My parents took Wesley and I to Oklahoma to a casino for my 21st birthday which was on March 30th. This was my first time and Wesley’s first time gambling so they thought it would be a nice way to celebrate. We spent the 29th at the slot machines. We went and had dinner at Toby Keith’s “I Love This Bar & Grill” where their live band sang me happy birthday and gave me a free CD. From there we went to the bar and waited for the clock to hit 12 so that I could order my first legal drink. We had about 45 minutes to kill so I went to the bathroom and I came out and sat next to my mom. As the 45 minutes finally passed, I order my first drink - which was a Pink Panther - while my dad photographed the entire thing. Wesley looks at me and tells me he loves me and happy birthday and then he asks me to dance. So, we step off to the side and start dancing. I’m giving him a hard time because it’s normally like pulling teeth to get him to dance with me in front of people. And we definitely had an audience. The song he choose for us to dance to was God Gave Me You by Blake Shelton. About half way through the song, Wesley kisses my forehead and asks me “Do you love me?” I reply with “Duh, of course I do.” And then the next thing I know, he’s down on one knee and he asks me “Will you marry me?” I was crying. He was crying. My mom was crying. Everyone was clapping and cheering. This was the most memorable and wonderful birthday I have ever had. I don’t think anything could top that.
And now, I am engaged to Gene Wesley Sparks III.
