Happy January 25th!

Dear Sarah, Hannah, Julia & Joshua,
On January 25th, 18 years ago, your daddy asked me a special question. I was a freshman at Harding University and he was a Junior. He told me he wanted to talk to me after my Biology study session. I was so nervous and feared he might not want to go on dates with me anymore. The opposite happened! We sat on a Harding Swing and he told me everything he liked about me. Then he sweetly asked me if I would be his girlfriend. Of course, I said yes! We dated a couple years and then went on a summer mission trip to Papua New Guinea in July 1995. On our way back home, we stayed and toured Australia for a few days. We went on a date to the top of the Sydney Tower and your daddy asked me a very important question. First, we walked around the top of the tower in a circle once and the second time we walked around he stopped and asked me what that walk reminded me of. He gave me 3 guesses and I didn't know how to answer so I said, is walking around the top of the tower like going around the world from the USA to PNG and back? He said, No. I couldn't guess anything else so then he explained. At the college we went to, when someone is engaged the club has a special ceremony called a Ring Ceremony. The ladies in the club will circle around the fountain and according to tradition, the candle has the ring on it and is passed around the club while members sing the club song. It goes around the circle once so everyone can see the pretty ring. The second time it goes around the circle the girl whose ring it is blows the candle out. Everyone rushes towards her and then she shares her story of how she got engaged. Well, Brian said just like walking around the top of the tower once is like a ring on the candle going around the circle once. The second time we walked we stopped and then he got down on one knee and told me he wants me to be the one to blow the candle out at the next ring ceremony. He told me how much he loves me and wants to spend the rest of his life with me. Then he asked me to marry him. Of course I said YES! We were married a year later on July 13, 1996. I hope and pray that someday God will lead you to a mate as special as your daddy! One of our favorite books to read to you is: The Princess and The Kiss by Jennie Bishop, a sotry of God's gift of Purity. I am praying for you and the person you will marry someday if that is God's will for you! I love you very much.
Love,
Mommy