Life is Beautiful (Part 10)

I was going to take another three blog posts to finish up, but I think I'd better just knuckle down and get to the point already.....

Sometime in September I took a trip on the Salt Lake Express up to BYU-Idaho to visit Steven. I stayed with one of the sister missionaries from his mission for the couple of days I was there. Some of my favorite memories were just walking around with Steven, or watching a movie together on the couch, or reading a book together, getting in trouble at the pool for public displays of affection, hitting up some eateries together, and trying to dodge the sprinklers as we ran down the sidewalks of Rexburg. The part I didn't like was the end, I even missed my shuttle back by about 30 seconds and they had to circle back around the block to pick me up, because I'd been in sacrament meeting with Steven, pushing my time with him to the very last second. I really don't like goodbyes, however temporary they might be.

I ended up only being able to take the one trip to Rexburg. Steven made it to Provo several times, though looking back I can't remember the exact order. One weekend when he came I had to work Friday night, Saturday lunch, and a Sunday shift at the Cannon Center. We went to the Creamery on Ninth, took a very brief jaunt around campus (we were heading to a German festival, and I got cold feet and decided I'd rather not go), and watched some Doctor Who. I didn't get much homework done that weekend.

Another weekend was the weekend of General Conference. I was super excited, because I was fairly certain one very special event was going to happen. I knew that Steven had thought about pushing it to later, around Thanksgiving or maybe even Christmas, but I felt pretty sure General Conference would be the time for a proposal.

Steven came down Friday, and was at my apartment right after I'd gotten home and I was brushing my teeth (this actually happened almost every time he came down, he has excellent timing). So, while I got ready and had a friend curl my hair, Steven told much of our story to my roommates, and I couldn't hear much, but I could hear lots of "awwwww" sounds. I might've been sort of a lot giddy... Eventually we got out the door and we went walking around the mall to find me a dress to wear to his mission reunion and then on to his mission reunion, where I got to meet some of his mission family. Funnily enough, one of the missionaries he'd served with had been in my art class at BYU in a previous semester! I like how often that happens when you're LDS. There was lots of fun, food, and talking, and every once in awhile whenever I'd walk away to get something, when I'd turn around, Steven would have this big cheesy (and slightly suspicious) grin. I remember asking him something about the ring, and he said he didn't have it. I don't remember if he had it with him that night or not, but I knew he had it somewhere, because I'd glimpsed it on a multiple-persons group hangout on Google (or maybe Skype, whichever) with some family friends in Indiana. I think I suspected he was bluffing, but the mission reunion ran a bit late and we ended up postponing our dinner date in favor of heading to the Baros's before it was very late.

The Baroses are always so welcoming and loving. I love their family so much and have learned so many things from them. I'm so grateful Mom and Dad kept in touch with much of our extended family. :) I have such a wonderful family!

Saturday morning came a bit earlier than I'd thought it would (mornings have a way of doing that generally) and Steven and I didn't quite make it up to the Conference center with time to stroll around the temple  grounds before heading to our seats for the morning session. I was pretty sure it was happening somewhere there by the temple sometime, and felt a little bad for being later than we meant, but not too bad. It was warmer outside after the session than before the session. As you probably recall, that session was the session when the announcement lowering the age for missionaries was made. Steven looked me in the eye very seriously and promised me if I wanted to go on a mission he would wait, and that meant so much to me that he would wait, but I felt certain (then and now) that my mission is on the homefront. :)

After the morning session, we found our way out of the conference center with the friends we'd come with and eventually most of us gathered to a fountain in front of the church office buildings that faced the front of the Salt Lake Temple. It was a bit chilly, but it was so beautiful there. Luckily for me, even though I'd completely to bring a jacket at all with me to the Baros', Steven had brought an extra one that he wrapped me up in to keep me warm. .

For awhile we just sat on the edge of the fountain, admiring the temple and enjoying the moment with each other while we waited for the rest of our party to find their way back to us. We people watched a little, moved out of the way for a quinceanera group to take some pictures, and when one of our party made it to us, Steven suggested we take some couple pictures... and I approved :)

And then one of us pulled out the paper link countdown chain I'd mailed with some other things to Steven to countdown to General Conference. I remember blushing because Steven had kept it all together and held on to it...

And then Steven asked for the engaged to be engaged PVC pipe ring back, and I knew what was coming next. My heart started beating faster and I tried to keep a mostly calm face instead of doing a happy dance that would be sure to attract lots and lots of attention... 

Steven knelt down. My brain sort of turned into jumbled mash. It was a good thing I'd already chosen my answer because if he'd surprised me I probably would've responded in mixed up words and holy cows and the like. He did catch me off guard, though, when he told me he'd need the other ring, too. (Slight moment of panic there, didn't he know he was supposed to get the other ring? Hence the expression of puzzlement..)

Steven knew, and he's put in in the JACKET. The jacket with a hundred pockets on the inside, I'd been wearing the ring the entire morning and I hadn't noticed it one bit. Took me a couple different pockets before I found it, but my eyes got really big when I finally found it.

"Susan Elise Taylor, will you marry me?" "Yes!!" 

I could hardly wait for this particular part to be over, not because I didn't love Steven putting that gorgeous ring on my finger, but because I wanted to stand him up and kiss him already!

Ah, finally. 

And then Steven took the PVC pipe ring and took it for his own, until it's time for another ring exchange. :)

And as if by magic, or perhaps some people watcher in the Church Office Buildings, the fountain turned on for us. Everything was perfect.

The ring is so sparkly, Steven tried several times to capture it, but I guess my hand was too shaky from the cold or from excitement and we never quite got a shot that does it justice.

After a celebratory lunch at Chick-fil-A (because they're delicious and relatively rare in Utah) we took some more couples pictures in the City Creek mall. (That mall is so cool!)

And thus officially began the road to our eternal family.

Sorry that took so long to get up, and kudos to those who are still reading! Since that October, we've spent Thanksgiving together with the Baroses and other Hammond clans and Christmas with our families back in the Augusta, GA stake. We're apart this semester, he in Georgia and I at BYU, which is definitely hard. We're very much looking to be back together again. We've set the wedding date for June 25th, 2013 in the Salt Lake Temple. Obviously, blogging isn't our strong point, but we'll try to do a wedding post when the time comes. :) Thanks again for reading!

