This is my first post and what a great thing to be writing about! So...for those of you who want to know the story, read on! (just a side note- the pictures below were actually taken when he really proposed. We didn't reenact. Ha!)
Coulton & I have been dating for about 5 months now. We met in the singles ward in Phoenix and haven't been apart since. I was about to turn in my mission papers the day we met; guess I'll have to wait to go with him when we're older. :) Coulton is the greatest, sweetest man I have ever met. I am the luckiest girl in the world. He makes me feel like a princess. Since I decided not to serve a mission because we were dating, I told him that I needed to go to school. I told him that I was going to BYU-Idaho and he told me that he would live up here in Idaho as well and work while I went to school. I knew this relationship was going to go somewhere serious when he told me that. So he got an apartment and I'm living in student housing in this frozen ice-land since January. We knew we were going to get married even before we moved up here. It felt so right and so amazing right from the beginning.
So...for the past month or so, we have been seriously talking about marriage. For the past couple of weeks, I had been waiting for him to ask me. First I thought he was going to ask me on my birthday (Feb.6) That didn't happen. Then I was sure he was going to ask me on Valentine's Day. That didn't happen. Then I thought he might ask me when we went down to Cedar City to visit his family. That didn't happen either. I stopped getting my hopes up every time we went out. Ha! So I just told myself to relax and just wait for it.
Coulton told me that there was a jewelery store in Salt Lake that he really wanted to check out. It had good deals and had gotten a referral about it. That kind of frustrated me. I didn't want to go to Salt Lake to look at rings. We had already found one that we liked her in Idaho Falls. Just ask me already!! He told me that he really wanted to check it out, so I just agreed.
Well, being the "I hate surprises" kind of person that I am, I tried to figure it out. Was he really wanting to check out this jewelery store, or was that his way of getting me to go down to Salt Lake??
I had to tell myself to just go with it and whatever happens, happens. I knew he was going to ask me and that we were getting married, and that's all that mattered. So...we went to Salt Lake on Saturday, March 19th. He made an appointment with the jeweler because we wouldn't be able to be there until after hours. I knew that by making an appointment he really wanted to check this place out, so that threw me off. We looked at some rings, but it was nothing really serious.
We then had a dinner reservation at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building at 8pm. We sat down and ordered dinner. It was such a beautiful place, over looking the Salt Lake Temple. He had chicken, I had fish. We had a wonderful time, talking and eating.
I then mentioned that we should walk around the temple. He was just like "Uhhhh...okay?" I said,"You don't want to??" and he said that we could, that he didn't care. (well, it was his whole plan, to walk around the temple. He just knew that I would want to and would say something about it, so he made it seem like he hadn't planned on doing so)
So, we went down to the lobby of the JSMB and looked at the statue of Joseph then walked outside. I put his jacket on because it was cold and lightly raining when we got out. We strolled hand-in-hand as we walked around to the gate of Temple Square. We looked at the temple for a while, noticing and talking about the sun, moon and stars that were carved into the granite. As we turned the corner, I noticed a couple taking pictures behind us. It had never crossed my mind that they were taking pictures of us!(my mom set it up to have someone there to take pictures of us as it was actually happening- the pictures below!)
Coulton noticed a fountain and said that we should make a wish. We walked over to it and I pulled out 2 nickels out of my wallet. I first made a wish, then him. After he threw his nickel in, I asked "What did you wish for?" He said, "Let's sit down." So I turned around and sat down on the edge of the fountain, and he turned as if he was going to come and sit on the other side of me, but instead he knelt down.
I think my heart stopped. My smile got huge. He pulled the ring box out and opened it. His eyes teared up and he said, "Tahshena Atkinson, will you marry me?" My smile was taking over my whole body. I couldn't say anything. I just smiled and tried to take it all in! I then said YES! and stood up and gave him a hug before he could even put the ring on my finger. I just hugged him.
He then backed up and knelt down again and put the ring on my finger. It was the one that we had found one day, before dinner. We were waiting for our friends to come eat with us and I saw a jewelery store and suggested that we just go take a quick look while we wait. We were only in there for about 5-10 minutes and had found it. We knew it was the one. And it was the exact one that he placed on my finger, symbolizing his eternal love for me.
We stood there for a while, hugging and laughing and talking. As I gave him a tight squeeze, I felt the light mist on my face that was coming from the clouds and as I opened my eyes, I saw the glowing Salt Lake Temple. In that moment, I realized that this is what it was all about. All the lessons in Young Womens about temple marriage, all the lessons from my parents to stay clean and worthy, and all the lessons that I learned for myself to choose be righteous and to choose an eternal companion all came together in that very moment. I felt that the pioneers who had built that temple were there. They were telling me "We worked so hard and sacrificed so much so that you and your companion can get married here! This is what we worked for! We did this for you!"
It was wonderful being there, to have my fiancée in my arms, to have a ring on my finger that symbolized so much. I had to ask Coulton a few times if this was a dream. He told me it wasn't, then pinched me. I then had to use the restroom, so we went back up into the Joseph Smith building. We then used the warm building to call everyone. Our parents, our siblings and close friends. Everyone was so excited for us. They welcomed me to the family and that meant so much. My mom screamed when I told her (even though she knew) and Kinzie was excited that she's going to be a bridesmaid and get a new dress.
I can believe it because I love him with all my heart and because I know that marrying him is the most right thing I have done in my life, but I can't believe it because it's all so perfect. It's one of those things that I have thought about and dreamed about since I was 3 years old. I have thought about my proposal night since I can remember. And now it's happened and my dreams are all coming true, and that is a lot to take in! It couldn't have happened a more perfect way, and Coulton knew exactly where and how to do it.
He holds my heart and eternity is going to be wonderful with him by my side. We are shooting for June 3rd to be married. (calling the temple tomorrow!)
Remember, "Faith in God includes Faith in His timing" -Maxwell.
