We met at Sam's college house at JMU. We were both a part of the campus ministry called Cru, and Allison was a singer in the worship band which played every Thursday night at Cru's Large Group. During the first week of school, the band practiced in the basement of Sam's house. Sam, the leader of the Large Group Production Team of which the band was a part, introduced himself to everyone in the worship band. We wish we could say it was love at first sight, but we both went to bed that night with little regard for the other. Through Cru's social activities, we became acquainted with each other and soon were fast friends. Near the end of October, Sam asked Allison out for coffee before church the following Sunday. That Sunday, Allison talked the whole time, and somehow, Sam didn't mind.

We were ready to be engaged. After living almost 90 miles apart for a year, we were getting impatient to be reunited. We had exhausted the topic of our future together and picked out the perfect setting for Sam's grandmother's diamond. Allison knew that engagement was coming soon. For our year and a half anniversary, Sam sought to make the day so special for Allison. He would take her on a mountain hike and then treat her to dinner at the fanciest restaurant in Staunton. It would be so romantic... a little too romantic for a half anniversary. Naturally suspicious, Allison was confident she would become engaged on that hike. But it didn't happen on the hike. Slightly disappointed, Allison got dolled up for dinner with no expectation of engagement. We parked on a street in Staunton and were en route to dinner on foot. On the way, Sam took an uncharacteristic detour through a garden, and, though confused, Allison followed him. In the middle of that garden was a white gazebo where Sam got down on one knee.