Life is Beautiful (Part 9)

(Just as a side note to those reading this only on my blog, Steven's side of our story can be found— along with mine, too—at eliseandsteven.blogspot.com)

YSA Conference! Woohoo!

So, it was really, really stormy that weekend. At least in the Augusta/Aiken area. I got back from work, started throwing stuff together and trying to get ready to go.

When Steven arrived, it was pouring, and we were both kind of tired. It would be a long drive to Savannah, as well as one that would be fairly dangerous in the terrible weather, and we decided we'd rather just spend the night with my family in Aiken and leave in the morning when things cleared up a bit. So, we called the Criswells to let them know we wouldn't be there that evening, and then spent our evening making dinner, eating dinner, playing games with my siblings, and just having a nice, mostly quiet evening.

We made breakfast again in the morning, but by the time it was cleared away, it was just about lunch time. I think I worked on helping around the house with Saturday chores, but I don't remember for sure. Steven went out with my brothers and Dad to work on Quinn's PVC pipe bow and arrows. I love that Steven loves my family and enjoys spending time with them. And I love that they love him in return! There is beauty all around when there is love at home.

By mid-afternoon, Steven and I thought about maybe just not going at all, but we had said we'd go, and so eventually we did get on our way. I had a great time on that 4-hour ride, and I think I'm safe when I say Steven enjoyed it, too. We only got a little bit lost one time, and I'm proud to say that it was Steven's idea to stop for directions. Take THAT male stereotypes! Haha :D

So, once we found our way to Savannah, I managed to get us pretty well turned around within the city itself. Eventually we found the church building. We got there just as dinner was ending and the dance was beginning. The theme for the dance was luau, but I didn't have too much by way of luau attire. But whatever.

I'd been looking forward to dancing with Steven for a long time. I was kind of nervous, because I was pretty sure he was under the impression that I'm some master of ballroom dance, when really I've just taken some classes and enjoyed them. Then we started dancing and I realized Steven wasn't a dance master, either, and we just had fun. :)

Steven makes funny faces at the dance :)

After the dance was over, we had to figure out where we were staying and how to get there. We had fun trying to follow Audrey around to Waffle House, then a grocery store, and eventually out to where we were staying.

Steven and I opted to wait in our car while the people in Audrey's car went into the grocery store.

 Steven drove me out to stay with the girls from our stake (the better part of an hour from the church building), and then had to try to find the way to his host's home (same travel time, but in the opposite direction from the church building), but ran into all sorts of obstacles and ended up staying in a motel room. I felt so bad for keeping him so late the gates were closed on the gated community the house was a part of. Then in the morning, he was back to outside the house I was staying at before I was even really awake. I was amazed. (Even more so later when he safely drove us back home again, all four hours, on such little sleep.)

We made it back to the Bainbridge house (my house) from Savannah in time for Sunday dinner. Mm-mmm. Steven fell asleep on the couch, he really needed it. Then we headed briefly to YSA FHE, it was our last week there, after all, and back to the Bainbridge house again. When we got back, we started helping Kylie finish up some last minute stuff to prepare for the first day of school in the morning. At one point Dad went out to the back porch for something, and Steven followed him. Oh boy, I thought, here goes. I was pretty excited when Steven came back in with a look of relief on his face. He tossed me a small slice of PVC pipe, leftover from the bow, and asked me to try it on. I think he was mostly kidding, but I kept it on because it was clever: a token of his becoming a part of our family. Not to mention the practicality for a pipe stress intern. :) It was my unofficial engagement ring!

Steven and I managed to help finish one of Kylie's homeworks, and we started to try to help with another, but we were both pretty tired. I went back and crashed on the bed, and Steven rested for a few hours on the couch. He came and knocked on the bedroom door to say goodbye in what felt like the middle of the night, but it was closer to 5 o'clock.

 The knowledge that I had less than a week left with my family and with Steven was becoming impossible to ignore anymore. But, that imminent sadness was eased because Steven was going to be able to stay until my birthday, after all. :D Woohoo!!

So, the next week... is as much of a blur as the entire month. I know I did a lot of baking for work goodbyes this week... Steven helped. :) Tuesday after Institute, I started by baking a whole bunch of loaves of banana bread. I think I made 15... I dunno. A lot. I didn't sleep much that night, just every 45 minutes of every hour while each rotation of 3 loaves baked. Then Wednesday, after work, I made cinnamon rolls. Mm-mm. On Thursday, my last day, one of my coworkers noted that everybody was looking a little heavier since I started working there. Ha! :)

Thursday was my birthday dinner, held on Grandma and Grandpa Taylor's beautiful new back deck. Cake, song, families, presents. Steven being wonderful. Best birthday yet!

Here is a sampling of the pictures, for those of you who didn't see on Facebook:

Family is the best!

A very accurate capture of the awkward moment when everyone is singing "Happy Birthday" and you just have to wait for them to finish

Steven and I are both foodies, we're going to have so much fun using that Pyrex!!

Twitterpated

Yes, as a matter of fact, I did have to include this one. ;) It's a favorite of mine. 

Friday, August 24th I turned 19! Woohoo!... It doesn't feel any different from 18. I went out with Rachel Roberts to Noble Breads for a delicious birthday sandwich. Mmmmmm, so good! And I got to catch up with Rachel, which is always good. :D Steven met us there, and got to try a sandwich, too. For anybody living in or visiting Aiken, I highly recommend you go try a Noble Breads sandwich. They are so good!  

Anyway, Steven and I headed back to the Bainbridge house before too long. It was strangely quiet with all the kids back in school again. Before I knew it, it was time for Steven to go. Funnily enough, Mom cried more than I did at first. 

I was up all night packing, and the next morning there were many sad goodbyes. Kylie drove me to the airport, we got a little turned around but got there eventually and I didn't miss my flight. 

