Me?  In love? 
Yep.  

and engaged.  
you read that right:  engaged!

No longer do I have to use the word "boyfriend" (which i hate if you remember correctly).  
Now I can say "my fiance" over and over and over and over and over again.  

Now to be a little bit sentimental and serious.  

There were days when I thought that being engaged, getting married or finding someone who would love me were a far stretch of the imagination.  Numerous times when I wondered what on earth I could be doing wrong. Hours of projects and "stuff" just to stay busy and feel like I was doing something worthwhile. Family functions that I didn't want to attend because I didn't want to go alone.  Church meetings that were almost too much for me to sit through without crying.  Long nights when the only person I could turn to for peace was my Heavenly Father.

The peace came and I had to just keep on moving forward and believing that despite the struggle I was able to be loved and that there was a plan for me.  There was a plan for me with lots of great people along the way to teach me life's lessons and shape me into who I am now.

Chances are that if you are reading this you are one of those people that have had a profound influence on my life. 
You have comforted me when I needed a friend. 
You have listened when I just needed to talk. 
You have asked how I was doing and been okay with whatever answer I gave. 
You have helped me to find joy in the small things in life. 
You have encouraged me to be positive. 
You have provided a perspective for me on how blessed I am and have been. 
You believed in me when I didn't.  
You have taught me through your examples, life and who you are that all of us have challenges and roadblocks in life;
You have helped me remember that the key is moving past them and learning how to find joy and look forward instead of back. 
You have prayed for me time and time again.

Your prayers have been answered.  

So have mine.  tenfold. 

In a way that I am still in awe of.  

I can't think of anyone better than Eric to spend eternity with.  

Heavenly Father knew exactly what I needed.
He understood the desires of my heart.  The heart which I often thought would never be whole or understood.

and

Now my heart is whole, full and ready to be given to Eric.  

I know that there will continue be challenges, struggles and growing experiences.
There will also be someone who is standing side by side with me and we can face those challenges together. 

I know that Eric was being prepared for me and I was being prepared for him.
He is logical when I am emotional.
He is patient when I can't quite express how I feel.
He calms me down when I am stressed.
He listens when something is important to me that I need to talk about.
He looks at me and I know he loves me.
He prays for me and with me. 
He makes mistakes to make me feel like it is okay if I make a mistake too. 
He smiles at me and my concerns go away.
He squeezes my hand to remind me that he isn't going anywhere.
He is perfect for me.   
He loves me. 

Forever.  

One word has never meant so much.

December 29th is the beginning of something really great that will only get better everyday.