A Ring: Sort Of

Stephan happens to be a very smart man.  When he asked me to marry him there was no ring involved...just the question.  He wanted me to pick out my own ring.  See...told ya...he's smart, huh? 

So, I looked at rings.  And, I looked at rings some more.  And, I kept looking.  They were really pretty, but I just didn't want any of them.  I've gotten used to toddler chasing, dish washing, laundering, and digging in dirt without any ring to worry about.  Honestly, I like it that way, and after all of that looking I decided I wanted to keep it that way.

But, don't think Stephan got off light on this one.  Instead of an engagement ring I opted for an engagement sewing machine....a Bernina to be exact.  I'd sewn on a Bernina before and thought I had landed in sewing heaven.  When I started considering what I really, really wanted instead of a ring, a Bernina was first on the list.

I knew it was meant to be, when we totally lucked out on our trip to the Bernina store.  We got there during the final days of an incredible sale.  Their Activa 230 was marked at nearly 1/2 off...plus it came with two upgrades that made it nearly identical to the Activa 240.  Stephan still wanted to make sure that this was the Bernina of my dreams and not just the price tag that I wanted.  It totally was.  And, I'm totally in love....with the man more than the machine...I swear!  Ha!  And, Stephan keeps telling me that I'm going to have to walk down the aisle holding my engagement "ring".  What a picture!

We ordered the machine immediately, and although it's in the store one of the upgrades is on back order.  I hope it gets here soon.  I have all sorts of plans for this baby!

As for my lovely, 12 year old Singer, I'm thinking about taking it in to be serviced, and then putting it away to be my new/old back up machine.  I currently have a cheapo machine as a backup.  It's destined for Craig's List.

So, You Wanna Know The Details?

For those inquiring minds who have been patiently waiting to find out all the details on how Stephan and I met.  Well, here it is.  Sorry for having left y'all hanging there.

My apologies for reusing this pic.  We still don't have any others.  Crazy I know!

It turns out that Stephan lived just down the road from me for 2 years before we met.  Our families knew each other.  His aunt, cousin, and grandmother are all members of my church.  His uncle used to cut our hay.  We even have friends in common.  We live in one very tiny town.  Despite all of this we had never met...until one fateful day. 
On that day, some friends invited my whole family over for a dinner party.  It was going to interfere a little with Levi's bedtime, so I almost stayed home.  I think it was my sister who convinced me to go and reminded me that we could just leave if Levi was unhappy.  So, off we went. 
Levi spent most of the party playing with my mom and our friends' children.  I spent the first part of the evening avoiding eye contact with Stephan who was definitely trying to make eye contact.  He was persistent though, and eventually struck up a conversation with me.  We chatted the rest of the evening. (Before you start thinking he's after married women.  I quit wearing a wedding ring shortly after Levi was born.  The poor guy didn't have a clue.)
Since I was in the midst of a divorce, I certainly wasn't looking for anyone.  As we were talking, I kept thinking that I should tell this guy that I'm not available, but how does one squeeze that into small talk with a stranger?  I had never been in this situation.  It was quite a relief when the party broke up, and we went our separate ways without him asking for my number. 
But, the next day, I got a Facebook friend request.  About a nanosecond later, Stephan messaged me asking for a date.  I sent him a message back, explaining the situation, and thought that would put the quietus on it.  I honestly didn't even expect a response, but Stephan sent one anyway.  It was really sweet.  He said that he was sorry to hear about what I was going through, and he'd like to be friends with me if that was okay.  So, friends we became. 
We pretty much had the strangest courtship ever...it was spent nearly entirely with my parents and on the phone.  Stephan started coming over to visit once a week.  Soon he started visiting every chance he got.  And, oh, my, the phone calls!  I'm pretty sure we deserve some kind of record for the number of hours spent on the phone.   But, for us, that turned out to be wonderful.  We didn't really have normal dating concerns, so we were able to develop a solid friendship.  However, it didn't take us too terribly long to figure out that this was definitely destined to be something beyond friendship.  Stephan was more than willing to wait for me however long it took which pretty much melted me into a big ole' puddle.  By the time I was divorced we knew that we wanted to get married.  Heck, Stephan had already bought a house with that in mind...sneaky little me got to pick it out too.  ;)
So, here we are...gettin' hitched, remodeling a house, and starting a brand new adventure together.  It all just makes me go "Sigh."...in a very, very good way.

So, now it's your turn.  I'd like to know how you met your significant other.  Seriously...do tell!  If you post your story on your blog let me know and I'll link to you here. 

Wedding Loveliness

I found the dress (a lovely goldish champagne knee length number)...and the shoes...she grins ear to ear as she types.  And, unbelievably I found them in one hour.  Seriously.  I sort of couldn't believe it.  It takes me longer to find a pair of jeans.

But, now I'm looking for something to wear in my hair, and my eyes have begun to glaze over.  There are so many options!  I can't decide!!

by Be Something New

by PenelliBelle

by Crystal Bloom

by It's The Little Things

After all this indecisiveness I am actually considering just making my own. I'm pretty handy with doodads and wire, so maybe it wouldn't look too terribly rotten.  Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions, favorites??

The Shiny Side

I have a little surprise up my sleeve.
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You wanna know what it is?
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Drum roll please...
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Are you ready for it?  ; )
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You sure?
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Alrighty then
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This Barefoot Mama's gettin' hitched!!!

I told you it was a surprise.  He's kinda cute...huh?  To top it off he's my best friend, and he happens to be the sweetest guy on the face of this planet....in my not so humble opinion.

To answer possible questions...no, we didn't just meet yesterday...and no, he's not the reason for this.  I promise.  I'm not that kind of girl.  We met over the course of my ridiculously lengthy divorce...which at the time was inconvenient and annoying.  But, in retrospect it's got God's fingerprints all over it.  Meeting that way and only being able to be friends actually allowed us to become best friends.  Funny how things work out.

You wanna know the coolest part?  Levi thinks he hung the stinkin' moon.  Those two fellas could start their own mutual admiration society.  Which is a good thing, because no matter how swank I think he is, he wasn't going to make the cut without Levi's wholehearted approval.

Oh...what's that?...you wanna know his name?  :)  It's Stephan.  Although, most people (except me for some odd reason) call him Steve.  Someday, I might be converted...we'll see.

We're tying the knot February 13 in my parents' back yard.  Sorry to disappoint though...it won't be a full on barefoot wedding because...um...Mississippi is cold in February.  People are probably going to be ready to slap me for having the shindig in the backyard in the first place.  But, I'm aiming for small, relaxed, and personal...the backyard fits.

P.S. Sorry about the not so fabulous photos.  I tried to get some over Christmas, but we just weren't managing photogenic...or even close.

P.P.S. One day in the near future, I'll actually sit down and write a post about how we met.  So, inquiring minds can know.