Melinda picked me up from the airport, and I got to retell our story to her and to all the Baros cousins, and then some of it again at the Hammond family cookout that evening in the canyons. ^_^

Already I was missing Steven immensely. My comfort was the pillowcase he'd given me, because it smelled like him. Thankfully, I knew I'd be able to see Steven between the time he flew into Salt Lake and the time he boarded the Salt Lake Express bound for Rexburg. Or so I thought. 

I'd never rented a car before (actually, I still haven't successfully rented a car) and the plans I made to get a car to drive up to Salt Lake on September 6th to see Steven all fell through. I even started tearing up a bit. I was so frustrated! And I felt terrible for my friend who'd tried to help me book the car. Neither of us knew how it was supposed to work, and we'd apparently missed some steps. Mercifully, Melinda once again was able to help me. I owe her so much! By the time we made it to the airport, I had about ten minutes with Steven. But that was enough, because the bottom line was I did get to see Steven. 

Meanwhile, busy classes, busy work, and lots of flirting via text, phone calls, and the various methods of the internet. :)

Next time: My trip to Rexburg! :)

Life is Beautiful (Part 8)

So, datewise, we're up to... August 6th. Wow. Really still only in the beginning of August? I guess I didn't realize how long our story really was.... Ohwell. :) Thanks to those who are stickin' it out with us. We'll get to the official proposal eventually.

So, going back to how Steven had originally thought he'd be leaving around August 10th. August 10th was coming fast, and I don't know all of the conversations between the different involved parties, but the YSA Conference down in Savannah, GA was coming up at the end of the next week. And, we reasoned, because Steven was the Augusta, GA Stake YSA Liaison, it was part of his calling to be at the conference. Because Steven and his parents would be driving out to St. Louis, where Steven would fly on September 6th, they did have some wiggle room. So, Steven was going to be able to come to the YSA Conference! My birthday was only a week beyond that, and eventually the date of departure just got pushed back another week for that, too. (I don't know that that was the sole cause, I don't think it was, but I'm so glad things worked out the way they did!)

I was really excited. I'd bought shoes to dance in back in July when we were planning the YSA dance. (They were the same shoes I ended up wearing to the temple and the zoo that one Saturday. I guess it's just as well I didn't dance in them.) That dance fell through to make way for the conference, but there was going to be a dance there. I was pretty excited about that, and sort of nervous. Despite what Steven might tell you, I'm not actually a incredibly gifted dancer. Don't get me wrong, I'm not half bad, but I need a lot of practice. Lots and lots and lots and lots.

So, it's getting really difficult to keep the timeline in order for all these days in the middle of the week. Steven and I were together somewhere doing something pretty much everyday. I think only a couple of days passed when we didn't spend time together. I recorded our text messages in my journal to try to help keep the timeline straight, but we talked so much in person about plans that the texts are more lovey-dovey flirting than the details about date plans. A lot of the dates were spontaneous, anyway.

Monday, August 6th might have been one of those days I didn't see Steven. It depends on if I stayed home to do FHE with my family or went with Steven and his parents to Fort Gordon. I switched it up to try to do one week with my family and one week with Steven.... I think this Monday I went with Steven. We made date plans with people there for Wednesday, I think.

Tuesday was Institute, and afterwards Steven and I went to Sonic. I remember we were most definitely in the Buick. Buicks are great for sitting close together while you eat out at Sonic (or whenever) because they have a 6th seat in the middle of the front instead of a compartment. Just in case you ever wondered about that.

Wednesday night Steven and I went on a triple date with Kevin, Vanessa, and a couple from the Fort Gordon branch to a delicious pizza place, whose name now escapes me. The pizza was excellent, the company delightful, the conversations amusing, and the whole time Steven kept picking up my left hand to try to measure my left ring finger. I can't remember exactly when it happened, but by this point Steven had already asked me to marry him. Several times. You know, for practice, and just checking to see if I'd give the right answer. The first time he asked me, we were riding in a car, he was driving, I'm pretty sure it was a Sunday... and I said yes. And he asked me if I'd prayed about it. Yep. Definitely. It's only one of the most important decisions I'll ever make, if not the most important decision I'll ever make, you better believe I prayed about it, long and hard. I guess maybe he was a little taken aback. So we practiced a couple more times to work on the inflection of my answer. Hah, I love that goofball. :)

He asked me again outside YSA FHE one night, and another time when we were just sitting together, and another, and another... and he still does it, every once in awhile. I think it's because he likes hearing the same answer every time. ^_^

After the pizza date (going back again) Steven, Kevin, Vanessa, and I headed back to the Farrar place, and while Vanessa and Kevin headed off again pretty quickly, Steven and I started to watch the first part of Moulin Rouge. I'd never seen it before, and it's (I think) Steven's favorite musical-movie. We only got through the first 10 minutes or so, and then it was really late and I had to go home.

When I got home... well, it might not have been this night, but one of these nights somewhere in this week, I told Dad that Steven was going to come talk to him soon, and to play nice. Dad, being the completely wonderful Dad that he is, said okay, and that we shouldn't worry about that. :)

Thursday I don't think I saw Steven. Wow. That kind of sounds really clingy. But we knew we were going to spend the semester apart, so I guess we were just enjoying being together every moment we could.

Friday, instead of going to the Fort Gordon Institute, I think I was really late getting to Steven's house, and Steven and I finished Moulin Rouge, instead. It is such a sad movie! I curled up tight under Steven's arm and shed a couple tears. Steven sang to me ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBxh3gjIrpY ) and held me close. Perfection.


That Friday night was also the night I met Steven's brother John, John's wife Karen, and their two sons. When I first got there, I was caught a little off guard because I didn't know they were coming so soon (but I'm pretty sure I knew they were coming), and I think John was the one who opened the door for me. Oh. Hey there. UHMMMM... I think I'm going to marry your brother, can I come in? ...Yeah, I was definitely caught off guard.

