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Hello friends!

This past weekend my (then) boyfriend Josh surprised me in Starkville and asked me to marry him! I am elated and can't believe I am Mrs. Joshua Craver in waiting! Unreal. So amazing. I am utterly in awe! We've been so humbled by the love and encouragement shown to us from friends and family. Blessed are we by He who is able to do exceedingly more than we could ask for or think. Thank you to everyone, truly, from the bottom of our hearts.

A day or so after the actual proposal, my fiancé (whoa, that is going to take some getting used to!) and I took some time to enjoy each other in the beauty of autumn in Mississippi. These photos are from our time together at the refuge. 

How he proposed...

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Me, unsuspecting in every way, arrived at Waverly Mansion in West Point, MS (see a picture of the place here) under the assumption that I'd be meeting a friend for some photo shooting. I pulled up to the front of this old, beautiful, stoic antebellum home around twilight. The grounds are surrounded by a cast iron fence, and a long walkway leads up the to the front of the mansion. However, I quickly noticed that I was the only one there. I called my friend and he tells me he's parked behind the house and to walk up to the front of the home. 

As I get out of my car and head towards the iron gate at the entrance of the grounds, I see Josh standing there and immediately begin to giggle out of pure excitement and surprise! He's been working on his masters degree at K-State and I had thought he was still in Kansas, never even suspecting he would surprise me here in Mississippi. After an exchange of warm greetings, he took my hand and began to lead me up the long pathway illuminated by candles in mason jars to the front of the old antebellum home. I realized quite quickly that this was more than just a friendly reunion. 

As we approached the front of the home, I noticed that the path didn't stop, but continued to wind into the backyard where we were encircled by lights strung from the trees above. Ahead in front of us was a bench that held a guitar and flowers (the ones you see above). Admiring the sparking of the lights around me, I sat down and that's when Josh picked up his guitar and began to sing a song very close to our hearts, "Fools Rush In". (I have to say, I'm especially a fan of the Joshua Craver version :) ) During the last few verses of the song, he moved from sitting next to me on the bench and kneeled down in front of me. He finished singing, an exchange of two hearts were made, and that's when he asked me to marry him! Through many happy tears I said yes. Yes!! We were both so overjoyed in that moment! This guy, what a romantic! 

My most sincerest thanks and love to my best friend Catherine Craig and her boyfriend Dillon for keeping a close eye on me while helping Josh to decorate the mansion. Also a huge, huge thanks to Bryan Snow for the same and also for getting the permission of his family who actually own the old historic home (way cool, right?) for Josh and I to be there after hours. Y'all are all absolutely amazing and I'm so grateful for the help you've given to Josh to help make that night the most memorable night of my life!