This is Payton and I's story, we both tag teamed on it to give you multiple perspectives, so sit back grab some popcorn and enjoy the ride :)
[Payton] You meet a lot of different people in life; a good portion of these daily encounters are minuscule and don't amount to much in the grand scheme of things. But sometimes there is a bigger picture you don't see, a red herring to save for later in life. The summer of 2007 was an exciting time in my life for many reasons, chief of which was the opportunity God laid before me to work with my brother Dustin in youth ministry. But in no way could I have foreseen what else was in store for me.
(Melissa) First off, I would like to mention a few of the little random tidbits. The year before I met Payton (2006) I went on a Spring Break Campaign (Mission Trip) with ACU to Boulder, CO where I served with Boulder Valley Church of Christ and met Sam Bartee, one of Payton's younger sisters. During the summer of 2006 I worked ACU leadership camps where low and behold there was Sam and the BVCoC youth group again. Then finally the summer of 2007, I take an internship that I am not fully sure about but I definitely felt God's pull to have me where I was about to go, little did I know the implications that would come from this choice.
(P) I first met Melissa at a Starbucks in Spring, TX. We were both youth interns at our respective churches and were meeting to plan an upcoming junior high camp in San Antonio. I remember thinking she was cute and insightful, but honestly as a guy you never read too much into these things. We were both professionals, after all! When we finally got to the Harold E. Butts camp for the week, we went about our duties and had a very fun week. But from seeing her playfulness at the midnight counselor volleyball games to seeing her heart as she lead a campfire devo, there was something about this gal.
(M) I remember when I first met Payton at the Starbucks. In all reality I was not quite sure what to expect with planning H.E.B camp or the group of people I would meet. Then I met Payton and his brother, when I found out they were Sam's brothers I was really excited because I remember Sam and I getting along really well at camp. The week of H.E.B. camp was one of the best experiences of the summer for me. I remember having really great conversations with Payton about faith, God, and so forth. There was a night when we were playing a midnight game of volleyball, he was on my team. I remember he was standing next to me as we were playing and he blurted out "So would you want to go see a movie or something sometime?" I vaguely remember not knowing if he was being serious or not at the time. When he laughed it off, I thought he might be joking. At the time he was not on my radar of someone I would date; after all I had two more years at ACU. But little did I know that question on the volleyball courts was a foreshadowing of sorts.
(P) After crashing and burning on the volleyball courts, we can pretty much fast-forward two years. Melissa successfully graduated college, while I kept inching closer to that elusive degree. God opened a door for me to be near my brother, his wife Carly, and their precious kids with a ministry job in Sugar Land. Doing school and ministry definitely adds up to a full plate, but it's very fulfilling to always feel so busy and blessed. Residing in Houston has been an interesting education on life, myself, and ministry.
(M) Fast-forward to the summer of 2009. Over the two years before then, I had many experiences that forever changed me, including a month I spent in Haiti the summer of 2008. Then I finally reached a beautiful milestone and graduated from ACU on May 9, 2009, with all the expectations of being anywhere but Abilene or Houston. I looked and applied...looked and applied some more. The newly fallen economy did not help my dream of being some place new and exciting to start a new life, or become an exciting career woman. I remember my mom saying in June, "God is doing something in all of this just wait and see." During the month of July after I had an interview for the job of my dreams and I failed to achieve it; I began a month of volunteering with the middle school of Impact Church of Christ. One of the weeks I was volunteering I decided to go to one SYS, it was on July 20th, 2009 at Bammel Church of Christ. When we got to the church, when I walked in one of the very first people I see is none other than Payton Bartee. We talked for about five minutes just catching up on life, I found out he had been going to school and interning in Houston. I remember the last thing I said before our quick catch up was over "Well good to see you, we should get coffee sometime." Soon after that he decided to take me up on that offer!
(P) That whole night gave me a fuzzy feeling. I remember having a very difficult conversation earlier in the day that rocked me to my core; it dominated my thoughts for the rest of the day. That is, until I got to SYS! I love seeing old friends, and returning to Bammel is always a fun experience. I went home that night and got on Facebook, of course looking up my old friend Melissa. I decided to do something unheard of--ask a girl out online! In my defense, it was the only feasible, non-stalker way I had to get in touch with her. I kept it short and sweet, inviting her to an early screening of "500 Days of Summer." She accepted, and we've had 9 wonderful months of being together since.
(M) I loved our first date and knew there was something different about how we were together. We had a chemistry I had never felt before and we connected so naturally. I knew after only 2 or 3 weeks that he was the guy I was going to spend the rest of my life with. We fell in love fast and furious, God being the foundation of our relationship. After a wonderful 9 months full of growth and falling more deeply in love, I knew we were inching to an engagement. The engagement journey began April 8, 2010 with a note that said "After thirty-six your facebook status you must fix" strategically placed on my car during my night class at HBU.
