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3 minute scan… ;)  


All in - it has been a fabulously wild and insanely fun 14 years in the making. 


In February of 2024, we decided it was time to make this thing between us official, not only for us but for our children. While it was never intended, the unknown can be difficult to build upon - it can also be exhilarating and magical. Not knowing the end of the story, and believing you’re still writing it, is an intentional choice, especially after 10 years, then 12, 13, yes, you get the picture!  


A few words I have lived by, “when anything is possible, anything is possible”!! Choose your possible carefully and wisely! 


I can’t authentically share our story without inserting the very real fact that my gut and my head were at a standstill more than once throughout these 14 years, and yet we carried on. I dismissed the voice of logic, leaned into the unknown, closed my eyes, shook my head, questioning my sanity, my belief system, and everything I thought I knew about love. Staying forced me to relearn, to choose, to acknowledge the choice and be willing to not only live with it but in it and the Bliss ~ oh the Beautiful Bliss ~ it came from the staying, the learning, the relearning, the building, and rebuilding. 
And this bliss —
This bliss.
It knocks me out every time I look into this man’s eyes.
Even after everything… or maybe because of everything.
There’s a depth there—of love, of truth, of the roads we’ve walked and the ones still ahead.
It’s not a fairytale. It’s something better and far greater! 


So if you know Mike, you know once he truly decides to do something, he does it… But you also know that the “when” can be very obscure. No worries, I managed that concern in our initial conversation about this ever-so-important decision. In that moment, because I knew and I made sure Mike understood, my gut, my heart - they were losing ground, and my head was taking the lead, so I needed a few things from him. He listened…. 


My first request, I wanted our children to witness our engagement. That was important to me because while it’s us getting married - all 4 and now 8 of them have lived this right along with us, and so the magical moment - the celebration - the certainty - the blessing - I wanted to share that moment with all of them. 


Secondly, it had to be that year (2024). And in pure Mike fashion, he said, ok, but I don’t want to talk about it again until it’s done. And in pure Sheila fashion, I responded - well, it’s not like I’ve been waiting a few years - this is far bigger than that - when this happens, I will want to scream from a mountain top - my excitement deserves a little room for discussion!? Even so, I understood the request and agreed to try. As such, a few of my girlfriends and my mother were my emotional outlet for both my excitement and concern. :/  


Fast forward to late June 2024: 
The weekend before July 4th, we got a phone call from Taylor’s now Husband, then boyfriend, Michael, asking if he could stop by for a visit. Hmmmmmm - uh huh - yes of course!!! We knew something beautiful was in the works…. So, Michael came for a visit with a request for our blessing as he planned to ask Taylor to marry him on July 26th. We were thrilled, and our focus was immediately directed to them and all that they were about to embark upon!  


It’s now late August, Taylor and Michael are engaged, and we are getting ready to go to Venice for a September Wedding. While we were all invited, Taylor, Michael, Maddie, and Noah had prior Wedding and Event commitments, so they were not able to join us. Which, in my mind, meant a European proposal wasn’t a thought or even an option. But it was August and we were going on 6 months without even a mention or conversation about a ring, ring size, ring design/style, desired jeweler, silver, gold - nada! So I tried to ever-so-gently mention the passing of time and my wavering belief/faith in the whole proposal thing. To which Mike quickly responded, Did you want me to jump in front of our daughter’s Wedding proposal? Well, of course not - absolutely not - but we had just learned about that a few weeks ago, and there were plenty of other months that went by before this one. And we left it at that…. I knew from the tone in his voice that he had likely considered proposing on the 4th of July, but in my mind, that made little sense because we hadn’t even discussed my ring size. So I landed on - ok, a paper ring that can be fitted in the moment works, and I let it go. There are only 4 months left in the year, so I will have clarity soon, one way or the other. 


It’s September now, and we are shopping for our trip to Italy and Germany, and out of the blue, Mike sent me this picture of a small backpack that he’s oddly giddy about, saying he thinks he’ll grab it so we can take it with us every day along our travels. Ok - great, I told him, whatever makes you happy, and clearly this backpack does! haha! I got the biggest kick out of how excited he was about this backpack - and given his enthusiasm, I knew that backpack would be our daily travel companion. And it was…. 
My mom, my daughters, and a few good friends all asked me if I thought Mike would propose while we were in Europe. My response - absolutely not! For starters … well, you know my reasons, and nothing lined up so no - I was certain he was not going to propose in Europe - but I was also certain that if this proposal thing was going to happen at all, I needed it to be soon - somehow, someway. 


