We're so excited to celebrate with you!

I knew probably 2-3 months in that Clayton was the one. We had discussed the topic of Marriage but when COVID hit, i assumed it was put on the back burner as we tried to navigate a new normal. The day he proposed, we ran our Saturday errands per usual. He had told me we had dinner reservations but didn't tell me where (I didn't think anything of this because it was pretty normal for him to do this). As i'm getting ready for dinner, he comes in wearing a suit and helped me pick out what to wear since i had so idea what we were doing. On our way to dinner, I can tell that he is really excited and in a good mood. He's playing all these love songs in the car and asking me all these questions like "Where do you think were going?" and what not. I had HOPED at the time we were going to Chamberlain's Steak House- where we always go to celebrate things. In this case, he told me we were celebrating the fact that we had really great months at work the prior month. We park and walk into the restaurant and sit down after the waiter puts down our menu's and walks away. Clayton grabbed both of my hands and had this look in his eye... I asked him "why are you looking at me like that" while smiling. He then started talking and i the moment i heard the words "I want to spend the rest of my life with you," i lost it and honestly blacked out. I don't remember much except for picking my head up off the table, tears streaming down my face so much that my hair was sticking to my face. I was crying so hard i couldn't even see the ring and I don't think anything even come out of my mouth at that moment i was so shocked. After i tried to compose myself he told me that the table we were at wasn't our actual table and we walked to the back of the restaurant where 18 of our closest family & friends were waiting to surprise us! It was better than I could have ever dreamed up in my imagination or hoped for. God is so Good!

For those who don't know, Clayton and I actually met each other back in middle school when his best friend, Louie, lived 2 doors down from my dad in Forney, TX. Louie & his brother Alex were the only two kids on the street at the time, so I would go over there to play often. Clayton was over at Louie's house all the time so we eventually met. About 2 years later, my dad moved and I didn't see Clayton again until 2019. In 2019, I started my first big girl job at Schneider National in January. I was fresh out of college and wanted to focus on getting connected in a local church and on my career. A month or so in, my friend Angel & Matt pointed Clayton out to me at a post work get together. I think i commented something about him being attractive at the time but didn't engage with him much since we both worked in different departments. My friend Maecy and her boyfriend Rene both worked at Schneider with us. Once they got wind we had been eyeing each other, they plotted and schemed to get us in a room together to get to know one another. I had told Maecy I was only willing to date for marriage and wasn't interested in dating anyone at the time. I'm actually pretty sure I turned down a few one-on-one dates with him in the beginning. My friends knew he was a good guy and continued inviting him & I to go on group outings so we could get to know another. After a few weeks of hanging out and eventually double dates, Clayton asked me to be his girlfriend. At this point I knew Clayton had pure intentions and had proven to be a genuine guy. A few weeks into dating and learning more about one another, we realized that we all knew one another through his best friend Louie and started connecting the dots from there and realized we have ALOT of intertwining connections to one another. We both agree that finding one another was all part of God's plan and reassures us that we truly are meant to be together!