The stories of how we met and the proposal

Caleb and I went to the smallest school known to man called ‘Calvin Christian.’ The school was inside a church and was home to 60 student in total. Going to a school that small, everyone knows everyone. It was Caleb’s freshamn year and my senior year. Call me a craddle-robber but we are only 2 years apart y’all. I remember at basketball games he would always want to sit by me and put his arm around me even though I barely knew him! I thought, “Who is this kid..” A few months later we started dating. There was never an official day Caleb asked me out, one day we just asked each other, “Are we dating?” We ended up picking a day for our anniversary since there wasn't ever an “official” day. Whether we really meant it or knew what it meant, I’m pretty sure we said, “I love you” the first couple of WEEKS of dating! Obviously, things worked out, here we are almost 5 years later starting our lives together. 🧡

2015... My brother Gabe(senior) and me(freshman) were attending Calvin Christian High-school. I leveraged my brothers seniority to hang out with the coolest kids in a school of 70 students. A bunch of put together college bound students and me, a 15 year old rocking weird sweaters from H&M and dusty Vans. Throughout various events and parties with this group, I slowly grew quite fond of one girl in particular: Angela Balboa. She was sweet, witty, and absolutely beautiful. Through a series of cleverly worded texts, I coerced her into coming to one of my basketball games. This was in my master plan of showing her an incredible athletic performance, thus winning her heart. A turnover, missed layup, and five years later, it worked.

December 1st, 2019 I remember the night before Caleb had texted me, “I think we should dress up for church tomrrow!” My first thought was, “I guess he thinks I dress poorly for church...” So, the next day I wear a nice dress and nice shoes and head to church. Now, putting this outfit together warmth wasnt really my top priority, remember this information. After service, Caleb’s mom asked me if I was "excited for the concert!" I was confused and I looked at Gabe (Caleb’s brother) as he was making “you weren't supposed to say that” face. Caleb and I went into his car and he told me we were going somewhere. As we fought the violent winter winds of downtown Minneapolis, we ended up at orchestra hall seeing a live music perforamce from the movie ‘Up’! Truly a romantic start to the day. I thought that was the only suprise of the day but again he said we had somewhere else to go. As we tried to turn right into a parking lot, Caleb and I slid on ice in the turn lane for a full 10 seconds and I saw my life flash before my eyes, then I laughed after we survived. I became suspisious as we pulled up to a horse-drawn carriage. We started on our hour long jounrey throughout the city in 20° weather. Despite the driver providing blankets, I thought I would have to get my toes amputated by the end of the ride. Regardless, Caleb and I laughed as we slowly developed frost on our faces thinking this probably wasnt the best idea. But we were happy in each other’s company. We ended our ride with Caleb exiting the carriage in a puddle as cold as ice, no other way to have exited I think! Our final destination was a place we called “our bench.” It was a place we had went on a real date the first year of dating, we spent an hour sharing earbuds listening to one of our favorite artists on that bench. Well, I was confused why we had stopped here since our vehicle was not there. Freezing, I started walking towards the general direction of where we parked and then Caleb got on his knee.

It started with the ring. Angela and I had talked about marriage to great lengths, and confirmed that was something God was calling us to pursue. After this conversation, I knew it was my time to find the perfect ring. But from where? I asked my Dad where he got my mother's ring. He mentioned he knew a private custom ring maker from the 70's, who had designed the perfect product. We had no idea if this miracle worker was even alive or not, but we decided to reach out finding he had retired, but was willing to do one last project. My perfect ring. I met with the miracle worker, otherwise known as Arlan, who designed my weapon of choice. We sourced the diamond from around the world, pairing the perfect stone with a glistening white gold band. I had obtained my ring. It was Sunday, December 1st, a blistering cold winter morning. The day of the proposal had finally come. We started the morning at Firehouse Chapel, Angela completely oblivious to the upcoming surprises. We greeted friends and family who were in on the big day, some of who almost spoiled the surprises ahead. After finishing service, Angela joined me in the car as I drove her to an undisclosed location. I think she started to become suspicious at this point, since i've never been the decisive decision maker. After driving for some time, we ended up in the heart of the city. Confused, I dragged Angela into the cold as we made a frostbitten trek across the city. With frozen hands and icy toes, we stumbled into Orchestra Hall, to which Angela was surprised to enjoy a concert performance of the movie, "UP." After beautiful music flooded our souls, I led my soon to be fiancee to an awaiting horse driven carriage. We toured the shimmering city beneath glowing stars, our hearts aflutter and we were wrapped in thick blankets. Upon reaching Aster Café, a relational landmark to our early dates, I got on one knee and proposed. And of course, she said yes.