We're getting married!

What began as a usual Thursday night club-meeting after school quickly turned into a lifelong friendship :) It was November of 2015 when we first met, and to nobody's surprise, I had a crush on Kora the moment I first saw her. Both being teenagers, that equated to a lot of stuttering, asking for her Snapchat (because phone numbers were too pushy), and telling all of my buddies how I was going to ask her out - which never happened. By this point, I had found a home in the place many men know all too well... the "Friend Zone"! As the years went by of these weekly meetings, Kora and I became closer as friends, even leading her to invite me to her school's football games and her eventual graduation party. I will never forget the moment I thought to myself "I'm gonna marry that girl one day." As fate would have it, we both ended up enlisting in the Air Force and going our separate ways shortly after high school. Though the time and distance between us felt never-ending, Kora and I kept in contact, occasionally catching up on the months and years that flew by between us. As life carried on, so did we... eventually ending up on two different sides of the planet from her work and my deployment. This is when everything took a turn... remember that whole "Snapchat" thing I mentioned earlier? #WorthIt Kora replied to a post I had made, catching me completely off guard. What's more: something about us "catching up" felt completely different this time. Naturally, we began talking more and more, leading to hours of back and forth messages, FaceTime calls, and even making plans to see each other once I returned from deployment. I literally couldn't believe it, so of course I had to send screenshots to all of my old buddies proving that I "finally beat the friend zone"! Fast forward to today, I thank God every day that He has led our lives back together. Not only does Kora put up with my stupid jokes, numerous meme-references, and countless antics... but she has also given me the greatest gift I've ever received: a "Yes" to my proposal :) Thank you for reading, and we can't wait to see you all at the wedding! Cheers! - Avery