Proposal

Circa 2007, dating at the Zoo. The boy I fell for. 

This is the account of our engagement, as told by MrMoo, written in 2009.

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Our One Year Anniversary of being together was coming up fast and I’d been secretly paying off a great wee present, small, round, shiny and expensive…

I threw in small comments about making it a special night, the 7th of July, talked about how cool it was how we got together on that day, being 07/07/07
Those who know me well will be certain I set that one up, but its pure chance and I’m stoked on it.
So throwing these comments around got Sophie started on suggestions for how to celebrate, making all the plans her idea and I would agree.

She suggested we go up the hills to one of our favourite spots, one I’d already thought was a great proposal spot.

So a couple days before hand, Roy and I went for a drive to see where to setup the equipment.

That was fun because it involved dodging a road closed sign and getting stuck in snow! then building a snow ramp to jump out of a ditch with my trusty Max (my car)

All set and it was time to do this!

Monday came and I had a flash of a day at work, thought it would take ages considering what lay ahead that night..

4pm came around, I met up with my team of setup ninjas and gave them a brief on their all too important mission.

We parted ways and I headed off to pickup Sophie.

Trip to the supermarket for some food, hot chicken, nice rolls, marshmallows, candles, sparkling wine. We were set..

Phone call from ninjas… Snow is worse! Roads closed again, won’t make it through this time.

Move to plan B! different location, same setup. Go Go Go!

We drive up the hills, looking at the lights as we ascend, its beautiful. Perfect view.

I drove to the road closed sign as if I don’t know, I acted really gutted that it spoiled our plan for our special anniversary night. She bought it.

Out of nowhere I "had an idea." We headed down the other side of the hill.

“Where are we going?” She kept asking
“I have a backup plan” was my response

Up a few crazy roads we end up at a house on top of the hill overlooking governors bay. A beautiful wooden deck sticks out over the hill with a stream running below it, blankets and pillows laid out in the middle with dim lights shining on our setting.

We sit down and I light the candles, they form a circle around us and light up the
picnic beautifully.

We eat, and cuddle, and smile, and talk.
Reminiscing and laughing about the great past year we have had.
Talking about the past, the present and parts of the future.

After some of the food and wine is finished, we stand up and walk over to the rail and look out at the harbour, then up at the stars.

Cuddling close I ask “Are you happy?”
“Yes”
“How happy?”
She makes motions with her arms stetched as far as they reach.
“Could anything make you happier?”
She pauses…
“No”

Time to prove her wrong.

I lead her back to the centre of the candle circle. Standing in the middle embracing one another I tell her how much I love her and how important she is to me.
That I wanted this night to be special.
That I have wanted to have a night like this for a long time.

Cue part one.

From the bushes and under the deck comes music, our song, Stolen by Dashboard Confessional plays loudly. The distinctive electric guitar riff in the intro pierces the silence and brings a shocked and very emotive look upon her face.

A moment later, a spot light from above lights up our center stage.

Now completely frozen in a jaw dropped position her eyes slowly fill with tears as I stare straight into them.

“Sophie Anne Hawes” (thats where she blacked out when recalling it later)

I told her further more about her importance and my appreciation for her in my life, removing a hand from her tight grip.
Now holding a small box I open it up, get down on one knee and ask “Will you marry me?”

“Yes” came through a teary, surprised and overwhelmed smile.

Ring on the finger and standing there hugging and crying, she wouldn’t let go of me.
I was happier than ever before.

We stood there for a long time and took in the moment.

It was amazing.

We got in the car and headed back down the hill.
We reached the bottom and pulled into a bar/cafe across the road, Families and friends were all there waiting and full of hugs and congratulations.

What an awesome night. Bring on the rest. I am so stoked.
Thank you God for such an amazing blessing. My fiance Sophie.


READ MORE IN THIS SERIES:
Stalker Boy - How we met
The Wedding Ceremony
A Newly Wed Disaster

The Wedding Ceremony. Part Three.

I woke up next to my Sister, eager to see the world outside the curtains.

The bright sun shone through. I breathed a sigh of relief because today was the day I was getting married. I had no other plans, determined to get married amongst the green berry fields and when thunder was forecast the night before I threw my hands up in the air not knowing what to do.

Hours later as soon as my necklace was fixed and flowers in hand we rushed to the cars. For some reason I was desperate to arrive on time, not giving us any "late bride" slack.

My Step-Dad drove myself and my Father in his car to the venue, a small moment I took the time to notice and remember.

I found myself sheltering under a large tree holding up my white dress to air my sweaty legs. We watched guests arrive in the car park and hurry towards the ceremony. A Canterbury nor-wester was blowing through, bringing with it a burning sun and just as hot air. We couldn't escape it. It was hot and we were melting but it was time to go through.

The Youth Pastor had edited our favourite song, the one he proposed to me with, into a mix of instrumental with vocals. It was extremely choreographed and timed well and we all had to focus on when we were to enter. I wished he was there with me, knowing I would most likely screw it up.

I walked slowly and in time, my father on my arm walked out of time. "I'm so sorry!" I thought in my head, hoping Youth Pastor could hear.

For most of the walk down the aisle I was blinded by the sun shining onto my vale, I trusted my Dad was leading me in the right directly and tried to focus on smiling, not knowing who was smiling back at me.

"Hi" Youth Pastor breathed as he took my hands in his. His hands were slippery but they firmly held onto mine. He was dashingly handsome and I felt like we were in a fairy tale.


