I am slightly embarrassed that I am writing about launching a website and getting engaged for marriage in the same journal entry. Getting engaged deserves it’s own shrine on this website, but by the time I got that done, I’d already be married. I understand that my life is messy, and this journal will be messy too.

Matt Smith holding Candyce

We went back and took some more photos when the light was better.

I asked Candyce to marry me on Saturday, April 1, 2006. Again, it’s messy that I proposed to her on April Fool’s day, but it’s the only chance I had while Candyce and I were in San Diego. I knew I wanted to propose over the weekend, but Friday was Danny’s big day because he put on a big concert/event for his school. I didn’t want to steal away any attention from all of his hard work. And by Sunday night, she would be in a frenzy with our flight leaving early the next morning. So April Fool’s day it is.

I knew I was going to propose at sunset, so all day Saturday was a thrill. Nobody else knew how the day was going to end, and that was exhilarating and nerve-racking at the same time. I’ve never felt so much suspense watching the sun slowly trace a path across the sky as the day passed. By four o’clock, I was an emotional mess. With thirty minutes till sunset, I conned Candyce into walking with me down to the beach.

We snapped a couple pictures from the top of the cliff, and then ran down the stairs and onto the beach. We climbed up into a lifeguard tower to watch the last ten minutes of the sunset. The little ring box in my pants pocket poked me with every step up the ladder. I asked Candyce to pray a decade of the rosary with me for my parents, who just returned from a week of helping Hurricane Katrina victims in New Orleans.

As each rosary bead passed through my fingers, my heart trembled with suspense and joy. I started crying on the seventh bead. I was so excited about what was going to happen–that our lives were going to change. I closed the prayer by asking God to bless Candyce and I and to watch over us. And then I turned to her, dropped on one knee, and through my tears, I asked her to marry me. She said yes. (Oh man…my eyes are watering up right now just writing about it.)

Candyce was so in shock that she gave me her right hand, not the left had which she was supposed to. It was pretty funny because it didn’t fit–I had to push the ring onto her finger. We laughed at the bad fit, then we laughed harder that it was on the wrong hand. So we slid it off, I dropped on my knee, and then I proposed again.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and I lifted her off her feet. We hugged and cried. I felt her left hand lift off of my shoulder, and I knew she was looking at her ring. That’s okay. I paid a lot of money for that thing, and I wanted her to like it.

We watched the last few minutes of the sunset over the Pacific. It was beautiful. The climb up the stairs and the walk across the street was intense. I don’t know if ever in life I’ve savored moments like that. I knew that we had only 200 feet left before we stormed back into the house and gave their family the good news. It was beautiful.

We cried and hugged once we got inside. Everybody was happy. We proposed toasts and drank champaign for a good thirty minutes. It was awesome.

;Candyce

Candyce in our own little photoshoot on the forbidden;lifeguard tower.

;

Candyce and Matt walking on the beach.

…so happy together…

Matt + Candyce in the sand.

TLA.

::::

That was Saturday night. It’s Tuesday night now. We flew into Phoenix early Monday morning. Candyce spent all day yesterday in the studio at ASU, and I spent all day yesterday at the lifeteen.com studio. She had homework, and I had a website to launch.

I actually finished the website just before 9 PM Arizona time, which makes it midnight on the east coast. I promised people on lifeteen.com that we would launch a new site on April 4, and I realized I could actually launch it on midnight. So I did. It was wild to post the site, get in my car, and drive thirty minutes to my house.

And here I am at my house. I’m engaged. I launched a website. I’m very happy about both. This engagement thing is too new to reflect on. I just know that it is very good that we are engaged now.