hello. i used to blog here. and a proposal.

Boy, has it been a long time since I have blogged! Funny thing is, I still read OTHER people's blogs, and get upset when they don't post frequent enough! Oops :)

Life has been crazy between church, family, Ryan, friends, school, work, youth group, wedding planning, and just plain old life.

But trust me, it has been anything but plain.

I'm hoping once the new year starts, I will be back on my daily blogging habits. But to tide you over, I will post my PROPOSAL story. I love it.

P.S. It's written in the third person. Yes, I know, weird. But it goes with my wedding website.

Here it is. My very own personal love story.

THE PROPOSAL

After Ryan and Katie’s first date, they both began thinking that this could be ‘it’. Two weeks into their relationship, they were watching a movie at Katie’s and Ryan stopped it because he said he needed to call his parents. He put them on speaker and announced to all listening (including Katie!) a big surprise: he had found the girl he was going to marry.
They continued growing their love for each other and spending time getting to know one another, along with each other’s families.
About a week before the big event, Katie’s suspicions were raised due to Ryan making many ‘secret’ phone calls, and not doing the greatest job being ‘secret’. It was quickly discovered that Ryan was NOT good at keeping ANYTHING a secret.
The morning of September 11th came. It was a beautiful fall day in Poulsbo. Around 3:00, Ryan suggested they go for a walk into downtown Poulsbo. His apartment is only about a mile away and they had done this on many occasions. As they started walking, Ryan’s hands became very sweaty, very fast. It was at this point, Katie began to think that maybe he was going to do it at a special place they visited in town. However, they quickly passed that spot and continued on.
As they entered town and crossed the street, Katie did a double take as she noticed 4 girls standing in front of the bakery holding signs. After one glance, and then a second look, she realized they were some of Ryan’s niece’s. They crossed the street, and at that moment, Katie realized it was happening. Hannah’s sign read “You’d make a great Aunt (Hint, Hint) and Abbie did a wonderful coloring job on her sign which read “I hope you stay with Uncle Ryan forever (no pressure). After hugs and smiles were exchanged, Katie was instructed to continue down the road.
Their journey continued until Jeremy, (Ryan’s brother-in-law), and Ian and Boe (Ryan’s nephews) popped up holding their signs. Boe, who was obviously quite excited about all of this, had a sign reading “Where’s the food line?” Jeremy’s read “2 out of 3 in-laws agree the Kanzler family is the place to be” (we are still trying to figure out who the 3rd one is…..). And sweet Ian had a sign reading “Will you be my Aunt Katie?” Ryan and Katie then noticed the flashing of cameras across the street where Ryan’s three sisters stood holding a sign that read “Always room in our hearts for one more sister.”
This now growing bunch of people continued down the street to the end of the downtown area. At a small table sat Theresa, and Ryan’s Mom and Dad. It was at this point that the tears started flowing. Hugs were given all around and the reality of all of this was starting to really set in for Katie. With three more in tow, they continued down to the waterfront area. As they rounded the corner near the big rock, Katie spotted her family sitting on a bench. This would be the first meeting of the Ryan and Katie’s families. After many introductions, hugs, and quite a few more tears, Ryan asked Katie to take a walk with him.
Hand in hand, they walked down the boardwalk by the water, both knowing what was about to come. As they reached their ‘special spot’, Ryan took both of Katie’s hands and told her how much he loved her and how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He bent down on one knee, and opened up a small white box, and asked her to marry him. Somewhere in between the tears and trying to hold it together, Katie said yes, and Ryan slipped the most gorgeous ring onto her finger. A perfect fit.
The rest of the afternoon was quite the whirlwind: a reenactment of the proposal so pictures could be taken, a surprise engagement party with the families, many phone calls and e-mails, and ending celebrating just the two of them over pie at Shari’s.