Engagement Story--pictures to come!

The Important Events Preceding, and Ben and I’s Engagement Story
Ben came home from his trip around the world on the 28th of July, and then headed to northwestern Ohio, where I had been all summer, working at Sauder Village, recording a CD, and living with my parents and sister. It had been a long, long three months. We were ready to see each other and be with each other.
We got to do a whole bunch of things. He came to and supported me at my CD release concert at West Clinton (the church my parents attend) Sunday night. We went to the zoo on Monday, Sauder Village on Tuesday, and then Wednesday we headed out to Streetsboro, OH, where I was going to have another concert, at the church I attended there for the seven years when my family lived there.
Ben still had to ask my parents for permission to marry me, and we weren’t exactly sure when it was going to happen. He finally set up an appointment with my mom and dad on Tuesday evening before we left. He was nervous as all get out, and I didn’t know that I was going to be a part of the discussion until we were in the sunroom at my house, and we were pouring tea for four people.
Ben started out the conversation: “I love your daughter, I love spending time with her—“
And my dad interrupted him, “Stop for a second, let me ponder that. Hmm. You love my daughter.”
After that pause, Ben asked, “Can I marry your daughter?”
And Dad said, “Sure.”
Ben looked at my mom, and she nodded, smiling real big, ” Yeah, absolutely.”
Ben and I were both expecting some sort of question-answer situation, so Ben was trying to figure out what he would say to these. Thus, Ben nearly peed his pants when my dad stopped him like that.
Then my dad talked about how he was able to watch our relationship this summer as we communicated long distance, and talked about how he’d been praying for Ben this past summer.
But then Dad said, “So you’re the guy that I’ve been praying for all these years.” My father has been praying for, is still praying for, the future husbands of all of us girls, and it’s really cool to think about how before we even met, God knew, God was listening, God was blessing.
The next morning we went to Streetsboro, I had my concert at Aurora Mennonite Church (which was such a blessing, and I’m almost certain that this concert was more significant for me than the first one. And God is good.) Ben and I spent the night at Vern and Dee’s and then we headed out the next morning for Ben’s home. We drove for nearly seven hours, and then arrived at his house. We left for Spruce Lake Retreat, where the Delp family vacation was. We arrived there Friday afternoon, and I started getting reacquainted with the relatives I had met in April (when I had mono), and also meeting some new relatives.
Sophie, one of Ben’s cousins, latched herself to me. I met Ben’s Delp grandparents, (what characters!!). One of Ben’s aunts, Christie (who is Sophie’s mom), situated some of the sleeping arrangements, and we shared a bed in the girls’ room in the house that everyone was staying in.
While we were still in Ohio, Ben and I had decided that we were going to go hiking up the mountain and read Genesis 1 and 2, because that was something that Ben had wanted to do since we had started dating (in fact, on our first date, he was showing me pictures on his iPhone of mountains and talked about that idea). We also decided that we should do it as the sun was rising, so we planned to wake up at 6am the next morning to do this. Thus, we went to bed decently early (or at least I did. Ben stayed up with the guys in the guys room and did a power Bible study before they went to bed.)
Then we woke up really early, Ben had a HUGE bowl of cereal (which was not enough for him), and we set out on our hike. We hiked up the mountain for about an hour. It was pretty rocky terrain, but I enjoyed it and it was good change scenery for me (Ohio has nearly no rocks in the ground, is flat, and there aren’t really ferns growing anywhere). There were ferns everywhere (and I like ferns, so this was nice), and nice peaceful morning noises like waterfalls tinkling, and birds chirping. We got to an over look that showed a view for miles and miles of trees and mountainous terrain. Then we sat down and started reading Genesis, and pondering the creation of the earth, in the creation of the earth. We did some praying and snuggling, and sat in silence for a little while.
Then Ben asked me, “What does love mean to you?”
I don’t remember all that I answered, but I can assure you, it was genuine and true. Then I asked him the same question. He answered statements of truth, promises that had been kept; my heart swelled at his response. Then he started smiling and stopped talking, and I knew something was up.
“And one more thing.” Then Ben got down on one knee, pulled out a mahogany box and asked, “Will you marry me?”
And of course I said YES!
Now the sun had been out when we had hiked up the mountain (we didn’t experience the “sunrise” but we had seen the sun continue to rise, which counts. :D) but then as we continued to be there, some clouds were out and so we didn’t see the sun. Now for Ben, that was pretty important. God has spoken to him in very clear ways with the sun, and so he really did want the sun to be shining, but it was consistently cloudy, right up until he got down on one knee. Then the sun came through the clouds, God’s promise, his affirmation for us.
Then we hiked down the mountain, overjoyed, incredibly in love, and certain that God’s will in our life is for us to be together. Ben made an announcement at lunch to his whole family, and I was overwhelmed with welcoming, acceptance, and love. Ben’s aunt took some engagement pictures for us, and we spent the afternoon calling relatives and close friends.
As far as the date for our wedding goes, we are still working out some logistics (financial things), but very very soon, we will have an official date.
Love you all,
(the soon to be) Grace Margaret Engle Delp (or something along those lines)

"Inspirations" CD Release!

Well folks, get excited!
I've been working hard all summer, and it's all starting to pay off!
I recorded my first CD, called Inspirations, containing twelve of my many original songs.
Then, I set up this button, so you can purchase them online, and this is perfect for my family members, friends in high and low places, and telling the world about my music!
Thus, below you can click and buy a CD!

Inspirations CD $14, $2 shipping:

This button will also be available on the margin of my blog for purchasing purposes.