Thanksgiving Blessings

From Seattle, WA, 10:00am

Mika arrived safely last Sunday and we had such a great time together while he was here! Mostly, we got engaged! I am now the future wife of the most wonderful of humans and the owner of the most beautiful ring a girl could dream of. Short story: I am so blessed. 

He's so proud of his purchase.

On the Great Wheel!

Want the full story? It's the sweetest. 

I knew Mika would be proposing this trip but wasn't sure when. He flew in Sunday afternoon, we had family dinner that night and family lunch the next day. I figured it wouldn't happen before then so I was left with Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. I hoped he wouldn't wait until his last day here (Thursday) so calculated that he would propose Tuesday or Wednesday. Both days we had planned to go up to Seattle and I was really hoping it would happen Tuesday over Wednesday for purely selfish reasons. I just wanted to be engaged. Tuesday we went up to Seattle stopped in at REI, went to lunch at Paseo (it should be on everyone's bucket list- excellent Cuban food), and then headed to Pike Place. In my head I really wanted him to propose on the Seattle Great Wheel because it is my favorite place in Seattle but when it came down to it, I didn't care where he did it, like I mentioned before, I just really wanted to be engaged. So we walked around Pike Place for a few hours and then when we got back to the car he suggested we walk to the Great Wheel. "Sure" I said but really in my head it was a fiesta of hopes. I had to reign myself in because as far as I knew, he didn't have the ring on him and because it was already evening, I figured he would wait until the next day. Side note: As we were walking to lunch I put my hand in his jacket pocket because I wanted to hold his hand and he got really jittery and was like, "What are you doing??". I explained I only wanted him to hold my hand so he did... outside of his pocket. Looking back is like, "duhhhh. He didn't want me to feel the ring box!" So we made our way to the Great Wheel and had a lovely time on it. The city was beautiful, the water was beautiful. On our second of three rotations, he got on one knee and said, "Will you marry me?" I got more flustered than he ever was and kind of stumbled out an "Of course!", "Yes", "Oh my gosh, it's prettier than when I tried it on!", "This is mine??", "Yes", "It's so sparkly", "I love you." We finished our ride and made our way back to Pike Place to browse through a record shop and then make our way home. Best. Day. Ever.

My favorite part is the peek-a-boo diamond- such a fun little surprise!

Of course, then we got to call family and friends and tell them the good news (and by we I mean mostly me because Mika was more interested in watching jeopardy with my sister Hayley than calling our families- but that's why I love him- always the laid back one). Our parents were joyous, the sisters excited, and the brothers more inquisitive than anything else. Mine tried to assure me that he was supposed to have given permission. Nice try, Kelly. 

The next picture is my all-time favorite! The story behind it is priceless and so very Mika. While taking a few pictures right after he proposed Mika said, "How many of these are we gonna take?" My response was something like, "Well, how long are we going to be married? A picture for every ten years or so, right?" Mika without missing a beat said, "I don't know, like three years." This picture is our reactions to his statement. I love this man so much. 

So I guess it's time to admit that what's below has happened. Maybe I'm a sixth grade girl? Or, maybe I'm a 22 year old girl that's just really excited to marry the coolest guy I know. I'm thinking about adopting the third or fourth one as my signature. I mean, it is important right? This is going to be my legal signature for the rest of my life. Clearly I have my priorities straight...

Practicing what will be my name...

As much as I love my ring, as much as I love practicing my new name, and as much as I love Mika and look forward to having many more Seattle Great Wheel rides with him, I am most excited to be married to him for eternity. I look forward to the challenges and blessings that will come with marriage and raising children together. My great uncle's family has a personal Family Proclamation and I can't wait for Mika and I to have one with our own family. Families are forever and they should be what matters most. 

I have a beautiful ring on my finger and I'm already starting to begin the wedding planning process. Mostly though, next June I'll be moving to West Virginia to join my favorite human. Life is so good. 

P.S. Here's Whitney and I snuggling the day after Mika proposed. Could life get any better?

Autumn Update

From Seattle, WA, 9:00am

I've been procrastinating this blog post... for the past two weeks I've been trying to come up with a good idea to write about or a neat experience but since nothing significantly amazing has happened I've been having writer's block. So instead, I figured I would do several small updates instead of getting on a soap box for the entirety of the post. 

Update number one: 

Mika is literally in the air right now flying to Seattle. Part of the reason I am finally writing instead of putting it off further is so it gives me something to do to distract me from watching the time (though I've probably glanced at the clock on my computer about 2.3 million times since I started writing this.) Also, I blame any typos on my inability to think straight.

Update number two: A book report.

If you haven't read the book, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak you really should. It is a fantastic story of a girl in Nazi Germany living with foster parents who are hiding a German Jew in their basement. She begins to steal books even before she can read but her "papa" (her foster dad) fosters (see what I did there? :) I love puns) a need for more books after teaching her to read and write. The 550 page story is narrated by Death. I thought Death as a narrator would make the book creepy but it is actually a brilliantly pleasant aspect. Death makes jokes, feels sorrow, and is a very eloquent story teller. You'll fly through this book- I'm not sure if I've ever read a 550 page book in my life (I am ashamed to say that means I haven't read classics like the unabridged versions of Le Mis or The Count of Monte Cristo) but I finished this one in under a week. So get yourself a copy, read it, and love it. 

Update number three: Old friends

Early last week I went up to Seattle to spend time with friends and my older sister, Whitney. It was fantastic. I foolishly forget sometimes (even if only for a brief moment at a time) how great the people in my life are. They aren't just people. They are my people. I had lunch on an outdoor patio, visited with a wise Institute teacher, watched a soccer game in the freezing cold (but was rewarded with hot chocolate afterwards), ate Calzones with great people, had an amazing breakfast, and cheered on Mexico in the quarter finals. The common denominator to all of those activities is that I was with the people I love. One of my friends, Eugenia, and I got to talking one of the nights about how we are so grateful that we have such amazing friends. Eugenia, our friend, Sara, and I all met when we were freshmen at UW. We are so blessed that even though we have done things we shouldn't have or said something we shouldn't have we are still close friends. We have never done anything so bad that our friends questioned our character even through our college years trying to figure out who we are and what we want to become-trying to figure out our places in this big world. And I think that says a lot. 

Eugenia, Sara, and I

So yes, this is a shorter blog post than normal. Besides Mika on his way here, finishing a fantastic book (a PR page-wise for me), and getting to spend time cheering Mexican soccer players on with Whitney not a whole lot has been going on. It's been a nice, "normal" few weeks and that's what we all want, right? But "normal" in my life is amazing and I'm such a lucky girl because of it.

Happy Sunday!

P.S. Go watch Bill Gate's favorite TED Talks playlist. You won't be disappointed. (Thanks, Katie for the recommendation!)