Saturday.... I think this was the first night Steven spent at our house. There wasn't a YSA activity because of the conference next week, and I had persuaded Steven to come to come to our ward again and then I'd go with him again. If I remember correctly, my argument was that I'd go pick up Steven Saturday night, bring him back, we'd go to our ward, then drive the Prius to the Fort Gordon ward, stick around for YSA FHE, and then I could drive the Prius back to Aiken so Dad didn't have to come get me again. AND it worked out because there was an extra bed in Quinn and Ammon's room upstairs that Steven could stay on. So, Saturday was spent cleaning up their room, and then I took off to go over to Augusta.

I stopped and met Audrey at Waffle House for a bit before I went to get Steven. We had a pretty good time, I think. :) I'm so glad she was our middleman to get us going! Without Audrey, I probably never would've asked Steven for his number. I might never have even really talked to him. And I remember that moment I asked her to ask Steven if I could have her number, because I could feel sort of a turning point. It's like... a Sternstunde. In my German class Winter 2012 semester, we read Momo, by Michael Ende. It's a story about time, and Meister Hora (Master Hour) has a Sternstunde clock, that tells when these very special moments of great potential happen. It was just like that. A moment that was noticeably different, but not recognized for its true momentum except in retrospect.

Eventually I did get to Steven and picked him up. :) He's amazing, the way he just fit right into our family. Mom later said it was like deja vu. I definitely agree! Quinn and Ammon especially had a blast having him sleep over, too. He did eventually sleep, and I don't think it was too late. I went fell asleep relatively early, I think. Then I woke up early that next morning and tip-toed upstairs to ask if he preferred pancakes or waffles, and when I peeked in, he was sleeping so peacefully. So I tiptoed over to the bed and sat on the edge, and gently said his name while I shook his shoulder a little, and he shot straight up like he was being attacked. Ha! I yelped a little at his sudden response. We somehow managed not to wake up Quinn or Ammon, though. They're Taylors, what can you say. We can sleep through an awful lot. :)

Anyway, we ended up making waffles together. It's so much fun making delicious food together!

This week in Priesthood, Dad announced I was keeping company with Steven, and everybody looked around at him.  (I think it was this week, not the previous week. Pretty sure, we weren't at the Aiken ward for 3rd hour the previous week.) People definitely knew about us as a couple after that!

That night, after both wards and YSA FHE and everything, I was back at the Farrar house with Steven, and it was time for me to go (again), and we paused in the downstairs living room to look at the piano John said looked like a coffin. The coffin was against the wall, and there was a couch facing away from it just in front of it, offering a very tempting seat. I thought that thought out loud, and Steven encouraged me to do it, just for fun, and so I did, and then he did to, and the couch suddenly tipped backwards, and Steven kicked off the piano to right the couch, sending us both over the back of it in one entangled heap. Just after having done this, John walked into the room. IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE I PROMISE! Steven and I started laughing a little, and John went and got a picture of Christ and put it on the mantel right in front of us. Thanks, that's a really good place for it... No, really, it is a good place, I'm not being facetious. ...Anyway, Steven and I untangled ourselves and made our way out to the car again without much delay.

The next week passed much the same, but this Monday I stayed home with my family. :) I have the best family ever. Wednesday and Thursday I spent just with family, too.

Friday, the plan was that when I came home from work, Steven would come pick me up and we would drive down together to Savannah for the YSA conference. Stay tuned for the story of what happened instead! :)

Life is Beautiful (Part 7)

The next morning, I woke up to a text from Steven saying he'd miscalculated his travel time and was sitting in the church parking lot. I don't remember exactly what time it was, but I think it was around 8:30. I jumped out of bed and got ready as fast as I could, and I think that day we made it to church early. (Be impressed, I think church started at 9.)

The night before, I'd had this weird dream about a couple people who, last I knew, were in far away places, and they were at church, and then, when I got to church, THEY WERE ACTUALLY THERE. Weirded me out, just a little.

But the unexpected visitors didn't distract me for too long, because Steven came over when he saw the van, and I was the last one out, so he was right there waiting for me. ^_^ We went quickly inside with the rest of my family (we weren't that early), found seats, and listened to prelude. It was first Sunday of the month, so this was a fast and testimony meeting. I don't remember too many things about it. I do remember (1) singing the hymns (my favorite part of any church meeting, usually, and because I love listening to Steven sing) (2) Getting up to bear my testimony and just thinking the entire time of temples and eternal families, how grateful I am for my family and for Steven (3) An enormous feeling of peace and gratitude throughout the entire meeting. This was my day of confirmation, banishing any lingering questions about if I was making the right choice, about if Steven was the one for me (4) getting to introduce Steven to so many people (5) Sister Karchaske coming up afterwards to see if I had a ring yet, because I'd apparently been twisting my ring finger while I was giving my testimony. It's kind of a nervous habit. I also remember her commenting on how alike Steven and I already looked. (You know how couples start to look like each other over the years? Yeah, like that.)


Steven and I stayed for second hour, and I remember a friend asking me how long we'd been together, and I didn't know exactly how long off the top of my head, and I said something like, "Uh, I dunno, two - two and a half weeks?" and Steven leaned over and whispered "Three weeks." Ha, oh. Thanks darling. :3 Time flies when you're having fun!

After the second hour, Steven and I found Mom and Dad and persuaded them to let us leave to go to the branch out at Fort Gordon with Steven's parents. I thought we should ask Dad first, because usually he's the easier one to persuade, but we found Mom first, and then they were there together seconds after we found Mom, and neither one was hard to persuade. As we were walking out to the car I teased Steven a little: "See? They do like you!" =^-^=

I love riding in the car with Steven. Holding hands, singing songs, pondering the things of life, sharing meaningful memories... Yeah. This time they're my memories, to dwell on with immense amounts of happiness. ;) Here's a related video that I won't explain:

We went back to the Farrar house, first, and carpooled with Steven's parents and Kevin to the Fort Gordon branch. I remember it was raining, but it didn't start absolutely down-pouring until the moment I was safely into the car. Everybody else got wet. I guess I'm just a lucky kid!


