Kennon LOVES surprises and made sure this was the best one ever! Clueless to what was coming... I headed to Memphis December 23 for a white elephant Christmas party with all Kennon's friends. We were leaving the party early, but the host (Chris Hill) insisted we still pick a gift. Kennon, appearing to randomly grab a bag, unwrapped a simple, red Christmas ornament. A friend pointedly told Kennon looks can be deceiving and not to judge a book by its cover. After getting in the car, I started shaking the ornament and popped the top but stated I didn't see a thing. Kennon said, "Are you sure? I think maybe I see something!" After a couple of looks, I found a small note inside. "Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart... proceed to Wilson Chapel where you'll find your gift" I excitedly thought it was a scavenger hunt for the Christmas party.
Upon arriving at the chapel we found a shoe box with a hammer and another red ornament reading "Remember When..." Breaking the ornament, I found another note. "Let's walk down memory lane and remember God's faithfulness in our relationship." The chapel doors were open with candles lining the center aisle and hanging down the pews were 7 red stockings and 7 red ornaments representing the 7 months we'd been dating. Every stocking held unique memorabilia from things we'd done each month and after breaking each ornament...inside were two pieces of paper...a red paper with a scripture for me to read and a green one with a Psalm for Kennon to read.
After the last ornament, Kennon told me he wanted to look back and thank God together for what He'd done in our relationship and for the future. So we went down to the front of the church and knelt at the alter to pray. Before praying, he pulled a piece of paper out of his Bible and shared with me a list he had made a few years ago of Biblical "must haves" for his wife and a list of "icing" traits. After thanking the Lord for His faithfulness and asking his continued blessing and guidance in our relationship, Kennon took my hand to lead me up the steps of the front platform.
He begin to tell me why this chapel was so special to him. His father passed away when he was in high school, and Wilson Chapel was where the memorial service took place. He pointed to where he had sat during that very service thinking of how he was losing his best friend. Then Kennon turned to me and said how special it would be to gain his new best friend for the rest of his life in this same place. He read Genesis 2 about the Lord taking a rib from the man to fashion the woman and creating her as a helpmate for him. Suddenly Kennon was on one knee proposing! After about 2 seconds of absorbing the utter joy and surrealness of the moment, I confidently and excitedly exclaimed YES!
Before leaving the chapel, Kennon told me he had one more thing to give me. Knowing how much I love to journal, he had a baby blue leather journal with "Kathryn Vaughan" on the front cover. He had written me a note on the first page that the gift was for me to record every special moment of our engagement.
When we got back to his house, he opened the front door and shouted "she said yes!" as our families starting cheering. In shock I stood staring into a video camera surrounded by my family, his family, and Emily Brooks who had first introduced us. The perfect ending with our families...to a perfect night that was the beginning of becoming our own family.
