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May 14, 2004

It was a complete surprise, but a very wonderful time. We already knew we wanted to marry each other (Patrick told me that 2 weeks after we met!) but we hadn't made any plans yet. He would try to get ring ideas out of me, but I wouldn't help. I always told him that whenever he asked me to marry him, both the proposal and ring would have to be a surprise. Finally, I gave in a little, but all I would give him was a list of everything I hated about most rings (I also said it could not come from a mall jewelry store). He'd always done so well with all of my other diamond jewelry in the past so I knew he'd pick out the perfect ring.

I picked up Patrick from the airport that night and we came back to my house. I wanted to hurry up to get the kids to bed and watch Letterman. I asked if he minded staying up to watch Letterman with me because I really wanted to see the infamous "4am show". He seemed a little reluctant to say yes, but he did. He was holding me on the couch while we watched it. At a commercial break, he turned my head to him and kissed me. Then he told me how excited he was about coming here this weekend to be with me and how important it was to finally be next to me again. He said that he had been so ready for this weekend to arrive so he could be with his fiancée. I looked at him with big eyes and said WHAT?

He said "I can't wait any longer to ask you this... Stephanie, will you marry me?" I said YES and we kissed. He got down on his knee, opened the ring box, looked into my eyes and said "Stephanie, I'd never experienced true love in my life until I met you. It took 40 years to feel whole and to find this love of my life, this dream come true. I want you next to me forever. I truly believe that we perfect together, like we are the only two pieces in a puzzle, without each other there is no perfection, no puzzle. I want to love you and be loved by you forever. Will you be my wife? Will you make me the happiest man in the world and spend your life with me?" I said YES again and both of our eyes started "watering" tears of absolute joy. We spent the rest of the evening close together, switching off saying "I love you, my fiancé/fiancée!"

Oh, and my ring is absolutely fabulous, he did an amazing job! It's a 1.5 carat oval diamond (EGL certified - colorless, VS1) with 2 trillion diamonds (each .30 ct - one on each side - both also EGL, colorless, VS1) in a platinum cathedral-style band. Patrick picked out the loose diamonds himself and then had the actual ring mounting special ordered. He put so much thought and time into looking, he just wanted it to be perfect. It was! I swear he looks at it on my hand as much as I do!