My time in Dallas is nearing its end, after 9 years I am finally heading back to the Northwest. I am so excited to what my future holds, it is a new chapter in my life. As much as I am looking forward to all the new adventures, there is a part of me that is sad to be saying goodbye to Dallas and more importantly the relationships I have formed over the past 9 years.
I have found myself reflecting on these relationships and all that they mean to me. I am not always the best at letting people know what they mean to me. This is my attempt at that. A few of you even read my blog, so this post is for you.
Well lets start at the beginning…
Carlee-Before I even moved down to Dallas, Carlee offered me a place to stay. Over the past 7 years I lived with her on and off in various places around dallas. So many great memories with her. She is a constant to me, always there and always honest even when I don’t want to hear it. Whether it be racing home from the TIME office or racing to get dressed we have had our fun.
Marce-I actually think I lived with Marce the longest and man am I thankful for all those years. Marce and I first bonded back in 1998 when we shared a hotel for 3 days. However it was over dinner at the cheesecake factory in 2001 that to me sealed our friendship forever. Whether it was Sunday afternoon naps or guilty pleasure TV we clicked and got each other. Even though it has been a few years, I still miss those times.
If I am talking about roommates, I have to mention the other two that often spent time at all these places Matt and Aaron-and all I have to say about that is listening to an entire convesation on how to cheat the government out of a penny at Jack in the Box.
Scott and Kirsty Bean plus kids-Well for the first few years this is where my holidays were spent. I mean I spent easter with them one year and Kirsty and I made a feast. Actually who am I kidding anytime I got together with Kirsty and her family it was a feast. They embraced me and welcomed me into their crazy life from the very first day. In fact they encouraged me to visit a church with them and I have been there ever since. They moved to London a few years ago and I miss them like crazy.
Chris and Leslie Linebarger plus Callie, Sadie and Grace-This friendship to me was made over time. It took awhile to work my way into their lives and now they are just sort of stuck with me. They let me live with them during a rough few months of my life always showing me kindness. Over time I found myself spending more and more time at their house. I remember early on I was always scared to go to their place without any of the above mentioned people and now I am totally comfortable on any given day. When the Beans moved to England, Chris and Leslie allowed me to spend the holidays with them. I am so thankful for that. I feel like I have known their girls forever and now Callie is even in the youth group I help lead. It is crazy, and I am going to seriously miss my wed. nights with this family plus the lemon chicken casserole.

Okay that is enough for today ..the rest of dallas will have to wait….

So many of you have been asking for details of the big day last week. Sorry it has taken me a few days to get around to writing it, but I have been busy!!
It all started about two weeks ago when Chris informed me on saturday Sept 28th we would be going to dinner that night. (This was all to throw me off). Meanwhile, I thought I was going to dinner with the Shakes on Thursday night.
Imagine my surprise on Thursday night when I opened the door to find Chris instead of the Shakes. He was standing there with a dozen roses and all dressed up in a suit. I was so excited and happy to see him. We then proceeded to drive to Las Colinas and the Omni Mandolay Hotel. Waiting for us there was a gondola, you know like the ones in Venice. We had dinner on the gondola on the water, it was so romantic.
About an hour into the ride, our gondolier (?????) started talking about trash and litering in the lake. He then proceeded to ask me to grab a empty bottle out of the water. I did and put it on the ground. Chris suggested that I might want to open the bottle. Only then did I look at the bottle and see that there was a note inside. I proceeded to open it and inside was a note that read Caity, will you marry me?
I looked over he was down on bended knee with a ring. I of course said yes!!! It was the best day ever.
Sorry it isnt written better….love to all