We're Engaged!

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What does four words, a ring, and a surgery have in common? 

Our engagement story!

*I've known Andrew was the person I was going to spend the rest of my life with for years, but leave it up to him for having the most memorable engagement story to add to our crazy beautiful journey!*

It all started Tuesday morning when Andrew asked me if I wanted to take the girls to Minnehaha Falls Dog Park. He explained to me how it was going to be one of the last beautiful fall day’s in Minnesota and that we should take advantage of it. Ironically, I was having a not so good week and so I grumpily said sure.

So, after work we grabbed the girls and headed to the dog park

Andrew was right; it was an absolutely gorgeous fall day! 

Before I had any clue what was about to happen...

About half way through our walk, I was ahead of him, when he said, “Cathryn…” 

I turned around to see Andrew on one knee. *From that point on, it's a blur and a bit surreal*

From what I remember, Andrew said something along the lines of how much he loves me…that I’m the love of his life…that we can make it through anything…and that he wants to spend the rest of my life with me. I remember saying, “Is this REALLY happening?” And then he uttered those four perfect words,

“Will you marry me?”

At this point, I was crying and completely speechless. From what Andrew tells me, there was about a 10 second pause…when he finally goes, “You have to say yes or no babe!” After shaking, laughing, and crying… I of course said,“YES!” *like he had anything to worry about!*

I then looked down at my left finger and saw this beautiful, perfect ring staring back at me. I've always thought that it’s really not about the ring, but more of the symbolic meaning behind it…solidifying the fact that two people are committing the rest of their lives together. But WOW! My fiancé did good!

 It’s classic, yet modern. Which is pretty much me in a nutshell.

As we walked back through the dog park, I was in shock still. I kept staring at my brand new fiancé, and kept laughing and crying. I do remember saying to the girls,

“Your daddy finally made it official…you’re no longer bastard children!” haha

We got in the car and Andrew said we should call my parents. I knew my parents were going to freak out, because they've been waiting for this moment forever. Andrew then proceeded to tell me that he actually talked to my dad earlier that day to ask for his permission to marry his daughter. 

*insert more tears on my end* 

So although my parents knew it was most likely going to happen later that day, that didn't stop them from being completely overjoyed with excitement! When I hung up the phone…I'm pretty sure I heard my mom just start screaming with joy! We then proceeded to call the rest of our family and friends to tell them the perfect news! His mother and sister were the two that really brought happy tears to my eyes… his mom told me how from the moment I walked into their kitchen the first time I met them (nearly 7 years ago) she knew I would someday become Andrew’s wife....and how his sister kept telling me through her tears, that I love her brother more than she could ever ask for and how perfect we are together...it was like a dream.

*Funny side note: So before we went to the dog park (when I had no clue what was about to happen) we talked about how we needed to do a Target run…you know, to get fun stuff…like deodorant and socks. So we drove to Target while talking to everyone and sat in the Target parking lot for nearly 45 minutes while we finished our calls. We then proceeded to go into Target, while I couldn't stop laughing and staring at my ring…and taking pictures in the Target aisles. Totally normal, right?*

THAT happened.

The night ended with a couple of celebratory drinks with (most) of our closest friends! It was the most overwhelming and perfect day! As Andrew had put it before to me...

"I want the day we get engaged to be the third best day of your life. The second being when we get married and the first being when we have children." Well babe, you’re on the right track!

BUT….

The story doesn't end there. The night ended and we went home to cuddle up with our girls. Around 4:30AM though…I was awoken by my new fiancé complaining of lower right stomach pain. Now, if you know Andrew, he’s a bit of a Hypochondriac…always worried something is worse than it really is, so I didn't think anything of it. But about 20 minutes later, he tells me that he really thinks we should go to the hospital. So off we go to the ER at 5AM.

 Andrew suspected that it could be appendicitis, as the pain was coming from exactly where the appendix is. The hospital ordered a CT Scan and some blood work…and then we waited…and waited. 

The whole time we were laughing and being like “Really? Are we really in the ER only 10 hours after getting engaged?” We would laugh and tell all the nurses and doctors the big news that had just happened. They all found it highly entertaining needless to say!

Before we got the bad news.

Well, fast forward over four hours later, we find out…Andrew has appendicitis and needs to have surgery that afternoon.  What a punch to the gut. I felt horrible for Andrew who did NOT like the sound of surgery. I just wanted to be able to celebrate our engagement and not have to deal with the stress of surgery and everything that went along with it.

Thankfully the surgery went perfectly and he was in recovery by that night. And although ending up in the hospital for appendicitis is not ideal for anyone (let alone the day after getting engaged) that’s what love and family is all about. Being there through the ups AND downs.

We obviously didn't have a chance to announce our engagement on Facebook, but the morning after Andrew's surgery (2 days after we got engaged) Andrew surprised me by posting this. My fiance' is the sweetest! :)

Now that all the craziness is over, and once my fiancé heals, I can’t WAIT to start planning our big day!

I’m so blessed and excited to be marrying the love of my life! 

The future Mr. and Mrs. Ross!!