Hi my fellow APSIRE followers! I know what you're thinking..."Kimberly, you launch your blog and then go MIA". It's true, I've been a bad blogger, I know. SO many wonderful things have been going on in my life and I am here to share a little about what's been going on since we talked last :) First off, I want to say that I really do feel truly blessed and secondly, I will stay that I am definitely stressed. I say this because I want you to know it’s totally okay. It’s okay to be busy. It’s okay to be stressed. I’m here with you, trying to get through every single day. What I have been doing is focusing on the day in front me, and making it the best, and trying (struggling & sometimes failing) to stay positive. My best advice is, enjoy the season you are in because you will miss it one day. I know it’s tough, believe me. But gratitude is the best attitude. And you don’t have to live by the motto, “I’m too blessed to be stressed”. No, I’m very blessed and very stressed. It’s all good. One day, one prayer, one moment at a time. Make it count and make it worthwhile. You are not a victim in your life. You are the lead character!!!!
So, I will be doing my best to bring you posts once a week or twice a month. This is my new goal. If it doesn’t happen, please know I am thinking about you and wanting so badly for this to happen. I will return to my regular schedule blogging eventually ;)
So… what has happened in Kimberly Ann’s world… Well… For starters, I got engaged to the absolute man hunk/angel of my dreams, I have been asked to stand as a bridesmaid in my 3 favorite people’s weddings, I am planning my own wedding, I got a new job, started my accelerated nutrition program THAT I ABSOLUTELY LOVE & I am an alumni advisor to my sorority at TAMU (Gig ‘Em Aggies! But always GO FROGS!). Like I said, ALL the wonderful things are going on. It’s such a busy season and I am so so thankful and blessed.
This is just a short summary of what’s been going on, but what I would like to share with you is Troy and I’s engagement story, from my point of view of course, and then fill in the rest of the gaps sometime in the following weeks. I hope you enjoy reading how Troy proposed and you can also find the other version of it on The Knot’s Website How They Asked (https://howtheyasked.com/kimberly-and-troy/).
So much love & gratitude to you all. Thanks for being patient and following my crazy journey.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Ann
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So, a little backstory - Troy had planned for us to get a private tour of Minute Maid Park on our only free weekend we would have for the next couple of months. Of course, not knowing what he planned, I was super hesitant and kept asking him if we could please just have a "chill" date instead. After all, I had just toured the park two months prior, so I wasn’t really sure why he wanted me to go so bad. Troy kept telling me he had never had a tour himself and that he really wanted one, so of course I went with him! Little did I know this day would change my life forever.
February 16, 2019 - We woke up on Saturday morning and had breakfast with my family, just like any other normal Saturday morning. Troy had mentioned something about us getting a photo together on the field, which I was all about. He knows I’m a HUGE picture lover, so I agreed. We headed to Minute Maid Park (still a little begrudgingly on my part) and on the way, there was crazy traffic in Houston. Now, on any typical weekday this might seem normal, but not usually on the weekend. I was so irritated by the dead stop traffic on a Saturday; and they closed off our exit entirely. I must admit, I was a slight bit grouchy after that, poor Troy. I remember thinking, “why is he being so quiet in the car?” He definitely wasn’t acting like himself that day.
We finally made our way over to Minute Maid Park and Troy was still acting rather unusual. I thought maybe he was stressed about work or something. We got a wonderful tour of the park and reminisced on all of our wonderful dates that we had there. We even went to the seats where we had one of our first dates. (For one of our dates, he got us amazing seats super close to the field, between 3rd base and home). It was on that date, I remember feeling so happy, loved, and safe. He felt like home to me and I knew I was falling hard for him. He also told me on that date that, “he wanted to keep me so busy (date-wise) that I wouldn’t have time to think of or date any other guys”. Well, let’s just say that plan definitely worked! We always look back on this date as one of our favorite/most special dates and kind of a turning point in our relationship. This is why Minute Maid is very special to us. The year we started dating, was the same year that the Astro’s won the World Series; not saying it’s a coincidence…. but maybe it is (LOL – your welcome ‘Stros).
Nearing the end of our tour, we wound up actually on the field and our tour guide asked if we wanted to take a photo. Being prepared for this moment, I was like “yes!” but Troy said “no, not there, lets angle this way” and had us move down the field towards 3rd base. Y’all this is when I really knew something was up because Troy is NOT a photo dude. For him to be like no we need a different angle, I was thinking “what the heck is going on?” I was sort of confused by this new-found appreciation for photos and angles. We took a couple of photos and then our guide asked me if I wanted to see the photos to make sure they were good. As the tour guide handed me my phone, he zoomed in on the background of the photo so I could see the billboard behind us (which I hadn’t even noticed). As I looked at the picture, blown up on my phone, the billboard in the background behind us said, “Will you marry me?” I immediately turned and saw the words on the billboard and as I turned back around, slightly confused, I noticed Troy down on his knee and asking me, “Kimberly Ann Parratt, will you marry me?” I think I said yes, but I’m not even sure what happened after that.
The next thing I know, while I am hugging my sweet guy, the song “On My Way To You” by Cody Johnson started playing on the loud speakers at Minute Maid Park. Immediately, the water works started. It was a very romantic moment. After a few seconds, I realized he never put my ring on my finger, so I pulled away so that I could look down at my ring; the most perfect piece of jewelry I have ever seen! Wow! It was beautiful! Then Troy slid it on my finger, while I was shaking like a leaf, as he was telling me how much he loves me and how he couldn’t wait to marry me. We kissed and hugged again; but then I started hearing this clicking all of a sudden. So, I pulled away from him to look to see what the noise was, and that’s when I saw my whole family coming out of the dugout. The clicking was coming from my sister’s camera, as she had been taking pictures the whole time! They completely surprised me, as well. When we had left the house, nobody was dressed or let on that they were even going anywhere that day.
Our family all hugged each other and I was just beyond happy. I thought everything, surprise-wise, was over - but that wasn’t the case. Then Troy took me to a “surprise” proposal party, at my favorite restaurant in Houston, where our family, closest friends and my grandma were waiting for us! We had a wonderful dinner and then finished the night by going to Wild West (our second date spot) where we got to have a special dance to “On My Way To You”. Troy had truly planned the most special engagement ever. He took me to some of our favorite memory and date spots, included my family & our friends, and just made me feel SO loved. Troy, I cannot wait to be your wife. You really “knocked it out of the ballpark” on our engagement. I love you so much!!