Ruk-tan-ti-choke....just like it's spelled :)

Hello friends!! Many of you guessed correctly about my weekend surprise, and possibly many of you knew before I did that it was coming! Yes, you guessed it:

Kenny and I are engaged!

I posted Saturday about the spa and going to dinner. Kenny took me to Taste of Texas, an amazing steakhouse here in Houston. I really enjoyed my steak, but Kenny was nervous, so he barely ate anything, and for those who know Kenny, that's unusual! After dinner he told me we were just going back to his house to catch up on the shows we missed during the week, and I was a little disappointed to have been dressed up to cuddle on the couch. When we walked up the stairs, Kenny didn't use his key to open the door, instead he pushed it open and this is what I saw:


I don't even know how many roses and candles he had, it was so gorgeous! Little did I know that just minutes before we walked in, Kenny had recieved a "delay" message from his co-horts Jared, Scott, Stephanie, and Liz because the candles set off the fire alarm.

This was their reaction:

So after Kenny and I got there, the real proposal began. He read me scripture, and a list of 50 things and memories I love about Stephanie, and then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Thinking back, I don't think I actually said yes, I think I just nodded a lot and gave him a big hug and a kiss. :)

Meanwhile back at the ranch:....while the proposal is going on, the fire-alarm crew is headed to the final destination, an engagement party for Kenny and me with the biggest surprise being all of the out-of-towners who came in just for the night! The least of which being my mom :)



Not to mention one of my favorite Homies: Brandon "BG" Gavin. Please note that Ms. Funk, pictured Center below was fully aware of this whole shin-dig when I had dinner with her 3 days before Kenny proposed. Way to be sneaky!

My mom gave a toast using Ecclesiastes and reminded us to keep God as the center strand in our marriage.


I think this is the point where my mom announced that Kenny had driven from Houston to Corpus and back to Houston in one day (a 3.5-4 hour drive each way) just to have lunch with my mom and get her permission. I was stunned!


Stunned or not it was such a happy day, I think all of the pictures I've seen of myself from that night have the expression pictured below:



So to answer your questions:
-When are we getting married? Sometime this fall.
-How do you say his last name? Ruhk-tan-tih-choke.

Many thanks to everyone who made it possible, all those who kept secrets from me **cough Lindsay, Mandy, Brandon, Kathleen, Hayley, Mom, the guys from the small group as well as Liz and Stephanie**. I know I speak for Kenny and myself when I say we are so excited for this new stage in our relationship and I can hardly wait to marry the wonderful man that God created me for!

Here's to new stages in life, well kept secrets, new last names, and new jewelry!

Blessings to you all!

girl interrupted...

***I began this post early Saturday morning, and while I was finishing it, there was a knock on my door. Kenny's and my friend, Brent, was there with one red rose, and two note cards. I was given instructions to open the first one right then, and not to open the second one until the afternoon. The first card told me that I had been gifted (by Kenny) with a spa-day. The second, which I opened after I left the spa, said that we were going to a fancy dinner tonight...I think there may be another, more exciting update in the works :)


Hello friends! It's been a while, and for that I apologize, but life has been busy in the casa de bridge these last two months.

1) I started a new job! Working in the schools was just not my niche at this point in my career, I wasn't happy and excited to get up and go to work in the morning so I started interviewing. One week I prayed for God to help me and give me another work option, and the next week I had interviewed, been offered a job, and accepted the offer all in about 4 days! So I switched from a school setting to what's called an "L-tach" (long term acute care hospital) setting, and I love it! An ltach is just like a regular hospital, but there's no OR, no ER, and the patients stay about 25 days on average. My new co-workers are super fun, and I'm much more relaxed and happy now that I am more excited about work. Praise God for His timing! I started this new job in March, just after Ashleigh and Will got married, which brings me to my next time-consuming activity:

2) Wedding season is upon us! Kenny and I are slated to go to 6 weddings from March to the end of June. So far we're 1/3 of the way through and have had a ton of fun celebrating with the newlyweds!
First was Ash and Will's wedding. Ash has got to be the most low-key bride I've seen. She barely admitted she was nervous until just before the ceremony.

Here's a picture of the wedding party, courtesy of Leslie's mom :)


I also took the chance to show kenny around Waco since he hadn't been there for an extended period of time before. We took the walking tour and started at the BSB.



He got to eat claypot (YUM!) and enjoy common grounds' frozen treats, and I bought him a Baylor basketball shirt...he needed to be initiated into the bear family somehow right? Oh, and before I forget, I took Kenny on a tour of the CSD building...he wasn't overly impressed, was I surprised? Not at all! However he did meet Mama Rainer and got to look at the awkward picture compilations of the years gone by along the second floor. :)

Next was Brooke and Sean's wedding in Austin. It was the weekend right after the Stutz wedding, this one I was just a spectator for, but it was a perfect evening for an outdoor wedding! Patty Pattillo was able to be there since she had a conference in Austin and I was so glad to see her and spend time with Patty and K-Dub as well!




I've taken the last few weeks after the March wedding Madness to relax since next weekend starts round 2 of wedding season. Kenny's roommate is getting married on May 1st and then miss Hayley is getting married 3 weeks later! That wedding means another Waco trip and more hole-in-the-wall experiences for Kenny! Wahoo!

I hope to keep you all updated sooner, but I've just been enjoying the freedom of having free time (no more 1 hour commute each way, now it's only 15 minutes, 20 if I get stuck behind a slow car)!

And just for kicks here's a picture of my nephew Daniel, who turned 1 last weekend!! Isn't he the cutest?



Here's to new jobs, new friends, newlyweds, and news in general!


Blessings to you!