When Addie was just an itty bitty 8th grader, she would come home from cross country and track practices talking about this funny boy named Chris. He was a sophomore from the far away land of McClure, so we knew virtually nothing about him, but according to Addie he was the funniest kid on the varsity team and drove a super cool old truck. When she moved up to the varsity team we got to know this funny boy Chris a little bit more. We met his parents when we were taking pictures of Addie and Chris with their district medals that year. Fast forward to Addie’s sophomore year , which was Chris’s senior year. Taking pictures of these two with medals around their necks had become a very common occurrence. We got to know him more and more that year. Addie was right - he did have a super cool old truck and I suppose he was kind of funny. What stood out about Chris most of all to us was how helpful, old fashioned, and polite he was. As their friendship progressed, we also learned that he was a hard worker. He restored that super cool old truck himself and worked weekends and evenings after practices all through high school. One rainy Saturday morning, the kids had just finished running a grueling 10K race. While we were standing in the church (waiting for them to get their medals so we could take some pictures), Chris asked me if he could talk to me in private. He then asked me for permission to ask Addie out on a date. I said it was ok. Addie was finally going to get to ride in that super cool old truck with that funny boy named Chris. Little did we know that was going to last for years. After several more sporting events, family vacations, a few dances, and 3 proms, they were both graduates and still together. Chris immediately blended right in with our family and I’m told Addie instantly meshed with his as well. They are both very family oriented and love to spend time with their grandparents. Obviously, you know where this story is going. Chris snuck into the garage one afternoon to ask Doug if he could have his permission to propose to Addie. Doug’s response: “I hope she says yes.” The rest of their story is yet to come.