Fiance or Fiancee?

It's only been three days since we became officially engaged and I'm still on cloud nine! I hope it never ends. Someone said to me the other day that, "You are married for eternity, but only engaged once. Enjoy it!" and that is exactly what I plan to do! Already planning has taken over my life, so far consisting of a flower consult, cake appointment, dress appointments, reception center booked, temple booked, and photographer taken care of! It is INSANELY hard to make myself concentrate on school. Maybe once all the main details are taken care of, I'll be more focused. I keep looking at my ring and thinking, 'Am I ever going to get used to this?'

It's hard to not get caught up in the fun wedding details and still focus on the marriage, but the marriage is what is most important, and so its something I want to focus my time on for the next three months before we get married. Something that I want Jared and I's relationship to grow in all aspects to be, is Pres. Spencer W. Kimball's definition of 'Divine Love'. His definition is, "'Divine' love is not like that association of the world which is misnamed love, but which is mostly physical attraction…love of which the Lord speaks is not only physical attraction, but also faith, confidence, understanding, and partnership. It is devotion and companionship, parenthood, common ideals and standards. It is cleanliness of life and sacrifice and unselfishness. This kind of love never tires nor wanes. It lives on through sickness and sorrow, through accomplishment and disappointment, through time and eternity." I think with that as our goal and with both of us striving to do everything we can to create and develop that kind of love, we will be blessed.

Something one of my professors said in class that really stuck out to me was, "There is something very powerful when spouses are each other’s strongest supporters - when they rally to each other’s side, rather than turn away; encourage, rather than criticize; see the best in each other, rather than the worst; and lift each other up, rather than push each other down"(Jason S. Carroll, 2004, p. 5) This is what I feel Jared does for me as my best friend and fiance, and it is also why I cannot wait to be married to him! "Choose a companion you can always honor, you can always respect, one who will complement you in your own life, one whom you can give your entire heart, your entire love, your entire allegiance, your entire loyalty." (Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley) I have chosen Jared and because of that choice, I am going to do everything I can everyday to help make his life easier and make him happy. I am so in love with the most amazing pure hearted man!

p.s. my roommate Whitney clarified that fiancee is the feminine version of fiance, which I didn't know!

Engaged

After eight months of dating, Jared proposed! I truthfully wasn't expecting it at all; Jared had convinced me that it wouldn't happen for another couple months, which made it that much more of a shock.
Jer asked me if I would like to go to temple square today after church and walk around, and I agreed because the weather was so nice. When we got there we stopped to talk to some sister missionaries, and then started walking around the grounds. There were some random people in normal clothes walking around all bundled up and we were pretty absorbed in our own little world, so I didn't notice my parents hiding poised with cameras.
We started to walk around to the east side of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, which has a great deal of significance for us. It actually is where we first said we loved each other, and how fitting he brought me back to this personal place to do such a personal thing.


He stopped right in front of a bench and jokingly said, "Why don't we just get married already?" to which I responded, "Well if you'd just propose already..." He then gently sat me down and handed me a ring of three antique looking keys with a blue ribbon attached



and then started to talk...it all became a blur as soon as he got down on his knee, but he told me afterwards that he said, "These keys represent love, sacrifice, and trust, and they symbolize the keys to my heart". He then told me to pull the blue ribbon out of his pocket until I reached the other end which is where the ring was.



He took it off the ribbon and then asked me to marry him. I of course said yes!
The wedding will be June 16th exactly one year after we met, with the reception on the 17th! I can't wait to marry my best friend and the man of my dreams!!!