My name is Amanda Rae Dumas Engebretsen. I was born on December 18, 1986 in the Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, California. I was an only child for 3 marvelous years, and then THEY started coming. The “they” that I’m referring to are my 4 younger siblings. 2 sisters, and 2 brothers. All are wonderful in their own way. And all are stinkers in their own way as well. We moved to Pleasant Grove, Utah just after my younger sister was born(1990). My family still lives there today.
I grew up playing the piano, getting good grades in school and being a somewhat shy little individual. I did various school projects throughout jr. high and high school that took me on to the next level of competition for my region. I guess that was my claim to fame growing up. I was either a smarty pants, or just really good at BS’ing. Haha, jk.
I enjoyed and still enjoy music. I participated in Acapella choirs in high school, and continued teaching myself on the piano. I’m not very good on the piano, I will admit. But I do enjoy parkin’ myself on the piano bench and playing some of my favorite hymns, and trying to teach myself new ones.
After highschool, I moved down to Cedar City and completed 2 years at Southern Utah University. The “shy little individual” was no more. I had tons of fun, possibly too much, and met many of the friends that I still have today. I started dating a young man at the time and thought “he’s the one.” We dated for quite awhile, and even considered marriage. At that point, I realized I needed some divine inspiration to help me decide if that was the path I was meant to go down. I felt very strongly that it wasn’t the right thing for me. We broke up, and just about 2 months later, I was introduced to Allen Engebretsen.
Allen and I hit it off from the very start. Not a day went by that he didn’t make me smile and feel special. He had just returned from his mission in northern Virginia. We made our courtship official on February 18, 2007 and we’ve been together ever since. That summer, we went separate ways for about 3 months to try our hand at selling pest control. He moved to San Antonio, TX, and I moved to Atlanta, GA. WHAT A CULTURE SHOCK! After coming home from what seemed to be an endless summer, we both came to the conclusion that, NEVER again would we separate like that, and NEVER again would we do a job like that. We dated consecutively for another 6 months before he popped the question on the last day of February. February 28, 2008. We went to a fabulous restaurant called “The Chef’s Table.” One of the best in Utah. I was SURE he would propose. We made it through our appetizer, our main course, and ordered our dessert, and I was starting to feel a little “iffy” about whether or not he would pop the question. I started getting frustrated and excused myself to go the restroom. As I was leaving Allen called to me frantically, “Don’t be long! I miss you already.” I continued walking, thinking that it was quite odd that Allen would be saying something so corny…I returned from the restroom and he let out a sigh of relief. I saw our waiter coming to bring our dessert. He set down a tray with a delightful little dessert on it in front of Allen. And then he started setting down a tray in front of me, which I was confused about, as we had only ordered ONE dessert. On the tray was a tiny black velvet box. The waiter said with a smirk “enjoy your dessert madam” and walked away. Allen knelt down and asked me to marry him….
BADDA BING BADDA BOOM. Here we are…over a year and a half into marriage. It’s been rocky here and there. But we were told it wouldn’t be easy all the time. The easiest part, however, has been knowing that he’s still my best friend, and I love him just as much now as I did the day I married him. We have set up our home in a cute little apartment in northern Orem. We have tons of fun, and he has held up one of his promises quite well. He has made me smile everyday since we’ve been married. Even when I’ve been SO angry at him, he still manages to get me to crack a smile.I love my husband. I love our life together.
So there it is. This is who I am...for the most part. I feel very blessed to have the life I have and I'm grateful for everyone that has helped to make me who I am today.
Ohhhhhh!! hahah I knew all that too, except the piano part. I didn't know you could play! Even a little. That is cool. I love you to death Manda, always will.
ReplyDeleteAw, that is too cute! Hope you are doing great!
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