The Engagement Story

Though we had spoken about marriage, gone ring shopping and I knew the engagement was coming, sweet Chance really wanted the engagement to be a surprise. And Surprise it was!

A month in advance Chance had planted the idea in my head that Make – A – Wish was having a special open house for family and friends towards the end of the month and asked me if I was interested… and of course I was!

A night or two before he proposed Chance told me he thought he would have the ring by the next week, and I would only have to keep our little secret a week longer, little did I know the ring was on its way. Just to throw me off the path a little more, the day of the proposal Chance texted me to ask if I really wanted to go tour Make - A - Wish like we had planned. He had a meeting there that night and said I could meet him if I wanted, but if I wasn’t in the mood then he would just come meet me after his meeting. He seemed so nonchalant about it all, that I would never have guessed that was the night. :)

When I got there we wandered around and looked at the main floor and the grounds. It was so fun! We talked to one of the gals he works with granting wishes and she asked if it was my first time there and said she wanted to take our picture. I love pictures so I was game. When Chance put his hand around me it was FREEZING! This is a big deal because I have never known Chance to be cold the whole time we've dated. This should have been a clue that something was up!

When we went upstairs I saw a room that was changing colors - literally. It had a wood door, but there is a little window you can sort of see through and I could see the room lighting up and changing. I asked Chance what was in that room and asked to go in. He said it was the wishing room and he would show me how they do it with the kids.

You can see my silhouette in the window.  This is when Chance is proposing.  

 So he took me to a table and gave me a key to the door, and a medal canister that the children get to put their wish in. We then went in the room and he walked me through the process they do with the kids. The floor lights up and you walk around a waterfall and then the lights lead you to the spot where you put your wish. After I put the wish in I asked what happened to it from that point forward. He said that the wish granters would come back and get the wish, but that I could open it and see where the kids put the wish. So I opened it up (actually I tried, but I couldn't do it so he had to loosen it for me and then I opened it). When I took the lid off I could see a paper inside and I then knew what was happening! It was a Make-A-Wish paper that said it was a wish from Chance for Starlee and that his wish for me was for me to be his wife… I read it and looked up and he was getting down on his knee and then he asked me to marry him.

As I mentioned before – I said YES! :)

As we walked out of the room some of his friends from Make –A - Wish were standing there to take our pictures.

When we went back outside he had arranged for my mom to come pick up my car so we could drive up to Ruths Diner for dinner - that was our 1st real date together. :) He also had beautiful flowers for me - daisies, my favorite, and a stack of letters. One for each week until our wedding. They are love notes with a clue as to where our honeymoon destination is. So so thoughtful!

It was the perfect night, and as usually happens at Make – A – Wish, my dream came true!