It was a gorgeous day - the second day of the Fitzhenry's visit - and the families planned an outing into beautiful Hatcher Pass. The drive was pleasant, and Mr. Fitzhenry enjoyed stopping at every opportunity to take pictures of the lush, almost Scotland-like scenery. Tait, however, seemed to be in a strange hurry, which brought some playful teasing from Lauren.

The proposed hiking spot was reached, and while everyone was still waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman and Esther to arrive in their car, Tait proposed that he, Lauren, and Ashley start up the trail. (There's a lot of proposing going on here! More to come!)

Now, let's stop and look at this trail for a second. First of all, it could hardly be called a trail; it was more of a ... a place where the grass had been thinned out very slightly, possibly by an occasional person passing through. Second of all, it went straight up the mountainside - or hillside, as Alaskans would say.

Anyway, Tait, Lauren, and Ashley started up. They had only made it a little way, up to a little mine in the mountainside, when Esther - who had just arrived with her parents - called Ashley back down for some reason. Tait and Lauren stopped for a slight rest before continuing up.

Throughout Tait's and Lauren's courtship, Tait made a habit of regularly asking Lauren the question, "What are you thinking?" Lauren's answers gave him a unique view into Lauren's heart and thoughts. His question had become so common at that point, that sometimes he would only ask, "You know what I'm going to ask you now; right?" Lauren knew, of course, and would proceed to share what was on her heart at that particular time.

On the way up the trail-which-wasn't-a-trail, at each of the several resting spots, Tait asked for Lauren's thoughts, which were shared in a slightly breathless style - breathless partly from the exertion, and partly from the beautiful scenery.

Far down below, Lauren's parents and Tait's parents and sisters were watching Lauren and Tait climb, and getting ready to start up themselves. Lauren's parents had, of course, given permission to propose, and were confident that Tait would take the earliest opportunity. But they didn't know exactly when he would decide to ask. Lauren and Tait were nearly to the top when Mr. Zimmerman fun-lovingly informed Lauren's dad: "I think my son is going to ask your daughter a certain question up there. If you have any problem with that, you'd better run."

When they reached the top, Tait asked Lauren where she would like to stop and rest. (Lauren is used to the ridiculously flat Charleston terrain, so a rest sounded very appealing at that point.) She picked a grassy little knoll overlooking the beautiful, lush valley below.

Tait started to sit down, asking "Do you know what I'm going to ask you now?" Lauren replied as usual, "You're going to ask me what I'm thinking," as Tait unexpectedly bent on one knee and asked quite another, infinitely even more wonderful question! Lauren's breathless "Yes!" (it had been a long climb!) was given immediately and without reservation.

It was then that Tait breathed the first "I love you" to Lauren.

Ashley had kindly packed a lovely little picnic of grapes, sausage, cheese, crackers, and sparkling cider, complete with a crisp white table cloth and little wine glasses.

Our first prayer as an engaged couple was said, thanking the Lord for all He had done in each of our lives, and asking for His blessing on our marriage and future family. We ate our picnic, enjoyed saying and hearing a few sweet nothings - the first Tait had ever spoken to a girl, and the first Lauren had ever heard from a young man - and then headed over the next hill to join the rest of our families. Heads and cameras had been popping up periodically over the edge throughout our time together. Hence, the following picture:

We are just visible in the center there.

Oh, we enjoyed that outing together so much! We explored an abandoned gold mine with Tait's sisters, posed for numerous pictures, slid through a big patch of snow (in July?!), and just enjoyed being together as a couple!

On our way home, after stopping for dinner at a rustic Hatcher Pass lodge, a beautiful rainbow appeared, reminding us of God's faithfulness to those who honor Him. Our desire is that we will be more productive for Christ than we could ever be separately, and that the Lord would work through us to accomplish His ends.