So, on to Italy we went, Venice for a Wedding, then Bolzano to hike the Italian Alps, and that little backpack didn’t miss a beat! 
We did two different mountain hikes on two separate days. On the last day of hiking, we happened upon a mountain with a Wishing Bell, and an Alpine Mountain Coaster. The plan was to take the Gondola up to the spot where we could hike the rest of the way to the Wishing Bell and then take the Alpine Coaster down the mountain. There was insane beauty all around us!! We got to the Wishing Bell and found this incredible swing next to it! The kids all took the rubber mallet, made their wishes, and rang the bell…. and Mike said, Sheila, go make your wish! I said I’ll ring the bell, but the only thing I am wishing for is a beer because I know I will get one of those (as we were all headed to Oktoberfest in Munich the next day). Safe bet, safe wish! Mike encouraged me one more time to make a wish, and my response was the same. Still - a proposal was the furthest thing from my mind…. not the wanting of one but the happening of one! 


After we all made our wishes and sat upon the coolest swing, taking in the most panoramic views, we turned to hike up to this beautiful cross at the top of another peak. I so badly wanted to get to it, but it was a very steep climb with a ton of loose rock underfoot, and my tennis shoes were slipping all over the place. So Mike quickly told the kids to go on without us and that we would meet them at the lookout. To which I thought, wow, he really understood my shoes were not going to make that climb safely - he didn’t even question any of it! Ha! So we made our way to this stunning look-out and saw that the kids made it to the cross - the views were spectacular and the cross standing high over all of it, amid all the beauty, it was all very meaningful to me. I turned to look out over the railing at the majestic view, and I felt this tug on the bottom of my coat… like a little kid pulling on my jacket… confused, I turned around and looked down to find Mike on one knee asking me to marry him in Italian! I wasn’t instantly convinced this was real, so I pleaded with him to get up and stop messing around…. and then he presented a ring…. and based on what I was looking at, I knew this wasn’t a practice run! Disbelief and stunned are two words that come to mind … I was soooo surprised I didn’t even answer him… and suddenly the kids, from the base of the cross figured out what was happening and OJ said… hey, I think your dad is either having a heart attack or proposing to Sheila! So Rachel, Evan, and OJ started to make their way to us with cameras and video rolling, which we will forever be grateful for!! To celebrate, we headed to the Alpine Mountain coaster, each jumping in our individual cars - Evan first because he’d want to go the fastest. Then Rach, OJ - we waved them all goodbye. A huge rain started - it was pouring as Mike and I jumped into our coaster cars - confirming with the ride operator that this was still a safe thing to do - she said yes, and off we went! The rain came down harder, and halfway, we were getting pummeled by sleet! It was freezing - literally and SO hilarious ! We made our way, landing at a very cozy Alpine Hut, we walked in and Evan, getting down the mountain first and so very fast, had ordered Champagne and snacks for us to officially toast our engagement! To say it was dreamy is an understatement. It was magnificently beyond my wildest dreams!! The proposal, the place, the ring, it was all perfect - I couldn’t get the ring on immediately due to the elevation effects and puffy hands at the moment - but after getting into the city again, on it went!! The ring size, the look, style, design, the jeweler, he did it all perfectly!! Never have I ever been more surprised by anything or anyone! So much so, we had to take a step back because Mike was also aware I hadn't answered him.... so when all was quiet, he asked me again …. he said, You know you didn’t answer me earlier… and with that I said, YES - ABSOLUTELY YES!!! 


We had fun figuring out a way to share the news with Taylor, Michael, Maddie, and Noah, but it would have to wait because we’d planned on hanging in Munich for a few days, and we wanted to tell them in person. 
So once we got home, the kids came over to look at pictures and hear about the trip. Going back to that awesome video of the mountain-top proposal, that OJ, Evan, and Rachel just happened to capture - that’s how we told the rest of them! It was so fun, they were ecstatic and also in shock, so they also asked if it was real!?! LOL - yes, it’s real and yes, the screams and the hugs were as well!


And here we ALL are! :) No, I never did scream audibly from that mountain-top, but I do internally each day I wake up and get to call this life, this love mine! I mean, most days anyway! ;)




The pictures are of the Dolomites in Vipiteno, Italy. The wishing bell, the swing, the cross, and the outlook! I must add that I love the one of Mike swinging b/c it represents so well the fact that he was getting ready to take the biggest leap of his life. I have since learned that Mike picked up the proposal ring in mid-June. July 4th was his initial plan, and when he knew that wouldn't work, he carried that ring around waiting for the perfect moment. We think life's blessings delivered the perfect proposal for both of us!