Wow can you believe how time flies?? I feel like Devin and I just trekked home from school and now we are getting ready to move back out to Utah, our jobs and internships done, and summer coming to a close. It truly has been an amazing summer! I have lots to say about all the fun adventures I had with my internship, my typical baseball adventures, and some awesome adventures with my family, but I can tell y'all about that later. Tonight I cannot stop smiling about the biggest news in my life...I am getting married!
I was never one of those girls who sat on Pinterest and pinned her entire wedding. I never had a vision. I never had a ring preference. I never thought about my dress. When I met Devin and things started to get serious, I of course thought, "yeah, he could be the one". But just because I thought and hoped that didn't mean I planned our entire future.
Let me tell you, dating Devin was so fun (the waiting on the mission part, not so much haha). We went out to movies, went out to dinner, went putt putting, hung out with our friends and families, ran errands, and watched Dr. Who like it was our job. We got to know each other. He got to see just how OCD I am about being clean and about how I organize my groceries at the grocery store (thank you Mom for that one). I got to see how OCD he is about getting his hair cut (I guess OCD is just part of our relationship). We got to relax and date and have fun! No pressure. We just did the right things and made the right choices. And then he did the most amazing thing of all and decided to come stay at my house this summer. Which means we got to date in GEORGIA! Only the best state on earth if you are a southern belle like me! I saw him pet the dogs goodbye in the morning when he thought I wasn't looking (Like it or not, I have totally converted him to being a dog lover). I saw him sit out in the garage for hours trying to help my dad fix the garage door. I saw him run errands and get diet coke for my mama. I saw him sit through days of baseball games. I saw him give my sister words of wisdom and encouragement. I saw him talk and get to know my friends. I saw him work hard at his job. I had the amazing opportunity to see him become apart of my family. And I loved him for every minute of it.
So here is what you all really want to know: our engagement story.
What better way to end the perfect summer than at the beach, right? I had been traveling every weekend of the entire month of July for my internship, so I had not been home. But I had convinced myself that Devin had not asked my Dad for permission. I was convinced there was no way he had time to ask permission and get a ring around his work schedule. Well, the weekend before we leave for the beach, I flew out for an impromptu visit to Utah for a job interview (it went well and I hope to finalize everything with them this week! Wahoo!). While I was there, my mom casually asked if I wanted to look at wedding dresses. In hindsight, this should have been a warning sign. But I knew we were going to get engaged sooner or later, so I went along with it. Turns out, I found a dress! And I love it! Devin has no idea what it looks like, so y'all will have to wait and see as well!!
So I get home from Utah, having found a dress (but not telling Devin) and I started freaking out. I for some reason got it in my head that Devin wasn't going to ask me anytime soon and we were going to run out of time to plan and blah blah blah. Obviously, I was wrong. (And I apologize, Devin, for being cranky and doubting you)
We get to the beach on a Saturday, just me, Devin, and Spencer. Mom and Carlie were driving up from Tampa where they were for our childhood friend's wedding and were going to meet us on Sunday. So I go about my beach business. Sand. Ocean. Tanning. People magazine. Naps. Nothing out of the ordinary. Every night, we would watch the sunset and set off fireworks to end our evening. It was perfect.
On Tuesday night when Devin asked me if I wanted to watch the sunset from the pier, no red flags went off because it was our nightly ritual. When my whole family went onto the beach with fireworks at sunset, I thought it was a little weird that we were on the pier and they were on the beach, but I didn't worry about it. Devin and I were chatting and enjoying the sunset when all of a sudden, he gets down on one knee in front of me with a gorgeous ring and asks me if I would marry him. Don't ask me is he had a speech or anything, because I just started to cry and hugged him, so I have no idea what he said. I just know I said yes somewhere in the middle of all the crying and hugging haha.
Then all of a sudden fireworks were going off from the beach and my mom and sister were running up the pier to take pictures. I finally stopped crying to take a decent picture and we walked down to the beach to be with my family.
Almost a week later, I can't stop smiling. I can't stop being happy. But let me tell you...it's not because of this beautiful ring on my finger or the wedding binder that now sits on my dresser. It's because I have an official temple date. I have always wanted to get married in the temple. I always wanted to be in a relationship that took me there, and now that I am here, it's so rewarding and exciting. I am excited not just about my wedding day, but for the fact that I get to spend the rest of my life and eternity with Devin. He gets to be my husband. Dating was fun. I loved having him be my boyfriend. But having him be my hubby-to-be (we are boycotting the word "fiancé") is a whole different kind of joy and happiness. We have seen so many blessings just in the short time we have been preparing to get the ball rolling on our engagement. I got a job. He got more scholarships to cover school. I found a dress for a ridiculous price. He was able to get me a ring he was proud of. There are so many more that are just too private to share, but I can tell you this bloggers, I feel so blessed. I am overwhelmed by the love I feel from all sides. I am overwhelmed by how happy of a time this is. I am overwhelmed by the blessings I have seen and how many things have just fallen into place. And I can tell you this...nothing makes me happier than to say that I get to be apart of the Porter family. I couldn't ask for better future in-laws, who were so happy with us when they found out we were engaged. I truly am so lucky to be marrying into his family!
I know this is an exuberant amount of cheesy and a longer post than normal, but there is the story of Devin and Daniela. We are extremely happy and excited to move on to this next stage of our lives. Thank you to our villages who helped get us here and thank you for all your love and support! We love you!
Oh and hey bloggers...
All good things...come with the right kind of love.
We love you all!
(not how he proposed, just how we presented it for social media. My mom and Carlie picked this up at the Lego store)
