SIKESTON -- Sikeston resident Justin Taylor ended the Missouri House of Representatives' annual legislative session on a happy note Friday when he proposed to his longtime girlfriend, State Rep. Shelley Keeney of Marble Hill.

Taylor, president of the Sikeston Regional Chamber of Commerce and a financial adviser at Edward Jones, had dated Keeney a little over two years when he decided to ask for her hand in marriage.

"I've been trying to map this out in my mind and plan out how I wanted to do this," Taylor said of the proposal.

Keeney was elected to the House in 2008 and is the majority caucus chairwoman.

"She has been at the dais all legislative session," Taylor said, adding that's why he wanted to propose to her at the Capitol. "... I decided to do it the last day of the session -- just drive up to Jefferson City and surprise her."

Taylor said he had the moment tentatively planned, and he'd even talked to former House speaker John Diehl to make the arrangements.

But then Taylor's plan hit a snag. In the days leading up to the final legislative session -- and Taylor's marriage proposal -- reports emerged that Diehl had exchanged sexual texts with a 19-year-old intern. Then on Wednesday, Diehl resigned after admitting to sending the texts.

"As of Wednesday morning, I saw the texts and tweets (about Diehl's resignation), and that made it a little stressful," Taylor said.

But he moved forward with his proposal anyway.

"On Thursday, I talked to Kevin Engler, a state representative from Farmington, and Holly Rehder, state representative from Sikeston and who is a personal friend," Taylor said. "I told them, 'This is what I had planned on doing, and now I need help.' John Diehl is no longer there, and I didn't know who the speaker was going to be."

Taylor admitted he worried the House would adjourn earlier than Friday.

The representatives agreed to help Taylor, who also sought assistance from his mother, Pat Taylor of Sikeston, who was traveling to Columbia on Friday to visit her other son.

"He called me Thursday night and asked me when I was going to Columbia, and if I could drop him off in Jefferson City to help Shelley pack up her belongings in her office and surprise her," the elder Taylor recalled.

Pat Taylor said she was shocked when she heard her son's plans. She didn't know a thing until they were two hours outside St. Louis.

Taylor's phone rang quite a bit on the trip to Jefferson City, he said. When his mother noticed, he let her in on his little secret.

"The new House Speaker-elect, Rep. Todd Richardson from Poplar Bluff, whom I've met and is friendly, called me around 10 a.m. and said, 'Let us know when you get to Fulton, and we'll have (Shelley) on the dais. You can walk in on the side and surprise her up there.'"

By this time, it was approaching 1 p.m., and the representatives stalled and held the session because they knew Taylor was on his way.

Engler and Richardson guided Taylor back through the speaker's hallway that leads to the chamber of the House.

A debate was going on over a bill, and that's when Engler asked to be recognized. When Keeney signaled for him to speak, he pointed to someone on the steps of the dais.

"Shelley was at the dais, and she turned around. That's when I was on my knee and asked her to marry me," Taylor said.

When Keeney accepted, the House gave the couple a standing ovation.

The proposal may be viewed at m.youtube.com/watch?sns=fb&v=SC-PgrskCGs.