These two pictures bookend our relationship! Audis and I took the first picture on our very first date when we went to coffee and the Farmer's Market in my hometown. I've always found this picture hilarious because we both look so relaxed and natural when really really nervous (especially me- I was doing breathing exercises in my car on the way there)! That first date was the first time we met in person! Audis lived in Bay Point and I in Modesto. We had met online and gotten to know each other over weeks of conversations during commutes (the only time I was thankful for traffic!), in the evenings, and through his morning texts that I looked forward to every day. Those text conversations revealed the heart of the amazing man that I fell in love with. Texting was also where Audis (with long-suffering patience) let me practice my extremely rusty Spanish with him! During our phone calls we bonded over movies, humor, being schooled about cars or history (I'll let you guess who gave which "lessons") and stories about our lives and beloved families. Honestly it made me re-appreciate the art of telephone conversation; before I even met him in person I knew he was one of the good ones. The second picture was taken at the most recent wedding we attended as a couple before we got engaged. Between that nerve-wracking first date and now where our dates usually consist of dinner in sweats while watching a TV show (ah, dating in the time of COVID); we have delighted in the way God has grown us as a couple! The past two years have been incredible, wonderful, challenging, and life-changing. We have been amazed at how God has worked in our lives through our dating relationship to build trust between us and also grow us closer to Jesus. We are excited to begin the next chapter and we know that God will continue that good work in us as we continue together. Oh and if we haven't said it enough yet, words can't express how excited and thankful we are that YOU are celebrating it with us!