The branch out at Fort Gordon was smaller than I'd thought it'd be.
I don't know what I had expected, but it was really just a handful of
amazing people. When Steven bore his testimony, I caught a better glimpse of his heart and the depth of his character. So many times I've met people and had a good first impression, but the more I would get to know them, the more I would find that they just didn't have the same understanding that I did, and that they didn't see why some things were so important. Steven gets it, though. He understands. He understands not only those things that are important and the reasons why they're important, but me, too. We don't always have the same opinion on things, but we understand where the other person is coming from. Usually by the end we end up on the same side, anyway. :) I love talking with Steven about anything and everything, and I love that we do talk about anything and everything.

After church, we headed back to the Farrar house and had leftover chicken soup and biscuits. It was as delicious as before. ^-^ Mmmm. I love good food. So yummy! Kevin also commented several times on how delicious the soup was, 'the best he'd ever tasted'. Steven laughed the first couple times, but after so many times he only half-kiddingly growled 'back off dude, she's mine'. HA! (I don't know if it comes across as funny as it was then, but I nearly snorted into my soup. Luckily, I managed to keep most of my composure... I think, I dunno. I have a really terrible poker face. It was most likely blatantly obvious that I was very pleased with myself.)

That night we went to YSA FHE, but I think we were late. I don't remember why. And then I don't think we stayed very long, either. I do remember that afterwards, Steven, Kevin, and I went back to the Farrar house and tuned into the Olympics. For the first little while, I had my head on a pillow in Steven's lap and he was running his fingers through my hair. New favorite activity! :3 Then we swapped places, and I got to run my fingers through Steven's hair. Also new favorite activity! I remember absentmindedly thinking out loud that one of the gymnasts was very pretty, and Steven, being the perfectly adoring Prince Charming that he is, glanced at the TV and then said, "Nah, she's not as pretty as you are." ^-^ hehehe

Eventually Dad came to pick me up, because Steven's car didn't have enough gas to get to Aiken and back after all that driving that day. I was still stroking Steven's hair when the doorbell rang, and his hair was completely messed up when he answered the door. Dad smiled knowingly. It's a good thing I would never want to hide anything from Dad, because I'm convinced I could never pull it off. He's too perceptive. :) I remember talking about serious relationships on the way home, and just saying that, unless some enormous divine sign came out of the sky and told me otherwise, I was done looking for my eternal companion. I think I might've sprung it on my parents a little fast, but they handled it all very well. I love you Mom and Dad!!

Life is Beautiful (Part 6)

The next day was Friday again! Woohoo, time flies fast! This particular Friday was August 3rd. I had been looking forward to this Friday for a *long* time because on this particular Friday my red-headed friend Elizabeth was going to be coming for a whirlwind visit and slumber-not party. It really was quite a whirlwind. When she arrived, we immediately left again to go dress shopping (because Steven had invited me to go on the temple trip the next day, I'm maybe a little bit selfish, and Elizabeth is a good sport) and we found a cute, suitable dress right before the store closed. Afterwards we went to Red Bowl, because it's delicious and open late. :) We caught up, I was a little distracted the whole time, thinking of Steven, but we had a good time. When we got home, we watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. We fell asleep at our slumber-not party (because we're not as young as we used to be ;) haha) and woke up relatively early. Elizabeth had to be back down to Savannah ASAP and I was off to the temple.

"I love to see the temple, I'm going there someday."

I got there late... to nobody's surprise, really.... but I don't think it was too late. I still got to participate in the baptisms. Before we went into the water, I warned Steven that I have terrible balance and that I'm always asked if I'm okay, but that I'm always okay, just off balance, and that he didn't have to ask. Sure enough, however, after the first few names Steven stopped and asked me if I was okay. Yep. Just totally have no technique here... later he'd finally give me a few tips that would help a lot. People always tell you to "just sit down" but when I sit down I sit back. Steven figured that out and let me know that what those people really mean is to just bend your knees and go straight down. Oh... well, that makes sense. :3 hehe

Being there with Steven, both of us in white jumpsuits, serving others, felt really, really wonderful. Everything just felt right. Even the cool room temperature, because it meant that Steven would take it upon himself to warm up my hands. He did. (Mmmmm.)

Because I'd been late getting in for the baptisms, I was late getting out of the dressing rooms, too. Steven was there waiting for me, the rest of the party had left. Mom had given me the Riverbanks Zoo pass that morning, and I suggested it to Steven, since it would be a shame to have to part ways so quickly. ;) Steven was game, and so without too much time taking off jackets and ties or whatever we were off. I had forgotten my driver's license that morning (or so I'd thought, I'd been looking for it all over, which was part of the reason why I was late. I'd eventually decided to just go without it) so Steven was driving. Lots of holding hands, singing with the radio, some dancing in the car, and, of course, we got lost a bit. It's a gift of mine. Thankfully, we didn't get too turned around because Steven has a very handy Navigation app on his phone.

Parking at the zoo was crazy, thank goodness the Prius is relatively small. Walking from our parking spot to the zoo entrance, Steven offered to buy me flip flops so I didn't have to wear my high heels. I declined, I like wearing high heels. But I kind of forgot I hadn't really broken this particular pair in, yet... I would've been smart to take up Steven's offer. But I still didn't, throughout the whole day.... I'm sort of stubborn that way.

Nina heels, man. They're cute.

We walked around and looked at all sorts of animals. We even went into the fish and reptile house, even though Steven really doesn't like being next to large tanks of water that are taller than a person. He's such a good sport. :3 I really do like aquariums. I don't think we ever managed to find the tigers, though. But we did talk about families and kids while we walked around. I remember asking, "When you picture your future family, how many kids to you see?" Steven responded, "Well, I know this girl, who's pretty perfect, and she comes from a family of eight. And both of her parents, too. I think eight's probably a pretty good number." I agree, eight is a pretty fantastic number. (Later we joked about rounding it off nicely to an even ten or maybe even a dozen.)

This, obviously, was not the aquarium to which we went. But I'd love to go to this one (Atlanta, GA) someday.

