Yesterday, on Christmas, I asked for Leah's eternal hand in marriage. She said "Yes!"
The story of our proposal begins last Thursday. I had recently prayed if Leah was the woman I was supposed to marry, but the answer I received was "Go to the temple and ask there." So, on Thursday night I went to the Washington, DC Temple and participated in an endowment session. Once in the Celestial Room, I prayed again, this time receiving a resounding "Yes." I knew that I wanted to propose, but I didn't know how or when.
Leah works part-time at Victoria's Secret and I visited her on Christmas Eve so we could hang out during her break. She took the opportunity to show me off to her coworkers, one of whom even said "He's cute" while I was standing right there. We enjoy the thirty minutes we had together before she had to return to work.
With Leah safely inside the boutique de brasserie, I walked down to one of the jewelry stores in the mall. Soon after meeting me, Leah had picked out a few engagement rings and put them in the store's "Wish Book." When we started talking about the possibility of marriage while we were dating, she told me about the store and told me to choose one of the options there—in order to ensure that she liked the ring I picked out. With this in mind, I went to the jewelry store to see what the options were, intending to not buy anything that day. When I saw what the options were—and heard that the entire store's inventory was half off until Christmas—I picked the one I liked and bought it on the spot. I planned to wait until the holidays were over, in order to really surprise Leah.
With the ring hidden on my person, I went to Leah's parents' home to bake cookies. Leah's mom, Debbie, is very warm and invited me to come and bake cookies with her some time before Christmas and Christmas Eve just happened to be the best time for me to visit. Also there were Leah's younger brother, Ryan, and his wife Dana, her younger sisters, Megan and Allison, and Leah's niece, Rebecca, the daughter of Leah's older brother, Rob, who's currently stationed in the Philippines. At one point, everyone went outside to fire model rockets (a Grabowski Christmas tradition), so I went in to talk to Leah's father, Ulf. I told him that I loved his daughter and intended to ask her to marry me, though not until the holidays were over. He told me that he was a good judge of character and that he liked me and would be happy to give me his blessing on the proposal. Having gained his permission (and his promise to keep our conversation a secret), I went back outside to join with the rocket launches before my absence was noticed. After a few hours, Leah joined us and I continued to bake cookies (only four kinds surprisingly, but we did have rockets to launch). Before it got too late, I excused myself for the night, with the promise to return on Christmas day.
On Christmas morning, I went to church at the YSA ward, though only Sacrament meeting was held (which I think was the standard throughout the Church). After church, Leah met me at my apartment where we opened our gifts. I got her some leggings (which required me to join a Facebook group in order to buy them), a charm for her charm bracelet, and a pair of crocheted slipper socks. She got a nice pea coat, a deep fryer (which she admitted was partially for her so I can deep fry her food more easily), a ceramic coated skillet, a spoon rest for the stove, a butter dish (which I've mentioned that I needed), and a Superman-themed apron. (I also got a set of silicon baking mats from my parents—have you noticed a theme?) Having exchanging gifts (and hugs and kisses), we prepared to leave for her parents' for an early dinner.
Even though I planned to wait until after the holidays were over, I was too excited to wait any longer: I had decided the night before to propose on Christmas Day. I said I needed go to the bedroom to grab my wallet and keys, so Leah went with me to help me along. I made a comment about how there were other things I needed and she gave me a weird look and went back to the living room. I put the ring box in my back pocket and joined Leah. I grabbed her in a hug and said (not verbatim), "Leah, I love you. I'm so happy that I met you. My life has gotten so much better since I met you." I got down on one knee. "You've made me a better man and I know that as long as you're a part of my life, my life will only get better." I pulled the box out of my pocket and opened it. "Leah, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife, now and for all eternity?" She enthusiastically said, "Yes!" I slipped the ring on her finger (and had a mini freakout when I thought it didn't fit, though it was the perfect size) and we embraced and kissed.
On our way to Leah's parents', we called and told a few members of my family (not everyone was available, what with the time differences). Once at the Grabowski's, Leah didn't say anything, she just took off her jacket and gave her mom a hug. During their hug, Debbie felt the ring, pulled Leah's hand into view, and screamed with joy. With the cat out of the bag, she showed off the ring to her family and we both got hugs from everyone present.
I am so happy to be getting married to Leah. She's such a kind, caring person who works to make others feel better about themselves. We've only been together for four months, but we make a great team: I love her, she loves me, and we build each other up. I can't wait to be sealed to her for time and all eternity.
