That's right, Brooke Smith and I are engaged to be married! Allow me to tell you how it went down.

It was Friday evening and Brooke thought we were headed out for a casual date night to Applebee's. When I started driving the wrong direction she wondered what was up. I told her I had a little surprise for her - the first of many that night. Instead of Applebee's, we went downtown to Botticelli's. Which happens to be a fine dining Italian place where I have never had anything short of an amazing meal. And on top of that it was special to us, we had our first Rapid City date here back in June. So after some great food and a wonderful time together at the restaurant, I told her I had another surprise for her . . . within walking distance.

A block away from there stands the Alex Johnson hotel, a historic hotel built in the late 1920's. When it was built it was the tallest building in town; it still is today. As we walked along I told her I had heard there is a scenic lookout at the top. When we walked up to the desk I asked, "So I heard that there is a scenic overlook or something here at the hotel? Is that the case? Could we check it out?" (What she didn't know was that I had already worked everything out with the hotel workers.) The desk worker played it cool - he gets an Oscar in my opinion - and replied, "Well, we don't usually do that but let me check with the night manager."

While waiting in the lobby, Brooke said to me, "I bet he thinks you're going to propose to me! Ha!" Though Brooke was just joking, I did my best to downplay the possiblity, "What makes you say that?"

The night manager came and took us up to the top via the elevator. The uppermost level is currently used for storage, but it was once a cigar lounge which would have served as the prime hangout spot for the men of the city. The fellow led us up a flight of stairs which opened up into a room unlike any other in Rapid City. Windows encircled an empty room looking out over the lovely nightscape. It was really something. Without hesitating the night manager made his move, "Well I have some really important matters to attend to so I'm going to head down. Simply push the button for the elevator when you're done and you'll be all set."

I found out later that this was the first moment where Brooke wondered if "something" was going on. After taking a lap around the room together pointing out different features of the downtown view, I pulled out my iPod and mini-speaker to create a little more ambiance. Brooke simultaneously thought I was a nerd and enjoyed my thoughtfulness. A part of me just wanted to linger in that moment a little longer; it was a special moment. But there were more surprises.

I pulled out a letter that I had written for her. It was at this point that Brooke said she really started freaking out. In fact she claims she only heard about ten words of the letter. I'm pretty sure she remembers the last four though, "Will you marry me?"

I was down on one knee, holding out the ring to her. The quintessential image of male vulnerability. And instead of saying "Yes", Brooke was laughing, crying, and spouting out questions like, "Are you serious? Is this for real? Is this really happening?" After waiting at least thirty seconds I said, "Say yes! Say yes!" She did and we hugged. After a few more moments of her jumping around and saying, "How did this happen? Is this for real?" I asked her if she wanted to actually look at the ring. She was like, "Oh yeah!" And she loved it!

So we spent the next half hour hanging out on top of the city, hugging, laughing, and recounting some fun stories of how we had gotten to that point. On the way down she gave the hotel guy a big hug! I walked her to the apartment and there were a dozen red roses waiting for her there. After taking a couple pictures together, she grabbed her phone and my phone and made a two-fisted phone call to both of her sisters - one in Illinois and one in California!

It was a night I will never forget. I am blessed beyond measure to have such an amazing bride to be!

Labels: EverydayLife

Just when I thought my weekend couldn't get any better (I'll tell you more about that in the next post), the Indianapolis Colts pull off the biggest comeback victory ever in a conference championship game. And to make it even sweeter it was against our arch rivals: the Patriots!

Be sure to cheer for the Colts come February 4th!

Labels: EverydayLife

Back it up!
No, I'm not suggesting that you throw down some wicked dance moves. (Kingsbury!) I'm simply, and strongly, encouraging you to back up your precious data on your computer.

The other day my computer crashed with no forseeable hope of reviving. I was distraught! Having made the tragic mistake of not backing stuff up, I felt like a painter anguishing over seeing his art gallery go down in flames. I was grieving.

Alas, I was fortunate. Online tech support suggested that I take the battery pack out altogether and try turning it on once it was plugged in. Instantly it came back to life. The first thing I did was drop 4 gigs of info on a DVD; the second thing was to see to it that a new battery is in the mail.

Back it up (or else you'll be looking like this young lady).

Labels: EverydayLife

There is always a lot to think about as you look back on an entire year. For me though, one development stands out from all the rest: Brooke Smith. I took a vacation to southern California in late April to hang out with her, as well as several other IWU friends (Jacksons, Bills, Taylors). As it turned out we did more than just hang out, we connected on a new level. A few weeks later she visited Rapid City. And then in another few weeks I took a surprise trip to San Diego to see her over July 4th.


Thanks to Verizon’s IN calling we talked on the phone quite a bit, but there was still the problem of distance. Brooke decidedly brought an end to that in late August when she packed up her car and moved to Rapid City! Within a few weeks she landed a couple great jobs (full-time as academic advisor at National American University and part-time server at fancy-schmancy restaurant called the Corn Exchange) and settled into the community.

We’ve now dated for over eight months, four of which have been together here in South Dakota. We’ve made new friends together, enjoyed a dancing class, taken date nights, shared a church home, shared countless meals, helped each other move into our new apartments, and road-tripped home for Christmas together. Brooke is my best friend. She loves people and has an uplifting demeanor that draws them to her. She longs to connect with people on a deeper level, often able to do more toward this end in moments than most people do in a lifetime. And she always wants to help people, help them laugh or help them understand. Not to mention that she’s downright fun to be with!

Thanks Brooke for being my friend, and my girlfriend; you made 2006 a great year and I'm excited about 2007!
Love you, Happy Birthday!

Labels: EverydayLife