Top Ten

So I wrote this over a month ago, and somehow never posted it:

Last Sunday (May 17) marked six months of David and I being "together" "officially." So on Monday night we snuggled up with a blanket and a laptop to write out some of our favorite memories... then we made a top ten list.

Here's just a few of our favorites:

The SMOOTHIE: Last year, BYX was selling smoothies in the MDA as a fundraiser. I was sitting there working on some homework, when a dashingly handsome man came and asked me if I wanted a smoothie. I didn't have any cash on me and so he bought one for me. This stands as one of our first real conversations and encounters. I remember wondering if maybe he liked me because he bought me a smoothie, but I convinced myself he was just being nice. Little did I know....

The UHAUL. Just a few days after David and I started dating, I was starting to walk across campus. I saw him and some of his buddies walking towards my building. But there was this big UHAUL in between us... I saw his feet move around to the back of the UHAUL while he buddies kept coming towards me. When I reached them, I asked where he went but they denied that he was ever with them. I knew better. I walked around to the back of the UHAUL, and there he was :) My David, sitting there, in the back of this UHAUL that wasnt even ours, and he had flowers for me. I joined him, smelled my flowers, and felt overwhelmed that I had this great man loving me. I found out later that he meant to bring them to my desk, but since I accidentally intercepted him on the way, the UHAUL became the impromptu location :)

FIRST DANCE. For David's birthday, I had made him a CD of our favorite songs. One of his songs was "Go the Distance" by Michael Bolton. We were listening to it one time, and I mentioned that I didn't think it was very "danceable." Mr. Ashcraft took that as a challenge I think because he stood me up and swept me off my feet. I learned that the song was very "danceable." It was a great first dance. His hero's welcome is waiting in my arms :)

STUDY DATE. Last fall, David and I were both writing papers on Isaiah. He asked me to meet him and work on them together. And of course, there was very little talk of Isaiah. It was not much of a 'study date' at all. That was an incredible night. We talked for hours and everything and anything. Something that sticks out to me is somehow I got on the topic of American Girl Dolls (we had been talking about our sisters, and this was something my sisters and I did a lot!) He had never heard of them, so I googled them real quick and was going to show them to him. As I was waiting on the website to load, I thought to myself: Ashley - what in the world are you doing? He does not care about American Girl Dolls, and he probably thinks you are crazy for showing him... but then, I looked up at him. And he wasn't looking at me like I was crazy; he was looking at me like he adored me. I knew then and there that this man was special. He was patient, and kind, and for whatever reason, he liked me.

ANNOUCEMENT: Last November, David's birthday was a special day for us. I had written him about what was then just an idea and what is now the impending move to Waco. We had a long converation about it that night, and it was in this conversation that David

asked me to be his girlfriend. David was leaving for the night, and I walked him to the door (all of my roommates were in the living room.) When we got to the door, he smiled at me and asked if he could introduce me as his girlfriend. So we went back into the living room, and he

said to them "I would like to introduce you all to Ashley Hatchet...my girlfriend!" As LMA would say, "a general cry arose" and my roommates freaked out! It was such a fun moment. Here is a pic from that night.