June 12th, 2008—four years after we'd met, Jeff was on his way to Dulles International Airport, flying in to visit for a couple weeks this summer. I was so excited...with some Mountain Dew in me, it was all my friends could do to keep me from bouncing off the walls! Jason (Jeff's brother) and Liz Onesty and I all made the four-hour drive up from Roanoke to pick him up that afternoon. His plane actually landed a little while before we got there to pick him up, but at least that meant no waiting around for baggage. We left the airport at about 7:30pm and began the long trip back.

Jeff suggested that we take Skyline Drive back for part of the way, since it was sunny and he'd never been on it before. We'd only been on it for a couple miles though when we came to an overlook with a great view, and we pulled over to enjoy it for a minute. Jeff took a couple pictures, then gave the camera to Jason and sat down on the edge of the overlook with me.

Jeff looked a little different than usual, like he wasn't sure exactly what to do. He stood up after a couple minutes, and I stood with him, and then he said some things about the last four years being the best ever and how much he loved me, and then he got down on one knee...and I knew what was coming next. He asked me to marry him, and I said yes!

HOWEVER...

It started with a pipe cleaner! It was VBS 2006; Molly Mattox made several rings and bracelets out of pipe cleaner for Jeff during one of the craft sessions. I noticed all the bracelets and rings, and I decided to take one of the rings. I put it on my left ring finger as a promise, to myself as well as to him. I wore that ring every day, but one day, it broke. I bent it back together, but it no longer fit on my finger, so I wore it on a necklace instead. I told him that it broke, and he said he would bring one back with him. He came in town and told me a few days later that the new pipe cleaner was in his jacket pocket.

We were at my great-grandmother's house celebrating Christmas, and he took me out to the car to exchange gifts. We opened our gifts, and then he said, "before I forget..." and reached for his coat pocket. I remembered what he'd said before, and knew that it was my new "pipe cleaner" to replace the old one. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a ring box, and all I thought was, "Aw, how sweet! He got a box for it and everything!"

He said "Courtney," and as he opened the box he said, "will you marry me?" There, right before my eyes, was a beautiful sparkling diamond ring! I TOTALLY didn't expect it, not even when I saw the box. I stood there in shock for what seemed like forever and then said "yes!"

At this point I must pause to tell you that Jeffrey Rowberg and Courtney Hancock got engaged...December 25, 2007!

For six months we were engaged, and we kept it to ourselves. We got to have a special bonding time that we wouldn't have had otherwise, because those six months were just about us; they weren't crowded with everyone and everything else, all the talking and planning that make everything so crazy around weddings. We got to think about a lot during that time together.

...but you know, he said the second time made him just as nervous as the first time. Crazy boy!