I'm Getting Hitched!

Miracles Never Cease.  Yes, folks, I've gone and gotten myself engaged to be married.  Do you want the full story?  Sure, you do!  On Saturday, May 10, 2008, David and I went to Glenwood to "see my mom for Mother's Day."  It was his suggestion we go to Glenwood that weekend, which I thought was a little suspect, so I thought he might be wanting to ask my Dad a very specific question or something.  Sure enough, after dinner on Saturday, my Dad went outside and David left me and my mother at the kitchen table to follow him.  They both came in the house a little later, but not acting strange or anything out of the ordinary, so I wasn't sure what had gone down.

Then, the next day (mother's day) after going to church with my family in Glenwood, and after our nice mother's day dinner, David suggested we take a ride up in the mountains by my house on the four-wheeler.  We had gone on a very lengthy ride the day before, and I figured he just liked the four-wheeler since we had so much fun on Saturday.  We drove up this little canyon to a place where an old dance hall used to be where my parents used to go dancing back in the 50's.  Only the foundation was left and a bunch of sheep had made it their home.  We even saw a little fox going into his hole!

After deciding to go the rest of the way on foot, we hiked up to the top of the mountain that overlooked all of the town of Glenwood.  It was so beautiful!  The wind was blowing so hard it nearly knocked me down a couple of times, but it made the grass on the hillside look like waves on the ocean.  There were cacti all around, but on the very top of the hill, one of them was in full bloom with bright red flowers.  We started seeing more and more cacti in bloom and they were so beautiful amidst and desert sagebrush and red dirt.  David stopped at one of them for a closer look.  We hiked around some more, then on our way back David said to me, "Loralee, look at that cactus flower; that is a really pretty one!"  As I approached it, I noticed something very sparkly sitting inside the bloom!  You guessed it; it was a ring!  And not just any ring, but a gorgeous vintage art-deco ring made in the 1920's!  I love it!  

David got down on his knees and proposed to me right there.  I was on my knees, too (I had gotten down to look at the cactus flower) and unfortunately, that darn cactus was right in between us, so it made for an awkward embrace after he asked me to marry him.  It was funny!  We laughed as we tried to pick the flower as a souvenir.  Cactus flowers are not that easy to pick and we both got poked by the sharp needles!  I said, "Oh, I hope this is not a symbol of our marriage.....really pretty on the outside, but very prickly underneath!"  It has been quite the prickly process for us.  We've had a lot of drama over the years, but we've learned so much and grown so much through it all that it has definitely been worth it!  As David put it, I am the flower and he is the cactus!  I am very happy and excited that we finally made it!  David is such a good man with a heart of pure gold.  I'm excited to have him for a husband!  Imagine it....I will soon be going by the name of Mrs. Loralee Nicolay.  YEAH!!!!!