy.
I immediately started running around, trying to show Morgan things. In the back of my head, I wondered how he had gotten the gate code and how he knew exactly where it was (it's not the easiest place to find). But I was so excited, I didn't care. I dragged Morgan down to the dock to show him the lake.
When we got down to the water, I saw that there was a table set with food and wine and beautiful flowers. I thought we were walking in on someone else's special, romantic moment. When I finally realized it was all for us, I was very confused. I wondered how all of it had gotten there. Morgan had been with me all afternoon, so he couldn't be responsible.
We sat down and ate and drank. I think I was already crying at this point, because no one had ever done anything so nice for me. Morgan said he wanted to take a picture. He knelt down to get his camera out of his camera bag, but when he came up, he was holding a black, velvet box. For the first time, I realized what was really going on. I was so overwhelmed that I was trembling. Morgan opened the box, and there was the most beautiful ring inside.
(Side note: My friends had all suggested earlier that week that I go get my nails done. Very sneaky.)
Morgan asked me to marry him. I said YES! We prayed together. We cried. We laughed uncontrollably. We hugged. We kissed. It was so overwhelming and joyous. I didn't know what to do with myself.
Morgan told me he had another surprise for me. We got into the car and headed back down the mountain. We pulled up to a restaurant. When we walked in, my parents and Morgan's parents were there waiting for us. They were the ones who set up the beautiful table by the lake. My parents' mysterious Mother's Day getaway was just a ruse. I felt so dumb for not figuring everything out! We ate dinner with everyone and celebrated. I was so excited I couldn't even eat the food I ordered. We were getting married!
When I think about this day, I still get goosebumps. Second only to my wedding day, this was the best day of my entire life! I am so thankful for these memories, and thankful that I can share them here (even though all of you probably already know this story!).
Here we are on the summit.
