I'll let the video tell the story.

Blake got a letter in the mail from a fan today. I thought it was hilarious (not that Blake has a fan) but that he got a letter from one, typed on a typewriter along with a picture! Click on the picture to read it!

“A Prequel to the Farmer’s Almanac” – Chapter 6
The Proposal (brace yourself… it’s a long one)

Senior year started with a bang. Blake and I drove back from Nashville, after spending the summer interning at Otter Creek, and headed straight to Abilene. Kenli and I moved into another new house before we left for the summer and I was the pledge mom for Siggies that year so I had a lot waiting for me in Abilene. Rushes started and things continued to be busy. I knew that as soon as pledging started I wouldn’t be able to see my family for a while, so I decided to take one last weekend trip home. Blake had plans to go to the lake with his College Drive buddies, so I planned to go by myself. I didn’t have class on Friday so I made plans to head home Thursday after my last class. We had a series of rushes called “Teas” on Sunday after lunch, that I absolutely had to be back for.

Thursday after chapel Blake basically begged me to stay Thursday night in Abilene so we could hang out, but I’d already promised my mom I was coming home. So hanging out Thursday with blake did not happen. I went home and then sometime on Friday I got an email that we were having a Pass the Key (Siggie’s engagement ceremony, from here on out reffered to as PTK.) Sunday night at 9pm. I got really excited because I loved Pass the Keys and it meant that one of my friends was getting engaged. I slept in on Friday and went shopping with my mom on Saturday. It was a nice relaxing weekend before everything got crazy.

Sunday morning I got up, went to church with my parents and headed back to Abilene, just in time for Teas. All through the Teas all of my friends kept asking me if it was my PTK, and I was like, “No way. If it’s me it hasn’t happened yet.” One of my friends Laura made me swear that it wasn’t mine because she couldn’t be there because of a babysitting job. I promised her it wasn’t mine and finished up my duties at the Tea.

After the Tea ended I called Blake and met him at his house. We talked for a little bit and then he said he wanted to go to dinner (at Wingstop) after my officer’s meeting. I told him that was fine, but that we HAD to be done by 9 because we had a PTK. He said it would be no problem. So, I headed off to my officer’s meeting and was once again grilled by my friends asking if it were my PTK. I once again promised that it was not. Our meeting went a little long but I called Blake as soon as I left. I pulled up to my house and he was there less than 1 minute later. I got into his Jeep and he said, “I’m going to need you to put this on.” (It was a blindfold.) I thought it was a little strange but honestly didn’t think anything of it. I didn’t think we would get engaged until closer to Christmas.

We drove and drove until I finally realized that we were not going to Wingstop but we were going to the Mesas… where we spent so many nights talking during our first months together. We pulled up to our normal place and he asked me to get out of the car… I still had my blindfold on, too. I stumbled to get out of the car and he walked me up to the front of the car, turned me away from him towards the setting sun, took off my blindfold and read this poem to me: (click to enlarge and read.)

Once he started reading the poem I realized that he was going to propose. I started crying and as soon as he finished reading the poem he turned me around and got down on one knee. I said yes and then we hugged. I think he was crying too at this point. Then he got the ring out of the box and put it on my hand. We stood there for a little while and then we got back in the car and started back towards campus. I called my parents immediately and they all cried. Bevin was out on the lake with some of her friends and I couldn’t get in touch with her for a while, but eventually did. The first friend I called was Laura Hess because I knew she’d be mad at me for not being at my PTK. I then called Becky and apologized to her because she and Mike weren’t engaged yet (they’d been dating for like 8 years at this point). She was happy for me, of course. (BTW, she and Mike got engaged the very next night. That is so typical of us!)

We stopped by Angela Whitfield’s house on the way to see her roommates and parents before we went to the PTK. Somewhere on the way home I realized that it was my PTK all along and Blake had tried to convince me to stay in town so he could propose Thursday night, but I wouldn’t have it. We went by my house so I could freshen up before the PTK and I walked through the living room and said, “Kenli, come on. We’re going to be late for the PTK.” She yelled from the living room, “I’m not going!” I then screamed at her, “Kenli, get in here right now! You can’t skip it, because it’s mine!!” She ended up going.

We got to the PTK and everyone circle up, they put my ring on the book and Erika read this letter from Blake to the Siggies:

"Most likely none of you will leave this circle tonight with the surprise of the year. I’d like to think everyone knew this day was coming. In fact, I've known this day was coming since my Freshman year. I didn't exactly KNOW it would come at the time, but I’d let myself daydream about it. However, you probably wouldn't have heard that from me. It’s just not my style. But I thought about the future. I dreamt of how I might talk her into sharing my last name. It's hard to explain how I know she's my soul-mate. She rocked my world. I haven’t been the same since we met and nothing could make me go back. Since the day we met. I haven't heard a love song that didn't make me think of her. Whether marriage was for us was never a question. She is my destiny. I would go through the story of how we got together, but I'm confident that would give us away. I'll just tell you that God had a hand in it, and I don't plan to stop thanking Him for his gift. Since I want to keep you hanging, I'll tell you a few things about my fiancé. She's a Siggie through and through. If I had proposed to her this summer, she probably would have said no. She'd ask for me to take the ring back and think it over until we get back to school. She loves Pass-the-Keys. She loves being a part of Sigma Theta Chi, but she loves so many other things. Her love for, children is unsurpassed. She loves her family like no one else. And now we have come to share a love that would make a great Rascal Flatts song. These past few weeks have been so difficult. I've wanted to tell everyone about my plans. I may be one of the worst guys at surprises, but I've tried so hard. Keeping this from her was the worst part. I tell her everything. I got the ring in the mail and wanted to take it right to her and ask her to marry me there in her front yard. I've had to hide my excitement, and it's killing me. Well, I'm coming out with it. I love her in the deepest way. I love her for who she is and who she will become. I am committed to her like the Siggies are committed to winning Sing Song. I can't wait to have as my wife! "

It was a great experience that I thankfully have on video because of Jen. After the PTK Blake and I went to his house where his roommates threw us an “engagement party.” They made a banner that said “Congrats Blake and Mo” with a sheet and duct tape. After a couple of hours I went home… happy and engaged. What a wonderful night.

Coming up next, the final chapter of…

“A Prequel to the Farmer’s Almanac” – Chapter 7
The Wedding