We met at church - he thought I was someone else (a friend of mine), and I made sure he met my friend the next time we were all at church together. A few months later, we ended up being invited to a friends house for a football tailgate...I was given specific instruction that if I wanted to get his number, I would have to ask. So...I did! The rest is history...

Did you notice the date...yes, you are reading that correctly...Brandon proposed on March 20, 2020...Springfield, MO was preparing to begin stay-at-home orders on March 23. We had just returned from our trip to visit my childhood friend, Lisa in Florida, and it was my 40th birthday. Little did I know...the entire time we were in Florida, Brandon was monitoring the COVID situation and was conversing with a few key planners of a surprise 40th birthday party...my family was planning to come down to Springfield from Wisconsin, it was supposed to be hosted at one of my favorite restaurants (Big Whiskey's) and ALL of it came to a screeching halt...thank you, COVID! Now, I knew nothing of these plans (he is a sneaky guy and has caught me off guard a few times)...I've got pretty good intuition, but this was good planning and good secret keeping on the part of my friends/family!! So...big surprise, CANCELLED...back up plan...invite our friends, Caitie and Cory over for dinner. My dinner of choice, grilled brats, potato salad, baked beans, chips, and Kate's Cake (this is a good friends cake biz and her cakes are ah-mazing)! Oh my goodness...how could I forget the beer....and BEERS!!! Solid birthday dinner for a 40 year-old girl from Wisconsin! Dinner was great, company was great, it was time for CAKE!!! Well, Brandon is insistent that I cut the cake...okay, fine. One problem, I can't cut through the center...something is in the way! Yeah...you guessed it...Brandon had our friend Katie put the ring (box) in the middle of this two layer birthday cake. ;) I'm stumped, get to the box and it is EMPTY...I say, well this is fun but this box is empty. To which Brandon then says, well that is because it is right here. At our kitchen table, with Caitie and Cory as our witnesses, Brandon presents the most beautiful ring and asks if I will marry him. The ring is beautiful, I'm caught off guard by the words he has just spoken, and of course, I say YES!