Our story initially began as commonly and as digitally as you can imagine, with the help of Tinder. Shortly after matching on Tinder and exchanging little conversation, I was getting off of work earlier than planned on a Saturday evening, the night before John was supposed to head back to Midland for another two weeks of work. I began jokingly telling John that we should do something that night before he left, so we didn’t have to wait any longer to meet, and to my surprise, he responded, “What time should I pick you up?” And this is where the real story begins. I rushed home from work with only 20 minutes to get ready before John would be at my house. Facetiming all of my friends for advice on my outfit, what to say, what to do, I was so nervous, considering I hadn’t been on a first date in quite some time, let alone a Tinder date, literally ever. John then picked me up and we headed to Warren’s Backyard, a little outdoor music venue and bar in Granbury. We had the best time talking nonstop. Of course, there were many nerves, which for me meant babbling nonstop about probably nothing, and for John, doing the opposite, just listening and chiming in when he could manage to get a word in. Surprisingly, we never ran out of things to talk about and wound up continuing our date until 4 am on the back porch at John’s house, even though he had to be up bright and early to drive to Midland the next morning to work the following night. He’s a trooper. We had the best first date imaginable, and from that night on, we were basically inseparable. With John being gone for two weeks at a time, our time together was quite limited, but we made the most of every moment we got, and facetimed as much as we could when he was away. We very quickly became best friends, and the feelings grew fast. John first told me he loved me on October 13, only two and a half months after meeting me, and of course, I said it in return. Life continued as normal, just two people absolutely infatuated with one another, having the most fun getting to know each other, going on many dates, and spending every minute allowed together. To our surprise, the day after Thanksgiving that same year, we found out I was pregnant. Of course, we were shocked, but one of the first things John said that provided so much relief for me was that although this wasn’t necessarily in the plan right now, he knew I was his plan forever, so he was perfectly okay with forever starting now. I’ve always told people that he is the calm and steady to my bit of chaos, and that truly shone through in these early moments of our lives changing forever. From there on, life seemed to move at a million miles per hour as we tried to continue strengthening our relationship, while also preparing to begin a family and welcome our daughter into the world. Before we knew it, the day arrived, and so did she. Our perfect Palmer girl was here. Nothing could have made us stronger than all we had already experienced together, and we have continued to grow more and more each day. On January 5, 2025, John asked me to be his wife, and I said yes, of course. I couldn’t imagine a more fairytale life. And this leads us to where we are today. Planning our wedding, raising our little girl, and growing stronger as partners, and parents more with each day. Our beginning may not be typical, or “by the book”, but it is our perfect start to forever, and it was all part of God’s plan for our lives. We are so lucky for everything that has led us to where we are today, and we are so thankful for everyone who has supported our journey. We cannot wait to finally be husband and wife, and I, for one, can’t wait to finally share the last name of my best friend and our daughter. Yay!! Let’s get married!! - Ashleigh