Anne - One day, I was talking on the phone with my friend Sophia. She told me about a wonderful guy named Christopher, who loved the Lord, was a talented singer, and enjoyed (& won) Bible trivia games. Christopher - One day, I was sitting at my desk and got a text from my friend Sophia: "Chrisssss. . . " And she told me about a wonderful girl named Anne who loved the Lord, was super sporty, and enjoyed being with friends. Anne - The next day, Christopher called me and left me a voicemail. I called him back and we had our first date planned: Bandito's @ 6:00. Christopher - Wait . . . Banditos @ 6:00?? Anne - On the night of our first date, I showed up at Banditos @ 6:02 awaiting Christopher's arrival. Christopher, however, was awaiting me at my house because he had planned to pick me up, so that he could drive us to Bandito's. After that now-memorable miscommunication, Christopher came to Bandito's and we had great fun with lots of laughter and good conversations. Don’t worry -our communication has improved a lot since then! Christopher - What can I say. . . I didn't think to specify that I would pick her up @ 6, then go to Banditos:). But it did give us a nice icebreaker to laugh about when I finally arrived! Once we were together, it was a great evening, full of laughter and conversation! We also went to Foxtrot after dinner, but ended up just sitting and visiting because the coffee bar had already closed. And I figured that if we could have that much fun even after the miscues on timing, that was a girl I wanted to get to know! So, I walked her back to her car and asked her for a second date. She said yes . . . and thankfully it wasn't the last time she gave me that answer either:)!!

Anne- Christopher and I had many conversations while we were dating, and I learned a lot about his character. Because of our conversations and his genuine character, however, I didn't think he'd be able to completely surprise me when he proposed. So when Christopher asked if he and I could spend some one-on-one time in Grapevine (one of our favorite places) the same weekend that my parents, my sister Kate, and some friends were coming to visit, I had a very, very strong feeling he would be proposing that weekend. Though Christopher's proposal in the Grapevine Botanical Gardens didn't catch me by surprise, it was still very special. After the proposal, we went to the nearby Harvest Hall. As we walked in, my heart stopped -my parents, my 3 sisters, Christopher's siblings, and so many dear friends from both Dallas and elsewhere were there cheering for us. It was the BEST surprise engagement party! Christopher- It's true. I'm not that great at keeping secrets, and I don't even like to keep them from Anne. Let's just say that well before the proposal, we had talked about timing for our engagement and gone ring shopping together. By the time we got to the weekend of December 11th, I would have been slightly concerned if she hadn't suspected something:). But Anne is so gracious, patient, and knows me well. She let me whisk her away for the morning to Grapevine and go to the botanical gardens to "kill time." Even more importantly, she said YES!!! I was able to surprise her by getting more friends/family to come celebrate than she was expecting. The party was a blast, and I distinctly remember my cheeks being tired of smiling by the end:).