Apples of Gold Jewelry started the year by giving away a Stainless Steel Luxury Watch valued at $1,125 to one person from their Apples of Gold Facebook Page.

And they believe they chose right!

Becky Toney Parsons (shown left) received her watch and was ecstatic over it’s beauty and quality!

Here is what she had to say:

“January 3, 2011 was the day before my son, Army 1st Lt. Bruce Parsons, was to ship to Afghanistan for his second tour of duty in this war. I had absolutely no peace about him going a second time and and was all upset.

I had tried to reach him all day to tell him I loved him and good bye, but couldn’t get hold of him. I cried all day and couldn’t sleep so I got on facebook and played farkle.

Around 2 AM I noticied I had a message. It was from Apples of Gold congratulating me on winning the watch. I didn’t believe it was true, I’ve never won anything in my life. I stopped crying and started scanning back thru the posts that day to see if the announcement had been posted to see if it was real.

Around 4 AM I found the post from that day announcing me as the winner of the drawing. I wanted to talk to someone to make sure I was reading it correctly and had really won. Needless to say my mind was now on this watch the rest of the night and the next day, the day Bruce shipped out.

I felt like God had let me win this to keep me from worring and crying. This to me was confirmation from God that He is with Bruce and protecting him while he is in harm’s way.

The next day I got a mesage from the CEO of Apples of Gold congratulating me on winning and thanking God with me for the timing of the events!

I have had total peace since being told this. God is good all the time.

Would you like to enter Apples of Gold’s Future Giveaways? Join the Apples of Gold on Facebook for future opportunities!

Anyone who’s ever been separated from a loved one knows how difficult that can be so when Apples of Gold received an email from SGT Morrow, who was deployed in Afghanistan,  requesting a little help in finding his future fiance the perfect engagement ring, we were more then willing to help!  SGT Morrow informed us that he fell  in love with our Blue Diamond Solitaire Ring, however his girlfriend wasn’t one to wear jewelry nor was he aware of her ring size.  Understanding that he wanted to keep this a surprise, we helped answer every question he had and took additional photos of a few sample rings to help him decide.   His goal was to find the perfect ring she would love enough to wear all the time,  I think this goal was reached.  Below is his surprise engagement story:

“I’ve already gone and returned on my R&R visit home.  I picked up the ring on the very first day home at my parents house.

I had originally planned a ridiculously complicated and huge idea for proposing to Jessica.  But the plan had a big flaw in it.  It required me to wait an entire day to see her.

And that is something I just could not stomach.

I ended up driving to where she lives almost immediately upon arrival to my parents house.  I scrapped the entire plan (much to many of my friends’ dismay, as they were supposed to be a part of the large complicated plan), and decided that just seeing her meant more to me than anything.

Ring in hand, I made it to her house, knocked on the door, surprised the crap out of her (she didn’t know I was home from Afghanistan), and after many hugs and kisses just from seeing one another again…I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me.

It was quite possibly the scariest thing I’ve ever done (my anxiety definitely had a grip on me).  She started to cry and then in the quietest, softest, and sweetest voice I’ve ever heard, she said yes and grabbed me and held me.

It was absolutely the most amazing moment in my life to date.  I cannot even begin to express in words the happiness that came over me in that moment.  It was absolutely surreal.

This moment couldn’t have been possible without all your help and support.  She absolutely LOVES the ring (despite her adverse nature to jewelry), and after a quick resizing we did locally at a jeweler…it’s absolutely perfect.

I still am just in awe of how much thought and care [Apples of Gold has] taken to help me out.

Very Sincerely,

SGT Morrow”

My husband was out with some friends in his Jeep at the Elliot State Forest in Oregon when it became stuck on a large boulder.

While he was trying to get the Jeep unstuck, the boulder he was standing on came loose and he and the rock fell down into a ravine.  It was about 100 yards down a very steep hill and into a creek.

I am a volunteer for the Oregon fire department and heard the tap out and responded to the scene of the accident (knowing that John was out with a couple of friends in his Jeep).

When I got close to the accident I hopped in with the ambulance crew to head up the gravel road.  I heard one of the guys he was with screaming over the radio: “He was too heavy for me to lift!”  I knew that my husband was the only person he could be talking about as the other two guys were much smaller statures.

John is an EMT and knew he was injured badly. While he was lying in the creek waiting for help he slipped his wedding band off (presumably in case his hands were swelling he didn’t want the ring cut off).

He tried to put his wedding band into his pocket, but lost consciousness before he got it safely placed in his pocket.  Once he was rescued from the canyon and creek, his wedding band was missing.

Exactly one year after the accident, I decided to place an order with Apples of Gold Jewelry because they carry the same design he used to have.  Replacing the ring feels like a closure to the story.  It’s allowing us to begin our “new” life together again, differently, yet the same.

An Apples of Gold customer service rep called me immediately to tell me that the ring would be shipped as soon as possible, but she wanted to be sure I knew it would take 7 days since the ring I chose was handmade. I informed her that I did know, but appreciated the call.  The ring showed up in time for Christmas.  It’s perfect. I think it’s actually a higher quality than his original ring.  I can’t wait to surprise him on Christmas with his “new” ring.

That day, I rode into the hospital with John and he admitted at one point that he was “ready to die,” then he felt something on his face (my hand) and he looked up to where I was sitting and realized I was there with him.  He says he thought “I can’t die in front of my wife,” and he held on. The rest as they say is history.

Jen & John, Coos Bay, Oregon

Have a story to share about your experience at Apples of Gold? Did something interesting happen that involved your jewelry? Have a must-tell wedding story?

Email your Story to share@applesofgold.com. Email us a pic to use also and we may post it on our jewelry blog!

We love simple stories or complex, creative ones, from the serious and beautiful to the ridiculous!

Read our first real-life jewelry story about a husband who lost his original wedding ring as he struggled to stay alive after a tragic hiking accident at the Elliot State Forest in Oregon–and why replacing that ring was so important to one family.