Towards the end of our zoo adventures, Steven and I took the train to the botanical gardens and walked around there for some time. Everything was so beautiful. My feet were starting to complain, but I kept ignoring them. Steven sang a little bit of Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat's "Lucky." Ahhh!!! <3 <3 <3 (I only the tune to the chorus... definitely going to have to learn the other half! :3)

I'd forgotten my camera in the car, so there are no pictures of this day. Guess we'll have to go back to the zoo with a camera sometime.... ;)

By the time we got to the car, my feet were almost screaming at me. It did hurt, but I didn't think it was a big deal, because this happens kind of a lot to me (Dad says I'm a glutton for punishment... I just think the shoes were cute... ) but I felt bad that it made Steven feel so bad. I insisted it wasn't his fault, and this was the consequence to my action, and thanked him for not obstinately insisting on buying me alternative footwear. (We did see crocs at the zoo, but no flips flops. Friends do not let friends wear crocs. At least not with a dress. Ew...)

We stopped at the grocery store on the way back to the Farrar house and picked up some stuff for chicken soup. I had so much fun making the chicken soup with Steven! It turned out really well, probably because it was made - of course - with lots of love. ;) His mom never could catch it on camera, we were too sneaky. Hehe, neener neener? She did make some very yummy biscuits to go with the soup, though.

After dinner we didn't have any plans, and we ended up going on a double date with Steven's parents to Walmart. I borrowed some clothes from Steven's mom so I didn't have to wear my dress, and I borrowed somebody's flip-flops.... I think they were Jody's, too. Steven and I played a game that involved tossing a ball back and forth while naming movies and TV shows while his parents were running their errands, and when we got back to the house we continued our game out on the back porch. Steven lit the tiki torches and we sat together on the bench swing... Mmmm... the only downside was that my legs were completely eaten up by mosquitos by the time we got around to going back inside. Oops.

When we did go inside, Steven pulled out some of his old art doodles and songs he'd written to share them with me. It was really cool to really see Steven opening up, all our barriers (on both sides) were just disappearing. Steven also shared with me Vocal Point's Nearer My God to Thee, which is now my favorite arrangement of this hymn. It's so beautiful. For a long time afterwards, more specifically after I'd gone back to BYU, I would play this video when I felt lonely and think of this incredible, wonderful day that I got to spend entirely with Steven. :)

To wrap this post up: I stayed really late, and eventually Steven simply carried me out to the car, apologizing profusely for keeping me so late and very obviously worried about my safety while I drove home. I was really sleepy, but I made it home okay, thanks to some watchful guardian angels, I'm sure. I was out before I collapsed on the couch.

To be continued! ;)

Life is Beautiful (Part 5)

The next day was Tuesday, July 31st. Got up for work and spent all day physically present there, but my mind spent most of the time far, far away. That morning I caught a ride in with Paul Smith and was talking about Steven, and I mentioned that Steven had a ukelele, and Paul Smith told me to send Steven a text that said "You me Wednesday combined activity ;) bring ukelele. Pretty pretty please and thank you <3" (I added the last bit.) Steven was more than happy to come. :)

I've been pretty slack in my journal-writing, but at work I made a habit of writing down thoughts and reminders and general stuff on sticky notes. I also had the little pocket sketchbook I'd gotten in my stocking for notes that I knew I'd want to keep for a long time. On this particular day, there is a little note that says, "I think I'm going to marry Steven Estep." (Later I showed the note Steven. He approved. :D haha) The only other note for that day was "Happy Birthday Harry Potter." Hehe, because I'm a nerd like that. :)

At Institute that night I had to explain my text to Steven, and he was still willing to come. :) Hurrah! And, I finally remembered to bring his grill back. I really love going to Institute with Steven. It was always a time when I got to see his strength in the gospel.

Wednesday was much the same as Tuesday. Got up, went to work, thought about Steven, eventually got off work, came home, and freshened up to go see Steven. :) Except Steven was coming to Aiken, instead of me going to North Augusta or Augusta. He got a little turned around in downtown, and after I'd dropped of Kylie, Chet, and Savannah at the church I went to go find him. He found his way out before I found him, so I met up with him next to the Little Caesar's we'd stopped at before the Big Mo. I felt so happy to see Steven! And the first thing he said when he saw me was something in Spanish, which he immediately repeated in English: "You are more and more beautiful every day." Ah, I love him!!


We made our way to the church, went inside, and found the YM/YW without any trouble. Introduced Paul and Steven, and joined in the games. We started off playing a game called Headbands. It is what it sounds like: you put a card in a headband without looking at it, and then you have to ask Yes/No kinds of questions until you guess the card on your forehead. I like these kinds of games. :) Next we switched to a table playing Boggle. Also a fun game. Turns out, though, that while I do enjoy playing these games, I kind of stink at them. Hehe. And while we were playing Boggle I grabbed a chocolate cupcake, with the intent to 'accidentally' smear some frosting on my lip to see if I could convince Steven to kiss it off. Yeah, I didn't get any frosting on my lip. I just scooped the frosting off the cupcake onto my finger and sucked it off. Didn't work at all. Steven just kind of looked at me oddly and said "Oooookay??" Oops. hehe :3

After mutual was over, I went to drive the Esselmans home, and we got caught up in the line for Chick-fil-A's defense of marriage day. The line took forever, but we stuck around and got some sandwiches and shakes, and after running the Esselmans home I didn't take Chet and Savannah all the way home, because I'd left Steven with Paul Smith to get some ukelele instruction. So I hurried back, Paul left, and Chet practiced driving the Prius in the parking lot, Savannah riding in the passenger seat, leaving Steven and I sitting and enjoying our sandwiches on the steps. We shared the strawberry shake (it's both our preferred flavor, as it turns out) and watched Chet driving in circles. We had to help him a few times... "Hey Elise! Which one's the brake??" Heh, fun times.

Once our sandwiches were finished, it was really late. We'd mentioned that Kylie's birthday tomorrow, but Steven had planned to be spending time with Kevin on Thursday, so I wouldn't see him until at least Saturday, but probably Sunday. (Saturday there was a group going to the temple to do baptisms that Steven would be joining, and he invited me to come along, but I had a friend coming up from Savannah on Friday and I wasn't sure I'd make it in time.) So, for the first time in almost a whole week, I wouldn't see Steven. It was a really weird feeling, because I'd grown so attached. Time had sort of warped... we'd only known each other for a couple weeks but I felt I'd known him much, much, much longer than that.

