I am going to be "THE MOTHER OF THE BRIDE"!

I am going to be the mother of the bride!  Ashton and Eric became engaged on Saturday the 19th, on the anniversary of their first date seven years ago!  Eric was a true gentleman getting down on the cold ground at a favorite spot of theirs on bended knee and asked her to marry him!

As many of you know Ashton is the baby of the family.  She and I originally started this blog under the title of "Mommy and Me" to document her Senior year of high school.  And after she graduated and started college I changed the blog title to Life Is What You Make It. 

Anyhow, Ashton and Eric started dating when she was 14 (oh I know, I know!)...there were many many ground rules set down by Mumma....no riding with him in his car, only visiting after school here, etc.,etc. I must say I had reservations, she was just a young teenager for petes sakes!   And here they are today, she is 21 and a nursing student, an EMT and a CNA.  She goes to college full-time, works on the ambulance when she can and works in a nursing home on weekends.  Eric is 24 and works for LLBean, manufacturing those famous LLBean boots.  He has a degree in Criminal Justice as well. 

I can't explain how I felt the night they became engaged...I had suspected perhaps the proposal would come on their anniversary date, they went to Boston Friday and stayed at the Omni Parker Hotel and went to a Boston Celtics game.  Her brother Benjamin works for the Celtics and told me later on that he thought something might be up when he saw the couple at the game and then again the next day when they visited Benjamin and Allison at their apartment.  Allison told Benjamin she too suspected something was up...there was just this "feeling" we all had! 

Mumma, being on edge constantly checked Facebook thinking perhaps something would be posted on their pages...a hint perhaps.  I kept my cellphone with me at all times, hoping I would get a phone call that they were engaged.  Nope.  They came home to Maine.  Nothing. No ring.

10:48 p.m. that evening the phone woke us up, "hi" said Ashton "can we stop by?"  This was it!  This was it!  I knew it, I knew it!  Mark and I scrambled around and waited and waited for them to arrive here.  When the door opened and I saw the huge smiles on both faces Mumma's dreams had started to come true....Ashton's ring is beautiful and drumroll please....in the shape of a heart!  Eric had done a wonderful job in picking out her ring, he saved for it and worried over it for months. 

Afterwards it really hit me, my little girl with the big brown eyes is getting married, building a new life with Eric, hoping for a home and children one day, growing old with each other...I couldn't be a happier Mumma.  Mark and I love Eric as if he were our own son and his family and ours have become close over the years, starting to forge a wonderful bond in common..our childrens new life entwined with ours.

I have started a new blog to follow all the wonderful happenings that will occur in the next year or so...please come along and share the happiness and I could use any ideas or hints that anyone might have in order for me to survive this!


Oh, and another great thing...Ashton crossed "Room Service" off her bucket list...while at the Omni Parker they ordered room service, a small pizza and two tiny Boston Creme pies...thats my girl!

Here is the link to my new blog...I will keep this one as well.
http://ashtonandericgetmarried.blogspot.com/2013/01/shes-engaged_21.html