Holidays in Knoxville

The Seaman extended family celebrated Christmas on Friday, December 23rd.  We had lots of fun conversation - some of it centered around hearing Rebecca's engagement story and talking about wedding plans (date not set yet).

Highlights were our family gift exchange

And this cheesecake (which Papa already requested for next year as his only gift!):

Recipe here.  I feel like I have finally taken my cheesecake to the next level.  Rebecca and Joseph say they want cheesecake for their wedding, so I may be just in time!

He Put a Ring on It

On December 1st, Rebecca attended a Military Ball in Virginia with Joseph (apparently actually called a "Dining Out" - which sounds really lame to me).  I had a hunch that he would be popping the question at this event, but Terry (who had given permission already) didn't think it would happen until the New Year.

I began to think Terry was right when we hadn't heard from Rebecca and it was getting quite late in the evening.  We went to bed, and Terry fell promptly to sleep.  I was still awake when I got a text from Rebecca asking if she could FaceTime me and her Dad in a few minutes.  Turns out female intuition rules!

Joseph designed the ring himself.  Isn't it pretty?

Terry had a hard time sounding excited because he was half asleep.  I was thrilled, and we got her brothers to come upstairs and join the call.  Noah one the prize for the most enthusiasm!  He looked something like this:

Rebecca and Joseph tell the story from their point of view on their wedding website.