So, Thursday I carpooled with Paul Smith to work again, and on the way he mentioned something about marrying a doctor, and I didn't think about it, I just responded that I didn't think Steven wanted to be a doctor. Paul just laughed and told me that Steven had been pretty straight-forward about it, too. I felt all warm and fluttery inside. It's a good feeling. An even better feeling was when Steven started texting me at the end of the day, and he was going to be coming to Kylie's birthday dinner after all. YAY!! Hehe :3 So when I got home, Kylie and I went grocery shopping to pick up ingredients, rushed home, I hopped into the shower, and when I got out, Steven was there. He was talking with the family and helping to get dinner started. I hugged him from behind to get his attention. :) So happy! And, he'd brought me the most gorgeous bouquet of flowers; it had the colors of a vibrant sunset. Awwww!!

So, Steven helped cook the hamburgers while I cooked up the bacon and beans. We got everything together, everyone gathered around the table, and we had dinner. Everything was delicious!

After dinner Grandma and Grandpa Taylor stopped by for birthday cake. Grandpa talked to Steven while I helped the others finish clearing away dinner, and afterwards I came over and slid myself under Steven's arm with both of my arms around him. Grandpa looked at us for a minute and noted that we looked pretty serious, and after another pause he added that he was excited for us. Steven and I agreed that we were both pretty excited, too. ^-^ By this point we had become an official item, updated it on Facebook and everything. I don't remember when exactly that happened, but it did... :)

After Grandma and Grandpa had gone and the dessert and dishes were cleared away, Steven and I stepped outside for a minute. Steven mentioned that his dad had told him not to mess this up, and I just had to laugh a little bit, because if Steven was the person that I understood him to be, there wasn't anything he'd do that could mess it up. We also talked about schools, and grades, and future goals... eventually I temporarily banished Steven so that he could leave. We're pretty goofy that way. :3

To be continued :)

Life is Beautiful (Part 4)

I'm really bad at getting up the first time my alarm clock goes off. Exceptions to this flaw are on days when I can barely wait to get up and go, like the first day of school or Christmas day (when I was younger, anyway). This bad habit is especially bad when I've stayed up late the night before.

(I sometimes feel like this, minus the coffee. I'm pretty sure I usually look better, though.)

I was definitely out late Friday night. Technically speaking, I didn't get back until Saturday morning. It was completely worth it! But it meant that it wasn't a huge surprise when I woke up late. I did sort of panic a little, because I really do prefer being on time. AND I was going to be picking up Samantha and maybe Lucy to go to the YSA activity. Oops. Ran around the house quickly trying to grab anything I thought I might need, and I threw a lot of clothes around trying to quickly find something really cute but casual. Eventually flew out the door as I was texting my apologies to Sam and Lucy for my delay. But, as luck would have it, Sam woke up late, too, and Lucy ended up not being able to come, so it all sort of fell together anyway. :) We even stopped at the store to pick up some drinks for the pool party. I mean, we were already late, why worry about being a little bit later? 

On the way over, Sam was good enough to listen to me gush and gush about Steven... the way he makes me laugh; the way he makes my heart flutter; how much fun we have just doing little things, like finding shapes in the clouds; how incredibly good he smells all the time; the courageous way he tried to make up a song on the spot on the ukelele he was just learning how to play; his endlessly deep eyes that sometimes make me forget to breathe; his strong and gentle hands, holding onto mine; and above all else that even though I had shown some of my quirkier sides, he still seemed to like me. That was perhaps the strangest part of it all. He must've thought it was cute or something, huh? At some later point Sam pointed out to me how happy and giddy I was every time I got whenever I was around Steven, or even just thinking about Steven. (It's so true, too.)

When Sam and I got there, we found the small handful of YSA people in the Family History Center working on indexing, and we pulled out our stuff, got everything set up, and joined in. I took a few minutes to upload the picture of Steven and I from the Big Mo and make it my Facebook profile picture. Sam laughed at me. Steven wasn't there, and I was a little bummed. But he had been up really late two nights in a row, and I figured he'd probably slept in later than he'd intended, too. He texted me shortly before the group was to finish indexing and head over to a pool at a member's home, and I was very happy that he was still coming. Sam threw a knowing smile my way, 'cause I was unabashedly grinning from ear to ear. :D

The indexing was really exciting, too. I gotta put a plug in for indexing. It's such an important work, and it's so readily accessible! And it's fun to work on with a buddy, and really exciting when you find someone you've been searching for. One of the girls in our indexing group found one of her relatives, and ended up calling her grandmother and finding out a whole lot more family history than she'd probably thought she would by just going to a YSA indexing activity. What an awesome blessing!

Right, now back to Steven. :3 ('Cause he's my favorite!)

So, got to the pool, changed into my swimsuit, felt a little insecure... This was the first time Steven would see me in a swimsuit, and my legs were sort of fuzzy. Not exactly an ideal situation. I'd thought I'd grabbed the gear to fix that, but I had accidentally left it on the bed in the hurry to get out the door... Ohwell. I don't think he noticed at all. Not even when we had a chicken fight, and he was holding my legs while I was on his shoulders. (We won the chicken fight, by the way. The other team could barely even get up.) Maybe Chet's right. Chet's always telling me I'm just paranoid about it.  

