Our Story
Chapter 4: Engagement
The day was December 25, 2008. Matt was coming over to Janelle's parents' house for Christmas Dinner with her extended family. He showed up at the door carrying a beautifully wrapped yellow and blue gift. Janelle was not particularly curious as to what was in the box. She knew (or so she thought) that the box contained a sweatshirt that Matt had bought for her a month before. In fact, she had bought the same sweatshirt for him, and they had both been wearing them for the past few weeks. They traded back a few days prior to Christmas so that they would have something to wrap on Christmas day.
When it came time open the gifts, Matt opened his box first. Inside was the sweatshirt (predictably) and a scarf that Janelle had made for him. Before Janelle could open Matt's gift, he apologized to everyone watching that it had been wrapped in the "Knutson style." This means, simply, that you never know what you will find inside, or how difficult it will be to open. He also requested that someone take pictures so that he could send them to his family.
As her family watched, she struggled to remove layers of wrapping paper, duct tape, cardboard, packing tape, and tinfoil until she finally reached the center and found the expected sweatshirt all tied up in a knot. She unfurled the sweatshirt and as it came to rest on her lap, she thought she felt something in the front pocket. Her suspicions were confirmed as she reached in and pulled out a small box with a bow on it. By this point, there was no question of what was in there. She opened the box and gasped at the beauty of the ring inside.
Next to her, Matt took her hand and said, "Janelle, I would like you to marry me." Without hesitation, Janelle replied with an excited, "YES!" He slipped the ring on her finger and they exchanged a happy hug.
The next few days were blur of celebrations with family and friends, phone calls, emails, text messages, and facebook status changes. It did not take long before they found themselves deep in the process of wedding planning. The rest is history... or is it the beginning?