on the 7th day of christmas.

my best gf gave to me...

a new head of hair.

i'll spare you the details of the hair-ball kalie extracted from the shower drain.

my little fiance gave to me...

a stressful few hours of over the phone shopping. UGH!

my father gave to me...

a day full of house shopping.

luckily, he was too worn out to be grouchy anymore.

on the 8th day of christmas...

my best friend gave to me...

a reason...

to be domestic...
and to conduct my first bridal shower.

love her.

on the 9th day of christmas.*

my true love gave to me-

a pep talk while i was sobbing.

*i'm copying. and not apologizing for it.

USMC Fiancé.

i am such a fan of these.

it explains how things are better than i can.

and yes, the ending is pretty cheesey.

You think you know me, but you haven't the slightest clue.

I'm the brunette standing behind you in line at the grocery store, eyeing the newest "Support Our Troops" magnet while paging through the latest issue of Modern Bride. The look on her face is complacent and her thoughts are thousands of miles away on some military base she's only been verbally described of over the phone.

I'm the young girl in the next car with the windows rolled up and the glassy visage only on the road ahead. The radio is set to one of the local country stations which is currently playing "Letters From Home." But you can't hear it because you're talking to a family member or a friend on your cell phone. You catch a glance at the Marines sticker on the bumper of her car but you don't know that when the song reaches "My dearest love it's almost dawn, I've been laying here all night long, wondering where you might be...", her heart breaks a thousand times.

I'm the young woman who is planning an entire wedding on her own, with only the little input she can get from her husband-to-be over the phone.

I'm the girl who visits the Marine Corps Wives website at odd hours of the night to find some kind of comfort for that lonesome feeling that has settled in the pit of her stomach.

I'm the woman who has fought an inner battle, trying to accept the path the man she loves has chosen. I'm the woman who will willingly sacrifice her family, her home to follow a man clear across the country. I'm the woman who never asked for this but deals with it without complaint.

I'm the young woman who swells with pride every time she sees her Marine standing tall in his dress blues. I'm the one who spots a Marine sticker, license plate, or flag and feels a connection with its owner, hoping that maybe she's not alone in this melancholy, sacrificial situation.

I'm the one who hates war but knows that it's a necessary thing. I'm the one who supports her President, regardless of her own opinion because he is the boss of her soon to be husband, because he's the man who our troops are fighting under.

I am the young woman who tries her hardest to go about her everyday life.

I am the young woman who tries to concentrate during her classes and do the job she gets paid to do.

I am the young woman who hates sleeping alone.

I am the young woman who closes her eyes and pretends that the man she loves is laying right there next to her, his arms wrapped around her.

I am the young woman who tries not to miss him, who tries not to cry whenever she hears his name or even the mention of marines.

I am the woman who is terrified that the love of her life will be sent off to war, disabling them to get married when they had planned, hoped, and prayed.

I am many things.

A daughter.

A sister.

A cousin.

A niece.

A co-worker.

A friend.

But most importantly, I am the fiancé of a United States Marine.

"eat, pray, love."

"I seriously believed [he] was my soul mate."

"He probably was. Your problem is, you don't understand what that means. People think your soul mate is your perfect fit, and thats what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that's holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you will ever meet because they'll tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave. And thank God for it. (...) [Their purpose is] to shake you up, (...) tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light could get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you HAD to transform your life. Then introduce you to your spiritual master and beat it. That was [his] job. And he did great. But now it's over."

Thank God for it.

< 3

as you all know, jonathan was coming into town on wednesday.

his dad and i planned on going to pick him up that morning.

it was kalie's birthday, so i had to stop by her work and wish her well before going to the airport. because of this, his dad and i drove separate. as i was driving to the airport, his dad called me to see where i was and tell me he was there and everything and "by the way, can i drive jonathan home from the airport? i need to talk to him about something." i was bummed but i of course said yes and didn't ask questions.

we picked him up from the airport and it was so amazing.

i can't explain what it is like to hug him after not seeing him for weeks.

it makes everything so worth it. all those lonely nights and tears. that pain fizzles away right when i see him, and its like he never left!

we left the airport. i drove home, and him and his dad drove to his house to 'pick up his truck.'

so i went home and busied myself with a little Parks and Rec (so...SO funny.)

little did i know...

i knew he wanted to propose, but also knew that he was getting the ring made by a family friend of his here in utah, so i didn't think that he had the ring yet.

turns out, he went home and met Becky at his house.

this is what he was doing while i was at home, unsuspecting.

this is my favorite picture. in the whole world i think.

