Let us tell you the wonderful surprise Sammy had for me on February 16. 2003. He proposed in front of the whole family and friends without me knowing that they were going to be there. See, Sammy and I had already talked about getting married and we wanted to talk to my parents to formalize our relationship.

The surprise hid in that Sammy had talked to my parents a month in advance to ask for permission to marry me. He showed them the engagement ring, which he insistently told me he didn't have money to buy. He had gathered all the very special people that grew with us in our relationship, such as his mom and family, my two best friends, who had no idea he was proposing either, his cousins, aunts, best friends and more. Of course the announced snow storm didn't allow for everybody to be there. Some people were even coming from out of town, like my brother who lives in North Carolina who had to cancel the trip due to the snow. Because of the snow we also had to anticipate the time of the meeting, it was supposed to be at 5pm but we made it a lunch party at 1pm.

Sammy's mom and her family met and talked with my parents and I. It was quick but very emotional. There was an awkward moment of silence when suddenly about five people walked towards the door from outside. I recognized them, they were Melenie, Keith, Miriam and Fabiola. I was confused because I thought they were just dropping by uninvited, up until then, I had no idea that Sammy had invited them, he even told me kind of upset that we couldn't believe his mom did that when it was supposed to be a very private gathering. When everybody was settled down, my dad spoke out that Sammy had an announcement to make. I was even more confused and worried for Sammy that my dad was putting him on the spot.

But Sammy grabbed my hand and we both stood up in front of everybody. He started talking, thanking everybody for coming and announcing that we had decided to get married and he wanted to do it in front of the people we love. So he turned to me and held both my hands, looked at me and started telling me that he loved me and that he wanted to marry me, so he bent down on one knee and asked me to be his wife taking out a little box with a beautiful ring inside. By that time I was in total shock with a huge smile, which stayed stamped on my face for the rest of the day and the rest of the days that followed. My two best friends who didn't know either were just as shocked and with a big smile on their faces also. It was a beautiful snowy day. It snowed almost 2 feet, but we had a blast playing, laughing, and getting all the details of the surprise out of everybody. Here are morepictures of that day.