The Story Behind the Ring

Kris is terrible at keeping secrets. Mackenzy knew when he was asking us for her hand. She knew when he bought her ring. She knew the time frame during which he was planning to propose. He is so excited, he can't help but talk to her about everything. And since they are normally separated by hundreds of miles, both working and going to school, when they do find time to talk, they want to talk about their future life together.


Since Kris asked our permission to marry Mackenzy a couple of months ago, she really has been quite patient waiting for that special day to arrive when they would be officially official. 


That day was to be Christmas Eve.


Kris was to fly in that morning, and the plan was to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with his family, then they would drive to Abilene and join all of us at Grandma and Grandpa's, with the rest of the Conder Clan. 


We left home on Friday afternoon. The weather forecast had the possibility of snow in it, but it hadn't begun when we left. After we left, however, several inches fell. That's amazing for us to have two snows in the same winter! 


The morning of Christmas Eve, Kris' father drove Mackenzy to the airport to pick him up. While there, they learned his flight was delayed. He had made it as far as Dallas, and they weren't sure whether they would actually head west or not. They did finally decide to board passengers and try to make it. As it turned out, they flew all the way to Midland, but were only allowed to circle. West Texas is not well equipped to handle frozen precipitation. The other planes that were in the holding pattern went all the way back to Dallas. Thankfully, Kris' plane stopped in, of all places, Abilene! Kregg drove out to the  airport and snatched him up before they changed their minds and took everyone back to Dallas.


Mackenzy, poor thing, was beside herself!


Here we were with Kris, in Abilene, on the day he was to propose. And there she was, still at home, in the same city as Kris' parents. Not exactly what they had planned. After consulting the Department of Public Safety, we decided Mackenzy could try to head toward Abilene. We didn't like the idea of her driving in the snow by herself, but she promised to take her time and be extra careful. Thankfully, the worst of it was localized around Midland.


A few hours later, she arrived safely. Kris had already "run the gauntlet" of meeting all the relatives by the time she arrived. In total, there were over 35 of us that eventually gathered. If that didn't scare him off, he's definitely a "keeper." :)


That evening, after we all had dinner, Kris and Mackenzy drove into town and walked around a beautifully lit college campus in Abilene, called Hardin Simmons. Under a large tree, lit by thousands and thousands of lights, he got down on one knee and asked her to be his wife.

When they returned, everyone wanted to congratulate them and see the ring. It was so sweet.

After the family picture on Christmas afternoon, they drove back to Midland to celebrate everything all over again with Kris' family. 


Now all the wedding planning may commence. Officially. :)