Well, this is a super surreal post to be sharing! My little sister is ENGAGED!!! EEK! She’s getting married! Seriously, we are SO, so excited for her and Dylan. Her new fiancé! This feels like it has been a long time coming! They’ve known each other for a little over two years now and life has changed so much since then. They met through a mission trip in Xenia, Ohio. Kelsey coming from Virginia to be an athletic trainer for the summer. And Dylan coming from Missouri to play baseball. And can you guess which team Kelsey was working with a lot? :] The way that they were put together was certainly divine. Because how else does a boy from the midwest meet a girl from the east coast?! They persevered through a year of dating states a part from each other and then Dylan moved to Radford last summer, right as Kelsey was moving to Lynchburg. Short distance dating as opposed to long distance as they call it :] So as you can imagine, they are MORE than happy to be saying adios to not living in the same place once they get married!

I’m so, so thrilled for my sister. She’s a bold, beautiful, faithful, persistent woman who loves Jesus and she’s found a man who loves Him as well. And who cherishes her. Honestly, it gets me a little emotional to think about all God had to do in both of our lives to bring us to this point. He has SO changed us and planned our every step, including this next big one. He’s brought us from darkness to light, from death to life. He’s filled our lives with joy and good, good men who love Him and who want to love us really well. God has been faithful in all the little and big ways and it’s easy to be overwhelmed by his goodness in moments like this one.

I could go on and on, but I know you’re really here for the story! Dylan’s been itching to propose for a few weeks now. Essentially, ever since he physically had the ring :] He knew he wanted to propose outside and that he wanted to surprise her, so we hatched a plan! And this past Sunday was pretty much the only day that would work for the next month or so! Dylan invited Kels on a day date and she was immediately suspicious! He’s not so great at keeping secrets :] In fact, the evening before we were all at a wedding together and he was chatting up the proposal every time Kelsey walked away! Anyways, that same night, Kelsey mentioned that she thought something was up. So I did my best to talk her out of it :] We said we were headed to Richmond the next day and really hoped that he didn’t propose…and she bought it. The next day, David and Ollie and I drove out to Chateau Morrisette and set the scene! A blanket, a shutter with pictures of significant points of their relationship, some wine, and a picnic basket containing their journal and a ring!

I cannot explain how nervous we were! We took our hiding places and anxiously watched for Dylan’s truck while also trying to keep Ollie entertained and quiet. (hint – he was not either of these things) Finally, we noticed Kelsey’s car approaching and I shot a billion pictures while David took some iPhone video. Dylan brought Kels over to the scene, walked her through some of the pictures, and then asked her to stand up! That’s when she knew for sure :] He read her a letter he’d written her and then dropped to one knee to propose :] It was super sweet and they were so excited! And then she noticed us! Double surprise! And then Dylan had a bunch of presents for her! Triple surprise! It was the cutest thing. After that we did a wine tasting and some engagement pictures and then headed back to Dylan’s for the final surprise! Dylan had a surprise party waiting at their house to celebrate!

The whole day was just surprise after surprise and it was such a good picture of how Dylan loves her. We’re so thrilled for what’s to come and to start wedding planning :] Here’s their proposal story!

Almost time!

EEK! Dylan wasn’t on his knee for too long before Kelsey wrapped him up in a big hug!

My favorite :] When she saw me! We tricked her good!

Direct quote: “This is the best! I get even more presents besides the ring?!”

Engagement session time!

Love this one!

Squish.

SURPRISE!

Guys, we’re really glad Dylan’s weird too. It’s been the three of us for the last 5 years and he’s a great addition to the madness.

Facetiming the parents!

Engagement looks good on ya, sis :]