They were Junior’s in high school when they met. He was the goofy guy who sat behind her in class. When we he noticed her, it was HELLO WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN THIS WHOLE TIME!?!?!?
Then A Surprise Engagement it was.

A little background on Joshua Caleb. So I met Josh in Chicago about 14 years ago. YES, over 14 years ago!!!! If you do the Math, that would have put him around the age of 9. I was one of the youth leaders at a church I attended there while I was getting my under grad degree. His family…mom, dad, two older sisters and wee baby brother had become my family away from home. It’s one of the few reasons I make my way back there when I can.

Now Mel…we met about 2 years ago….it was short, so we didn’t really get to talk much. We attended Josh’s sister’s wedding this summer and Mel was there of course and then again we didn’t get to talk much. But I knew that she was Josh’s special “friend”. Now let’s fast forward to these past couples of weeks.

Josh calls up…and says can I come to San Diego and throw a surprise proposal. I was like ok. How are we going to pull this off and not have her have a clue that it was going to happen. We planned a little bit here and little bit there. He wanted a beach proposal of course right?!?! THIS IS SAN DIEGO! So we had to throw a story out. He says he’s out here to look at seminaries to go to. Just so happens we have one right in the heart of Escondido. Then what’s next. How about tell her that we will do a photo session for me so that I can update my portfolio. Say what?!?!? Yes, update my portfolio. You know me, being the mom of 3 kids, it’s hard to get some cute, uh photogenic couples, to be my models for fun. So some how she takes the bait.

He plans each day they are here. I told him go overboard, plan some really fun things to do. Visit some beautiful places you could possibly propose to her. Throw that romantic  dinner the night before we get to hangout to do this “photo shoot”. Yeah, I know sneaky right?!?! So by this point what’s the chances of them having a proposal happening. So Sunday is here. The big day!!!! Got it all planned out. Except there was this big thick layer of rain cloud hovering. NO!!!! So I kept watching those clouds and just praying for just a little bit Lord, so that we can pull this off. We had lunch, went to get some Boba Tea and headed to La Jolla. PARKING was insane of course, because the clouds had cleared up and EVERYONE was at the beach. On top of that there was a Christmas Parade in La Jolla. I never knew they had parades there? So it took us about 30 minutes to find parking. We drove in circles. We finally get the parking spot. Started shooting pictures. Of course Josh had to run to the restroom. I think he was super nervous. Finally it was show time. I said, I want to move up over to take a few over view pictures look down towards the ocean. Josh says, “We’ll go with you.” Shay says, “No, that’s okay. I’ll go up there with her. You guys stay here, enjoy the scenery. And we’ll be back in no time.”  We walked away and the rest will be told in pictures.

It was an honor to take part in such a great surprise Josh and Mel. We pray that your commitment and love will be centered on Christ, the one who brought you together. There will times that will be hard, times that will be like a roller coaster ride, but remain humble, think of the other’s need  more than yourself, think about how to best serve each other, COMMUNICATE, forgive each other and don’t try to change each other. We love you guys.

To see other pictures from that unforgettable day…click HERE!!!