(P) With my devious plan in motion, the biggest task was signaling that the "engagement journey" had started...and stretching it out a few weeks. I get the sense most women would go crazy over something that diabolical, but Melissa kept her patience and had fun with my little game. Over the next few weeks, I wanted her to key in on that number 36, which her analytical mind took to like a duck to water. So, a few days later, I snuck 3 daisies under her car windshield while she was at work. Gotta show those junior-highers what a romantic I am! Starting a pattern, a few days later I assembled a little notebook of my 6 favorite nights of our relationship to go with 6 Swedish tulips waiting for her after a hard day at work. So far, so good for my little game...
(M) After the 6 tulips a few nights later he gave me 9 red lilies and talked about how they represent the 9 different fruit of the Spirit. I was half-way there, 18! The next week...I had to be really patient. The weekend of our 9 month landed on a retreat at his church, I was going on the girl's retreat with the girls in his youth group and he went on the boy's retreat (he is a wonderful intern btw). The Sunday after the retreat he reminded me that we were celebrating our 9 month that next night, which I had completely forgotten about until that moment. Then I was super pumped about getting to dress up and go out with my baby the next day.
(P) If you're confused about the "numbers," there are 36 weeks in 9 months. So considering it was the basis of my whole "36" plan, I had been wanting to propose as close to the 9 month mark as possible. At this point, I had the ring in my possession for a few weeks, I had checked with her parents, told my parents, and just wanted to get that sucker on her finger pronto! I felt really good about what her special night would look like. I've never been an overly flamboyant guy, but I do find personal/meaningful things to be the most romantic. Melissa had truly changed my life, and I wanted that theme of transformation to be evident to her when I asked her to marry me.
(M) The whole night I could tell something was happening but I did not want to get too excited if this wasn't it. After all I was under the premise that this was a night to just celebrate our 9 month. During the car ride his hands were really sweaty and he was quieter than usually, wanting to play it cool. We got to the restaurant called "The Grove" and I remember thinking he was acting as nervous as he did on our first two dates. I was grinning like an idiot because I could just feel it, something was different about tonight. After a delicious meal, he wanted to go on a walk around The Discovery Green which was right next to the restaurant. I remember he was leading me somewhere and started to talk about the fact that one of his favorite things about the Discovery Green was that it used to be just another parking lot that had been transformed into this beautiful grassy area. We kept walking getting closer and closer to where he wanted us to be and continued on by stating "Just like this park I went through a similar transformation, you completely transformed my life." At this point I was getting really emotional and then we reached the dock, which is where my excitement hit Mach 10.
(P) The Discovery Green park in downtown Houston is really a beautiful place, and one of my favorite spots in the city. It's so pure, natural, and inviting...yet it just has a cool look to it. Considering its origin and meaning in the city, I felt it would really illustrate the change Melissa has brought about in my life. Anyway--all throughout dinner I was starting to feel the butterflies. I had recruited some help from a good friend (thanks Scott Key!) and everything was going as planned...it was all just hitting me that tonight was the night. We walked around the park, me buying a few more minutes for the sun to set perfectly. Eventually we got to a long pier that extends perfectly out into the middle of the park's pond, offering a beautiful look at downtown.
(M) There laid out before me were roses each one on top of a picture all leading up to the end of the dock. As we walked, he told me to start counting, I was kind of in shock at this point but began to count expectedly. Each rose beautifully placed on top of a picture encapsulating a memory of our past 9 months together. We reached the end and there were three battery operated candles (only you can prevent park fires!) with rose petals everywhere. He talked about how much he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. Then he began to get down on one knee and asked me, he barely hit the dock before I said "Yes, Yes, with all my heart yes!!!!!!" It was a moment I will remember for the rest of my life, my eyes brimming with tears, my heart bursting into an adrenaline rush, and Payton slipping this exquisite ring on my finger. I was ENGAGED!!!! Then I remember people around the park began to clap...Payton spurred it on by shouting "She said YES!" and the whole park started to cheer us on. We then began calling our parents, siblings and friends. I also wanted to text everyone I knew! It was all so perfect and then there was the added bonus of meeting up with Scott and Hannah at Katz's for dessert to celebrate. I cried on the ride over there feeling so blessed and joyful about being engaged to the man of my dreams!
(P) We like to joke that neither of us believes in divorce, so popping the question obviously is a big deal--only gonna get one shot at it! All I hoped for, in all this scheming and plotting and spoiling...was to communicate my love to Melissa and make this night a supremely special one. I know for me, I'll look back and laugh about having a bad poker face (I was totally nervous at dinner) or over-thinking about whether my planning was something she'd actually enjoy. In the end, it's about the love that we've found with each other and taking a huge step toward starting a life together. Getting engaged...it's a pretty "adult" thing to do, right? But I felt like a kid on Christmas morning, just so happy to be receiving this amazing gift. I love you Melissa!
(M) And that is our beautiful amazing God written story, thank you if you hung on till the end!!!! We love you all and are blessed with amazing friends and family! :)
