It all happened on New Year's Eve 2009...

We decided to rent a cabin for New Year's weekend, to get out of the city and relax for a few days at the end of a very busy year. After being told that most cabins were already booked, our old stand-by had a last-minute cancellation and we were able to go there. We've been to this particular cabin 3 or 4 times now, and its great. It overlooks the Shenandoah River and Massanutten Mountains and is very quiet and peaceful.

On New Year's Eve, we were cuddling on the couch when Jon turned to me, said he wanted to be with me forever, and pulled out a ring (which he had designed himself).

I immediately kissed him, to which he said, "look at the ring!" I told him it was beautiful, but said "aren't you going to ask me a question or get down on one knee?" He did, asked me to marry him, and I said yes! And then we drank champagne (that Jon had insisted we bring to "ring in the New Year").

The rest of the weekend was an absolute joy. We relaxed, went to local wineries and farm stands, and enjoyed the beautiful mountains (hills) of Virginia.