"Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate." Mark 10:9

Thomas and I grew up 4 miles apart and went to the same church, but we didn't meet until we were 18. Our mutual friend, Christine invited us both to her Halloween-themed birthday party and it was there that our friendship began. I remember immediately feeling drawn to Thomas and his bright smile. He also looked pretty cute in his cowboy outfit! Unfortunately, I was wearing a dementor (Harry Potter villain) costume which included a black, flowy cloak that I borrowed from my uncle. So it wasn't like I was in any position to flirt with the cute cowboy. But alas, Christine and I challenged Thomas and his brother Jake (the Best Man) to a game of pool and we had loads of fun (barely) beating the boys! For their punishment for losing, Thomas and Jake were challenged to perform a song from the musical, Chicago for everyone at the party. The pair theatrically sang and danced around Christine's living room and I remember feeling impressed at Thomas's bravery and at how fun he was! After that party and over the next couple years, Jake and Christine helped Thomas and I develop a close bond by always being willing to play games with us so that Thomas and I could spend more time together. Christine and I battled Thomas and Jake numerous times out on the driveway playing basketball, in the kitchen playing cards, or in the pool wrestling. You can make up your own mind about whether the girls won more often or the guys did!

Thomas and I started dating the summer before my junior year of college. I remember writing in my diary that I hoped Thomas wasn't just a summer fling. haha. Lucky for me, he was not! I went to college 45 minutes from Thomas's house but thankfully, he had soccer practice every Thursday, 10 minutes away from my campus. So, every Thursday evening I got to spend time with Thomas for a few hours, and every Thursday night, Karen got to worry about Thomas driving home late. Oopsy! Moving away to graduate school was tough the first year because Thomas and I were 3 hours apart. But this was short lived because Thomas followed me to La Crosse to go to Viterbo University with me! We also get to graduate together on December 18th, 2021 :)

I had the ring for about a month before there was a good opportunity to propose. Ashley had been out of town for many weekends in a row, so we both had to wait patiently (one of us more than the other). After I decided on the day, I needed to gather up my helpers. I messaged my teammate, Ernesto and asked if he could help me set up the supplies. Another teammate, Vinny, volunteered to help as well. I also messaged Ashley's photographer-roommate, Emily and asked her to take pictures of the proposal. Everyone was so excited to help and did a great job! The day before the proposal, I took Ernesto up to the top of Miller Bluff in La Crosse and showed him where to set everything up-- blankets, pillows, roses, candles, and a basket with ice cream. On the day of the proposal, Ashley and I spent the day doing some of our favorite things! We went on a long hike through the beautiful bluff trails, played tennis (I "let" Ashley win, obviously), and went out to our favorite Italian restaurant! I faked Ashley out on accident though, because our original dinner spot didn't have any openings so the Italian restaurant became our backup plan. Ashley even messaged Emily and told her she didn't think the proposal would be that night. While we ate, Emily, Ernesto and Vinny prepared the proposal set up. After dinner, I told Ashley that I had a surprise dessert planned for her, which she was pretty confused about. We drove to the top of the bluffs and walked out to the ledge in our nice dinner clothes. Once at the top, Ashley noticed a white, shimmering glow down the path, and we headed that way. My helpers were hiding in the trees near the spot, but Ashley and I could hear the clicking of Emily's camera as we sat on the blankets and ate the ice cream that was magically at the top of the bluff! Finally, I said to Ashley, "I have one more surprise for you, but you have to stand up for it." She stood, I kneeled, and I asked Ashley to spend forever with me.