An evening made for us ;)

Saturday, March 19th, 2011 was a day like no other! Brad and I got ENGAGED!!! I could not be more excited, thrilled, and blessed to be able to spend the rest of my life with this incredible guy. ;)

Before I unload all the pictures, time for the story. :) Brad and I were celebrating our dating anniversary and enjoyed a nice, relaxing dinner in downtown Roswell. I guess I should say it was a nice, relaxing dinner for me, at least...not so sure Brad was as relaxed as he seemed at the time. ;)

After dinner we went back to my house where Brad made chocolate covered strawberries earlier in the day. When he got the strawberries out, he calmly said "this isn't the only thing I made" and pulled a scrapbook out of the couch cushions.

I started looking through the scrapbook in amazement. He did a phenominal job holding onto small keepsakes from our past months of dating - everything from the receipt from our first date, to a hotel key from a wedding we attended together, to the wine label from the first bottle of wine we had the first time we cooked in together. SUCH a sweet gift. Little did I know just how sweet... ;)

The last page said "there's still one more thing I have to ask you" and as I turned the last page and read the words "will you marry me?" Brad was down on one knee with the ring. I could not believe it!! I went into total shock and excitement and I'm pretty sure I hugged and squeezed him for 10 minutes straight without letting go! :) Once I semi-calmed down it was time to CELEBRATE!!!

First stop was Nava to surprise little sis! :)

After surprising Lauren, it was off to toast with Mom and Dad. I thought I would be surprising them...little did I know Brad had gone over to meet with them earlier in the week to ask for their blessing while I was out of town for work. Did I mention how AMAZING he is?! I am one lucky girl. ;)

Cheers!!!

Future Mother of the Bride ;)Father of the Bride ;)

The next morning we went to church and this was the sermon. To say God has had a hand in our relationship since day one would be an understatement. He has been orchestrating one incredible memory and milestone after another in our relationship. God is good! :)

After church it was time to celebrate with Brad's wonderful family!

My fiancee! ;)

My fabulous future in-laws. Sad this came out somewhat blurry, but I know we'll have plenty more opportunities to take pictures together. :)

Brad's sweet, sweet Grandpa. :)

For those of you dying to see the ring...here you go. :) He did a PHENOMINAL job!!

After a weekend of much excitement, Brad and I went on a quiet date to Nava Monday night to celebrate all the excitement we have to look forward to in the coming weeks and months. We can't wait to celebrate with family and friends in the coming months leading up to our exciting and special day! ;)

How time flies!!...Highlights from the past 5 months.

Well truer words have never been spoken... "Time flies when you're having fun!". Hard to believe last Fall was when I last updated my poor, neglected blog. :( It's definitely due for some updates as the past 5 months have been full of fun and excitement!... November included a relaxing and enjoyable Thanksgiving in Atlanta with family and friends. Rich and Michelle kindly hosted ALL of us at their adorable home in Marietta. It was a fabulous time complete with a turkey dinner, evening walk around the lake, pumpkin pie, and many laughs! Two of my favorites...Alexa and Karen. :)
Lauren and Karen at the family Thanksgiving celebration. :)
Brad joined in on the fun as well. ;)
A quick month later and it was Christmas! The MOST WONDERFUL time of the year! Unfortunately, I didn't do a very good job capturing the season in pictures, but it was an amazing one, nonetheless. ;) Here's one of Brad and his women. Bear in mind this is Brad with only two of his women...his other women hailing from the fabulous Blackman clan, of course. ;)

The holidays also included quality time with my new nephew, Dusty. I'm going to be totally honest...I've never been a big dog fan, but I LOVE this guy. Perhaps because he's not mine. :)

The holidays wrapped up and we launched directly into the excitement of the BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP in Glendale, Arizona. Lauren and I flew out and spent 5 fabulous days of sister fun in Phoenix. Our first adventure was climbing Camelback Mountain.

I thought it sounded like a grand idea. It sounded like a nice, mild hike...little did I know we'd be climbing boulders and risking our lives on this scary climb. I definitely overcame my fear of heights - thanks to my sis pushing me through it. :) I must admit...once we reached the top...it was TOTALLY worth it! We had my camera with us the whole time so when we reached the top I asked this man to take our picture (who's back was turned at the time)...

As it turned out, this 'man' was Coach Urban Meyer...legendary SEC coach from University of Florida. We felt bad, so we asked him to join our picture. I held back every urge inside of me to say 'War Eagle!'. :)

Needless to say our sister trip to the National Championship was epic...complete with a BCS National Championship win for Auburn!!! WAR EAGLE!!! No doubt, Lauren and I will be recalling the memories from this trip with many smiles when we're old and gray many years from now. :) I have never been so proud to be an Auburn Tiger! ;)

Clearly the excitement and pride was shared 1,000's of miles away at Toomer's Corner. God bless the trees. ;) War Eagle!!

As if an Auburn National Championship win wasn't enough, January brought even more excitement at the end of the month! I turned 27 and what better way to do so than with a visit from your BFF and a trip to a winery!?!

God gave me an amazing birthday gift as well - a January weekend in Atlanta blessed with California weather! :) It was P-E-R-F-E-C-T!!! 75 degrees and sunny!! We had a relaxing lunch at Montaluce Winery full of fabulous food, many laughs, delicious wine, and gorgeous sunshine!

Birthday's are simply the best. ;)

Best friends since Kindergarden. Love you Jen! :)

Moving on from the birthday excitement...February included sweet Liam David Ragan's church dedication. This sweet little guy is the product of two of the most amazing people I'm blessed to know. :) Liam is perfect in every way and I can't wait to watch him grow up over the coming years. No doubt, with his incredible parents he's bound to do amazing things!

February also included some sweet surprises. :) One of which was a beautiful bouquet of flowers waiting on my dresser when I arrived home from one of a business trip. This was one of the most gorgeous arrangements I've ever received. I got to witness nature at it's best...one of the flowers was completely closed when I first got them. I noticed one morning as I was getting ready that it was starting to open...so as I was getting ready I was able to watch the flower open bit by bit over a period of about 30 minutes. It was SO neat to witness nature's beauty first-hand! Take a look....

Thanks for the GORGEOUS flowers Brad! Love him. ;)

February also included Nic and Sonya's Engagement Party. Nic and I have been great buds since middle school! So neat to be a part of the fun and excitement leading up to their special day. :)

Last but not least, Brad and I recently attended a fun night out on the town at a Silent Auction Gala. Such a fun time! Love this guy. ;)

Whew! Quite a few updates to cover over the past 5 months! Hopefully I'll keep up with this blog thing a little better in the coming weeks. :) Love to all!!