Best Birthday Ever :)

When Jerry moved out to Baltimore, one of the first things we did, believe it or not, was check out all the special dates on the calendar and see if they fell on a weekend or time when one of us could fly out to visit the other.

Labor Day? Check.
Fall Break? Check.
Anniversary? Check.
Thanksgiving? Yes.
Christmas? Maybe (until I decided to go home).
My birthday? Nope, on a Thursday.

We knew for a long time that Jerry would not be spending my birthday with me - the first time in the past 4 birthdays I've had. Admittedly, I was sad and a little disappointed. More sad, though, that he would not be with me. When he left during this past Thanksgiving holiday, we made promises to see each other after winter break, and I drove home with tears rolling down my cheeks after dropping him off at the airport.

"Stay strong," he told me.

Before he left, though, Jerry bought me a cake to celebrate with me at Pizza House. Tiffany and Maggie lit all 23 candles, and my wish was, "I hope Jerry can spend my birthday with me in some way." Because that's how much birthdays mean to both of us - they're always a really special time. :) Anyway...

Since Jerry moved out to Baltimore, we've been talking about marriage. We knew after about three years of dating that we knew each other and accepted each other despite all the flaws we had (and still have) and we wanted to make the next step. We didn't know when or where, but we have gone through so much in the time that we dated that we knew that we had found "the one". A couple months ago, Jerry called my parents to ask for their permission. I knew that this day was coming, but I had no idea when.

My birthday started off like any other. My mom woke me up, I talked with my parents for about an hour. My dad, after wishing me a happy birthday, asked me, "Is there anything special?"

"No, just school stuff."

"Oh, okay!"

I didn't think anything of it then, but my dad had almost given away the surprise. I ate breakfast, watched Gossip Girl, and went to lunch with 3 of my awesome ELMAC friends. Had a great time and got a free dessert at Pizza House which we all shared (it was huge!). Anyway, by this time I was really antsy. Jerry told me that he had mailed me something, but I checked the mailbox all morning and got nothing. As I headed home again, still nothing. Hmmm. I called him, and got annoyed because he hadn't called me. I didn't know this, but he had gone to work at 6 AM that morning so he could leave and get on the plane to Michigan. But because I didn't know this, I was annoyed, and hurt that my boyfriend didn't plan well enough to have something sent to me in time. We didn't talk much all day, because he said he was "busy" (leaving work, getting on a plane, getting to AA, etc.). Anyway...

So I went to my joint birthday dinner with Gloria (who's 23 now too! Yay!) and all was good - I had a really good time with everyone who came. Brian and Irene were late - Irene told me her pharmacy rotation had ended late, when it actually had ended at 3. They were late because they went to pick Jerry up at the airport... anyway, so Irene left, and Brian left as well, saying he had to go meet a "friend." The girls and I who were left (Glo, Steph, Shannon) went to Momo Tea to hang out (Irene had come back by this time, so she was there too... she later told me she had come to see where I was and to keep track of me).

After hanging out until around 10 PM Irene, Gloria, and I headed home. As we were walking, Irene got a call from Brian, and then asked me, "Can Brian come see your apartment? I've been telling him how cute it is."

"Sure..." Seemed kind of random, but okay!

So after we parted ways with Gloria, we cleaned up my apartment a little bit, and Brian called to say he was here, so Irene went to get him. A few minutes later, I heard a knock at the door.

"Come in!"

The door opened... but it wasn't Irene. It was JERRY.

When I saw that it was Jerry!

"What are you doing here?! Oh my gosh... (x20). I can't believe you're here!"

After a couple hugs and more squeals from me, Jerry explained that he had come as "my birthday surprise." He later told me the mail thing was to throw me off from suspecting anything. :) Anyway... after a few more hugs, he said he had another gift for me. And he pulled out a ring box.

I'm looking at Irene like, "Is this really happening?!"

Jerry got down on one knee and asked me, "Will you marry me?" (except he was so nervous it came out like willyoumarryme?)

It fits!

Just seconds after. So happy!

After we all hugged and celebrated for a couple minutes, it still felt really surreal. But it was perfect for me and even though Jerry was so nervous, he was wonderful and totally surprised me. Brian and Irene prayed for us at the end, and it was so sweet of them. (Thanks, guys!!)

He did a good job picking this out by himself. :)

Thanks for reading! We're so grateful for all the support and encouragement you all have given us along the journey and up to this big moment. Praise God for blessing us so abundantly!! We look forward to what life has in store for us next!