Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Jon&Marissa::Engagement2012

It all began.....almost exactly a year ago. 
I received a phone call from my cousin, Marissa, 
whom many of you have either met or heard about. 
As though it was yesterday, I remember walking around in the backyard listening to the following:
"So Chels...I just wanted you to know...theres really nothing to tell, but I wanted to tell you in case, well...someday there MIGHT be something to tell...I don't even know...maybe I'm just imaging it? But...I met this guy....this incredible guy....." etc etc. =)
She prayed about it...and cause I'm her bestie and we always pray for each other about "things", I prayed about it too.
Just under two months later...I was shopping in Iowa City with a group of friends when my phone rang. I answered and heard Marissa say 
"Chels, GUESS WHAT?!"
{whereupon I promptly screamed, left my cart and everything, & flew to the corner of the store to listen} 
She told me that he had called her dad, and a meeting with him & her parents was scheduled...
Two weeks later, the day before Christmas, I was at my grandmas house sitting with a group of my cousins when my brother brought the phone to me and said 
"Chels, its Marissa".
I instantly "knew", and gave something between a shriek & a cheer as I grabbed the phone and ran to an empty room...
 where she told me that she had just finished her first phone date with her new boyfriend!
And lastly....this summer in June, I was with my family at a church in southwest Iowa, preparing to give a concert.
{I had talked to Marissa the week before and she had told me that she was going to Canada to visit and that she thought that this might be 'the time", and besides, I'd been thinking that myself...so I had it in the back of my mind} 
Back to me...t was almost time to start our concert and I was finishing with setting up our product table when my phone rang. I didn't get to it in time and when I finally got there and checked I didn't recognize the number.
 I was pretty curious as to who would be calling me on a Sunday morning, so I called back. 
A guy answered, which just puzzled me more, so I said 
"Um..hello, this is Chels, and...I just received a call from this number?" 
Just then I heard a very familiar voice come over the line.
all she said was "Chels..." and then everything clicked and I knew.
Only this time I kind of overdid the screaming...thru the sanctuary....to the outdoors....where I heard her say the news I already knew...."we're engaged!"
Pretty sure that if I ever had any reputation of stableness/maturity/calmness...I ruined it that day.
What girl in her right mind would both run and yell in a church sanctuary?
yours truly...
{I can hear some of you chuckling at the thought that any of those adjectives would apply to me EVER}
oh well. maybe? =)
So  now here I am, posting about my dearly beloved bestie/cousin/kindred...
 and the man that has stolen her heart and is taking her to the faraway land of Manitoba, Canada.
{happy & sad sighs mixed together to make something in the middle-ish}
I could not be happier for them, truly, but its still just the feeling of life changing, and thinking of losing her, in a sense....that just at times makes me feel kind of achy.
Its lovely though-it really is.
the wedding is coming up in just two months and its going to be beautiful. 
More on that later...
Shooting their engagement photography session for them was such an honor & a joy.
I have decided that engagements are the best.
All that love there...they can't help BUT be photogenic.
With all that said, please enjoy the engagement photos of Marissa & Jon
Love you both! Can't wait for the 1st of December! =)