We grew up in the same hometown and our families told us stories that we actually played together when we were little but we officially met when we were in sixth grade at Gardendale Elementary. The chemistry was in the air even when we were young because we were actually each others first kiss.. I know, I knoww! haha But after that summer and a few dates life sent us in opposite directions. We each took a journey that taught us many, many lessons. But God was leading us through the ups and downs, and on one particular evening at a local pool haul.. what seemed to be a random, nonchalant gesture, turned out to be the realization of an old childhood friendship. Seconds later that funny tickle feeling inside began to flutter and we couldn't keep our eyes off each other. From that moment we weren't going to let anything get in the way again, and that feeling continued to grow every day since then...

A little over one year later, John and I finished eating dinner at his parent's house, and we just sat down in the back room. He comes over to where I'm sitting and pulls out a little white box. He tells me how he thought of a million different ways he could've done this, but in his heart he knew what mattered most was to be fully in the moment and spoke from the heart of how he truly felt about us. After a short pause and giddy smile across my face, he gets down on one knee and asks me, "Will you marry me?" Every fiber of my being knew my heart was in the exact same place. There was so much peace in this moment, completely present, I said, "Yes!" It was just us.. no audience, no distractions or extra words from anyone else. The realization that you are now in the presence of the person you are going to spend the rest of your life with, was a feeling I can hardly explain.. John says, "let's celebrate and go get some ice cream!" The most precious moments in life can be celebrated with beautiful simplicities.. We jump in the truck, drive to dairy queen, get our favorite ice cream, and drive to the place where we had our first date. It was a cold night, and we stopped at a park that overlooks the river. Bundled up we eat our ice cream with our favorite love tunes. To add some rainbow sprinkles to our evening celebration, we turned on the headlights and had the song unchained melody by the righteous brothers all the way up and slow danced under the moonlight. Hearts so full of love and excitement, we held each other close and soaked it all in... We then drove around and continued to let the songs sing our hearts melody on one accord, knowing that God was bringing us together to become one, that was the finale of the cherry on top.