The calls started hitting Madison's cell phone late on Thursday night. I think the news hit Facebook before we parents received a phone call. Yes, it's true. Clayton popped the question to Taylor on a surprise visit to her YWAM base. Scattered discussions around the subject of marriage have been on-going with Taylor for the past year or so. Wendy and I both suspected the Clayton and Taylor had been talking about getting married young. A dad's keen powers of observation notice things like your daughter browsing at diamond rings and wedding gowns on-line.

The official proposal has been in the works for about two weeks or so. More about that later. We're thrilled for the two of them. Taylor left for three months on the mission field yesterday. Clayton is going to spend his next semester working in disaster relief in Haiti. So, the newly engaged couple will not be seeing each other for several months.

If you think that I'm a bit slow in getting the news posted, you're right. Madison, Wendy and I have been busy with performances of "Cheaper by the Dozen". One last performance this afternoon at 2:00. On top of that, I had my company's annual meeting and Christmas luncheon yesterday afternoon. And, we all have a nasty cold/virus that started with Madison early in the week, then moved to Wendy mid-week and hit me like a ton of bricks on Friday night. Ugh!