READ MORE:
Stalker Boy. Boy and Girl Meet. Part One.
A Newly Wed Disaster. Part Two.

Sister Amy, Camilla, Brydie, Dad all waiting under a tree hot and sweaty

The first meeting on the altar

A Newly Wed Disaster. Part Two.

on a boat - Fiji Islands 2009

Shortly following our wedding and honeymoon in Fiji we returned to our new rented townhouse. We had few possessions, most of what we did have were gifted or borrowed from friends or from our own childhoods. What we had was simple but we were happy. There was never a day when we felt like we had "less than enough". We always made do.

Once we had dumped our suitcases in our room Graeme was on the phone making arrangements to have people over. While in Fiji we loved having a holiday together but were deathly bored. We were used to quickly moving to-do lists, people to see, things to arrange. We were glad to be home and were eager to get in the swing of things.

We quickly found out that the Primal Band were coming to Christchurch and began arranging transport, venues and concerts for them. As Primal Youth Pastors it was our joy to host our national band, they always drew a good crowd and it was an opportunity to connect our youth church with the larger national movement.

The boys of the Primal Band ended up sleeping on our lounge floor for the weekend they were in town. They were smelly, had lots of musical instruments and were a lot of fun to be around! We loved them completely.

Sunday afternoon approached and we had the whole band at our home, people started to get hungry and it was my first opportunity to use my new kitchen. I had all the ingredients to make a lasagne and an Edmonds cookbook propped up ready with instructions.

Laughter came from the kitchen while I read and re read the recipe. I had no idea how much it would take to feed thirteen people but I aimed to make two lasagnes hoping that would be enough.

"Graeme" I shakily called out, hoping he would hear me from the lounge. He came into the kitchen to find me standing in the middle of the room with tears running down my face.

"What?" He said, putting his hands on my hips.

"I didn't add the pasta sauce!" He looked clueless and I realised I was all in this alone. My lasagne was fried mince and sheets of uncooked pasta. A complete disaster! And for the Primal Band of all people!

I pulled the hot dishes out of the oven, wiping my frantic tears away and dumped two tins of sauce in and mixed it around. It was the best I could do, we had nothing else.

I displayed the dishes on our "bar" that was really just a huge box to hide the staircase. It proved useful in the moment. Quickly realising that what I had made was not enough I threw a loaf of bread into the offerings and stood back as 13 hungry people helped themselves.

They loaded up small plates, obviously aware there wasn't enough. They thanked me and ate in silence in the lounge while I stood in the kitchen too nervous to eat. No one commented on the meal, I cleared away the dishes and held back my tears.

"I'll do better next time," I thought "I'm new at this."



FOR MORE IN THE JOURNEY:
Read how I started dating Stalker Boy

Stalker Boy. Boy and Girl Meet.

We nervously stood at the back of a dark youth church. We had come to see a cute boy who played the drums that my best friend had taken a fancy to. As we waited for his attention we were approached by the two smiling Youth Pastors and that was when I first laid my eyes on him.

He had over grown hair, wore a baggy t-shirt with ripped jeans and shoes. He shook my hand and asked if I was American, I was laughing instantly.

"No I'm not," I said, "but my best friend is, and I end up talking like her most of the time"

"Awe-some" He mockingly replied in a thick American accent.

The night went by without incidence and we parted our seperate ways.

Months later when my best friend began her goodbyes to return back to the United States with her family I was reintroduced to the Youth Pastor. He was just like I remembered him; baggy, and very friendly. That night he came out to my car to say good bye. When I turned on the ignition to leave Michael Jackson started blearing. Youth Pastor showed me his perfectly memorised choreographed Beat It dance moves and for the first time my heart fluttered. We danced for an hour together in the street as my MJ CD played through although it seemed like only minutes together.

Over the next month while I taxied my best friend around our city so she could attend every last party and coffee date possible I ended up seeing him a lot. Suddenly in my radar, he was everywhere.

Eventually I was forced to say a very tearful goodbye to my best friend at the airport. Following that I spent a lonely day driving about the city unsure of what to do with myself. I had lost my best friend and felt broken when I found myself driving past a lit up building at 9pm on a Thursday night. I looked in and could see the car park full.

Nervously, I went into the building and found the remains of their church service. 20 bright eyed young people ready to hang out and make friends. I felt safe.

Over the coming weeks the Youth Pastors interest in me grew. He persisted and every day after work invited me out for a coffee date.

My friends jokingly called him "Stalker Boy" and I played along with the title, always complaining about how much he wanted to see me. Really, I was flattered and over a month of daily dates found myself quite enjoying his company.

As I drove with one of my work mates she asked me how Stalker Boy was. Keeping my eyes on the road I told her about how nice he was, and how I thought I might like him. She was shocked and promised never to call him Stalker Boy again.

"And" I continued "Not only does he have his own car, he can also cook! He told me!"

"Well thats perfect for you" She said, aware of my ineptitude in the kitchen. "Sometimes couples are made for each other like that"

On the 7th of July 2007, the day of his 21st birthday party, we looked at each other and asked "What are we doing?"

The Youth Pastor quoted Michael Jackson and said "Well, you know I like you. And I hope you like me the way I like you. So I was wondering if you'd be my girl?"

It was perfect. Graeme and I were official.

Chloes last night at Church 

The future Mr and Mrs Moo together in our first photo! We later lived with Josh, the one with the nerf bullet on his face. On those couches he said "Man evangelism is cool" and my heart skipped a beat.

Together.