Anyways, when Steven got there, I wasn't sure where exactly we stood, since we had kissed, but it was all so fast. I didn't want to just watch creepishly as he took of his shirt and got into the pool, so I tried to look busy until he was in the water. (Alright, so I did watch out of the corner of my eye just a little bit, he's just so handsome. Mm-mmm. :3 hehe) Once he was in the pool and we'd said our hellos or whatever, we started throwing balls, trying to dive through intertubes, or make the biggest splash, and he even tried to dunk me a few times. I think I defended myself rather well, because I got him under the water a few times, too. :) He also ferried me around the pool for awhile, which I enjoyed quite a lot. I remember we talked about what we would do if we had a million dollars (after paying tithing first, of course), and zoos, and what kinds of things we thought would be cool in a house, and I remember I said something (I don't remember exactly what it was) to which Steven responded "This is why I love you", and my eyes probably got really wide. That was fast. But without thinking I heard myself saying back "Awww, I love you too" really quietly. I wondered if he'd heard me, but I didn't repeat myself. I just enjoyed floating around the pool in his arms. Until Audrey and the others started throwing pool toys at us, that is. Vanessa threw one of the water balls and it happened to hit Steven's ear just right, and later that night he'd find out his eardrum had been punctured. OUCH. 

Eventually the pool party was over, so I kissed him goodbye, headed home and worked on this, that, or the other to get ready for Sunday. I didn't want to That Sunday (July 29th... which means I must have misspoken in my earlier post when I said I met Steven on July 15th, because there wouldn't have been enough time... I must've met him July 8th... funny how the time is sort of warped. I feel like I've known Steven forever, and that our time together over the summer was both an eternity and an instant... which is part of why it's so hard to remember exactly the timing of things...) I don't think was the Sunday Steven came to the Aiken ward. No, it wasn't, I'm sure. I did see him that Sunday at YSA FHE, though. That was the FHE when we sang all seven verses of A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief a cappella, and I got to hear Steven really sing for the first time. So. Beautiful. Because we were singing a cappella and I wasn't very familiar with this tune, I had tried to find a harmony part more within my range for the higher parts of the song, but rather unsuccessfully. But when Steven got there and joined in, he sang a harmony part that changed sometimes, verse-to-verse, and I think he might've just made up off the top of his head. I followed as best I could and sang his harmony, and was very thoroughly impressed. I remember thinking how incredibly lucky I was (and I still think that!).

Not sure about our conversations... Steven had brought his ukelele to that FHE, I think, and was playing along with Kevin, who was on another ukelele. It was very pretty. I spent most of the evening talking with Brother Criswell and getting to know him better. Sometime, though, I was invited to go with Steven to the FHE out at Fort Gordon. Maybe it was when we were talking about the grill, because I kept forgetting to bring it and it was still sitting in our driveway.

Steven and Ladybug

The next day I got home from work and texted Steven. The plan was that my whole family might come, but we decided that I would just go. I asked Steven if I needed to bring anything besides the grill (I didn't) and then I forgot the grill. Again. But I found Steven's house for the first time without any trouble. (Not like when I had tried to draw a map to my house... turns out, I'm a terrible cartographer.) I sat in the driveway for a minute, pausing to just breathe and think. I was really, really nervous about meeting Steven's mom, Jody. What if she didn't like me? There are a lot of stories based on conflict with the mother-in-law, and I really, really, really wanted to make a good first impression. So, of course, she was the one who opened the door, with a bright "You must be Elise!" and me standing there witless but trying to be friendly and sociable. (My mind always kind of blanks when I'm under duress, and I can't remember what happened afterwards. This happens every time I have to speak in front of a large group of people or even just a single person I'm nervous about because I really want to please them.) I must've done okay because she invited me inside without any delay, where Steven and I settled on a couch across from another couch where his parents sat. It sort of felt a bit like an interview. I don't know why, Steven's parents were very welcoming. I was just really glad Steven was there with his arm around me. (Although, part of the reason I felt a little funny was probably because I recognized the rooms from pictures I'd seen from waaaay back at the beginning of Steven's timeline.) Ladybug and Edgar approved me quickly, though. :) I don't think the cats cared one way or the other, especially Reese. (Reese is my favorite, because Reese embodies the quintessential cat: cute and fluffy with a serious attitude. It makes me laugh. :D )We talked about a lot of different things, I'm pretty sure, but the only one I really remember is camping. I like camping, and Steven likes camping. Jody isn't so crazy about camping. That was the gist of it. 

(This was the room where we sat and that I recognized, just past the piano. Reese is the one on the piano.)

Eventually we headed off to Fort Gordon, with Steven and I cozy in the back (Mm-mmm!). At the gate I had to show my Driver's License... I have quite a ferocious picture, so mine earned some laughs. (it really is quite a photo... remind me not to show you later) I wonder when I get to change that... haha, not that the next one will be a whole lot better. It's just sort of a rule that Driver's License pictures are terrible. :) Before I was anywhere near ready to get out of the car, we got to FHE. 

I don't really remember the lesson, I think it was just a short message taught by Micah, but I do remember that afterwards we played Scattergories. (Scattergories is one of my favorites, right up there with Catch Phrase and Bananagrams.) Jody and I had a lot of the same answers, but Steven and I (we were a team) came up with a couple more and managed to score fairly well. :) FHE ended sooner than I thought it would, too. The more precious the time is, the more quickly it will pass. 

After FHE Steven's parents took us out to eat. I'm naturally a very indecisive person, and I wasn't really hungry, so Steven let me share his order. He has good taste, with the only exception being that he likes spicy foods, and I haven't grown fond of them yet. Thankfully, Steven didn't order anything really spicy and it was all very tasty. :) The drive back felt even shorter than the drive there. I remember leaning against Steven's chest and listening to his heartbeat... and then we were back at the Farrar house. Bummer. 

Once we were back at the house, Steven's parents went inside and we were going to go inside, too, but Steven and I talked for a while outside, standing by the car. We talked about some very personal things, and I was amazed and deeply moved by Steven's openness and frankness, and by how deep his devotion to me was after such a short time span. I had only just started praying about how far I should let this go, and it was quickly sinking in how far this would go if I let it, and while I did feel a little unsure because I wanted this to be right so badly I didn't know if I'd given enough time listening to know if it was really okay, but I felt a great amount of gratitude, and a desire to be just as open about whichever way I would decide in the end. (Obviously it turns out well, otherwise I wouldn't be writing all this down! Never fear, good readers! haha :3)

We eventually said our goodbyes, I stepped inside just briefly because I'd said I would, and then I slowly made it back to the car, we said even more goodbyes, and I drove home with a lot of things to ponder over. 

To be continued!