i can't imagine what he's thinking.

he came over and picked me up and i was just happy to see him! didnt think a thing of it when i asked him what his dad wanted to talk to him about and he just smiled

we drove around for awhile with his dad, trying to avoid his mother. see, he can't keep a secret from me, but SOMEHOW kept a secret from his mom for two whole weeks. she didnt know he was coming. so finally we drove up to snowbird to their condo. his family goes to snowbird the week of thanksgiving every year.

jon was in his dads bathroom on his dads computer iChatting with us on my computer in the kitchen when his mom walked in. we talked to him a little bit, then our connection started cutting out so he said he'd call us later.

his whole family was in the kitchen gathered together. when we hung up, his mom started introducing her friend to jon's dads side of the family. jonathan walked in and stood in our circle behind his dad. his mom talked for a little bit then looked at jonathan, looked away, hurried to look back, bent over with her hands over her mouth and screamed as if she saw a ghost!!!

then she hugged him and just cried and cried! it was so cute and such a good surprise! she said she was so confused because she was picturing jon's face on the computer and trying to comprehend seeing it in real life!

it was really fun and cute.

the rest of the day was filled with family activities and a family dinner. after we'd showered and eaten, jon asked if i wanted to go on a walk.

i was suspicious, so i asked if i should dress cute, where are we going? blahblah.

he told me i didnt need to look cute (which is why...i don't look cute)

so i didnt think it was anything special.

we walked around the cliff lodge where we were staying at snowbird. we talked about having our reception there, danced a spanish dance outside of the latin bar, and laughed and laughed.

the only thing was...he wouldn't hold my hand with his left hand.

he told me that he wanted to take us to our favorite spot.

we walked outside and walked up a little trail.

when we stopped, we had the beautiful mountains as a backdrop, along with a clear starry sky. we talked for a bit, and looked at the stars before he asked me when i was going to ask him why this is our favorite spot.

Jon: Are you going to ask me why this is our favorite spot?

A.J.: Why?

Jon: Ask me again.

A.J.: Why is this our favorite spot?

Jon: Ask me again.

A.J.: Why is this our favorite spot?

Jon: Because...this is where I asked you to marry me.

and he got down on one knee and pulled the ring box out of his left pocket and proposed.

then he sweet talked me for a little bit while trying to hold back softsoft sobs. (haha)

it was perfect.

we jumped up and down and danced around and decided we needed to document it, so we put his camera on the three picture timer and got these.

that is a happy couple.

we went up to the room and announced it to everyone there.

they were so happy, and welcomed me to the family.

then i made the phone calls. i called my grandma, my sisters, my dad..(SCARY!) and lyndsi, jessi, and kalie.
i guess proposing really takes it out of you. he's asleep 60% of the time.

(just kidding lover, you did better this vacation)

i waited until thursday to tell the rest of my family. luckily, jon got to come to our thanksgiving dinner. so i told my aunt and uncle, and all my cousins there. and they all got to meet jon! i was so happy. it was the perfect time for him to ask me. its been hard not having my family see him very much and get to know him, so this gave them something to talk about. thanksgiving was fun, and we even took family pictures with the new member of our family.

this is where he proposed. it was so beautiful.on friday, we had the chance to go to dinner and celebrate our engagement by getting our families together. (most of them)

it was really fun, lots of laughs. and frogurt after (of course!)

love this boy.  "my wife is crazy."
the draper temple.

so....when is the date?

well.

i'll explain this as simply as i can.

in december jon SHOULD find out where he is going to get stationed once he graduates school in february. we're hoping for california but it could be anywhere.

lets pretend its california.

he'll get stationed around feb 5th. thats when he'll move to california.

once he gets there into the 'fleet', he'll have a better idea of when he will be deployed.

if he gets deployed anytime within 2010, we'll probably wait until he gets home and get married right after. once he gets home from deployment, he will stay state side for AT LEAST a year before getting deployed again.

if he gets to the fleet and finds out that he wont deploy for another year, we'll probably get married in may. thats the soonest i can get married because thats when i GRADUATE! and thats when lizzie is available. and that way, we can have as much time together as possible before deployment.

so really, we can't make any decisions or arrangements until february. i will keep everyone updated. i am so happy and so excited.

i know its cliche, but i feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

i can not wait to get married and be able to move somewhere with just jon.

i know right now i can't imagine how hard it will be, but i am so excited be alone in a state somewhere having to figure out marriage as a couple.

its going to be a crazy adventure.

i am just so happy.

coming soon.

the story of the proposal.

there is no way i could be any happier.