- Ashlyn - We first met at our youth group at Linton First Christian Church in 4th grade. I was immediately smitten with Flippy (Allec), coming home and telling my parents ALL ABOUT "the boy with the dreamy eyes at youth group". After starting a YouTube channel together with a few friends in middle school (CNN, Church News Network), we grew to be good friends. By the end of middle school, this crush had faded into simply, but very genuinely, caring for him as a close friend. And close friends we would be... Flippy and I remained friends, a part of the same close-knit friend group, from our youth group days through our college years. Allec and I always stayed in touch, but we started consistently talking every day in Spring 2024. He reached out to start a conversation one day, but that conversation never really ended... continuing on through 5 hour trips to Jiffy Treet, 6 hour phone calls, and endless text messages. The conversation continued on until it eventually turned into the question of "What are we?" where we both ultimately realized the deep care and admiration we had always had for each other. We decided that day that if the question was 'Stay friends so we don't risk ruining our friendship' or 'Get married so we can be best friends for life', we'd choose the latter. I've known Flippy was something special since the very first day I met him and I thank God all the time that I get to spend my life with someone as wonderful as he is. - Allec - My first experience with Ashlyn was at youth group in the 4th grade. As you might expect, (or know) Ash was SO energetic and excited at ALL times. As a quiet little shy kid, this was sometimes a lot for me to handle, and she did her best to frustrate me while we filmed those silly little videos in elementary school. That being said, even way back then, I knew there was something special about Ashlyn. As we grew up, and even moved to college, Ashlyn never left my life. Through all the years of ups and downs and unexpected twists and turns in both of our lives, she remained a constant light. Whether that was through a silly frustrating riddle, or a “Who’s in town? Let’s get Mexican!” text, we always stayed connected. She was always someone who I cherished and thought was so special, but I never expected that I would get to have such a big role in her life, like I do now. Getting to grow up with this beautiful person has been the biggest blessing, and I’m so thankful that I get to grow old with her.