The Story You've All Been Waiting For...

I know what most of you are thinking..."Janae was DATING someone??" Yes, it's true.

Dane Hanvey and I met when he moved into my ward last August. He sat next to me in Sunday School and my first thought was "Wow, a new boy in Pleasant Grove!" He must have thought I was cute or something because he turned out to be "the boy who shows up everywhere" the rest of the day. :)

I left after Sunday School for a baby blessing for my cousin's baby. After that I went back to our "Munch 'n Mingle" at church. I sat down at a table full of girls and next thing I knew, Dane was back next to me meeting the rest of the table. Random, yes.

I went home to an empty house and a little while later there was a knock at the door. The front door. The only people who visit us come in the back (our back-door neighbors). There at the front door was Dane and his two roommates. Wow. Seriously?? They came in and sat down and we chatted for a few minutes. This is the part of the story I like to leave out and Dane likes to put in! Let's just say this was NOT my finest moment in life. I went on to explain how my theory was every single boy over the age of 25 had one of two issues: commitment or pornography. Yes, my first real conversation of Dane I accused him of commitment or pornography issues. NOT my finest moment.
A few weeks later I saw him walking home after an FHE activity so I offered to give him a ride. (He still talks about that...it must have given a really good impression.) I got home and a little while later I got a text from an unknown person. It was Dane saying thanks for the ride home and good luck on the first day of school the next day. So now he had my number (ward directory stalker...) :).
A few days into school, he texted me again asking how the first few days of school had gone. I'll admit it...I thought that was really sweet. It showed that he was thoughtful! From then on, he proceeded to text me randomly here and there. He was still pretty shy in person (as in, he would say hi and maybe a couple other words) and so frankly, I thought he was just a bit awkward! I've come to learn it was just him being shy.
Around Thanksgiving time, he continued to text me while I was in Arizona and then he came to visit me when I got back to Pleasant Grove. Our first outside of texting interaction! :) He helped me set up my house for Christmas and spent at least an hour trying to set up my African nativity. I learned that night that he is a persistent little booger!! Persistent in more ways than one...
Christmas break, we texted a bit while I was in Arizona and I think he started growing on me a little bit. I'm not quite sure why...he was still too shy to talk to me in person or even ask me out, but he became more endearing than awkward. :) When I got back, it was still pretty awkward until I went to his roommate's birthday party and guess what...HE CAME OVER TO TALK TO ME!!! IN PERSON!!! We joked around and it was totally fine until 3 cute girls came in the door who were friends with him in years past and were so excited to see him that they took over. I stood back and thought "Wait a second...these girls really like him!! He must be cooler than I thought!" I continued to watch him interact with old friends and my intrigue started to grow...
When I got home that night he texted me (surprise, surprise) and apologized for getting distracted. From then on, my roommates and I started inviting him to social events and I found that I really enjoyed spending time with him. He has a heart of gold and his perspective on life is so solid. The first thing I fell in love with was our conversations. I could talk to Dane for hours about anything, I loved it!
Dane started gaining some confidence as we invited him over every day for a week and so he finally asked me out! Since our second date, we've been together pretty much every day!
Engagement Story:
Yesterday was his sister's mission "homecoming." We spent the day with his family until his siblings started trickling out to go home or do other things. His little brother then was like "I'm bored. Let's go for a drive or something." So we went for a drive up AF Canyon. We got up to a little trail part and his brother goes "Is there a place we could walk around or something?" As Dane parked the car, I looked out and saw his sister running through the trees like Bigfoot. It was then that I knew something was up. :)

We got out of the car and crossed a bridge. I asked him if I was going to have to call him a punk again (for some reason I call him a punk when he does nice things...it happens a lot). I looked a little ways and saw this:
I was shocked. There was music playing and rose petals all over the ground and it was just GORGEOUS!! We sat down and weren't quite sure what to do. He told me to read something he had written and framed for me so I did. Then he told me to open the bag that was a strand of pearls. Beautiful. Then he said I could open the box that was wrapped in the middle of the table. So I did. I pulled the box out and gave it to him (thinking he would get on one knee and open it and voila!). Nope, he put it back on the table for me. Wow. Thanks, bud. So I opened it and it was pearl earrings and a pearl bracelet. I laughed. Punk! Then he asked if I wanted the real thing and I said yes. He got down on one knee and pulled the box out of his sock (yes, the whole box was in his sock) and asked me to marry him! And I said YES!!
So there you have it...I am engaged. To Dane Hanvey. We are getting married in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple on July 21st and I am soooo incredibly happy. Dane is amazing and I am grateful every day that I found him and that he picked me!!