Jessica and I met working together at a local veterinary hospital. I had been working there a few months before she came to do some relief work there. At first sight, I thought she was beautiful but told myself “you are here to work”. That didn’t last long. Soon after that, we started talking and hanging out in social groups, and then we went on our first date. Jessica and I could not be happier with one another, and we are so excited for our wedding day, to become Husband and Wife. This is just the beginning of a wonderful story. We hope that you stay around and enjoy this wonderful future we are building together.

One of the best date nights that Jessica and I have enjoyed took place in our own back yard. Jessica and I hadn't been dating that long. A storm had been rolling in, and it was raining pretty hard at that point. We had wanted to go bowling that night so we drove to the bowling alley and went in. They said that everyone was going down stairs for a tornado warning, and we would have to join them. We both looked at one another and decided to go back to Jessica's house. As we got back to the house, the storm was in full form. We quickly made a plate of meat, cheese and poured some wine. Sitting outside on the patio with candles going, we sat outside for hours, in the middle of a crazy thunderstorm, talking about our pasts and about our likes and dislikes. Jessica and I had begun to share more and more with one another than we ever had with anyone else. As our conversations went from topics that ranged from light to deeper, this was the moment that I knew I loved Jessica and I wanted to spend my life with her. This was the moment that I knew this is who I want to spend the rest of my life with. This is my person that God has made just for me. As our conversations went on, I told Jess that I needed to tell her that I love her. And while she was shocked since it had only been one month of dating, she felt absolutely the same way.

After a month and a half of dating, Aaron and I decided to go camping over a long weekend. By this time, no one at work knew we were dating, so we had to be very careful asking for the same weekend off. We booked a campsite at Montauk state park in Missouri for what is called basic or rustic camping (tents). Everything was going perfectly that first night. Aaron cooked me hamburgers and sauteed onions/peppers over an open fire with a cast iron pan. The next morning we had eggs, bacon, and home fries. After breakfast we decided to explore the local antique shops. While we were gone, a fast storm blew through and soaked all of our bedding since we left the tent windows open. Luckily, our bags stayed dry. Instead of arguing or complaining, we laughed at our folly and went about fixing it. We zipped over to the local Walmart for new pillows and cheap towels. While Aaron put our bedding in the dryer at the campsite, I used the towels to mop up the water pooling in the tent. Then we sat on the counters at the campsite laundromat, sharing a bag of chips and laughing while our bedding dried. We don't forget to zip the tent windows closed anymore! That's when we both knew we would make a good team.